Cnn - Bush "Rehearsal" Goes On Air

In a technical goof that was captured on tape and quickly found its way onto dozens of websites, CNN Monday night carried 16 seconds of President Bush rehearsing his speech to the nation on immigration, then looking bewildered when studio technicians apparently interrupted him. Moments later, anchor Wolf Blitzer appeared on camera, blaming the gaffe on "the network pool." Likewise, the Associated Press this morning (Tuesday) reported that a few seconds of the president practicing the speech was also carried by many NBC affiliates on the West Coast that were airing early evening newscasts. The network later cited "a miscommunicated cue from our pool." The Washington Post's Tom Shales, who observed that most of the president's planned remarks had been leaked to the press earlier in the day, commented, "Perhaps we should be grateful for the mistake, since it was the only thing lending an element of surprise to the occasion."

16/05/2006