Protecting The President's Image
White House correspondents are well aware of and often report on administration efforts to show President Bush in a positive light. But a lawsuit filed for two people who were arrested after refusing to cover their anti-Bush T-shirts at a 2004 Fourth of July event in Charleston, West Virginia revealed the full extent of White House techniques to protect the presidential image.
The case led to the release of a 2002 "Presidential Advance Manual." The document stamped "sensitive" instructs staffers on how to deter and respond to protesters. The process starts with careful ticketing of audiences. Local Republican politicians and supportive groups are often asked to distribute tickets. The manual describes advance ticketing as "the best method for preventing demonstrators." Planners are told to place "extremely supportive" people closest to the stage.
The manual also calls for "rally squads" of Bush loyalists to shout down protesters with chants of "USA USA" and to use signs and banners to block news cameras from seeing any anti-Bush placards.
The process usually works. President Bush rarely acknowledges any hecklers or protesters who make it past his advance team's efforts.
The West Virginia case ended when the two people who were arrested settled their First Amendment case after the federal government agreed to pay $80,000. A White House spokesman insisted the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing. Local authorities had already dropped trespassing charges and apologized to the couple.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the couple, described the outcome as a victory for the First Amendment.
In his 2004 Independence Day speech, the president said, "Freedom has the power to change the world."