Joseph Goebbels, The Bush Administration & Mission Accomplished

Joseph Goebbels, The Bush Administration & Mission Accomplished

I’ve reported about the similarity of the teachings of Joseph Goebbels as Hitler’s propaganda minister and Goebbels Karl Rove’s role in the Bush White House.(See post of 11/3/06) Joe A. Palermo has an excellent post in the Huffington Blog of 5/2/07 regarding the anniversary of the infamous Bush landing on the aircraft carrier to proclaim "mission accomplished." He notes the Karl Rove statement that Rove ran campaigns as if the people watching TV had the sound turned off. That is, the only thing that counts is the image and not the words. So, it was a Karl Rove orchestrated event when George Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln four years ago. Palermo correctly identifies the significant visuals involved in that media event. Each one is a calculated piece of pure propaganda that would make Goebbels envious.

The significant visuals start with the fact the aircraft carrier is named after the first GOP president and is a symbol of the enormous power of America. The flight suit Bush is wearing is a Top Gun symbol as Bush the hero. Then we have Bush as the pilot of a jet aircraft with his helmet under his arm looking like he has just returned from a dangerous mission. The jet aircraft itself calls up Mission an image of the glamor of a fighter pilot. The adoring crowd cheering him on projects widespread approval. The huge "Mission Accomplished" banner,Palermo notes, projects what Americans love best – a winner. The deep sea background showing our leader at sea with the military indicates his courage and oneness with the troops. (However, the cameras were turned out to sea so the fact the ship was only ten miles from the San Diego coastline couldn’t be seen) His speech invoking the names of past great presidents identified him as equal to them. He was careful to link the events of Iraq to the horror of 9/11 in order to anchor  a false connection in the minds of viewers. Palermo points out the entire occasion was so media orchestrated, they even had a former ABC producer direct the whole affair and all the images.

This administration has relied upon smoke and mirrors through its two terms. Now things are unraveling for them, but what is discouraging is the fact that the American people have fallen for the deception for so very long.

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