The cover of the November 17 U.S. News & World Report reads: “Bush’s Way: The Promise and Peril of Seeing the World in Black and White.” But the article inside provides an evaluation of the Bush administration’s foreign policy that relies primarily on the Bush administration itself, to the exclusion of Bush critics.
The piece includes 23* instances of either direct quotes or ideas attributed to specific individuals; 17 of these come from Bush, his family members and friends, or various administration officials. The only other perspectives are from a few cautious presidential historians (five statements) and a Clinton pollster (one quote). (This total does not include a separate sidebar interview with First Lady Laura Bush, or a Bush presidential timeline.) The five statements from three different historians fail to offer any significant political judgment of Bush: One refers to his “Wilsonian evangelism,” while another observes that “Bush is part of a small class of presidents whom we think of as commander in chief.” Clinton pollster Doug Schoen doesn’t offer a critique of Bush’s policies, but rather a professional analysis of his political situation: “Unless he turns the numbers around, he’ll soon be in a more perilous situation than he’s already in.”
While the White House’s foreign policy has no shortage of critics, their points of view aren’t included in U.S. News‘s report. Even when the magazine alludes to Bush’s opponents, it does so in terms flattering to him: After quoting Bush saying that he “will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people,” the magazine then asserts that “Bush has been true to his word–so true, in fact, that his adversaries say he has overreacted.” It is doubtful that any of Bush’s “adversaries” would say that their objection is that he’s been too “true to his word” in protecting the American people.
The magazine gives similar treatment to anti-Bush protests in the Philippines, which are turned into a testament to Bush’s strength: “When protesters delayed his motorcade from downtown Manila to a scheduled speech to the Philippine Congress, he told aides he intended to make the speech, no matter what. He raised the prospect of traveling by helicopter but, in the end, the streets were sufficiently cleared to allow him to deliver the address as planned.” While such an incident might serve as an opportunity to explain what Bush’s critics are protesting, U.S. News chalks up the story as evidence that Bush’s “goal-oriented determination permeates virtually everything Bush does.”
The piece closes with an observation from George W. Bush’s father about Oval Office photo ops, and this summation from U.S. News: “Like his dad, George W. Bush believes the presidency is an opportunity and an honor, not a burden.” With soft coverage like this, George W. Bush need not worry about the “burden” of critical media attention.
ACTION: Write to U.S. News & World Report and ask why critical voices were not included in a major cover story about the “promise and peril” of the Bush administration’s foreign policy.
CONTACT:
U.S. News & World Report
letters@usnews.com
*NOTE: This item has been corrected. In the original version, FAIR claimed there were 26 instances of direct quotes or attributions. The correct tally is 23. FAIR regrets the error.
