By Adam Collins
Former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer was the special guest of the Kentucky Author Forum in Ekstrom Library last Tuesday. Fleischer, who resigned as President Bush’s press secretary in 2003, was on campus promoting his new book “Taking Heat: The President, The Press, and My Years in the White House.”
After being introduced by moderator Dr. Laurie Rhodebeck, a professor in the Political Science department, Fleischer fielded questions from the audience. While most of those in attendance were cordial, there were a number of individuals with pointed questions for the former Bush spokesman.
A University of Louisville Philosophy professor, who did not identify himself, asked if Fleischer felt that he had contributed to a culture in which no one is expected to give reason or fact for what they say.
Fleischer initially responded by asking, “Do you think we lied?” He went on by saying that there is a difference between lying and basing an argument on faulty information. Fleischer eventually acknowledged that Saddam Hussein “probably didn’t have weapons of mass destruction.”
Fleischer also discussed what he termed “an ideological bias in the media and its effect on the public.” He said most newsrooms are dominated by “liberals,” and that “the field of journalism would be strengthened with more conservatives in the newsroom.” Fleischer even suggested that an inaccurate CBS report, that aired during the 2004 presidential campaign regarding Bush’s service in the Air Force National Guard would never have been run if there had been more conservatives in the CBS newsroom.
Before leaving, Fleischer did offer some advice to U of L students.
“My lesson to college students is to have an open mind. Find what’s in your heart and do it. Disagree, find your passion and fight for it. … Get involved in politics, there’s always an opening in D.C.”
After resigning his position in the White House, Fleischer moved to New York and opened his own consulting firm, Ari Fleischer Communications. He currently resides in Westchester County, N.Y. with his wife and daughter.
