Fun With Dick and Andy

A reader from Limerick, describing himself as "a former Eagles fan," writes by e-mail:

is it just me or do the Eagles post game press conferences resemble those of Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld? They are all so righteous in their belief that their way is the right way, they ignore the obvious: bad game plans, ignoring the need to change strategy and course, the way they have cowered the press (they respond to legitimate hard ball questions in such a way as to suggest that dissent is impermissible), etc.

We're nothing if not game here. So I went digging through White House transcripts, videos of Andy Reid's press conferences. Found a few things:

Sunday's media conference after the Eagles loss to Jacksonville.

Q: Andy, when you say you'll do what you need to do, what DO you need to do?

A: You don't have to worry about it. I'll take care of it. I'm gonna take care of it.

....

White House press conference with President Bush, March 13, 2003:

Q: Do you believe the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead of alive? 

A:  ... He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore. And if we find a training camp, we'll take care of it.

.....

You get the picture. Now it's quiz time. Find out if you guessed right by clicking "continue reading."

Match the quote with the speaker:

A - 4  Dick Cheney on the overall situation in Iraq. source

B - 3 Joe Banner on allowing outside hoagies into the stadium, post 9/11. source.

C - 1  Andy Reid on whether the 2005-6 Eagles were better than the team that went to the Super Bowl.  source.

D - 2 Donald Rumsfeld on reports of death squads killing Sunnis in Iraq.  source.

E - 5  President Bush on the mid-term elections. source.

Give me a break, Limerick man.  

Every time the Eagles lose a game this lame charge gets recycled.  I suppose it would be better if Reid just ripped everyone in the organization after a bad loss.  

I know I've always appreciated bosses who reacted to adversity by scapegoating their employees.  

Anyone with half a brain understands the subtext of Reid's message.  But I guess it's not good enough unless you get to see the blood in public, eh?

Fun game, though, Dan.  I was 1-2 on guessing the Eagles.

Derek thinks we just want to see the blood in public? No. What we don't want is any more bloody "subtext." We want results. 

Derek's missing another key point when he compares the Eagles to all the rest of us working stiffs: we aren't paid a gazillion dollars to do our jobs on national television.

Under those working conditions, losing isn't "adversity." It's the result of not getting the job done. Anyone who works in the public eye should be prepared for scrutiny when they screw up. Including their bosses. 

And remember, Andy Reid took the mic. Supposedly to answer questions. Which he did about as well as his team played that game. 

I think the key difference between Reid and Bush is that Reid will openly claim to take responsibility for his failings, even if he refuses to do anything about them.