The Truth on Government Spin

(CBS)  Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano is getting hammered because her first response to the "Undie-bomber" fiasco was that "the system worked."

We shouldn't have been surprised. Sure, she looks a little silly now that the facts are dribbling out. But she was just following the modern bipartisan, public relations template in this age of information management.

First, play down the problem. Second, emphasize what did not go wrong, assure us that those in charge are "investigating," and most important; emphasize no one in any position of responsibility is at fault.

It's not lying, but it's not exactly the whole truth - certainly not the whole story. All she left out was that part about asking us to respect the privacy of those involved.

[Oh, I'm sorry. I got the government spin mixed up with the Tiger spin.]

Here is the difference: Tiger can hire as many people as he wants to make his excuses. It may do him no good, but it's his money to spend as he wishes.

When government officials insult us with spin, they are doing it on our dime, which is supposed to be used to operate the government, not to hold news conferences to tell us what a fine job people on the public payroll are doing.

As we learned during Katrina, self-serving spin at the first sign of crisis does not help the situation; it makes it worse, because it makes it harder to believe anything the government says.

Real security is built on trust in the government. That requires truth, which should be the beginning of government presentations, not the fallback position.

[mnbrant]

by spin, I suppose you mean bald faced lies?

[AttentionDeficit]

Politics is the art of theatre. Of course they are bald faced lies. Those telling those lied are protected, too.

[noloyalisti]

Congress does not have a liberal and progressive viewpoint, otherwise they would have helped stop the occupations for corporation profits. They would go along with what helps the largest number of people such as radical health care reform and bailout for poor, middle and working class people.

And it is NOT the government in charge, they are wholly owned subsidiary of the big corporations: that is the essence of fascism.

[quapawsix]

Wow got everyone's attention that is what the Ministry of Homeland Security wanted this means the show will go on and we will keep wasting time effort and money on this joke.

[fedup12]

We dont call them Ministry's here they are departments. Where you from?

[jayescas]

America is an incompetent fool. It is beyond my immagination how Homeland Security, FBI, CIA did not follow leads provided by the alleged bombers father and M15. To now classify Nigeria a terrorist nation - a country without any previous record of terrorism, just because of the action of one individual who happeneed to hold a Nigerian Passport but lived most of his life in the western world, makes no sense.

I am Nigerian-British with a christain Mother and a muslim father who were happily married for 45years.

I share my life with a jewish man, i have no time for formal religion as i have seen the good and bad.....However, I am now been penalised for the action of one individual.

[noloyalisti]

Yes, why don't they classify the United States as a terrorist nation? We are doing terrorist acts on a daily basis as part of our brutal military occupations? We have lots of religious terrorists in the Midwest and south like the Operation Rescue folks. And look at the military contractors like Blackwater, etc. and their heinous terrorist acts abroad. And don't forget the financial terrorists like the banksters operating here and the economic hit men and jackals of the CIA.

[NotPartyControlled]

It is government after all and the media that publishes the spin.

[noloyalisti]

This is the thing. In fascist countries like America, the government and the corporations (including the media) are one and the same. So it makes no sense to blame one or the other.

When you have endless wars for oil, banksters running the economy and a government fighting about radical health care reform that over 2/3 of the people want, you know who is in charge: big corporations.

[ILModhome]

noloyalisti - I find it interesting that you refer to the US as a fascist country, considering the congress that is in charge is trying for sweeping reform and has a very liberal viewpoint, (exactly the opposite of a fascist government - def. - a member of a fascist movement or party - a person who is dictatorial or has extreme right-wing views, note RIGHT-WING or conservative view) and since the government here is so bad, what type of government would you recommend? What country has a government that you can support? And by the way, 2/3 of the people do not want the health care reform, it is more like half or less, polls are running about 47%, and if you don't believe those, the talk to people, most of the people I have talked to (those who have jobs and have to pay for their own health insurance) don't want it because it is going to mean higher rates for them. And if you really want to know what health care will be like under universal coverage, go to a country that has it like England or Canada, but a word to the wise, don't get sick or injured....

[earlysaid]

Well said noloyalisti. I believe that President Obama and his administration are trying to take the country back from corporations. It may be small and it may not work in the long run, but my hope is that this President will do a very good job for us.

[sjc_1]

Bush ignored the Army Corp when they told him it would cost $14 billion to fix the levies and the outer islands to prevent a disaster. Bushes team ignored the simulation that occurred one year before Katrina. It is not like he and his administration did not know, they just did not care.

[fedup12]

Pretty much. They were so focused overseas that they could not see what was going on right in front of their faces.

[geminispyder-2009]

This is funny. The media, especially CBS, calling out the government on spin.

"First, play down the problem. Second, emphasize what did not go wrong, assure us that those in charge are "investigating," and most important; emphasize no one in any position of responsibility is at fault."

Let's change the wording for media spin--

First, play up the problem. Second, emphasize what did go wrong, assure us that those in the media are "investigating," (by checking twitter and the tablioids) and most important; emphasize no one in the media has any bias whatsoever.

[ProgressiveThinking]

well said.

[Freedomforever88]

The press and the citzens need to start questioning all gov't officials. Do not accept packaged PC responses. Do it before the gov't takes away our right to question.

[Harden_Tar]

What I see as the problem here is that while administrations come and go, Dems and Repubs both, there are a core group of people that remain in Washington as advisors and consultants who are hired by whoever is in charge to get them going initially, and then to make that the public perception stays favorable. THESE are the weenies that need to be taken to task. They coach this crap. They are the true spin meisters.

[CBSisCommunist2]

Too little too late