Snuckered

George fools the networks. LATimes (09.13.06):

"As White House officials sought approval from television executives for a coveted prime-time broadcast of President Bush's Oval Office address commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, they said publicly that the speech would steer clear of politics. But Bush's inclusion in his remarks Monday night of a stout defense of his policies in Iraq — as well as his suggestion that a united front was needed on the subject — sent Democrats scrambling to issue late-night responses and prompted at least one network to adjust its programming to make time for political analysis." Bush Politicized a Solemn Day, Democrats Say

"On NBC, which like the other two major networks interrupted regular programming to televise Bush's remarks, Washington bureau chief Tim Russert told viewers before the speech that the president would be assuming the role of 'commander in chief, healer in chief, comforter in chief; all alone in the Oval Office with one big megaphone for the country and the world to hear.'" "But Bush wasted little time in his 17-minute address before reverting to the oft-repeated lines of his election-year speeches defending the invasion of Iraq." "Once the themes of Bush's remarks were clear, NBC changed plans and allowed time after the speech for additional analysis." "A network news executive, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of relations with the White House, said Tuesday that the speech would prompt greater scrutiny of future White House requests for air time." "'On a scale of zero to 100, with 100 being a speech of national significance and zero being purely partisan, this clearly was not a 100 on that scale,' the executive said. 'And I guess over time if that pattern kept occurring, then...you'd start to look long and hard at those formal requests.'"