WH Spokesman Jay Carney: on Presidential vacations - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Tweety · 08-13-2011, 08:07 AM

Jay Carney is now the world's biggest defender of Presidential vacations.

Jay Carney’s Changing Positions on Presidential Vacations and Photo Ops

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has been on the defensive lately. Today, he found himself having to defuse criticisms of the president’s 10-day vacation at Martha’s Vineyard and his decision to photograph the returning coffins of SEAL Team Six members despite protests from the slain servicemen’s families.

On the subject of Obama’s vacation in the midst of economic turmoil and ongoing debt problems Carney said, “I don’t think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the President would spend some time with his family,” adding:

There is no such thing as a presidential vacation. The presidency travels with you. [Obama] will be in constant communication and get regular briefings from his national security team as well as his economic team.

On the subject of the president’s photo op—a widely published image of him saluting the fallen warriors—Carney said that

the picture was carefully taken so that it did not show the cases containing remains… The White House routinely releases photos taken by the White House photographers in specific circumstances where it would be inappropriate to include members of the media. In this case, the White House released the photo, in the interests of transparency, so that the American people could have as much insight as possible into this historic and sobering event.

Contrast the two statements with the following one, which addresses the same topics:

Back in July, when they were planning what the President should do during his month-long vacation (as part of their effort to persuade the public that he wasn’t actually on vacation in the generally accepted sense of what vacation means—i.e., having fun and not working), the image-makers hit upon a clever idea. Every week, they decided, they would send the President somewhere … for a day or a day and a half to hold an event of some kind in which he would mix with ‘real Americans.’

Now, I’m not going to feign shock at the fact that this President is using photo ops in an attempt—some might say a cynical attempt—to influence public opinion. It would be news if he weren’t doing just that….

This last statement was part of an article published TIMEMagazine in 2001. The president whose vacation plans and photo ops it was deriding as cynical were George W. Bush. The author of the article was Jay Carney. <END OF ARTICLE>

Gotta love Carney accusing Bush of not wanting to associate with "real Americans" except when he HAS to, as Obama prepares for yet another vacation to Martha's Vineyard. Not that real Americans would want Obama anywhere near them or their towns. But this is just too good.

Tweety · 08-13-2011, 08:20 AM

Forgot this link:

Here's the complete text of the Jay Carney TIME article referred to in my first post.

A Vacationing Bush Works Hard for His Photo Ops
By Jay Carney Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001
A Vacationing Bush Works Hard for His Photo Ops
By Jay Carney

The imagemakers who advise George W. Bush got what they wanted this week: a photograph, taken by the Associated Press and published in seemingly every newspaper in the country, of the President lifting a telephone pole as he "helped maintain" a nature trail in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park.

Back in July, when they were planning what the President should do during his monthlong vacation (as part of their effort to convince the public that he wasn't actually on vacation in the generally accepted sense of what the word means — i.e., having fun and not working), the imagemakers hit upon a clever idea. Every week, they decided, they would send the President somewhere outside Texas for a day or a day and a half to hold an event of some kind in which he would mix with "real Americans." (See TIME's photo-essay "Presidential Days at the Beach.")

The events would have little in common, except for the fact that they would be held far from Washington in the middle of August. But to tie them together and to make it seem as though the President were engaged in some concentrated activity of presidential purpose, they would name the series of trips — together with his downtime at his ranch in Crawford, Texas — the Home to the Heartland tour.

During his first week of vacation, Bush ventured all the way to Waco — about 25 minutes from Crawford — to "help build" a house with Habitat for Humanity. Though Bush spent just about 15 minutes helping, the print media dutifully reported his activity. More important, of course, was the fact that the images of Bush doing a good deed were carried across the nation on television and in photographs. (See TIME's photo-essay "World Leaders on Vacation.")

The same was true of this week's stop in the Rockies. Bush didn't actually help build that trail so much as he posed for the cameras while he simulated the act. While the President also gave a speech at the national park, the imagemakers shrewdly pinpointed the real value of the visit: the newsreels and photographs show the President as a regular guy who cares about the poor and the environment. It was a classic example of that much maligned but ever reliable staple of political activity: the photo op.

Now, I'm not going to feign shock by the fact that Bush is using photo ops in an attempt — some might say a cynical attempt — to influence public opinion. It would be news if he weren't doing that. But it is worth noting that in the same week that Bush ventured to a pristine piece of the country to help maintain a nature trail and tout the money he put in his budget to help restore national parks, the news out of Washington carried a very different message. The Washington Post ran an article about the Bush Administration's likely plan to rescind a Clinton-era Executive Order that forbids road building (and therefore logging) on 60 million acres of public land. And several newspapers published pieces about the Environmental Protection Agency's pending decision on whether to loosen the rules governing toxic emissions from factories, a move heavily favored, not surprisingly, by the industries that would be affected.

The President's most glaring weakness is the public's perception that he is pro-business and anti-environment. Given the high marks he's getting for his overall job performance and deft handling of the stem-cell-research question, some might even say it's his only weakness. The question now is whether a few photo ops will fix the problem — or just make it worse.

