You can run, but you can’t hide

19 February 2004

Here are some of the questions asked at yesterday’s White House press briefing. Try writing your own answers, and then follow the link to see if you can spin as well as Scott McClellan.

Scott, does the White House stand behind its report issued just nine days ago, the Economic Report, there will be 2.6 million new jobs created this year?…

Well, you say this is a changing economy, and you also said earlier that this report was based on economic data that is now three months old. So would it be wrong for the Democrats, later this year — if you don’t meet this 2.6 million forecast of jobs — would it be wrong for them to beat you on the head about it?…

When you dismissed the premise of John’s question by saying, people can debate the numbers, let’s be realistic here, the debate is going on between your Council of Economic Advisors and Treasury Secretary John Snow. Are there people here in this White House who never believed that forecast?…

Can you answer the specific question, though? Was this report — was the prediction of this many jobs, 2.6 million jobs, vetted prior to publication by the entire economic team?…

That’s not the question. Was it or was it not vetted by the entire economic team?…

So you don’t know, or it was, or it wasn’t?…

Why — if you’re suggesting that people will debate the numbers, that’s kind of a backhanded way to say, oh, who cares about the numbers. Well, apparently, the President’s top economic advisors do, because that’s why they wrote a very large report and sent it to Congress. So why was the prediction made in the first place, if the President and you and his Treasury Secretary were going to just back away from it?

Then why predict a number? Why was the number predicted? Why was the number predicted? You can’t get away with not — just answer the question. Why was that number predicted?…

No, you have not answered. And everybody watching knows you haven’t answered.

Meanwhile, in polls of likely voters, both Kerry and Edwards beat Bush by ten points.

• Later: Here comes the Judge
• Earlier: Database rock