a foreign press that did not appreciate the federal government's good work.

* "The image of the United States has taken a beating over the past 10 days, as foreign television and newspapers show images of death, chaos and disease in New Orleans. Even lowly Bangladesh (per capita income: $400 a year) was moved to send $1 million in foreign aid.

But Karen Hughes has another view. The Bush confidante, now undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, held a meeting with her staff in Foggy Bottom yesterday and was asked about the international ramifications of the response to the New Orleans flooding. The problem, Hughes replied, was not a failed relief effort but a foreign press that did not appreciate the federal government's good work.

"There are a lot of things being said about us around the world that aren't true," said the woman in charge of polishing the American image abroad. "We've marshaled the resources of our federal government" to help fellow Americans, she said, and if people think otherwise, "we need to aggressively challenge that idea around the world."" (link)

no wonder the bush adminstration has been in sooo much trouble lately. karen hughes has been away.

go read the article - its completely absurd - i dont know what the journo was thinking. at one level, they appear to be making fun of karen hughes - but they simultaneously seem to want to slam, for no apparent reason, the move-on-ers for being shambolic.

"The demonstrators, carrying messages promoting women's rights, labor unions and "Hillary '08" and condemning Halliburton, Karl Rove, the Iraq war and killings in Sudan, did not deny that the hurricane protest was opportunistic."

wtf?

fwiw - the photo accompanying the story seems to suggest some pretty good message discipline from the move-on-ers