What Fresh Hell found a discrepancy in the

transcript of the speech by the Prime Minister that caused such

an uproar. He also found a change at the CBC transcript. He

also couldn’t get a comment posted at the CBC forum or a

response from them on why. This is disturbing.

The PMO’s office has done some tweaking in their

spin control and it appears the CBC has gone along.

Now this is going to get a little link-heavy but I think it

points out something pretty interesting;
The CBC has a short video clip of Chretien’s interview here.
The original CBC item about this story is here.
The PMO’s transcript of the interview, rushed out for damage

control, is available here and

it’s also available in a slightly different format below since

I posted it a couple of days ago.
Finally, here is the

current version of the CBC transcript as it appears

today.

Okay, so what’s my beef? Firstly, I noticed that the video clip

and the PMO transcript don’t match exactly. The PMO transcript

has Chretien saying that the Western world “is going to be

too rich” but the video reveals quite clearly that Chretien

said the Western world “is getting too rich”. Check the

tape. Now that might seem a small discrepancy on it’s surface,

but it’s a subtle shift that allows the PMO to claim that

Chretien was speaking of the future, making a warning, rather

than speaking of the present circumstances. Big deal, it’s a

bit of spin, hardly matters in the grand scheme of things. It’s

naive to even remark on it, right?

But it gets worse. Comparing the video and the PMO transcript

also reveals another change; in the video Chretien says “we’re

looked upon as being arrogant, self-satisfied, greedy and

without limits” but in the PMO version he says “we look upon

us being arrogant, self-satisfying, greedy and with

no limits.” I guess the PMO counts on the fact that everything

Chretien says comes with a base level of incoherence so that

Canadians don’t balk at the sheer illogic of that change. Well,

that doesn’t prove much of anything new even if you or I find

it extremely cynical and slimy. The PMO’s job is to cover

Chretien’s ass come hell or high water and that’s all they are

trying to do, right?

So I decide to check the CBC transcript against the video and I

find out that their transcript is an exact copy of the PMO

transcript. “Well, maybe the transcript was provided to the PMO

by the CBC, anything’s possible and that would explain why the

transcripts are identical” says my scrupulously fair and

evenhanded side to my other side which I will not describe at

this time.
Check out the original CBC story:

In the television interview, Chrétien said the

Western world is “looked upon as being arrogant,

self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits. The 11th of

September is an occasion for me to realize it even more.”

Then check out the ‘official CBC transcript of today;

“And necessarily, you know, we look upon us

being arrogant, self-satisfying, greedy and with no

limits. And the 11th of September is an occasion for me to

realize that it’s even more.”

Link via Ranting and

Roaring.
(Here is

Language=E&Page=newsroom&Sub=NewsReleases&Doc=cbc_interview.200

20912_e.htm”>the version I posted September 12/02 from the

PMO.)

Published 5 years, 11 months ago