spinsanity.org/columns/20040615.html
Ben Fritz June 15, 2004 George W Bush has a habit of mangling his words. John Kerry tends to speak at length when simpler phrasing might suffice. But as Bush's verbal miscues and Kerry's longwindedness have become ongoing narratives in coverage of the two men, reporters have often misconstrued the candidates' statements in order to create more evidence that supposedly fits these stereotypes.
have shown, that's the problem with Slate's series of "Bushisms," which the website describes as a compilation of "the President's accidental wit and wisdom," and "Kerryisms," in which "the Senator's caveats and curlicues" are "translated into plain English." "Bushisms," compiled by Slate editor Jacob Weisberg, has highlighted plenty of grammatical errors by the President, some of which are humorous or noteworthy. However, the series has also frequently taken the President's words out of context to make reasonable statements seem nonsensical, grammatically incorrect or even offensive. In the short life of "Kerryisms," writer Will Saletan has revealed a similarly disturbing habit of turning the Massachusetts Senator's words into "plain English" by stripping out words that are key to his meaning. And while it would hardly excuse these distortions, neither series even provides links to let readers check the context of the quotes for themselves. There's nothing inherently wrong with making fun of the candidates, but even while engaging in satire, political journalists still have a responsibility to not mislead their audience. A review of these two features shows that Weisberg and Saletan have unfairly distorted the words of Bush and Kerry in the search for evidence that fits their pre-established storylines. Bogus "Bushisms" The most recent example of an inaccurate "Bushism" shows how Weisberg frequently misconstrues the President's words.
event with men who had been given prosthetic hands to replace the ones cut off by Saddam Hussein's regime, Bush said, "I'm honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein." Since the men had prosthetic hands, it's clear what the President meant.
The Deluxe Election-Edition Bushisms, shows the same bad habit at work again and again. "Bushism": "I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions. "-In response to a question about whether he wished he could take back any of his answers in the first debate. Sometimes, you know, I might mangle a 'syl-a-bel' occasionally." In context, it's clear that Bush's first sentence referred to his answers to questions at the debate, and that the second meant that he was confident in those answers and did not wish to take any of them back. "Bushism": "First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers.
his May 2003 press conference with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal. The two leaders were talking about the threat of terrorism, which Macapagal had previously said was connected to poverty. Later, when a reporter asked Bush about "the poverty problem," the President explained that he doesn't believe ending poverty will end terrorism: And the poverty problem - listen, this nation is committed to dealing with poverty. First, let me make it very clear, poor people aren't necessarily killers. Just because you happen to be not rich doesn't mean you're willing to kill. And so it's important to understand - people are susceptible to the requirement by these extremists, but I refuse to put a - put killers into a demographic category based upon income. After all, a lot of the top al-Qaida people were comfortable middle-class citizens. And so one of the things you've got to do is to make sure we distinguish between hate and poverty. "Bushism": "And, yes, we're always interested in dealing with people who have harmed American citizens."
event in which he was asked by a reporter about Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was murdered in Pakistan: "Mr President, are you satisfied with Pakistan's response in the Daniel Pearl case? And is the United States interested in pursuing or indicting the primary suspect that's now in custody there?" The President responded: I am satisfied with the response of President Musharraf and the Pakistani government. I got a phone call from him when I was flying back from China, and I could tell from the tone of his voice how distraught he was, how disturbed he was that this barbaric act had taken place in his country. He knew full well that those killers did not represent the vast, vast majority of the people in his own country. And he vowed to me on the phone that he would do everything in his power to chase down the killers and bring them to justice. And, yes, we're always interested in dealing with people who have harmed American citizens. The "Bushism," obviously came in response to the reporter's second question. And "dealing with" refers to "pursuing or indicting" the suspect, as the reporter said. The President actually meant the opposite of what Weisberg's "Bushism" implies. But an Associated Press report from December 27 made clear that President Bush was simply telling a joke: Jenna Bush was released from St. It was possible she would join the family in Florida, Bush said. Bushism: "I do think we need for a troop to be able to house his family. "-Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, March 12, 2001 Context: On its own, this statement looks like another statement of the obvious. But in context, the President was discussing the need for more military housing.
touring the home of Air Force Senior Airman Donnie Bryant, Bush was talking about a new initiative to help ensure that adequate housing for members of the military. "That's one of the reasons I've come to your house, to highlight my initiative that I look forward to working with the Air Force on and base commanders all around the country, to refurbish housing and build new housing. I do think we need for a troop to be able to house his family. That's an important part of building morale in the military." It seemed to make sense to Bryant, who responded, "Yes, sir, it is."
next sentences made this meaning even more clear: "And we've always got to be able to do that. It puts us in a -- it gives us a strategic advantage, a strategic edge. Imagine if we were going around the world asking for food. Weisberg did it again "The Deluxe Election-Edition Bushisms" also includes a series of original "whoops!" quotes in which Weisberg claims to catch Bush making factual errors. But several of them aren't evidence of dishonesty by the President. It's Weisberg who has his facts or his assumptions wrong. For instance, he quotes the President saying of the national service program AmeriCorps in his 2002 State of the Union address, "These good works deserve our praise. "They deserve the assistance of the federal government." In a "reality check," Weisberg writes, "President Bush has not asked Congress for any new Americorps funding." However, Bush's phrasing did not imply that new funding was forthcoming.
proposed a nine percent increase in funding for AmeriCorps' parent organization, the Corporate for National and Community Service, in his fiscal year 2005 budget, which was released in February of this year, two months before the release of Weisberg's book. feature even admits that the Bush statement in question was accurate. Weisberg notes that Bush said in a Republican presidential primary debate on January 26 of 2000, "Our SAT scores have improved since I've been the governor. The author then counters that the mean SAT 1 score in Texas rose from 990 in 1994 to 993 in 1999, but points out that "relative to the rest of the country, Texas's SAT scores actually decreased" because the national average went up by 13 points. Similarly, Weisberg claims to refute a December 13, 1999 assertion by Bush that, "I've got a record not of rhetoric, but a record of results. In my state, I led our state to the two biggest tax cuts in the state's history." He admits that the tax cuts took place, pointing instead to an increase in the sales tax and other taxes Bush signed into law in 1997. This may be noteworthy, but it is n...
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