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Ari Has Left the Building
May 23, 2003
BOB GARFIELD:
From WNYC in New York this is NPR's On the Media. I'm Bob Garfield.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
And I'm Brooke Gladstone. Ari Fleischer, probably the least liked White House
spokesman since the late Ron Ziegler, announced his resignation this week, and
like Ziegler who was Nixon's mouthpiece, Fleischer has served a president who
famously loathes the press. Also, like Ziegler, Fleischer is notorious for fabrication,
misdirection and bullying from the podium. Slate columnist Tim Noah has closely
followed Fleischer's tenure, and he joins me now from Washington. Tim, welcome
back to the show.
TIM NOAH:
Thank you!
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
First could you take us through some of Fleischer's signature techniques? You've
made a study of what you call his "whoppers." Did they follow a pattern?
TIM NOAH:
There's one particular kind of Fleischer whopper that I, I find particularly
impressive. That's when you get caught in a lie, and several months later you
repeat the lie without the slightest bit of shame. And that came up when he
was at a press conference and was asked why the president was suddenly in favor
of nation building.
ARI FLEISCHER:
During the campaign the president did not express, as you put it, disdain for
nation building. What the president, what the president said is the military
should be used for the purpose of fighting and winning wars, exactly as we did
in Afghanistan. And then there are other areas of the government that actively
are involved, should be involved and will be involved in nation building!
TIM NOAH:
He bluffed, saying that Bush was only against nation building when it was done
by the military, and that turned out not to be true -- Bush had said in one
of [LAUGHS] the presidential debates that he was against nation building by
the military and by civilian authorities. Fleischer said this completely deadpan;
got called on it; and then several months later repeated it completely deadpan
once again!
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
Hm! You know oddly enough what's been cited as one of Fleischer's most recent
whoppers --that about the president's costly photo op helicopter landing on
an aircraft carrier --you defend! Now Fleischer said the landing was necessary
because the carrier was going to be hundreds of miles away when in reality it
was only maybe a few dozen miles away, but you say it's all right!
TIM NOAH:
He was accused of lying, but in this case I believe his explanation! He said
that yes, when I told you, the press, that it was hundreds of miles offshore
- it was. Then by the time the event actually took place it was only 30 miles
off shore. This was pointed out that day to the president -- I'm paraphrasing
here -- and -- but he was so wedded to the idea of flying the plane that he
said let's do it anyway.
Now it seems to me that if that were a lie, it wouldn't be a very clever lie
because it basically cedes the larger point that the press was trying to make
which was that this photo op was going to cost taxpayers unnecessary money!
And it also switches blame from himself - Fleischer - to his boss - the president,
which is something a press secretary is never supposed to do.
And I think this is a sign maybe that Fleischer is losing his touch. He started
to blurt out the truth, and maybe he figures that that means it's time to go.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
And this inadvertent truth-telling happened more than once too. One of Fleischer's
remarks which he has since admitted that he does regret I think has to do with
inadvertent truth-telling. This is the one in which he said, regarding the cost
of war in Iraq that it would be more cost-effective to dispatch Saddam with
a single bullet. This is an impalatable assertion, but a direct one that we
could easily imagine Donald Rumsfeld making.
[LAUGHTER]
ARI FLEISCHER:
Again, the president has not made any decisions about what military option he
might pursue. I can only say that-- the cost of a one-way ticket is substantially
less than that. Cost of one bullet if the Iraqi people take it on themselves
is substantially less than that. The cost of war is more than that.
TIM NOAH:
That was impolitic but obviously reflected the thoughts of the administration
and I think probably lots of people in the United States as well. It was very
bad manners, however.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
What would you say was Ari Fleischer's signature moment at the podium?
TIM NOAH:
I think it was when he said that people better watch what they say. I'm not
sure if those are the precise words, but this was after the comedian, Bill Maher,
had on his television show, Politically Incorrect, said that he didn't think
that the 9/11 attackers were accurately described as cowardly, as the president
had said. He pointed out that cowardice and evil are not the same things.
It's a point I actually quite agree with and had written myself before, but
it seemed to really raise Fleischer's hackles, and he said people better watch
what they say -- which was really pretty creepy!
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
You know it seems to me that relates to what is actually one of my favorite
Fleischer techniques which is to take moral umbrage at an inconvenient question.
In this clip a reporter is asking whether the White House is horse trading with
nations to get support for the war in Iraq, and what he says here is that -
well, that question suggests that nations are buyable!
ARI FLEISCHER:
Think about the implications of what you're saying! You're saying that the leaders
of other nations are buyable, and that is not an acceptable proposition.
[LAUGHTER]
Thank you.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
The first time he's laughed off the stage. What do you think about-- that answer?
TIM NOAH:
That's definitely a signature of the Bush administration - to sort of portray
the press as this alien group that has no morals, no ethics, and is given to
asking questions that no decent person would ever raise.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
Are you familiar with Russell Mokhiber?
TIM NOAH:
Yes, I am. He works for a, a newsletter, I believe, that focuses on corporate
crime, and he is constantly asking Fleischer questions that betray a somewhat
leftist anti-business sensibility, and this is deeply, deeply offensive to--
to Fleischer.
[LAUGHTER]
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
[LAUGHS] Like a mosquito buzzing around Ari Fleischer's head.
[LAUGHTER]
He says-- why do you hire war criminals for your administration -- vis-a-vis
Kissinger --why do you hire convicted felons -- Elliot Abrams - and, and he'll
just keep peppering him with these same questions. My impression is Mokhiber
was just waiting for Ari's head to literally explode.
TIM NOAH:
[LAUGHS] Well I, I guess he's robbing him of that opportunity by quitting now.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
Tim, thank you very much.
TIM NOAH:
Thank you.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
Tim Noah writes the Chatterbox column for Slate.com.
copyright 2003 WNYC Radio
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