L. Bret Bozell's rightwing CNS News opens a story with this headline:
Obama Won’t Speak In-Person at Boy Scouts’ 100th Anniversary Celebration But Will Appear on ABC TV’s ‘The View’
Monday, July 26, 2010
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer
Annoyed yet? The President skips the BSA for those gabbling women?
Five paragraphs down Starr says the President will address the Scouts by video message.
Seven paragraphs in, Starr notes that "Obama's three predecessors spoke at the event."
Which isn't really accurate, as the story notes: "George W. Bush... spoke via video in 2001 when bad weather prevented him from traveling." But he made up for it by speaking in person in 2005.
The article trails off into making the point- a bit grudgingly- that presidents have not addressed the Jamboree, which is held every four years (this year is was bumped over a year for the centennial), very often since it started in 1937. That first jamboree, held on The Mall in Washington, was at the invitation of President Franklin Roosevelt, the event (originally having been set for 1935, had to be canceled due to a polio epidemic). Roosevelt spokae at the event.
Because of World War II, the next jamboree wasn't held until 1950. Reporter Starr counts this one as a two-fer:
President Harry Truman was joined by then-General and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower, both of whom spoke at the 1950 Jamboree in Valley Forge.
Three more jamborees fell during Eisenhower's two terms- 1953, 1957 and 1960. He spoke at none fo them. President Johnson spokae at the 1964 event. Preident Nixon didn't speak in 1969 or 1973; nor did President Carter in 1977. Starr claims President Ford- an Eagle Scout- didn't speak at a jamboree but neglects to note there was jamboree held during his term in office.
President Reagan didn't speak at the 1981 event, and in 1985 sent his wife to the BSA's 75th anniversary jamboree. President Bush spoke in 1989, President Clinton didn't in 1993 but did "in 1998," Starr reports. The second President Bush spoke by video in 2001 and in person in 2005.
So here's the box score: of 17 jamborees over 73 years, presidents have spoken in person at five, and by video at two. Hardly the "snub" another right-wing site, Newsbusters, headlines its truncated story.
Just how trivial these bean-counting stories can be is illustrated by this one in The New York Times.
There was no jamboree in 1998. It was held in 1997.
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