But Can You Salsa?

How did I miss this? America Online, another great Hart Seely piece, ran in Saturday's New York Times:

It's harder than ever to tell the difference between authentic news and government propaganda. But since 2003, the Bush administration has been able to bypass the media filter and go directly to the public through Ask the White House, its online interactive forum. Here, everyday folks interrogate top government officials on key issues of the day. And nobody ducks the tough questions. Consider these excerpts from the archives.

"Can you salsa dance?" ("Danny" to Mel Martinez, secretary of housing and urban development, Oct. 2, 2003)

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"Can you dunk a basketball?" ("Jon" to James B. Comey, deputy attorney general, July 15, 2004)

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"In your picture, you are wearing red. Does that mean you like Spider-Man?" ("Andy" to Margaret Spellings, assistant to the president for domestic policy, May 14, 2004.)

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"Has anyone ever said to you, 'You're such a card,' without knowing your last name in advance?" ("Monty" to Andy Card, White House chief of staff, Aug. 12, 2004)

It goes on. Click for more.

Ask The White House