miller's crossing

At long last, I'm back with another entry. My excuse: knitting. (Expect pictures soon.) Oh ... and I've had articles to write for work.

President Bush at the U.S. Naval Academy on Nov. 30. (White House photo by Paul Morris.)

Here's an excerpt from "The Victory of Spin" posted over at my work website:

As the LA Times was reporting on the Lincoln Group's media manipulation, George W. Bush was announcing to cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy the latest repackaging of the bloody mess in Iraq - the pollster-vetted "Strategy for Victory in Iraq."

Using the now-familiar White House rhetorical technique of simple repetition to get its message across, The New York Times reported Bush "used the word victory 15 times in the address; 'Plan for Victory' signs crowded the podium he spoke on; and the word heavily peppered the accompanying 35-page National Security Council document titled, 'Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.'" According to the Times, the speech's "relentless focus on the theme of victory strongly reflected a new voice in the administration: Peter D. Feaver, a Duke University political scientist who joined the N.S.C. staff as a special adviser in June and has closely studied public opinion on the war."

But unlike earlier media campaigns, the attempt to spin away Americans' sinking feelings towards the President and the war may not bear fruit. White House propagandists appear increasingly blinded by their own delusions, so out of touch with the grim realities in Iraq and Afghanistan - not to mention U.S. communities - that their ability to construct new propaganda is weakened.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan appeared uncomfortable when presented with a description of the Iraq situation that fell outside his own well-rehearsed spin, even though it was written into the President's "Victory" address.

Q -- when you guys frame this, as you just did, it's always about the war on terror. But by the President's own account in his speech on Wednesday, the jihadists are the smallest of the three elements which are fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

MR. McCLELLAN: What did he say about the jihadists?

Q You know what he said about the jihadists.

MR. McCLELLAN: He said, the smallest, but most lethal.

Q Well, yes, but you frame it as a war on terror, and it's about much more than that, as he, himself, said.

MR. McCLELLAN: It is about the war on terrorism. It's about much more than Iraq.

Q It's about the rejection of the power that was held by the Sunni minority, it's about rejection of foreign presence in the country. It's about a lot of things in addition to the jihadists.

MR. McCLELLAN: It's about the broader war on terrorism, is what it's about, Bill. And maybe you have a different understanding about it, but the President understands clearly the stakes that are involved in this broader war on terrorism. That's why he takes a comprehensive view of how we succeed in this war on terrorism. And that's why he's taken the fight to the enemy. That's why he's supporting efforts to expand freedom and democracy in the heart of a dangerous region of the world. And we will continue to act. We will continue to support those who want to live in freedom. And Iraq will inspire the rest of the Middle East and help us lay the foundations of peace that I've been talking about.

I've been covering propaganda now for 5 years. It's a fascinating beat. While I'm optimistic that the Bush admistration is loosing it's groove when it comes to spin, I'm afraid that others will be picking up the beat in their place.

I've come to believe that there is a very strong role for personal responsibility when it comes to absorbing information. I'm not trying to sound all liberatarian, but deception needs two people to make it work: the one that deceives and the one who believes the deception. I know there are times when deception is too skillful. But too often people let themselves be fooled - either by being lazy, afraid or not paying attention. Think about it: How have you participated in allowing a lie to exist?

I'm sure I'll have more to say on this in the future since I'm only just beginning to develop this train of thought.

 

I'll leave you with this lovely photo of an Army PSYOPS poster, courtesy of the brilliant Mr. Anderson.