Controlling the Message

Christopher Cooper's article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday showed that once again, the Bush Administration has mastered controlling, and sticking to, the message.

He shows how President Bush is able to use his "working vacation" to his advantage:

[A] captive press corps and a slow summer news cycle are allowing President Bush to use the Crawford backdrop to push his agenda, far from the distractions of Washington. . . Mr. Bush's August holidays also demonstrate how the administration adroitly times and airs its message. With Congress out of session, many Washington agencies on a vacation schedule and a traveling contingent of White House reporters cooling their heels in Crawford, Mr. Bush can count on dictating news coverage with a series of events that rely heavily on rhetoric and skimp on audience participation.

The opportunity to monopolize the news coverage, without much opposition, cannot be missed for candidates or public officials. The Bush Administration uses August well by using the time to focus on only their message. They can easily ignore the Valerie Plame case and legislative falterings without much resistance.