# ACLU obtains "Presidential Advance Manual" -- "rally squads" to drown out protesters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 29, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975 "2007-06-29T21:41:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/61 "2007-07-02T07:07:05Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] He’s saying that Bush shouldn’t act unethically just because it’s in his power and self-interest to do so. You’d probably agree with him completely if he were talking about the guy that didn’t wear the same regalia as you. [/QUOTE] What regalia do I wear? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/62 "2007-07-02T13:23:57Z")
[QUOTE=mswas] He’s saying that Bush shouldn’t act unethically just because it’s in his power and self-interest to do so. You’d probably agree with him completely if he were talking about the guy that didn’t wear the same regalia as you. [/QUOTE] Bah! **John** is an independent. As is **xtisme**. And **Weirddave**. What? STOP LAUGHING! 😕 -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/63 "2007-07-02T13:24:30Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I’m unclear how this event was “taxpayer financed”. [/QUOTE] OK, so your default assumption is that Bush walked there without Secret Service guards. We disagree on that. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/64 "2007-07-02T13:27:21Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] Well, yeah, but doesn’t it make sense that the President would want to give the impression that he’s popular and supress the appearance of dissent? [/QUOTE] It makes sense that I would want to be able to take money out of ATMs without debiting my bank account, but that doesn’t mean I get to do it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/65 "2007-07-02T13:40:48Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] If they were that good at it, he’d have more than a 30% approval rating, his party would have control of Congress, and he’d be able to pass items on his legislative agenda. [/QUOTE] Well, not necessarily. The best PR skills in the world won’t save a president’s approval rating if what he’s actually **doing** does not produce good results. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/66 "2007-07-02T13:57:25Z")
[QUOTE=Evil Captor] His name was Potemkin, the leader was Stalin and he was the creator of Potemkin villages. [/QUOTE] 😕 :dubious: On preview, I see this has been addressed. I’ll just clip everything except for the smileys. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/67 "2007-07-02T16:48:36Z")
[QUOTE=if6was9] I don’t agree with the man, but [this Romney YouTube video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGct7N86mrY) shows another quick-thinking politician with balls. But Bush needs “rally squads” and manuals so it looks like he has support. Pathetic. Clinton and Romney _gained_ support because they took on dissention _themselves_. [/QUOTE] Bush Sr. did that too. During the '92 election there was some guy from the Clinton camp going around to Bush rallies, heckling the president dressed like a chicken. The phrase “Chicken George” played into his schtick somehow. I think he had it on a sign or something. Nowadays, of course, that chicken would never get through the gate and would probably be trucked off to a secret prison and killed, but instead of having security tackle the chicken and break his legs, Poppy Bush enegaged him from the podium, joked with him, traded jabs, took the piss out of him. His then campaign manager, Mary Matalin, said that she begged him to stop talking to the chicken but he kept doing it anyway, telling his handlers, “I love that chicken.” It was one of the many things I really liked about GHWB even though I voted against him. He wasn’t a coward and he wasn’t an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/68 "2007-07-02T16:57:25Z")
[QUOTE=Captain Amazing] If they were that good at it, he’d have more than a 30% approval rating, his party would have control of Congress, and he’d be able to pass items on his legislative agenda. [/quote] I think they went too far with it, but for a while there they had a great run of people defending them no matter what they did. They overplayed their hand. > [@](#): > > It’s stupid to blame Bush for this. He’s a politician, so of course he’s going to thy to stage manage events to make himself look good. It’s what politicians do. If you’re going to blame anybody, blame the members of the press who let him get away with it. Heh, well they played the press, just like this thread is about. One of their greatest triumphs, convincing people that Bush is an idiot. I never thought he was an idiot. Also, I think that the job he has done was designed to weaken the country in relation to corporate control. People say he was a failed CEO, he was actually a marvelously successful CEO. The reason people think he failed is because they are under the misapprehension that his corporations were designed to succeed. They weren’t they were designed to fail, they were tax shelters. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/69 "2007-07-02T17:10:30Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] During the '92 election there was some guy from the Clinton camp going around to Bush rallies, heckling the president dressed like a chicken. [/QUOTE] I saw that happen – but it was a **Pub** dressed as a chicken heckling a **Clinton** rally. He was playing off the whole “draft-dodger” meme. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/70 "2007-07-02T18:05:59Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I saw that happen – but it was a **Pub** dressed as a chicken heckling a **Clinton** rally. He was playing off the whole “draft-dodger” meme. [/QUOTE] Well, in that case it is completely unjustifiable. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/71 "2007-07-02T19:03:45Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I saw that happen – but it was a **Pub** dressed as a chicken heckling a **Clinton** rally. He was playing off the whole “draft-dodger” meme. [/QUOTE] Actually, there _was_ a chicken suit following GHW Bush around in 92, because of his apparent intense fear of presidential debates. The Clinton camp had to pressure the Bush camp for months to get them to even sit down and start negotiating for a debate schedule and format. I don’t think it was the same guy or the same chicken suit at every one of Bush’s appearances, but it happened. Of course, in typical Poppy fashion, Bush actually made the chicken guy into a phenomenon himself, by talking to him every time. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/72 "2007-07-02T20:26:24Z")
Well, that’s OK, then. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/73 "2007-07-02T20:36:39Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Actually, there _was_ a chicken suit following GHW Bush around in 92, because of his apparent intense fear of presidential debates. The Clinton camp had to pressure the Bush camp for months to get them to even sit down and start negotiating for a debate schedule and format. I don’t think it was the same guy or the same chicken suit at every one of Bush’s appearances, but it happened. Of course, in typical Poppy fashion, Bush actually made the chicken guy into a phenomenon himself, by talking to him every time. [/QUOTE] It really is too bad that no one ever got those two to fight. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2007, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975/74 "2007-07-02T21:11:26Z")
Once, Ronald Reagan stopped in OKC for a rally. At the time his catch phrase was “America, go for it.” When he came to the point in his speach, the person at the applause sign, yes, there was an applause sign, missed their cue. So he redid the line, the sign went on, and the crowd cheered. Guess what aired on the news that night? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aclu-obtains-presidential-advance-manual-rally-squads-to-drown-out-protesters/409975.md?page=3)