Why didn't the media grasp the Bush Administration's incompetence earlier?

It sure seemed obvious that the Administration was clueless in Iraq and many other places, but the press has consistently given the Bushies the benefit of the doubt on basic competence, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

I think the most likely reason is that the press admired the skill the Administration has displayed in manipulating the press. Reporters, many of whom have themselves considered working on the PR side of the media racket, were so professionally impressed by how well the Bushies organized photo ops, managed the leaking process, and spun the news for them that they found it hard to believe that the Administration was as inept as it appeared at its lawfully mandated tasks.

Of course, the reality was that the Administration was devoting its best talent to image-mongering while dumping hapless loyalist losers like Mike Brown, a failure in the horse show business, on unimportant positions like running FEMA. Or check out Craig Nelsen's backgrounder on David Safavian, whom Bush appointed to head federal procurement.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer