At the Sept. 15 daily White House news briefing, Presidential Press Secretary Scott McClellan was asked about the four CBS documents allegedly documenting the Bush military record:
QUESTION: Does the president agree with the first lady that these are forgeries? And does he agree with the Republican Party in that the Democrats are the source of the forgeries?
McCLELLAN: Well, Mrs. Bush was expressing her view. The view of the White House is that these are serious questions that have been raised and they ought to be looked into. Many media organizations are looking into them as we speak. They’re interviewing additional experts. They have raised additional questions about it, and those are serious questions that ought to be looked into fully.
That made me wonder how on earth the presidential press secretary could say “Mrs. Bush was expressing her view” – but the White House view is different! (Doesn’t Laura Bush live in the White House?)
And why shouldn’t there be a congressional investigation instead of this wait-and-see attitude?
Later in the briefing when I was (finally) recognized for a question, I asked:
QUESTION: Friday a week ago, the AP reported from West Allis, Wisconsin, that the crowd booed the president’s good wishes for President Clinton’s recovery. But after two Milwaukee talk-radio stations broadcast what was all applause and no boos, the AP on Saturday sent out a retraction saying there was no booing. And my question –
McCLELLAN: Let me state for the record that I think the Associated Press corrected that within a very short period of time, on the same day.
QUESTION: No, it was the next day.
McCLELLAN: No, it was the same day, I believe.
QUESTION: All right. Are you concerned that there is no AP reporting of what they have done to the reporter whom they report put an untruth on the national wire? And I have a follow-up.
McCLELLAN: The reporter made a correction and we appreciated him making that correction quickly – because it did not happen.
In other words, the fact that the AP national wire first reported there was booing, and then they retracted that and reported there was no booing evokes nothing but gratitude?
Jeff Gannon, White House correspondent for Talon News, reported:
“An Associated Press reporter who filed a story that former President Clinton was ‘booed’ at a Wisconsin rally when President George W. Bush announced that his predecessor had been hospitalized for heart surgery is standing by his claim. Scott Lindlaw, a White House correspondent who was among the reporters traveling with President Bush during the campaign swing to several battleground states, provided the information for the story that appeared under the byline of Tom Hays.
“No other news agency reported any booing and none is audible on network television clips, but the AP sent out the article with the statement, ‘Bush’s audience of thousands in West Allis, Wis., booed. Bush did nothing to stop them.’
“Shortly after the article appeared on the wire, Karen Hughes, an adviser to president Bush, demanded it be corrected. The AP deleted the two sentences from the story and released it with no byline.
“Tom Curley, AP president and CEO, was asked by Talon News to explain the circumstances surrounding the correction.
“Curley said, ‘The reporter and a couple others standing with him thought they heard booing. After checking of tapes, they decided it was oohs, not boos.’
“Curley also confirmed that Hays was not present at the Wisconsin rally, but was in New York at the time of the event. The reference to ‘booing’ came from material provided by Lindlaw. Talon News confronted Lindlaw on Friday about the discrepancy in his reporting of the event.
“When asked if he heard booing as he reported, he replied, ‘I did.’
“Lindlaw declined to be interviewed but insisted that his reporting was accurate.
“Lindlaw said, ‘What I had to say I put in the wire.’
“Lindlaw refused to answer any other questions about the report. Lindlaw provided no explanation for making a charge that would create a negative impression of President Bush and his supporters.”
My second question to Mr. McClellan was:
QUESTION: Presuming that you would not provide Kitty Kelley a reserved, front-row seat in these briefings, or at presidential news conferences, why do you continue to do so for a network that nationally televised forgeries that malign the president? (Laughter.)
McCLELLAN: Les, I’m not even going to respond to that question.
QUESTION: You’re not going to respond?
McCLELLAN: Go ahead.
QUESTION: Thank you. A follow-up on the Middle East question. On the imminent Israeli pullout from Gaza –
McCLELLAN: Let me just say I appreciate working with each and every one of you in this room – most of the time, at least. (Laughter.) Go ahead.
That was an intensely clever interjection, since it does not explain whether “most of the time” applies to Kinsolving, or CBS.
On the White House news briefing website, under the “ASK SCOTT McCLELLAN” column, “Kyle from Atlanta” writes:
KYLE: Scott, You do a great job at your news conferences. I was wondering if you could tell me who April and Les (don’t know their last names) work for. Keep up the good work for the president!
McCLELLAN: Kyle, I appreciate your kind words and your support for the president and his agenda. April Ryan is the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Network, and Les Kinsolving hosts his own radio talk show which is broadcast in Baltimore.”
(And, let me add Scott, WCBM 680 – plus being White House correspondent for WorldNetDaily and Talk Radio Network.)