08-13-2011, 08:07 AM	#1
Tweety Senior Member Member Join Date: Jan 18, 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 6,266	WH Spokesman Jay Carney: on Presidential vacations Jay Carney is now the world's biggest defender of Presidential vacations. Jay Carney’s Changing Positions on Presidential Vacations and Photo Ops White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has been on the defensive lately. Today, he found himself having to defuse criticisms of the president’s 10-day vacation at Martha’s Vineyard and his decision to photograph the returning coffins of SEAL Team Six members despite protests from the slain servicemen’s families. On the subject of Obama’s vacation in the midst of economic turmoil and ongoing debt problems Carney said, “I don’t think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the President would spend some time with his family,” adding: There is no such thing as a presidential vacation. The presidency travels with you. [Obama] will be in constant communication and get regular briefings from his national security team as well as his economic team. On the subject of the president’s photo op—a widely published image of him saluting the fallen warriors—Carney said that the picture was carefully taken so that it did not show the cases containing remains… The White House routinely releases photos taken by the White House photographers in specific circumstances where it would be inappropriate to include members of the media. In this case, the White House released the photo, in the interests of transparency, so that the American people could have as much insight as possible into this historic and sobering event. Contrast the two statements with the following one, which addresses the same topics: Back in July, when they were planning what the President should do during his month-long vacation (as part of their effort to persuade the public that he wasn’t actually on vacation in the generally accepted sense of what vacation means—i.e., having fun and not working), the image-makers hit upon a clever idea. Every week, they decided, they would send the President somewhere … for a day or a day and a half to hold an event of some kind in which he would mix with ‘real Americans.’ Now, I’m not going to feign shock at the fact that this President is using photo ops in an attempt—some might say a cynical attempt—to influence public opinion. It would be news if he weren’t doing just that…. This last statement was part of an article published TIMEMagazine in 2001. The president whose vacation plans and photo ops it was deriding as cynical were George W. Bush. The author of the article was Jay Carney. <END OF ARTICLE> Gotta love Carney accusing Bush of not wanting to associate with "real Americans" except when he HAS to, as Obama prepares for yet another vacation to Martha's Vineyard. Not that real Americans would want Obama anywhere near them or their towns. But this is just too good. __________________ If it's gay, it ain't marriage.

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08-13-2011, 08:20 AM	#2
Tweety Senior Member Member Join Date: Jan 18, 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 6,266	Forgot this link: Here's the complete text of the Jay Carney TIME article referred to in my first post. A Vacationing Bush Works Hard for His Photo Ops By Jay Carney Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 A Vacationing Bush Works Hard for His Photo Ops By Jay Carney The imagemakers who advise George W. Bush got what they wanted this week: a photograph, taken by the Associated Press and published in seemingly every newspaper in the country, of the President lifting a telephone pole as he "helped maintain" a nature trail in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. Back in July, when they were planning what the President should do during his monthlong vacation (as part of their effort to convince the public that he wasn't actually on vacation in the generally accepted sense of what the word means — i.e., having fun and not working), the imagemakers hit upon a clever idea. Every week, they decided, they would send the President somewhere outside Texas for a day or a day and a half to hold an event of some kind in which he would mix with "real Americans." (See TIME's photo-essay "Presidential Days at the Beach.") The events would have little in common, except for the fact that they would be held far from Washington in the middle of August. But to tie them together and to make it seem as though the President were engaged in some concentrated activity of presidential purpose, they would name the series of trips — together with his downtime at his ranch in Crawford, Texas — the Home to the Heartland tour. During his first week of vacation, Bush ventured all the way to Waco — about 25 minutes from Crawford — to "help build" a house with Habitat for Humanity. Though Bush spent just about 15 minutes helping, the print media dutifully reported his activity. More important, of course, was the fact that the images of Bush doing a good deed were carried across the nation on television and in photographs. (See TIME's photo-essay "World Leaders on Vacation.") The same was true of this week's stop in the Rockies. Bush didn't actually help build that trail so much as he posed for the cameras while he simulated the act. While the President also gave a speech at the national park, the imagemakers shrewdly pinpointed the real value of the visit: the newsreels and photographs show the President as a regular guy who cares about the poor and the environment. It was a classic example of that much maligned but ever reliable staple of political activity: the photo op. Now, I'm not going to feign shock by the fact that Bush is using photo ops in an attempt — some might say a cynical attempt — to influence public opinion. It would be news if he weren't doing that. But it is worth noting that in the same week that Bush ventured to a pristine piece of the country to help maintain a nature trail and tout the money he put in his budget to help restore national parks, the news out of Washington carried a very different message. The Washington Post ran an article about the Bush Administration's likely plan to rescind a Clinton-era Executive Order that forbids road building (and therefore logging) on 60 million acres of public land. And several newspapers published pieces about the Environmental Protection Agency's pending decision on whether to loosen the rules governing toxic emissions from factories, a move heavily favored, not surprisingly, by the industries that would be affected. The President's most glaring weakness is the public's perception that he is pro-business and anti-environment. Given the high marks he's getting for his overall job performance and deft handling of the stem-cell-research question, some might even say it's his only weakness. The question now is whether a few photo ops will fix the problem — or just make it worse.