Scott McClellan, den före detta vita huset-pressekreteraren som gav Bush-administrationen en kalldusch med sin avslöjande bok What Happened (och fick dem att riva loss på den mediala krigsstigen), vittnade inför kongressen nu ikväll. Huvudfrågan gällde “Plamegate”, skandalmålet där CIA-agenten Valerie Plame fick sin täckmantel röjd efter mystiska läckor från Washington.
Har inte sett själva utfrågningen än men här är några utdrag av McClellans inledningsanförade (länkningarna är givetvis tillagda):
“Subsided debates over policy give way to a contest over which side can most effectively manipulate the media narrative to its advantage. It is about power and electorial victory. Government becomes an offshoot of campaigning, rather than the other way around. Vicious atacks, distortions, political manipulation and spin become accepted. Complex issues are reduced to black and white terms, and oversimplified in the context of winners and losers, and how they can effect the next election.”
“Too often the media unwittingly ignores the impact of government of the daily lives of americans, focusing foremost on the Beltway Game, and lionize they who play it most skillfully.”
“There’s no more recent example of this unsavoury side of politics, than the initial reaction from some in Washington to my book. I recieved plenty of criticism for daring to tell the story as I knew it, yet few of my critics try to refute the larger themes and perspectives in the book. Instead of engaging in a reasoned, rational and honest discussion of the issues raised, some start to turn it into a game of gotcha, misrepresenting what I wrote, seeking to descredit me through inaccurate personal attacks on me and my motives. The american people deserve better.”
En hel del tecken på klassiska propagandatekniker. Jag återkommer om det dyker upp mer av intresse.
DISKREPANS 