A ‘bull-horn moment’?

April 17, 2007

Digby noted that CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux told viewers this morning that Bush’s yet-to-be-delivered comments today at Virginia Tech are comparable to the president’s remarks at Ground Zero, a few days after 9/11.:

“You may recall that what was called the ‘bull-horn moment’ when the president shortly after 9/11 stood on that pile of rubble and called out and really united the country at that moment, firefighters and others who recognized that that was a very significant moment for the country,” Malveaux said. “This is again one of those moments.”

Is it really? Consider Digby’s take.

I think it’s appropriate for the president to appear there today, it’s in nearby Virginia, and it’s a national tragedy. But the only slightly political dimension you can find in this is guns, which have been taken off the table as a political issue, (although gun owners have achieved their agenda so thoroughly that they now seem to be lobbying to actually require people to be armed at all times and shoot first and ask questions later.) I suppose that there will undoubtedly be some immigrant bashing too.

But from what we know now, we seem to be dealing with a crazy man and there’s nothing the president can say about that or do about that other than speak for the people as its leader and express our sorrow. For Malveaux to evoke Bush’s famous bullhorn moment is fluffing of the highest order. (She seems to have developed some sort of Stockholm Syndrome lately, so it’s not surprising.)

I don’t have any problem with the president attending services today at Virginia Tech. It seems entirely, unquestionably appropriate. Indeed, it would appear that the White House has learned a valuable lesson after Bush avoided New Orleans after Katrina.

But can we wait until we actually hear the president’s remarks before praising their historic significance?

Isn’t “bull-horn” a typo?

  • It’s good to see Suzanne has found another way to suck up to the WH after doing its bidding on the whole Pelosi fiasco.

  • “We never lost our head while too much of the media gave head” – Editor of the Nation magazine.

    Malveaux, we’re talking about you.

  • Isn’t the significance of the “bull horn moment” diminished by the fact that we still haven’t captured or killed bin Laden? Bush ad libbed, “the people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.” Well the person responsible for the attacks is still making videos, tapes and walking around a free man 5 and a half years later. The bullhorn moment, much like everything Bush, was a fraud.

  • CBR

    A rare moment I disagree with you. Bush could have done something in the aftermath of Katrina, and that made it appropriate for him to visit, although, of course, he didn’t do a damn thing. In this case, what’s done is done. Does he really think he can lead the healing? He’s a cold, calculating mongrel, not a Bill Clinton. And how can speak of suffering here when he’s done so much to bring it to Iraq? I just don’t see the point or the propriety.

    That said, I’m hoping he holds up a copy of “The Secret” and says, “You brought this on yourselves. You weren’t thinking strongly enough about not being shot.”

  • 32 are killed in a murderous rampage in Virginia. A truly shocking and tragic day in our nation.

    When 32 are killed in horrendous spasms of violence in Iraq, what is it called? Monday.

  • While I think it’s appropriate for President Bush to go, I try to keep it in mind that when Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, it was so much shorter and less melodramatic than the other speeches given there that day of rememberance that it was hardly what you’d call a bullhorn moment. No, it was merely the greatest piece of American political rhetoric ever given, but not a bullhorn moment.

  • Suzie came from newschannel C-N-N
    Kissed up the White House time and time again. . .

    (thanks, Ohioan, now I’ll have Lou Reed stuck in my, um, head all day!)

  • There will be no more such moments for George W Bush because he has spent all of his capitol, both financial and political, and in addition, he has maxed out our credit cards. Nobody believes him anymore, and Ms. Malvaux should understand that he has proven to most of us that he is completely unreliable.

    He had better not try to turn this tragedy into some grandstanding political moment. That dog won’t hunt anymore. We all know he is naked and we are very sick of his attempted dog and pony show. ( I must be in the Stephen Colbert’s metaphor race.)

  • I bet the “Bull” part is accurate. What could he possibly say? “I hereby declare matial law and as every true American to turn in every America hating islamofacistliberaldemocrat you live and work with? And by turn in I mean call the thought police and have them arrested. But arrested I mean taken to prison and loced in a cell. Of course when I say locked I mean they cannot get out unless we let them out. Praise the lord pass the biscuts!”

    I, for one, expect nothing so he is bound to “wow” me.

  • A friend just alerted me to this blog entry from WaPo. Thought you might be interested in it.

    Articles of Impeachment To Be Filed On Cheney

    Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the most liberal of the Democratic presidential candidates in the primary field, declared in a letter sent to his Democratic House colleagues this morning that he plans to file articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.

    …

    Here is the text of his letter, a copy of which was forwarded to the Sleuth:

    April 17, 2007

    Dear Colleague:

    This week I intend to introduce Articles of Impeachment with respect to the conduct of Vice President Cheney. Please have your staff contact my office . . . if you would like to receive a confidential copy of the document prior to its introduction in the House.

    Sincerely,

    /s/

    Dennis J. Kucinich

    Member of Congress

    If true, it’s about goddamned time. If not, maybe next time.

  • My only question that will be answered when I see Bush on TV is if this President will REQUIRE a pre-written address for the students, faculty and families of VT.

    After watching Bush on TV yesterday (the day of this tragedy), I was amazed that Bush would actually require a styatement as he had written for him. Not only was this poorly written and no heart felt condolence from this president, but he couldn’t make it tthrough without mis-reading and stumbling throught this address.

