All the President's Spin

George W. Bush, the Media, and the Truth

Ben Fritz, Bryan Keefer, Brendan Nyhan

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Year: 2004
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• eBook ISBN:
  9780743270717
• Subtopic: Political Campaigns & Elections
• Index: Politics & International Relations

All the President's Spin, the first book from the editors of the acclaimed nonpartisan website Spinsanity, unmasks the tactics of deception and media manipulation that George W. Bush has used to sell his agenda to the American people.

From his campaigns for tax cuts to the debate over war in Iraq, President Bush has employed an unprecedented onslaught of half-truths and strategically ambiguous language to twist and distort the facts. Fritz, Keefer, and Nyhan's powerful critique of Bush's record of policy deception explains why the media has failed to hold him accountable and demonstrates the threat these tactics pose to honest political debate.
This is the essential book for every citizen who wants to understand how George W. Bush has misled the nation and why, if left unchallenged, all the President's spin could soon become standard practice -- a devastating development for our democracy.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise
• Colophon
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• 1 Bush’s White House: The Vanguard of Spin
• 2 From Watchdog to Lapdog: How Bush Has Exploited the Press
• 3 Campaign 2000: The Origins of the Bush Playbook
• 4 Tax and Spin: Selling the 2001 Tax Cut
• 5 The Nature of the Truth: Science and the Environment
• 6 Undermining Dissent After September 11
• 7 No Deficit of Dishonesty: Tax and Budget Redux
• 8 Selling the War in Iraq
• 9 Revising the Record on Iraq
• 10 Campaign 2004: Spin-Related Program Activities
• Conclusion: The Road We’re on and How to Change Course
• Appendices
• Sources and Methods
• Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• About the Authors