Public Eye
August 14, 2007 9:56 AM

Picking Bush's Brain

(CBS)
One of the accidental subplots to Karl Rove’s departure yesterday was a question directed to President Bush by CBS White House correspondent Bill Plante at Rove's farewell press event. His question was picked up by a DC media blog and generated many responses. So we asked Bill for his side of the story, which follows.

As the President and Karl Rove walked away from the lectern after their emotional announcement of Rove’s resignation, I yelled a question.

“If he’s so smart, why did you lose Congress?”

The President, as usual, didn’t answer.

That’s OK – he doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to.

But judging by some of the reaction, you’d think I had been shouting obscenities in church!

“Unprofessional;” “Inappropriate;” “Unbecoming;” “Doesn’t show much class;” “you are a total idiot;” “Shill for the liberal Democrats.”

People who sympathize with the President – no matter who the President happens to be – always seem to think it’s impolite to yell questions. Or they argue that the question is inappropriate at the moment. That may sometimes be true, but not [this time].

Rove has been a controversial figure in this administration, the man most often credited or blamed with framing support for the war by politicizing terrorism.

There was no time to frame that question because the event this morning was a statement, not a news conference. So I asked a more direct one. I thought it unlikely that they would answer, but it’s always worth a try.

This isn’t the first time I’ve been blasted for yelling. Twenty or so years ago, I yelled a question at President Reagan as he left the Rose Garden after the annual Teacher of the Year ceremony.

One woman wrote to tell me that I was a guest in the President’s house and ought to be behave as one.

Ten years ago, I asked President Clinton a question which brought a red-faced angry response.

The point is that reporters are not here as guests. We’re here to ask questions.

Why?

Because if we were ever to agree to “behave,” we’d be walking away from our First Amendment role – and then we really would be the shills we’re so often accused of being.
Tags:
Bill Plante ,
Karl Rove ,
George W. Bush
Topics:
4th Estate Debate
Add a Comment See all 32 Comments
by letendre3 August 16, 2007 5:57 PM EDT
Way to go, Bill!!! GEAUX, TIGER!!
Reply to this comment
by August 15, 2007 1:47 PM EDT
Bill Plante proves that at least ONE reporter has the right agenda - get the news and stop worrying about protocol. So many reporters report on an issue but do not ask the proper questions consequently the public gets the wrong answer and this happens much too often.

A few months ago an article referred to Security Contractors from North Carolina whose principal is a friend and contributor to Bush. The reporter dropped the real story on this organization which now unfortunately surfaces in the MERCENARY classification in Iraq. Two of the Blackwater contractors have appeared on TV agreeing they were PAID MERCENARIES and their job was whatever they were paid to do. Iraqi stories by the PEOPLE relate to these same MERCENARIES as being part of the INSURGENTS whom the media portrays as the KILLERS of innocent people. The stories also relate to the SOMARA MOSQUE bombing indicating that the bomber was a paid MERCENARY not an insurgent.

The above issues HAVE NEVER BEEN REPORTED IN THE AMERICAN MEDIA.

Is the 2008 candidate standings being MICRO MANAGED BY THE MEDIA. The people do not believe Kucinich is an underdog even though the media has established he is.

William J Clemons
willclem@grics.net
Reply to this comment
by jj_20031 August 15, 2007 1:38 PM EDT
What a joke. The President hosts a nice gathering, with a detailed script for everyone to follow, and Plante barrels in with a question. Not just a question, but one based on FACT. It was indeed "unprofessional" and "inappropriate". Plante needs to head back to journalism school and retake the course on "Principles of Stenography".

Better yet, Plante should go back and take lessons from his peer at the NYT, Elisabeth Bumiller.

Ms. Bumiller was asked about her recordings of the President's statements in response to scripted questions during the press conference prior to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. She was asked by some unserious person whether the media should have asked original, unscripted, and indeed fact-based questions on the Eve of the invasion. Ms. Bumiller responded thusly,

"I think we were very deferential because in the East Room press conference it's live. It's very intense. It's frightening to stand up there.

I mean think about it, you're standing up on prime time live televsion asking the President of the United States a question and when the country is about to go to war. There was a very serious, somber tone that evening and I think it made, you know, nobody wanted to get into an argument with the president at this serious time."

Mr. Plante, that's real stenography. That's how a journalist behaves.
Reply to this comment
by skeezix06 August 15, 2007 9:05 AM EDT
Thank you for asking the question, Mr. Plante. That's what we really want.

A note to br77rino. There is nothing civil about calling anyone who opposes the Iraq war a traitor. There is nothing civil about cutting off electricity to a room where democrats are trying to hold a meeting in the hope that it will shut off conversation about a topic that you don't like. There is nothing civil about just about anything the republicans did while they held the majority and precious little since they lost it. The republicans became drunk with power and became extremely uncivil.
Reply to this comment
by bitterplane August 14, 2007 11:57 PM EDT
I'm not positive, but it sounds like Bill is bitter that the administration didn't help him out last October when his son John Patrick Plante was arrested for calling in a false bomb threat as well as having a stash of marijuana.

Yes - this comment is just as much inappropriate as Bill's was.
Reply to this comment
by widowlady-2009 August 14, 2007 11:18 PM EDT
They or the pres. got what he dished out...give disrespect & get it back.. great going Bill. You have nohing to be ashamed of.
Reply to this comment
by widowlady-2009 August 14, 2007 11:12 PM EDT

There should be more reporters like Bill...It was bad enough when Rove was "in", but I worry more now, what will he be up to, and not have to answer for it. WOW....
Reply to this comment
by August 14, 2007 9:51 PM EDT
Sure you were disrespectful.To respect that pair would call your judgement into question.Next time write the question and attach it to a brick...OK Maybe not.
Reply to this comment
by marie2233 August 14, 2007 9:02 PM EDT
I can think of many questions I would like to blurt out to Hillary. I have not heard one of them asked during the so-called debates. As far as I'm concerned you acted like a jerk, just looking for attention.
Reply to this comment
by mnorling August 14, 2007 8:06 PM EDT
I thought Reagan was a guest in OUR white house.
Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 August 14, 2007 7:56 PM EDT
What I find blatantly disrespectful is a Presidential Administration that would lie to the American People to declare and sustain a war to steal $billions and $billions of Federal Treasury Funds. I guess the relative civility only applies to the Private Sector Corporations.
Reply to this comment
by bodes123 August 14, 2007 7:51 PM EDT
Sounds to me like jmg560 and One_American share a pillow.

Did it ever occur to either of you genius's that there'd be a fewer Bill Plantes sounding off if "W" would just tell the truth once in a while.

That's not to say that a Pres should be expected to tell the truth "all" the time, but . . . once in a while would be nice!
Reply to this comment
by August 14, 2007 7:48 PM EDT
Sorry, Bill, but this former CBS Newser has to agree with PLANTETHIS. It's the "if you're so smart..." opener that turns it from a pro's query into a schoolyard taunt.
Reply to this comment
by br77rino August 14, 2007 7:37 PM EDT
What an ***. I'm a Republican but open to Democratic ideas from all Democratic candidates. I'm probably a 60/40 Republican in that sense. But blatant disrespect like that shown by this news jerk makes me and those like me a little more Republican, if just for their relative civility.
Reply to this comment
by memekiller August 14, 2007 7:06 PM EDT
I think people are missing the most subversive thing about Plante's question. It's not that it was taunting, but that Plante actually dared to question the conventional wisdom about the supposed brilliance of Bush's brain.

DC will not stand for such a thing.
Reply to this comment
by swift2--2008 August 14, 2007 7:05 PM EDT
You yell questions (and this was a good one) because you've just been forced to see a muppet show with the two BFFs, where nothing of any importance was discussed, and Rove attempted to leave while spinning his resignation. Thank you, Bill, for acting like a reporter.

For the responder who asks, "Well, what answer did you get?" He wasn't going to get an answer on this or any other real question except, "Do you like the big yellow rug in the Oval Office, sir?" So it's better to have a real reporter yell an impertinent question. Let it hang there in mid-air while the audience wonders what the answer might be.

Rove gave an NPR interview just before the November elections. He said they were going to win, and he had the "real numbers." Would a genius be saying that?
Reply to this comment
by plantethis August 14, 2007 6:36 PM EDT
Bill, Nice back-pedaling ...

"There was no time to frame that question because the event this morning was a statement, not a news conference. So I asked a more direct one."

I've got a question for you: What important information did you hope to get with your question?
What newsworthy insight did you think would be the result of your off-the-cuff, shouted, question?
As an experienced White House Correspondent: is that really the best you are capable of?

Or, were you just caught up in the moment, that you won't have Rove to kick around anymore and despite your best efforts couldn't get any accusations to stick and you let your frustrations get the best of you?

Or, did you just revert back to the school boy days of making the other student laugh by blurting things out or making *** noises in the back of the class room?

Reply to this comment
by mattcat25 August 14, 2007 6:33 PM EDT
%u201CThe president's advisor, Karl Rove, announced he's resigning. I was surprised. I didn't think anyone in the White House had an exit strategy.%u201D

-CBS The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Reply to this comment
by jmg560 August 14, 2007 6:24 PM EDT
"I can imagine that Clinton would have gotten red-faced and angrily denied it, putting on a show for the cameras, like only a Democrat, and especially a Clinton, knows how to do.

And I would believe you would have quickly apologized and changed the subject, Bill.
Posted by One_American"

Did you even bother to research this and find out if it really happened, or did you just make it all up to fit your point?

What a tool.
Reply to this comment
by jmg560 August 14, 2007 6:19 PM EDT
"The best thing that Karl Rove ever did was to expose liberals for the lying, hypocritical, vengeful, spiteful, partisan fools that they are, and to halt the advance of the liberal / socialist / communist agenda.

I say, great job Karl. Now America sees liberals for who they really are.

Posted by One_American"

Utterly laughable. So much love in your post.
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