Yesterday’s White House press briefing, the first in a while, featured a lot of the usual back-and-forth and evasiveness. But there was also a real gem in there that says a great deal about how the Bush gang perceives public debate.
McClellan responded to a couple of questions about the citizens removed from a public presidential event because a Republican didn’t like one of their bumper stickers. He said he wasn’t familiar with “all the specific circumstances” of the case, but insisted that White House officials “welcome a diversity of views at the events.”
This, in and of itself, may be among the most hilarious things McClellan has ever said. He managed to make the remark with a straight face, for which he deserves a lot of credit. And yet, the briefing managed to get even better.
Unidentified reporter: Are you concerned that the President is not hearing a lot of different viewpoints in these conversations?
McClellan: I think the President hears a lot of different viewpoints every day, when we follow the news. I mean, there’s plenty of viewpoints being expressed on this issue.
Again, there was no indication McClellan was kidding.
It’s really a breathtaking perspective when you consider this in the big picture. The only “regular Americans” the president talks to are pre-screened sycophants, many of whom literally have to go through rehearsals before their town-hall meetings. To offset this unanimity, Bush is exposed to “different viewpoints” through the news, which, by the president’s own admission, he doesn’t follow.
In other words, Bush “hears a lot of different viewpoints every day” from identical groups of people, all of whom agree with each other and every word out of Bush’s mouth. And McClellan’s vehicle for competing ideas — the national media — is the very outlet the president intentionally ignores.
I suppose it’s possible for a White House to have less respect for diversity of thought, but it’s hard to imagine how.