It depends on what the meaning of ‘ethical standard’ is

June 17, 2006

[tag]Karl Rove[/tag]’s role in the [tag]Plame[/tag] scandal seemed to fade pretty quickly after it became apparent that he wouldn’t get indicted, but to their credit, at least a couple of [tag]White House[/tag] reporters are following up with some reasonable questions. From [tag]Tony Snow[/tag]’s most recent briefing:

Q: Let me ask a general question then. In 2000, the President said it wasn’t enough to simply not be indicted in the White House, that he had a higher ethical standard. Is that, in fact, still the ethical standard —

Snow: Yes.

Q: — or, in fact, should we interpret from his comments yesterday that as long as you’re not indicted, everything is fine?

Snow: Apparently, you’ve indicted Karl.

Q: No, I’m asking a question.

Snow: And yes, the answer is, the ethical standard still applies.

Q: And what is the [tag]ethical standard[/tag]?

Snow: You tell me.

“You tell me“? Reporters should tell the White House about the president’s ethical standards?

Shortly after this, Snow explained that Bush expects White House officials to “serve honorably.” Asked directly by a reporter whether Rove has served honorably, Snow said, “Like I said, don’t try to get me to bite on it because I’m not going to do it.”

That’s not much of an answer. Should we take it as a “no”?

Now you see why I call him Tony Blowjobber, er, Snowjobber, er – snowjobbingblowjobber?????

  • “And what is the ethical standard?”

    This is the question that republicans cannot answer.
    Drill it home in 06.

  • ……….
    but then again, if Dems are going to ask the ethics question , they need to
    know the answer themselves.

  • After watching and reading Tony Snow for a couple of weeks it’s becoming clear that his job is less about being the presidents spokesperson and more about the wit and snark of Tony Snow. He’s says even less of substance then Scott McClellan; I didn’t think that was possible.

  • Tony Snow is doing a terrible job. The press secretary is not supposed to be making news. His remarks and his trying to ask instead of answer questions show a real contempt for the press–which reflects the view of his masters. Wonder how that “having a seat at the table” has worked out.

  • Good point Kali, but lets not turn the focus away from this topic just yet….

    The Facsist party, sorry, the Republican Regime, oops, sorry again, The Republican Party seems to have adopted the “just contradict everything” stance. It looks as if they have stolen a routine from Stephan Colbert!! or is it a Monty Python skit? or maybe Homer Simpson not not licking toads, or was it The Monkees battling a “not what ” but “nit-wit” computer????

    For decades now the corporate machine has conditioned us to accept these absudities. It all depends on what the definition of “is” is, doesn’t it?

    The more confused the electorate, the easier it is to manipulate them.
    The intentional underfunding of public education has come to fruition.

  • I think the Dems should take that clip ending in “You tell me” and use it in commercials to tell the story of the culture of corruption. At the end, the v.o. announcer should ask, “Had enough” and let Tony answer by replaying the snarky “You tell me.”

  • Go Frak! That’s exactly what the Dems should be doing. Let’s not hold our collective breath.

  • The standard is that lying, cheating, obstructing, stonewalling, and obfuscating are ok if you win.

  • “Why does Rove still has his security clearance?” really should be the question the press and opposition demand an answer to. Not just ask, but demand an answer. I don’t see the downside in hammering on the point that allowing a political operative who has shown a willingness to reveal state secrets for political gain to keep his security clearance is a big big national security problem.

    I like the image of Frak’s “you tell me” tape loop. It would be good to have something where “serves honorably” melds into “serves loyally” since this is what Snow really means.

  • I back Frak. Meanwhile the Dems seem to have exhausted their collective campaining wisdom with (yawn) “New Direction for America” (yawn, yaaaawwwn).

    You sure we can’t get someone to give the Shrub a blowjob?

  • Let’s see. Tony Snow seems to have a novel strategy:
    When asked a question about the President seeking a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, his answer attempts to equate this effort with the civil rights movement. When called on it, he demands that the reporter define “civil rights” for him before he will explain how in the world he can make that equation.

    He declares the White House does, indeed, have a “higher ethical standard” for those serviing in the current administration (higher standard than what, God only knows – maybe it’s simply higher than Neil Bush’s standards), But when he is asked to be more specific as to what that standard is and how it relates to Karl Rove, he demands the reporter tell him.

    I can’t wait for him to roll out the well-tested and time-honored “I know you are, but what am I?” repost on a regular basis.

    PS: LOVE Frak’s idea!

  • Let us not forget what this is all about — the lying and manufacturing of intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq — and how the Republicans have blocked every effort to help bring it to light. Now we are hearing the refrain from both sides of the punditry that this Rove deal was no big thing. Don’t let the “resolution” of one more side issue dampen the need to get to the bottom of the big question by creating more smoke. This could have been the intention of the Republicans all along. They are masters at throwing the hounds off the scent.

  • Dear Tony,

    I’d like to request one autographed photo of the snap the press takes when you bite on it.

    I’d be willing to pay a bit too. I suppose the price you set depends upon your ethical standards. You tell me what they’re worth (your standards, not the photo – that’ll be “priceless”).

    Yours,

    Glen

  • If they ever remake “The Wizard of Oz,” Snowflake can play the Lion…or maybe a Flying Monkey. Come to think of it, the whole administration comes across as a herd of flying monkeys—all flap; no zap….

  • Steve – “the whole administration comes across as a herd of flying monkeys…”

    good description. We all know what monkeys are good at flinging

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