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You are here: Home / Politics / Media / Tony Snow’s Favorite Fallacy

Tony Snow’s Favorite Fallacy

by Tim F|  November 5, 200610:57 am| 22 Comments

This post is in: Media, Politics

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See if you can spot it:

Q The possible timing of this, just before the elections — some people might be skeptical of that?

MR. SNOW: Are you smoking rope? (Laughter.) Are you telling me that in Iraq, that they’re sitting around — (laughter) — I’m sorry, that the Iraqi judicial system is coming up with an October [sic} surprise?

Q November.

MR. SNOW: A November surprise? Man, that’s — wow.

Caught that? Let’s try again. Dick Cheney obviously endorses waterboarding, which everybody but Dick Cheney considers torture:

In an interview Tuesday with WDAY of Fargo, North Dakota, Cheney was asked if “a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives.”

The vice president replied, “Well, it’s a no-brainer for me, but for a while there I was criticized as being the vice president for torture. We don’t torture. That’s not what we’re involved in.”

Snow replies:

Tony Snow denied that Cheney had endorsed water boarding.

“You know as a matter of common sense that the vice president of the United States is not going to be talking about water boarding. Never would, never does, never will,” Snow said. “You think Dick Cheney’s going to slip up on something like this? No, come on.”

Now you have the basic workings of a Tony Snow script. Instead of answering an undeniable, obvious question, act like it’s the most ridiculous thing that you’ve ever heard. Who would believe that the president’s middle name starts with W? Ridiculous. Somebody must be huffing glue.

A while back I pointed out, via Joe Gandelman, that Tony Snow was the first wingnut press secretary. Looks like I didn’t know the half of it.

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Previous Post: « The Hussein Verdict
Next Post: What Happened In Iraq? »

Reader Interactions

22Comments

  1. 1.

    Proud Liberal

    November 5, 2006 at 11:37 am

    so let me get this straight, the insurgents are tying to influence our elections that’s why we’ve had the highest number of US casualties in several years but is it just incredible that the Iraq government would schedule the verdict of Saddam to influence our elections. Lol.. gotta love these little lying scumbags.

  2. 2.

    ThymeZone

    November 5, 2006 at 11:49 am

    We’ve known for years that these guys can, will and do tell any lie at any time.

    What’s the surprise now? That they hired a front man who is really good at lying?

  3. 3.

    ImJohnGalt

    November 5, 2006 at 11:59 am

    The question is, how can Saddam’s sentencing show that Al Qaeda wants the Democrats to win?

  4. 4.

    jcricket

    November 5, 2006 at 12:47 pm

    I’m increasingly beginning to wonder what the purpose is of having a press secretary. Just have a web site with the list of the President’s press releases and cull your quotes from there.

    Or, if you’re asking a “simple, undeniable question”, just think of the strangest most non-obvious non-denial denial and print that.

    Use the extra time to conduct some actual reporting/investigation.

  5. 5.

    jcricket

    November 5, 2006 at 1:00 pm

    BTW, when we do get some oversight, and if it comes in the next 6-12 months, want to watch Tony Snow implode as the revelations about who visited the WH come out? How the Plame and Jeff Gannon scandals comes back on the scene?

    You can only outrun your own malfeasance for so long. In fact, by taking steps to make it more difficult for oversight bodies to stop malfeasance, Republicans have, in fact, signed their own warrants. They virtually guaranteed the corrupt members of their party (and there are apparently many) would operate unfettered, racking up offense after offense, ratcheting up the eventual penalties quite nicely.

    Coupled with the bridge-burning – the people Republicans “cast out” when they criticize the party (generals, John Cole, Danforth, the guy whose oversight group they disbanded, etc.) and I for one am stocking up on popcorn.

  6. 6.

    scarshapedstar

    November 5, 2006 at 1:08 pm

    “Voting machines rigged? Are you on crack?”

    I can’t wait to hear that one on Wednesday.

  7. 7.

    Zifnab

    November 5, 2006 at 1:10 pm

    What’s the surprise now? That they hired a front man who is really good at lying?

    He’s really good at dodging the question, I’ll give him that. But when you read someone a quote and he immediately exclaims, ” didn’t say that. That’s preposterous. Re-read the transcript and it will be clear that he never said that” on every god-damn quote, the credibility is completely shot. You have to maintain at least a shred of trust with your audiance before you can engage in bald-faced lying and be considered “good” at it.

  8. 8.

    Perry Como

    November 5, 2006 at 2:02 pm

    I’ve noticed that the wingnuts have a new talking point about the election. If the Democrats take less that 400 seats in the House and 70 seats in the Senate, it means the Dems have lost.

