Posted on 10/20/2006 2:44:25 PM PDT by delacoert
Q Can I ask you something about what the President said today at The Mayflower? He was talking about the terrorists trying to influence public opinion, filming their atrocities, he said, emailing messages and video clips to Middle Eastern cable networks like Al Jazeera and opinion leaders throughout the West. Why the mention of Al Jazeera? And to whom was he referring when he talked about "opinion leaders" in the West?
MR. SNOW: Well, your network has shown pictures of snipers hitting Americans, which was used as a propaganda tool, so the fact is that -- it shows real sophistication on the part of these guys, because it creates the impression that Americans are sitting ducks, and that these guys are capable, when, in fact, while you have a capable enemy, they're dying in much greater numbers and suffering much greater damage. Now I know that's hard to -- as General Caldwell said yesterday, you can have this carnage and progress existing side by side. Unfortunately, the pictures are all moving in one way.
The President was referring to the attempt to take images like that and use those as a way of not only -- of trying to break the will of the American people. It's not going to work.
Q Does the President believe it's wrong for CNN to show that?
MR. SNOW: No, we're not -- I'm just telling you what happened. Those are editorial judgments, and I'm not going to tell you what you do and don't run. This is a free country.
Q But by mentioning this in a --
MR. SNOW: Well, because you asked the question. You asked who I was referring to.
Q Well, by the President raising it, I'm saying. By the President raising that issue, is he sending a message that he thinks it's wrong for networks to air that?
MR. SNOW: No, again, I'm going to let -- the President, I think, is smart enough not to tell television networks what they can run and can't run. But all we're doing is making it clear what's going on. I think, perhaps -- I'm sure the editors are savvy enough to know that when they get a video like this, it's designed less to give you a full and complete view of what's going on in the country than to create a sense of triumphalism for the killers of Americans. That's the intention of that. I think that's hard to dispute. That's the only point.
She was whiney in her complaint and just the way she looked and sounded made CNN look bad enough...
...but Tony Snow's (and I'm not a big fan) answer was so smooth and professional that it compounded the effect and put CNN in truely bad light.
Did anyone else see it? and what did you think?
Snow is a great spokesman. He is smooth and he doesn't take crap. What's not to like?
Ouch! CNN may be too dumb too realize it just got smacked.
I didn't see it, but I sure like your description!
Thanks for posting the exchange, I read on the live Press thread that this was discussed, but hadn't seen the actual exchange. Tony is so perfect for this job; made CNN look bad, or worse, for airing terrorist propaganda at the same time stating clearly they have a choice...and they chose the terrorists over our troops. CNN has been flogged on this across all the blogs that I have read on this topic, and rightly so.
THEY need access to do their jobs, we do NOT need to give it to them.
"MR. SNOW: No, again, I'm going to let -- the President, I think, is smart enough not to tell television networks what they can run and can't run. "
hehe.. nice slap at the Clintonistas.
Tony Snow is great. He puts them in their place. I really loathe the media more each day.
Thnak God we got rid of Scott. He was just terrible.
If they wanted to start showing a full picture of the war, they should stop embedding with the friggen enemy.
This one will reach into the heartland...whose sons and daughters are dying in Iraq....and those folks are going to be none to pleased.
God Bless Tony Snow.
Pictures are the terrorists' REAL WMD - and CNN delivers them
I hope our military revokes CNN's press credentials
Why oh why wouldn't you be a fan of Tony Snow? Tony Snow conducts himself like this ALL THE TIME in his pressers.
Amen brother.
This one will reach into the heartland...whose sons and daughters are dying in Iraq....and those folks are going to be none to pleased.
Wellstone funeral, anyone???
We all have our favorite talk show hosts even if we are basically on the same side
None the less, I think Tony has hit a stride as Press Sec. far above where he was as a talk show host (and I enjoyed him as a talk show host - but not always agreeably so)
bttt
Just a comment. I hope everyone reading will take a few minutes to write the RNC and whomever they want at the White House to compliment Tony Snow and the job he's doing. Tony is a fantastic resource and I believe the media today would be less hostile had Tony been in his position longer.
What's galling is, it wasn't even filmed by a CNN cameraman. Then we're inundated and beat over the head day in and day out with negative reports out of Iraq, and this comes along and Anderson Cooper calls it a balanced view of the Iraq war.
What ticked me off was how excited and anxious AC looked right before they ran the video, noting that it was exlusive to CNN from an Islamic Iraqi group fighting against U.S. soldiers.
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