Spin for Bush

TIME Magazine needs to take off it's kneepads and do some real journalism instead steno work for the Bush cabal. The Bushies are running scared of the mushrooming scandals in Washington and are trying mightily stay clean of the slime. TIME seems to have been enlisted in the cleansing efforts as they obligingly produced this farce about how Bush never really got along with Tom Delay.

Some excerpts:

When legal and ethical questions began spinning around House majority leader Tom DeLay last year, President George W. Bush was publicly supportive. Privately, though, he questioned his fellow Texan's mojo. "They (Bushies) perceive DeLay as a bull in a china shop."

'He may have had an unmatched grip on the House and Washington lobbyists, but DeLay is not the kind of guy—in background and temperament—the President feels comfortable with. He's seen as a useful servant, not someone you would want to vacation with.'

'Fortunately for the White House, the President a year ago began sending mixed signals about DeLay. When conservative leaders held a $250-a-plate tribute dinner in April to show solidarity with him, no one from the White House spoke.'

Well isn't that breathless? One wonders: If Chimpie has been “sending mixed signals,” then why did he state on Dec 14, 2005 that he is confident that former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) is innocent of money-laundering charges? 'Bush then said he hopes DeLay will be cleared of charges that he illegally steered corporate money into campaigns for the Texas legislature and will reclaim his powerful leadership position in Congress.... "I hope that he will, 'cause I like him, and plus, when he's over there, we get our votes through the House." TIME apparently forgot to report Bush's statements, which when made, were widely decried as Delay's legal case is pending.

Here's some more past quotes by those seeking to newly distance themselves from Delay:

BUSH:
"I have confidence in Tom DeLay's leadership and I have confidence in Tom DeLay."
White House News Conference, March 16, http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/16/bush/

"I appreciate the leadership of Congressman Tom DeLay in working on important issues that matter to the country."
The Washington Times, www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050427-121915-7747r.htm

"Too much politics in Washington, D.C.," Mr. Bush said. "We've got to rise above the politics, the zero-sum attitude."
The Washington Times, www.washingtontimes.com/national/20050427-121915-7747r.htm

SCOTT McCLELLAN SPEAKING FOR BUSH
The president supports Mr. DeLay "as strongly as he ever has, which is strongly."
- Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary, April 27

"We need to let the legal process work....The President considers him a good ally and friend."
- Scott McClellan, White House Press Secretary, September 28

Posted on The Human Stain