Was Audience Silence Pre Arranged Or Sign Of Rejection?
Reported by Deborah - June 29, 2005
Steve Doocy and David Frum, Bush speechwriter, agreed today that the lack of applause during the speech at Fort Bragg was arranged in advance to create a solemn atmosphere. Frum went on to say that the solemn atmosphere worked well for the President.
The soldiers at Fort Bragg stood at attention and the audience was silent when President Bush walked to the podium. There was only one outburst of applause during the 30 minute speech.
comment: Paula Zahn warned viewers that the speech would go over 30 minutes because of applause breaks. NPR, on Morning Edition, made a point of mentioning the lacking applause. The many articles on Google mentioning the quiet of the audience made no mention of some arrangement made to hold applause.Wouldn't the major stations been alerted about this arrangement in advance?
Was the audience instructed not to applaud during the speech or was it just a sign of rejection?
