Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary, Lecture at UT Austin, LIVE BLOG
8:25 p.m. Speech is over, time for questions. I think I might ask one. I'll post later about that. Thanks for reading, nobody!
8:15 p.m. As for what's next in Washington; third big issue in Washington. Events sure don't feel good for Republicans. As bad as thing are, Bush remains the most popular figure in Washington. No one likes ANYONE in Washington. Everyone's job approval rating is low. 'Judge' Alito will make a few rulings that will make conservatives happy, but will drive liberals to the polls next year. As bad as things are for Republicans, the nation is still trending to the right-center. Bush understood that trend, and it will be very hard for Democrats to reverse it.
8:11 p.m. (Someone just 'coughed' an expletive. Jerk.)
8:02 p.m. Second big issue in Washington: Iraq. "I whole-heartedly support what we are doing in Iraq" despite the fact that we couldn't find WMD. (Someone just yelled that Bush lied about WMD. Jerk.) We have to accept that we were all wrong about WMD's. "We are witnessing the struggle for democracy to be born inside the Arab world. How can we do anything else other than support the struggling people of that country?" We should stand proudly on the side of the Iraqis! The media began to take for granted that Saddam was bad; his daily killings were not considered news. CNN withheld news about the killings because they didn't want their bureau in Bagdhad to be closed. Remarkable progress is being achieved in Iraq. Quotes Michael Kelly, a columnist. Must look him up.
7:58 p.m. First big issue in Washington: the Supreme Court. Harriet Miers was a "trust me" selection. The president picked her to be a conservative blank slate. Conservatives didn't like her from the very beginning because they didn't know her. Now, Republicans are delighted with Sam Alito. Judge Alito is well known, highly respected, and a great intellect. The liberal base of the Democratic Party is angry. Will they mount a filibuster? "If they do so, they do so at great peril." He believes Alito will be confirmed.
7:54 p.m. Fleischer admits that his team is in a slump, but it's politics. "You never know how quickly something will fade, or how quickly something will arise. You never know how quickly something will turn around." One year ago, he says, the press was talking about how the Democratic Party was in disarray. In politics, most issues return to a muddled middle. "I told myself that everyday was a crisis and if everyday was a crisis then my job was to treat everyday as a routine.... In the end, what usually counts is the long-term."
7:53 p.m. Ah ha... he just said Putin.
7:52 p.m. He begins talking about his job as White House Press Secretary. He says he loved the job; "...in that position, I twice got to meet the Pope, I once got to meet Joe Torre."
7:44 p.m. When Fleischer drove up to the White House, he had to avert his gaze. He says that the White House was such a historical place, where so many decisions had been made, that it was difficult for him to look at it. Amazing. He couldn't wait to start his new job as Press Secretary. Three months later, the President wanted to meet Fleischer to play catch on the South Lawn. Fleischer showed up in a business suit; the Bush showed up in sweat pants and a bullet proof jacket.
7:42 p.m. Ari? Is that R period E period? President Bush gave Ari the name "Ari Bob."
7:37 p.m. Ari Fleischer takes the stage. Fleischer lived in Austin for a year, at the Gables in Central Park. He says he couldn't have gotten into UT with his grades. Before he went to the White House, he was raised a liberal Democrat. His parents reamin Democrats.
7:35 p.m. Okay, now they're introducing Ari Fleischer.
7:33 p.m. Someone is introducing Fleischer. Actually, she's plugging the Student Events Center. She asked for no flash photography, and then someone took a picture of her with flash. Heh.
7:10 p.m. ACHOO!
7:00 p.m. They've let us inside the auditorium and it's filling up... though it's not as crazy as when I came to see Ann Coulter. There's no press here, but there are some reserved seats in the front. There are microphones set up; time to start thinking of a question to ask!
6:35 p.m. The lecture begins in a little less than an hour, and I'm sitting on the steps that lead to the LBJ Auditorium where Fleischer will be speaking. I'm with my sister, Anna, who is a freshman here at UT. The line is pretty long, I guess about 50 people or so. My butt hurts, this floor is hard.
