A few of those in today's Spin:
A former farm lobbyist will become California's top pesticide regulator, despite complaints from environmentalists. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Mary-Ann Warmerdam, who worked for the California Farm Bureau Federation from 1981 to 2001, to head the state's Department of Pesticide. Warmerdam currently is a lobbyist for Pacific Gas & Electric. The Los Angeles Times reports that in August nine environmental groups wrote Schwarenegger questioning the appointment to top pesticide regulator of someone who worked two decades for "an organization that has a long tradition in California of fighting efforts to protect public health and the environment from pesticide use."
Of course, this is nothing new. It's common practice. Check out the EPA some time.
If you've been reading YWA for any length of time, you know how little stock I put in the polls. Here's one reason why...
"Something has methodologically gone awry when polls are swinging about this wildly," writes David Price, about presidential campaign polling. "We Americans simply don't answer our phones like we used to." Because of caller ID and cell phones, "those profiled as being most prone to answering phone surveys tend to be: (more) White, (more) older, and (more) male." The Wall Street Journal reports that how likely (as opposed to registered) voters are identified may also skew results. "Those models tend to [tilt to] a little older, a little more white, a little more affluent and a little more Republican voters," said GOP pollster Bill McInturff.
SOURCE: CounterPunch, September 20, 2004
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's PR firm, Creative Response Concepts, "used right-wing blogs and news sites to turn a CBS report casting doubt on President George W. Bush's National Guard service into a potential black eye for both the network and the Democrats." CRC client Cybercast News Service "called typographical experts, got them on the record that these papers were fishy, and posted a story"; "immediately" contacted Matt Drudge; and worked with the Media Research Center "to push the story into the mainstream press." The Los Angeles Times reports that the first forgery charge "did not come from an expert in typography," but from "an Atlanta lawyer with strong ties to conservative Republican causes."
I suppose it's possible that the Rove Machine took a page from the Chalabi affair and actually passed the documents to CBS themselves, and then sat back and watched, knowing they would discredit the whole affair. Nothing is out of bounds for Rove. Just saying. And it's kind of funny that the Swift Boat Veterans have been clearly connected to the Bush campaign, while rabidly trying to connect the CBS memo fiasco to the Kerry campaign. Just saying. And how they knew to so very, very quickly get some typewriter experts on the case - to zero in on that aspect of it immediately. Juuuuust saying.
"The U.S. government is soliciting proposals for an 'aggressive' and comprehensive PR and advertising push in Iraq to convey military and diplomatic goals to Iraqis and gain their support." The contract will be with the Multi National Corps-Iraq; British PR firm Bell Pottinger did similar work for MNC-I's predecessor, the Coalition Provisional Authority. The campaign will include "outreach to various segments of Iraqi society" and setting up a "Rebuttal Cell," to "immediately and effectively" challenge "reports that unfairly target the Coalition or Coalition interests." The PR plan contrasts with news of a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate that "spells out a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq."
SOURCE: O'Dwyer's PR Daily (sub. req'd.), September 16, 2004
Now that is exactly where American self-centered ignorance comes into play. They think that Iraqis, who are being bombed from U.S. planes and mowed down by U.S. helicopter gunships on a daily basis, are susceptible to PR campaigns, just like Americans who watch way too much TV. We just have to get the word out that bombing them is good for them. Then they'll support it. No wonder we're "losing".
But, it works well here. Therefore...
George Bush "has succeeded in making more Americans see the war in Iraq as part of the broader war on terrorism," reports the Wall Street Journal. Republican pollster Bill McInturff agrees: "The Bush campaign has worked hard, really hard, for months, to make terrorism and security the issue of the election, and as usual, they've done it with enormous discipline." The plan, says McInturff, is "moving people off of stuff that's disadvantageous to Bush." Kerry could undercut Bush's backing by offering a different approach to Iraq, but, says McInturff, "so far the Kerry answer to that is not compelling."
...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.
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