from the Telegraph UK Bush Thanksgiving bird turns out to be another turkey By Alec Russell (Filed: 05/12/2003) The reputation of White House spin doctors for obsessively manipulating President George W Bush's image came under the spotlight again yesterday when it emerged that the turkey he appeared to be serving to troops in Baghdad was not for eating. The homely photograph of a smiling Mr Bush apparently proffering a platter with a huge, succulent turkey to American soldiers on Thanksgiving has been widely seen as one of the key images of his presidency. Since the secretly planned trip to Baghdad his ratings have soared and Democrats have fumed. Four days after his return the National Annenberg Election Survey put his job approval rating at 61 per cent, a colossal figure for this stage of a presidency, up by five percentage points. But yesterday it emerged that the Bush turkey, images of which were published round the world, had been a "model" adorning the end of the buffet line and that soldiers were served their meals from cafeteria steam-trays. White House officials told the Washington Post that they did not know the "trophy" turkey would be there, nor that Mr Bush would pick it up. The incident highlights the obsession of this White House with form over substance, and its reputation as the most image-conscious in American history. Last month the White House had to concede that it made and supplied the banner "Mission Accomplished" that hung behind Mr Bush as he declared, a little prematurely it now seems, an end to major combat. Asked yesterday whether the turkey was genuine, Scott McClellan, Mr Bush's spokesman, made a rare joke by deflecting attention to the White House Christmas tree, due to be unveiled later in the day. "The tree today, as far as I know," he said, "is real" |
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you think they should have had someone standing there carving turkey for i don't kow how many people? would you want to wait for that just to see that your dinner actually came from the bird? the whole thing was dumb, but worrying about the stupid turkey......no thanks. |
Interesting to compare his trip with Senator Clinton's trips to Afghanistan and Iraq at the same time. At least she went outside and talked to the troops and took a look at conditions. |
Imagine that. |
speaking of which, i'm just reading here that the CIA is looking into Eminem lyrics because some unreleased song talks about dead presidents... jeepers |
That almost sounds like an Onion article. |
i just thought it would be a fantastically fun political quagmire the Bush regime would find itself in. Senator Clinton captured by al Qaida and held in Tora Bora. what would they do? If the Secret Service and CIA can't decifer frivilous internet speculation from threatening language then clearly we're fucked in so many other ways. |
Yes, what a movie that would make... Bush fighting his way through the harsh landscape to rescue Clinton... heh... wonder if they'd give her the Jessica Lynch 'hero' tag |
Bush with the infamous "dodgy bird" |
Tora Bora would be reduced to rubble. |