  9. 9.

    Kimmitt

    November 5, 2006 at 2:06 pm

    So, given that we know this now, why is any news service attending any White House press conference?

  10. 10.

    Pb

    November 5, 2006 at 2:23 pm

    I personally liked (one of) their (many non-)explanation(s) for the unexplained bulge spotted on Bush’s back during the first debate:

    “The president is an alien. You heard it here first. The president is an alien. That’s your quote of the day. He has been getting information from Mars. The shock of the debate will be the president’s alien past will be exposed, which is why that box is there.” — Ken Mehlman

  11. 11.

    demimondian

    November 5, 2006 at 2:43 pm

    Seriously, m00nbat, how can the Dems possibly rule without holding at least 436 seats in the House?

    (Did anybody hear the All Things Considered mock ad for “the perfect candidate” on Friday night? The best line was “Now, Representative Mason-Dixon can’t even find the four hundred thirty-sixth district ON A MAP.” Now, that’s some slick negative advertising — she can’t find it…but I’m not going to point out that I can’t find it, either.)

  12. 12.

    scarshapedstar

    November 5, 2006 at 2:58 pm

    Check this out.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EplxM9LLqhw

    Some Republican guy on MSNBC says that Cliff Schecter is, and I quote, “on crack”.

    This really is the new wingnut talking point, isn’t it? Quoth Colbert: “I called it!”

  13. 13.

    Baby Jane

    November 5, 2006 at 3:05 pm

    Can we possibly have John Cleese as the next White House Press Secretary?

    And, perhaps, Michael Palin as a Chief Washington Correspondent?

  14. 14.

    MNPundit

    November 5, 2006 at 4:36 pm

    You know, the guy who interviewed Cheney for WDAY works in the same company as my girlfriend. I’ve asked her to make sure that I stay away from him because as she assures me, though seemingly quite normal in all other respects he completely agrees with the administration’s line 100%, a true believer.

  15. 15.

    Sherard

    November 5, 2006 at 5:01 pm

    So you are still going with this whole “Iraqi Court System Timed the Saddam Verdict to Benefit Republicans in the US” nonsense.

    Good to know. Odd that you need a 500 word, round about post with double negative, anti-strawman logic to say it. Why don’t you just come out and say it:

    IRAQ IS WORKING TO HELP THE GOP IN THIS ELECTION.

    ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!

  16. 16.

    The Asshole Formerly Known as GOP4Me

    November 5, 2006 at 5:07 pm

    There’s always an election going on somewhere in the world-isn’t every news event coinciding with at least one of them?

    If the Iraqi people have chosen this date to liberate themselves from Saddam, I hardly think we should be so self-centered as to assume it’s put on for our benefit.

  17. 17.

    Bender

    November 5, 2006 at 5:50 pm

    Instead of answering an undeniable, obvious question, act like it’s the most ridiculous thing that you’ve ever heard.

    You mean saying something like, “It is inconceivable that I would say something negative about the intelligence of our heroes, the troops”?

    Yeah, those silly Republicans.

  18. 18.

    scarshapedstar

    November 5, 2006 at 7:22 pm

    You mean saying something like, “It is inconceivable that I would say something negative about the intelligence of our heroes, the troops”?

    Yeah, those silly Republicans.

    I’m still trying to find where Kerry said anything about “the troops.” Even if I squint really hard, he’s talking about Bush.

    It’s like if a Republican walked up to me and said “My cousin is such a moron. He drove his car off a bridge.” and I replied, “Would you guys shut up about Chappaquiddick already?”

  19. 19.

    Perry Como

    November 5, 2006 at 7:30 pm

    IRAQ IS WORKING TO HELP THE GOP IN THIS ELECTION.

    The same way naked pictures of Rosie O’Donnell help give men erections.

  20. 20.

    Mark

    November 5, 2006 at 9:25 pm

    The fact that Tony Snow became the White House Press Secretary proved, at least to me, that Fox “News” was a propaganda machine, for at least the White House, if not the Republican Party. It’s why I don’t listen to anything the man says. It’ll all be lies anyway.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. The Moderate Voice says:
    November 5, 2006 at 11:28 am

    Bush And Snow Shrug Off Military Newspapers’ Editorial Call For Rumsfeld Resignation

    White House Press Secretary Tony Snow on the editorials running tomorrow in f…

  2. Balloon Juice says:
    January 12, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    […] See if you can spot it (reference here if you need a hint). […]

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