There was no story to manage, and Fleisher was wrong.
You and him are WAY too concerned about what other people, including people that hate us, think.
You've been on this forum almost as long as I have. You didn't stay around because you are liberal and you want to "rub our noses in it." Why in the world are you so damned concerned about when a bunch of gas bags with highly overinflated egos get information when their sole purpose is destruction of this administration? That's the only explanation I can figure as to why a so-called conservative would think this whole deal is anything more than a 1 line AP wire that says, "VP Dick Cheney accidentally wounded a member of his hunting party in Texas. The wounded man, identified as ____, is being treated and is expected to make a full recovery."
There, that's it. That's ALL the attention this story deserved.
He's only the former Bush Admin White House spokesman. What does he know?
Why in the world are you so damned concerned about when a bunch of gas bags with highly overinflated egos get information when their sole purpose is destruction of this administration?
I don't give a rats backside about the press. I am more concerned about making sure that the average citizen gets a significant story in a timely manner - and this was a signficant story by any stretch - and waiting to release it just made it worse for the White House.
Once again, note how quickly things turned for Cheney when he gave the interview to Brit Hume. The White House should have released a statement first thing Sunday morning, and then Cheney should have sat for an interview Monday or Tuesday. It would have shortened the news cycle that much more quickly.
One of the weakest parts of the Bush Admin has been staying ahead of the news cycle. Where they do, such as with the NSA wiretapping case, they do well. That is the point I am trying to drive home here. I am not accusing Cheney of anything other than being careless by hunting. I am not calling on him to resign. I did not expect him to manage the media - he was in a state of shock afterwards, which is normal.
But I do expect the White House to do a better job of managing the news than they have typically done over the years, and this is a prime example of the problems they have inflicted upon themselves.