Bush says propaganda is bad--unless he uses it.

If you go to the White House website and examine all the various speeches and comments made by Bush regarding Social Security, you will see that Bush constantly refers to any opposition against his plans as propaganda, and this post focuses on one of those references.

On May 24, 2005, Bush held one of his "Social Security Conversations" in Greece, New York. Here's the excerpt that caught my attention:

Now, a personal savings account would be a part of a Social Security retirement system. It would be a part of what you would have to retire when you reach retirement age. As you--as I mentioned to you earlier, we're going to redesign the current system. If you've retired, you don't have anything to worry about--third time I've said that. I'll probably say it three more times. See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

See, the funny thing is that while Bush is complaining about propaganda, he is using it.

"Propaganda" is defined by Dictionary.com as "The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause." Merriam-Webster Online defines "propaganda" as "ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause; also : a public action having such an effect." Bush's Social Security "discussions" (termed the "Bamboozlepalooza Tour" by Josh Marshall) definitely are systematic and deliberately designed to promote his ideas and discredit the opposition.

Moreover, propaganda techniques are clearly being used. Look at the emphasized portion of the above except. It shows one of the most basic propaganda techniques, repetition. A 1996 article by Dorje Carl, "Propaganda Techinques," is based on "Appendix I: PSYOP Techniques" from Psychological Operations Field Manual No. 33-1 published by Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington DC, 31 August 1979. Regarding repetition, it says that

An idea or position is repeated in an attempt to elicit an almost automatic response from the audience or to reinforce an audience's opinion or attitude. This technique is extremely valid and useful because the human being is basically a creature of habit and develops skills and values by repetition (like walking, talking, code of ethics, etc.). An idea or position may be repeated many times in one message or in many messages. The intent is the same in both instances, namely, to elicit an immediate response or to reinforce an opinion or attitude.

As Bush his ownself said, he said something three times, would probably say it three more, and that his job was to keep repeating things over and over and over.

In an article on LewRockwell.com, Daniel McCarthy calls repetition "the crudest but most effective propaganda method of all," and provides this explanation:

Even an assertion without an argument will come to be believed, over time, if it is repeated often enough and creatively enough.

Anyone who has worked on an advertising campaign in business or politics knows the importance of repetition. It takes a certain number of iterations before your audience will even recognize your product’s name, let alone buy it.

And for you wingers, here is a discussion of repetition from two conservative Christians whose website regularly criticizes Clinton:

The first [method of propoaganda] is Repetition. As Abraham Lincoln once said "if you can tell a lie long enough and hard enough sooner or later people will start believing it" (or maybe that was Adolf Hitler). Repetition is where a message is repeated loudly and very often in the hope that it will soon be believed out of default.

Bush has proved time and again (repeatedly, one might say) that he employs the propaganda technique of repetition. However, that is not the only one.

Here is another method described in "Propaganda Techniques:"

Transfer. This is a technique of projecting positive or negative qualities (praise or blame) of a person, entity, object, or value (an individual, group, organization, nation, patriotism, etc.) to another in order to make the second more acceptable or to discredit it. This technique is generally used to transfer blame from one member of a conflict to another. It evokes an emotional response which stimulates the target to identify with recognized authorities.

Bush uses this technique by labeling all opposition to his Social Security plans as "propaganda." As pointed out in the Wikipedia entry on propaganda, "In English, the word 'propaganda' usually carries strong negative (as well as political) connotations." When Americans hear "propaganda," we usually think of Nazis and Commies. By labeling all opposition as "propaganda," Bush is trying to elicit a strong negative emotional response that will discredit his opponents. That is the technique of transfer.

Those are just two of the propaganda techniques used by Bush, and they are apparent in just a few sentences spoken by him. And, as I said in the opening of this post, go check out all of Bush's other speeches and comments on Social Security, and see many more examples. And if you want some further details of how the Bush adminstration operates in terms of "communication," read the section of George's Aircraft Carrier Carnival entitled "The White House's Media Magicians."

Golly, Bush doing the same thing he accuses others of doing. So, what else is new?