8:15 p.m. As for what's next in Washington; third big issue in Washington. Events sure don't feel good for Republicans. As bad as thing are, Bush remains the most popular figure in Washington. No one likes ANYONE in Washington. Everyone's job approval rating is low. 'Judge' Alito will make a few rulings that will make conservatives happy, but will drive liberals to the polls next year. As bad as things are for Republicans, the nation is still trending to the right-center. Bush understood that trend, and it will be very hard for Democrats to reverse it.
8:11 p.m. (Someone just 'coughed' an expletive. Jerk.)
8:02 p.m. Second big issue in Washington: Iraq. "I whole-heartedly support what we are doing in Iraq" despite the fact that we couldn't find WMD. (Someone just yelled that Bush lied about WMD. Jerk.) We have to accept that we were all wrong about WMD's. "We are witnessing the struggle for democracy to be born inside the Arab world. How can we do anything else other than support the struggling people of that country?" We should stand proudly on the side of the Iraqis! The media began to take for granted that Saddam was bad; his daily killings were not considered news. CNN withheld news about the killings because they didn't want their bureau in Bagdhad to be closed. Remarkable progress is being achieved in Iraq. Quotes Michael Kelly, a columnist. Must look him up.
7:58 p.m. First big issue in Washington: the Supreme Court. Harriet Miers was a "trust me" selection. The president picked her to be a conservative blank slate. Conservatives didn't like her from the very beginning because they didn't know her. Now, Republicans are delighted with Sam Alito. Judge Alito is well known, highly respected, and a great intellect. The liberal base of the Democratic Party is angry. Will they mount a filibuster? "If they do so, they do so at great peril." He believes Alito will be confirmed.
7:54 p.m. Fleischer admits that his team is in a slump, but it's politics. "You never know how quickly something will fade, or how quickly something will arise. You never know how quickly something will turn around." One year ago, he says, the press was talking about how the Democratic Party was in disarray. In politics, most issues return to a muddled middle. "I told myself that everyday was a crisis and if everyday was a crisis then my job was to treat everyday as a routine.... In the end, what usually counts is the long-term."
7:53 p.m. Ah ha... he just said Putin.
7:52 p.m. He begins talking about his job as White House Press Secretary. He says he loved the job; "...in that position, I twice got to meet the Pope, I once got to meet Joe Torre."
7:44 p.m. When Fleischer drove up to the White House, he had to avert his gaze. He says that the White House was such a historical place, where so many decisions had been made, that it was difficult for him to look at it. Amazing. He couldn't wait to start his new job as Press Secretary. Three months later, the President wanted to meet Fleischer to play catch on the South Lawn. Fleischer showed up in a business suit; the Bush showed up in sweat pants and a bullet proof jacket.
7:42 p.m. Ari? Is that R period E period? President Bush gave Ari the name "Ari Bob."
7:37 p.m. Ari Fleischer takes the stage. Fleischer lived in Austin for a year, at the Gables in Central Park. He says he couldn't have gotten into UT with his grades. Before he went to the White House, he was raised a liberal Democrat. His parents reamin Democrats.
7:35 p.m. Okay, now they're introducing Ari Fleischer.
7:33 p.m. Someone is introducing Fleischer. Actually, she's plugging the Student Events Center. She asked for no flash photography, and then someone took a picture of her with flash. Heh.
7:10 p.m. ACHOO!
7:00 p.m. They've let us inside the auditorium and it's filling up... though it's not as crazy as when I came to see Ann Coulter. There's no press here, but there are some reserved seats in the front. There are microphones set up; time to start thinking of a question to ask!
6:35 p.m. The lecture begins in a little less than an hour, and I'm sitting on the steps that lead to the LBJ Auditorium where Fleischer will be speaking. I'm with my sister, Anna, who is a freshman here at UT. The line is pretty long, I guess about 50 people or so. My butt hurts, this floor is hard.
3 Comments:
How dare you call me a "nobody" */grin*
Good style in your live blogging. Sounds like you had fun blogging it live! Were others blogging the event too? If so, it might be nice to do a post referencing what everyone is saying about his visit, that way you build a conversation in the blogosphere.
And, you will be able to build a few links to yourself too!
If you like, post a link to the class blog about your blogging the event, and encourage the reat of your classmates to read and comment here on your posting.
I liked reading your comments Amy, especially since I wanted to go hear him, but couldn't. Reading your blog I feel like I was there!
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