Synopses & Reviews
All the President's Spin, the first book from the editors of the acclaimed nonpartisan website Spinsanity, unmasks the tactics of deception and media manipulation that George W. Bush has used to sell his agenda to the American people. From his campaigns for tax cuts to the debate over war in Iraq, President Bush has employed an unprecedented onslaught of half-truths and strategically ambiguous language to twist and distort the facts. Fritz, Keefer, and Nyhan's powerful critique of Bush's record of policy deception explains why the media has failed to hold him accountable and demonstrates the threat these tactics pose to honest political debate.
This is the essential book for every citizen who wants to understand how George W. Bush has misled the nation and why, if left unchallenged, all the President's spin could soon become standard practice -- a devastating development for our democracy.
Review
"A clinical, dispassionate, and intellectually bulletproof analysis....The authors meticulously paint a troubling picture of the way our national debates function. It ought to shame the press corps into mending its ways." Jonathan Chait, The New Republic
Review
"Politicians talk so much that hardly anyone pays close attention to what they're actually saying. Ben Fritz, Bryan Keefer, and Brendan Nyhan do, staying up late to match words with reality. It's a tough job imagine the migraines but the rest of us can be glad someone's doing it." Tucker Carlson, CNN
Review
"A chilling and comprehensive account of how the government has polluted our country with a thick mist of foul propaganda." Neal Pollack, author of Never Mind the Pollacks
Synopsis
Just in time for the conventions and the 2004 election, All The President's Lies, the first book from the editors of the popular website Spinsanity.org, will expose the tactics of deception and media manipulation that George W. Bush and his administration have employed from the 2000 election through to the present to sell their agenda to the American people.
Synopsis
Ben Fritz is a reporter for the entertainment trade paper Variety. He also edits the satirical website Dateline Hollywood (www.datelinehollywood.com) and was recently named one of the nation's top thirty business journalists under thirty. Originally from New York, Ben graduated from Swarthmore College and served for a year in the AmeriCorps* National Civilian Community Corps. He lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at
[email protected]About the Author
Bryan Keefer, Ben Fritz, and Brendan Nyhan are recent college graduates who co-founded SpinSanity.org to fight political spin. Their work has earned them national media attention and hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors to their site. They live in Palo Alto, New York, and North Carolina.
Table of Contents
CONTENTSPREFACE
INTRODUCTION
1
BUSH'S WHITE HOUSE: THE VANGUARD OF SPIN
2
FROM WATCHDOG TO LAPDOG: HOW BUSH HAS EXPLOITED THE PRESS
3
CAMPAIGN 2000: THE ORIGINS OF THE BUSH PLAYBOOK
4
TAX AND SPIN: SELLING THE 2001 TAX CUT
5
THE NATURE OF THE TRUTH: SCIENCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT
6
UNDERMINING DISSENT AFTER SEPTEMBER 11
7
NO DEFICIT OF DISHONESTY: TAX AND BUDGET REDUX
8
SELLING THE WAR IN IRAQ
9
REVISING THE RECORD ON IRAQ
10
CAMPAIGN 2004: SPIN-RELATED PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
CONCLUSION
THE ROAD WE'RE ON AND HOW TO CHANGE COURSE
APENDICES
SOURCES AND METHODS
NOTES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INDEX