Posted here Monday, April 26, 2004 at 8:37:38 AM 
Bush on the press. Quoted from
http://www.bopnews.com/archives/000614.html#614
And the reporter then said: Well, how do you then know, Mr. President, what the public is thinking? And Bush, without missing a beat said: You're making a powerful assumption, young man. You're assuming that you represent the public. I don't accept that.
Which is a powerful statement. And if Bush believes it (a possibility not to be dismissed) then we must credit the president with an original idea, or the germ of one. Bush's people have developed it into a thesis, which they explained to Auletta, who told it to co-host Brooke Gladstone:
That's his attitude. And when you ask the Bush people to explain that attitude, what they say is: We don't accept that you have a check and balance function. We think that you are in the game of "Gotcha." Oh, you're interested in headlines, and you're interested in conflict. You're not interested in having a serious discussion and, and exploring things.
Further data point: The Bush Thesis. If Auletta's reporting is on, then Bush and his advisors have their own press think, which they are trying out as policy. Reporters do not represent the interests of a broader public. They aren't a pipeline to the people, because people see through the game of Gotcha. The press has forfeited, if it ever had, its quasi-official role in the checks and balances of government. Here the Bush Thesis is bold. It says: there is no such role.
The press certainly has moved from serious reporting. The good reporting is now to be found more in the comentators and bloggers who either have better access or some distance from the press corps. Especially time to think. Bush's comment suggests that a rel exploration of the issues would be welcomed. Big assumption, but it does suggest that the details and difficulties of say Iraq are not being explored. "gottcha" rules every sentence.
A friend once said "Doug, remember, every story has only one hero: the reporter."
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