[Vision2020] Bush's "Talking Points" Memo

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (December 10, 2008) Los Angeles Times at:

http://tinyurl.com/6ls987
 
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For Bush's staff, upbeat talking points on his tenure

Administration officials get a memo from the White House suggesting what 
to say about the last eight years: President Bush upheld 'the honor and 
the dignity of his office,' for one.
By Peter Nicholas

December 9, 2008

Reporting from Washington — In case any Bush administration officials have 
trouble summing up the boss' record, the White House is providing a few 
helpful suggestions.

A two-page memo that has been sent to Cabinet members and other high-
ranking officials offers a guide for discussing Bush's eight-year tenure 
during their public speeches.

Titled "Speech Topper on the Bush Record," the talking points state that 
Bush "kept the American people safe" after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 
lifted the economy after 2001 through tax cuts, curbed AIDS in Africa and 
maintained "the honor and the dignity of his office."

The document presents the Bush record as an unalloyed success.

It mentions none of the episodes that detractors say have marred his 
presidency: the collapse of the housing market and major financial 
services companies, the flawed intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, 
the federal response to Hurricane Katrina or the abuse of prisoners at Abu 
Ghraib.

In a section on the economy, speakers are invited to say that Bush cut 
taxes after 2001, setting the stage for years of job growth.

As for the current economic crisis, the memo says that Bush "responded 
with bold measures to prevent an economic meltdown."

The document is otherwise silent on the recession, which claimed 533,000 
jobs in November, the highest number in 34 years.

A copy of the memo was obtained by The Times' Washington bureau. A 
spokesman for Bush said Monday that the White House routinely sends out 
suggestions to officials and allies on ways to talk about the 
administration's record.

"What we have in mind with these documents is we feel the president's many 
accomplishments haven't been given the attention they deserve and in some 
cases have been purposely ignored," said Carlton Carroll, a White House 
spokesman.

No one is required to recite the talking points laid out by the White 
House, Carroll said.

The memo closes with a reference to Bush's 1999 memoir, "A Charge to Keep":

"Above all, George W. Bush promised to uphold the honor and the dignity of 
his office. And through all the challenges and trials of his time in 
office, that is a charge that our president has kept."

One accomplishment cited is passage of the No Child Left Behind law, 
Bush's attempt to improve education. "He promised to raise standards and 
accountability in public schools -- and delivered the No Child Left Behind 
Act," the talking points read.

On the presidential campaign trail this year, Democratic candidates found 
that any criticism of No Child Left Behind was a surefire applause line.

President-elect Barack Obama promised to revamp the program, contending 
that it elevated test-taking at the expense of a well-rounded education.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
"For a lapse Lutheran born-again Buddhist pan-Humanist Universalist 
Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go 
to work."

- Roy Zimmerman


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