    The President is the supposed leader of this country and for once, it would be a nice change on such an emotional day for this country to just speak to the country from his heart and not a pre-written document that some writer was paid to do for him.

    I’m just amazed at the lack of care and emotion he shows by his address. He can show up to VT and make himself visible at the service for those that passed in this horrendous crime, but it really would be nice to once in his Presidency, to speak from his heart to the people and not a pre-written document that seems to have a vocabulary higher than what Bush can comprehend, let alone recite! I just think it’s a disgrace to listen and watch him struggle through such items that we all know he did not write.

  • I suppose Malveaux was impressed that Bush isn’t just going to fly over the campus and view the carnage from the air, like he did back after Katrina hit.

    Stephen Colbert will need to update his speech from the WH correspondent’s dinner … or maybe I’l help him out …

    “I stand by this man. I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things. Things like aircraft carriers, and rubble, and recently flooded city squares and college campuses that are scenes of horrific mass shootings. And that sends a strong message: that no matter what happens to America, she will always rebound—with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world.”

  • I watched his “bullhorn moment” moments ago. He was okay. But I’ve watched Bush for a long time, and I really do think I saw a glimpse of a try at a bullhorn moment. But, to his credit, he didn’t push it.

    Doesn’t matter. Those students are so much bigger than Bush on any day. Bush was overshadowed by reality.

    But, I couldn’t help thinking: “If we fight them there, we won’t have to fight them here.”

  • I heard Malveaux live and my first impression was:” She sure does love Bush. She always admires this loser like he can still do no wrong and has the ability to make things right. As Greenwald points out, a lot of the problems Bush has brought us is tbecause reporters don’t report no more; they take Dictation from the WH

    Well, at least we know now that the President can attend the funerals of “ordinary citizens”. When will Bush attend a funeral of one of our dead heroes who was also an ordinary citizen, or any soldiers funeral at all.

  • I watched the President’s comments today. I cannot say that his going and speaking was appropriate or inappropriate – he has used a bloody pulpit of tragedy so many times to further his own goals rather than bind up the nation’s wounds that at this point we’re all rather numb. The parallels to the horrific deaths yesterday and the deaths everyday in Iraq as tragic and senseless are hard to ignore. My sense is that little if anything other than a meaningless photo-op for a failed Presidency will ever come of this.

    In many ways tragic.

  • It is right for the President to appear at VT but his comments in any setting have become irrelevant so long as he is the one speaking.

  • Maybe if we all had bullhorns, the president might finally be able to hear us.

    On second thought…

    Naaah…

  • Why didn’t he decry the fact that the kid who was responsible for this was a fundametal Christo-terrorist???? According to theChicago Tribune, he left a note that sure makes him sound like he might be a Fundie.

    A note believed to have been written by Cho was found in his dorm room that railed against “rich kids,” “debauchery” and “deceitful charlatans” on campus, the Chicago Tribune said.

  • A plug for CNN:

    I’ve watched CNN off and on all day, and usually keep an eye on it most days. I’m a news junkie and also worked with the network in the “early days.”

    I was impressed with Heidi Collins reporting from Virginia Tech. Even at the anchor desk, she seems (to me) to try to be professional. From the VT remote, she was unusually sensitive and insightful. Good job!

    Also, John Roberts, broadcasting onsite, was unusually sensitive. In fact, he tried to hold back some very sincere tears, based on a personal connection with the school.

    What had him breaking up is the same thing that bothers me so much about the incident. When you send your kids off to school — kindergarten to grad school — you always worry about them. In cars, especially, or at parties. You just don’t include mass killers on campus in your list worries.

    College campuses after such tragedies are where youthful bravado is exposed as mostly empty. They want their mommies then. And they should. But acts of great courage appear as well. It’s a place to do some growing up, and it’s a shame 33 have no more chance to do so.

  • Bullhorn. How about BULLSHIT, which is what this moron has gotten by on his enite life. BTW, I wonder if Suzanne Malveaux has a stained blue dress somewhere at her place since her on air panderings to Bush and his misadministration are nothing more than journalistic blow jobs.

  • Magicians should not over use an old trick. The audience now sees the strings and wires and Bush’s stuffed rabbit is threadbare from being pulled out of his war on terror hat so many many times.
    Once we’ve seen the little man behind the curtain, it’s hard to listen to anything he says.

  • I actually found Bush’s speech more moving and appropriate than Tim Kaine’s. It was more focussed on consoling the grieving community. Who ever wrote that speech must be the only one in this WH who is actually working.

  • Kaine was straight off the plane, after a 14+hr trip back from Tokyo, after a 14+hr trip to Tokyo, which he took on Sunday. I’m surprised he was coherent at all..

  • I thought Kaine spoke more from the heart, whereas Bush read a really nice speech someone wrote for him.

    As a Va Tech grad myself, I think it was more than appropriate for W to come to campus and offer his support. I do not like the man or agree with, well, anything he says, but he is the president and this was a global tragedy. Tim Kaine said it best [from Tokyo on Monday] “my job is to do whatever I can for the people of Virginia. If that means flying back to be with them and grieve with them, then that’s where I belong.” I’m paraphrasing, but you get the idea. Tim Kaine is a class act.

    The shootings will be what Virginia Tech is remembered for forever. [What’s the first thing you think of when you hear “Kent State?”] But I hope people will also remember the clear voices of the students, clad in maroon and orange and thrust into the global spotlight, who spoke so well about the tragedy, their anguish and their school.

    BTW: #8 – WTF?

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