Interesting how this works in the Bush White House

Two interesting headlines that provide interesting fodder for conspiracy theorist types from the middle through the left wing of the American political spectrum. Control of the news cycle for political purposes is one theme in this duality. Consider first, an article (admittedly in The Globe and Mail from Canada) that notes how the less-than-stellar recent economic numbers in the US may be causing the happy Republican message to resonate less clearly: U.S. economy sideswipes Bush. A snip:

Washington — The U.S. economy delivered a blow to President George W. Bush's re-election effort yesterday, as job creation fell well below expectations after a week of surging oil prices and a stock-market slide.

Mr. Bush has repeatedly said while campaigning that economic growth is "strong and getting stronger," but the U.S. Labour Department reported that only 32,000 new jobs were created in July, the lowest monthly total since last December. Economists last month predicted the figure would be more than seven times as high.

That story, of course, comes from the Labour department release of information. But consider it in apposition to a story generated from a release by the White House's Homeland Security organization covered in this ABC News Online story: Al Qaeda seeking to launch new US attacks: Bush aide. The snip here:

Al Qaeda militants are hoping to launch a major attack in the United States that will be even deadlier and more spectacular than the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, a top White House adviser said today.

"They want something bigger than 9/11, they want a catastrophic attack," Frances Townsend, US President George W Bush's homeland security adviser, told the Fox News Sunday program.

The first one came out on Friday news. The second one came out on Sunday morning television. Hmmm.

Posted by Grayson at August 8, 2004 10:34 AM