A Toast! (21)
o FEMA, for getting busted setting up fake press conferences over the California wildfires.
No one had any hard questions for the deputy administrator of FEMA, an agency deeply tarnished by its delayed action after Hurricane Katrina, when he held a news conference Tuesday to talk about the California wildfires.
”Are you happy with FEMA’s response so far?” someone asked.
Indeed, the deputy administrator was. “I am very happy with FEMA’s response so far,” responded Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson Jr.
The news conference looked like a success in the Bush administration’s effort this week to demonstrate it could respond competently to a disaster.
On Friday, however, the agency admitted that the softball questions were posed by FEMA employees, not reporters.
The White House was not happy with FEMA’s response.
FEMA claims that they didn’t intend to bullshit us, it just sort of happened by accident, because they only gave reporters fifteen minutes to get to the press conference. They say they’re very sorry.
The best line in the whole article, though, is this one: “It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House,” said Press Secretary Dana Perino, mentioning three times that it was an “error in judgment.” “It’s not something I would have condoned, and they, I’m sure, will not do it again.” Did you catch that? The White House does not condone the use of fake pressers. They’re totally okay with fake news clips used to mislead the American people, though. They must be, because we’ve caught them doing that on numerous occasions. Right on!
