Media Matters: False statements, missed opportunities (ABC Bush interview)

Vargas's interview of Bush on ABC contained false statements, missed opportunities

http://mediamatters.org/items/200603010006



Summary: During an exclusive interview with President Bush on the February 28 broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight, co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas repeated White House distortions and uncritically accepted Bush's answers -- even though some were demonstrably false.

During an exclusive interview with President Bush on the February 28 broadcast of ABC's World News Tonight, co-anchor Elizabeth Vargas repeated White House distortions and uncritically accepted Bush's answers -- even though some were demonstrably false. Vargas echoed the White House line -- which, as Media Matters for America has noted, is not credible -- that Bush "doesn't read the polls." She ignored a House Select Committee's criticism of the White House on its response to Hurricane Katrina despite using that same report to question Bush during the interview, even though the report's findings contradicted Bush's claim that the "problem that happened in Katrina" was that the White House lacked "good, solid information from people who were on the ground." Vargas also omitted the key distinction that a Dubai company seeking to take over operations at port terminals at six major U.S. ports is state-owned -- an omission that allowed Bush to suggest that anti-Arab sentiments were the source of criticisms of the deal rather than concerns with national security. Finally, Vargas's interview ignored a number of current issues, including warrantless domestic spying and the Plame investigation -- despite her having found the time to ask Bush: "What do you think you were put on this Earth to do?"

:spray:

Vargas introduced a question on Bush's low approval ratings by saying, "I know you don't read the polls," and after noting that a recent CBS News poll found that Bush's approval rating of 34 percent is at an all-time low, commented, "ou don't care about that." In her introduction to the interview, Vargas had commented that although Bush's "approval rating is at an all-time low ... the president will tell you he doesn't put much stock in polls, and believes with all the ups and downs, that he is building a strong foundation for the country's future."

However, Vargas's statement that Bush does not read the polls reflected the Bush administration's preferred image, not fact: as Media Matters has noted, while Bush has gone to great lengths to create the impression that he does not rely on polling, there is ample evidence that polling data play a substantial part in his administration's political strategy and messaging.

that he doesn't read newspapers. Guess where he said he heard of the Dubai port deal? :-)

:toast:

Finally figured I'd better get registered and into the mix. :thumbsup: :bounce:

It was disgraceful.

I worked for Bush's pollster and even did focus groups for him. Trust me, he follows polls.