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DRUDGE: Putin Grills Bush on Dan Rather
Drudge Report ^ | Sun Feb 27 2005 | Matt Drudge

Posted on 02/27/2005 1:37:05 PM PST by West Coast Conservative

George Bush knew Vladimir Putin would be defensive when Bush brought up the pace of democratic reform in Russia in their private meeting at the end of Bush's four-day, three-city tour of Europe. But when Bush talked about the Kremlin's crackdown on the media and explained that democracies require a free press, the Russian leader gave a rebuttal that left the President nonplussed, TIME magazine will report on Monday.

If the press was so free in the U.S., Putin asked, then why had those reporters at CBS lost their jobs? Bush was openmouthed. "Putin thought we'd fired Dan Rather," says a senior Administration official. "It was like something out of 1984."

TIME's John Dickerson: The Russians did not let the matter drop. Later, during the leaders' joint press conference, one of the questioners Putin called on asked Bush about the very same firings, a coincidence the White House assumed had been orchestrated. The odd episode reinforced the Administration's view that Putin's impressions of America are often based on urban myths fed to him by ill-informed aides.

Developing...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons; Politics/Elections; Russia
KEYWORDS: bratislava; bush; bush43; cbs; cbsnews; euvisit; fakedocuments; freedomofthepress; putin; rather; rathergate; russia
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To: SunkenCiv

next on the Tonight Show: "Jay-Walking" asks Vlad Putin who is president of the United States


101 posted on 02/27/2005 3:57:25 PM PST by Fudd Fan (MaryJo Kopechne needed an "exit strategy")
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To: West Coast Conservative
Look at those so called fake U.S. elections such as in good old Seattle that Putin pointed to.
After last view the one that got in with triple counting is still sitting in the saddle.
Others, under regular conditions called winners are sitting silently waiting for a judge to get around to looking at the matter.
Apparently silently waiting for judgment does not count as Democracy in Putin's view.
102 posted on 02/27/2005 4:04:48 PM PST by hermgem
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To: West Coast Conservative

Not to worry, Michael "fatboy" Moore is already at work on a new documentary to get to the bottom of this cover-up, Bowling for Mary Mapes.


103 posted on 02/27/2005 4:05:08 PM PST by r5boston
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To: West Coast Conservative
Notebook
Vladimir Putin, CBS News Loyalist
By

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Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005

George Bush knew Vladimir Putin would be defensive when Bush brought up the pace of democratic reform in Russia in their private meeting at the end of Bush's four-day, three-city tour of Europe. But when Bush talked about the Kremlin's crackdown on the media and explained that democracies require a free press, the Russian leader gave a rebuttal that left the President nonplussed. If the press was so free in the U.S., Putin asked, then why had those reporters at CBS lost their jobs? Bush was openmouthed. "Putin thought we'd fired Dan Rather," says a senior Administration official. "It was like something out of 1984."

The Russians did not let the matter drop. Later, during the leaders' joint press conference, one of the questioners Putin called on asked Bush about the very same firings, a coincidence the White House assumed had been orchestrated. The odd episode reinforced the Administration's view that Putin's impressions of America are often based on urban myths fed to him by ill-informed aides. (At a past summit, according to Administration aides, Putin asked Bush whether it was true that chicken producers split their production into plants that serve the U.S. and lower-quality ones that process substandard chicken for Russia.) U.S. aides say that to help fight against this kind of misinformation, they are struggling to build relationships that go beyond Putin. "We need to go deeper into the well into other levels of government," explains an aide. --By John F. Dickerson

From the Mar. 07, 2005 issue of TIME magazine

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1032354,00.html

104 posted on 02/27/2005 4:10:14 PM PST by demlosers
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To: Jomini

How ya doin Jomini? Please check in.

This is a cheap suit, bad haircut alert!


105 posted on 02/27/2005 4:15:44 PM PST by Incorrigible (immanentizing the eschaton)
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To: PeoplesRepublicOfWashington
Does this mean that Dan Blather is a KGB operative?

Ding ding ding we have a winner !!!!
106 posted on 02/27/2005 4:19:22 PM PST by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
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To: West Coast Conservative

Oh man. Russia has a long way to go.


107 posted on 02/27/2005 4:53:50 PM PST by GVnana (If I had a Buckhead moment would I know it?)
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To: West Coast Conservative

They need Fox News!


108 posted on 02/27/2005 4:54:15 PM PST by cricket
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To: West Coast Conservative

I think Putin gets his news from his comrades at the DU.


109 posted on 02/27/2005 4:55:35 PM PST by Tempest (Click on my name for a long list of press contacts)
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To: jveritas
"Another lie created by a delusional left wing liberal media."

Their delusional Left-wing media or . . .ours?

110 posted on 02/27/2005 4:56:19 PM PST by cricket
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To: West Coast Conservative
"Putin thought we'd fired Dan Rather," says a senior Administration official. "It was like something out of 1984

Ha Ha HA what a joke. Vlad is pulling the chains and getting results.

What a delicious response. It shows that things are always as they seem and can be manipulated to produce desirable results.

I'm not downing W but complimenting Vlad for excellant gamesmanship.

111 posted on 02/27/2005 5:00:38 PM PST by bert (Peace is only halftime !)
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To: demlosers
(At a past summit, according to Administration aides, Putin asked Bush whether it was true that chicken producers split their production into plants that serve the U.S. and lower-quality ones that process substandard chicken for Russia.)

This one is not far off the mark, but he's asking the wrong president. As I remember it, Clinton put the arm on the Russians to sign a contract with Tyson. Tyson froze up a bunch of past the sellbydate chickens and shipped them over. I don't remember what Clinton was using as a carrot to force them to buy from Tyson, but Tyson DID send them crappy chickens.

112 posted on 02/27/2005 5:11:49 PM PST by Sal
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To: West Coast Conservative
WELL... what was Bush's ANSWER.?..

Putin had a good point.. it WAS the job of the FCC to investigate MSM meddling in an presidential election so open handlely as an arm of ONE PARTY or any election for that matter.. and cBS investigated themselves..

Maybe Putin is NOT so ill-informed.. since the FCC is run by the RINO Powells son.. with a 300 million dollar budget(2004).. and allows outright sedition... NO encourages outright sedition..

Them Russkies had a unique way to say, STFU... fix your own system..

113 posted on 02/27/2005 6:06:51 PM PST by hosepipe (This Propaganda has been edited to include not a small amount of Hyperbole..)
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To: billorites; Jim Robinson

Hey! Someone contact JimRob- I could see a whole new line of FR products- high quality pajamas (for nice and cozy late-nite freeping!)


114 posted on 03/01/2005 8:14:45 AM PST by Mr. K (this space for rent)
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