Joseph Russomanno, an associate professor for the Walter Cronkite School, touched on issues with the Bush administration along with other content in his new book during a Must See Monday Speaker Series event.
In a presentation titled, “Tortured Logic: A Verbatim Critique of the George W. Bush Presidency,” Russomanno revealed his reasons for writing a book critiquing George W. Bush’s presidency.
“As the decision to invade Iraq was made, and more and more events began to unfold, I found myself among a group of people starting to question the decisions that were being made,” Russomanno said. “I began questioning things that were happening within our country and began to document and save pieces (of articles) to later analyze the situation.”
Russomanno said the more he became “disenchanted” with the Bush administration, the more he knew something needed to be done. He called information the “lifeblood of democracy,” and said that for a democracy to exist, people need information and the truth.
“It was up to journalists to investigate and find the truth,” Russomanno said. “When you have leaders who only want to be exposed to information that conforms to their pre-existing notion of reality, we develop a problem with how they are seeking information.”
He referenced a copious amount of information from Frank Rich, a former columnist for the New York Times, who Russomanno believed was “on top of the issue and perceptive on how he viewed many things.”
Russomanno further explained that the information in his book regarding the Bush administration sparked a small controversy regarding his biased opinions.
He admitted that, to some extent, he was guilty of “cherry-picking” information to display in his book, but that it would be intellectually dishonest to mask a viewpoint if he had one.
“I think there are multiple layers to this issue and to the question, ‘Should journalists and professors reveal their opinions?’” Russomanno said. “Clearly we all have opinions. I would adhere to the standards of a journalist, however there is a difference between a journalist and a journalism professor.”
He continued by saying that being a mass communications law professor allowed him to share a viewpoint because that viewpoint was based on a certain expertise.
“I feel comfortable knowing that I have developed a certain expertise on the subject,” Russomanno said. “In that regard, I see nothing wrong with letting it be known on how I feel about the subject.”
When asked why he didn’t reference George W. Bush’s and Donald Rumsfeld’s books in his own, Russomanno explained that the publishing process can be a difficult one, and that his book was in the process of being published when their books came out.
“As much as I appreciate my publisher for publishing this book, the relationship between an author and his publisher are not always rosy,” Russomanno said. “There are always arguments regarding what goes in (the book), and how speedy it comes out.”
Also discussed were examples of treachery that occurred during the Bush administration. Russomanno stated that signing statements, in which a president signs a bill but adds provision, were used to manipulate the creation of laws and that they are considerably worse than the presidents power to veto.
“Bush used the signing statements more than all other presidents before him, combined,” he said.
The associate professor also shared his opinions regarding the Bush administration’s intentions for invading Iraq.
“The invasion of Iraq was on their agenda before 9/11,” Russomanno said. “They spent a lot of time and effort trying to sell the Iraqi war. First it was for weapons of mass destruction, then it was to get Saddam Hussein out of power … They kept moving the goal post on the football field.”
Chelsey Parsons, a freshman majoring in journalism, had mixed feelings about Russomanno’s discussion.
“As a journalism student, I was taught to be objective and fair but he is biased and admits to being biased,” Parsons said. “However, I admire how strongly he feels about this and how he wants to expose his feelings and put them in a book to inform the general public.”
Toward the end of his discussion, Russomanno left audience members with the idea that governmental officials should be held accountable for their actions.
“I think there needs to be consequences for criminal behavior,” Russomanno said. “And there was certainly criminal behavior occurring during the Bush administration.”
Contact the reporter at rachel.l.cohen@asu.edu
