Wednesday 16 November 2005

White House Not Happy, Puts Out RFP For Revisionist To Spin Blame

Ethics Classes; Indictment Worries Cut Into Effort; Need "Top Shelf" Spinner To Pound Out Message

From plummeting ratings, to criticism for using the Veteran's Day Holiday for partisan attacks, to being preoccupied with the Ethics classes and having to prepare for more indictments, the White House, sources say, have quietly put out a Request-For-Proposal to Presidential Historians and other top authors to assist the Administration in countering the liberal and Democrats attacks, charging they misled the country into the Iraqi War.

Since last Friday, when the President kicked off the campaign to paint the Democrats with the same "intelligence brush", the Administration has been relentless, trotting out Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman on Sunday's 'Meet The Press' program and yesterday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfield, returning to the pre-war theme of criticizing the Iraqi Policy is akin to being unpatriotic and giving aid to the enemy.

The President has used stops along the way to the Japan Summit to press his case and charge the Democrats with trying to "politicize" the war.

In a confusing and embarrassing moment for the President, a Japanese reporter, in broken English, asked the President about the "storm of controversy" following him. Having been briefed in Air Force One about the latest round of thunderstorms and tornados that hit Tennessee, the President bristled and tersely responded that "the Democrats have access to the same weather reports that we have."

"They don't just want to wag the dog," said Ann Mitchell, veteran Capital Hill journalist, "they want to swing and twirl the entire kennel."

The dogs, however, are whirring just yet.

President Bush is currently at the lowest point since taking office in 2000. In a USA TODAY/ CNN/Gallup Poll released Monday, the President registered only a 46% approval rating.

And, despite the high-level attacks, by himself and staff, the President was rebuked yesterday by the Senate, as both Republicans and Democrats submitted bills to put heat on the Administration to be accountable for the Iraqi Policy.

While somewhat similar, in theme, the Democrat's bill, rejected, by a vote of 58 to 40, called for a timetable to remove troops from Iraqi. The Republican bill, which won approval with a 79 to 19 count, only requested for the White House to submit quarterly reports to the Senate on the progress in Iraq.

"You'd have to say," offered Mitchell, "that if Sam Ervin were still with us, he'd be saying that dog won't hunt."

Mitchell says that the White House is "fatigued" and "bogged down".

"They have these Ethics classes they have to attend, they still have indictments hanging over their heads. I even heard that Karl Rove has 'smear-block'."

Shortly after the Senate vote, White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, reportedly, released the RFP.

It's not known how many were sent out, and to whom they were sent.

Early last evening, Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss, author Doris Kearns Goodwin, and biography Kitty Kelly were seen being escorted into the West Wing. Sometime later, Watergate author Bob Woodward was espied leaving the White House.

"They definitely want a heavy hitters," said Mitchell. "Someone with credibility and someone that can actually write."

There are also rumors that the Administration will be reviving their "paid journalist" program, and that Card has a target list of right-wing pundits that will be contacted.

"Andy wants the top-shelf guys … The one's that have columns, as well as their own radio or television programs, or, at least are regular talking heads on the cable news universe."

There's unconfirmed reports that the Fox News Channel is already on-board with the White House program, pro-bono and also that author and former political operative Dick Morris, as well as former Nixon Speech Writer and presidential candidate Pat Buchanan have signaled to Card that their game for the work.

"If they get their message straight," said Mitchell, "and get these big guns on the team, in two, maybe three-months, they'll have the polls showing that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi trained Al-Qaeda people or were involved in 9/11."















"This reporter, this little, squeeky reporter kept saying we lied, we manipulated the intelligence, so, goodness, I just snapped and gave him the death claw ... Got'em right around the neck and shook him up real good ..."