On the March 16 broadcast of NBC's Today, NBC News White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell reported that “the applause is usually quite warm” at President Bush's public events and "[p]ublic feedback is only sometimes pointed." Although viewers would not know it from O'Donnell's report, Bush likely owes the warm reception he has received in front of crowds to the reported screening of prospective attendees, removal of protesters, and pre-rehearsed questions that largely preclude “pointed” feedback.

Indeed, the Bush administration's use of controlled audiences is so widely known that White House aides reportedly made a point of announcing that the audience at a recent public forum -- at which Bush discussed his warrantless domestic spying program -- was not composed exclusively of Republicans, and that questions posed to Bush were not scripted.

Reporting on a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showing a record-low job approval rating for Bush -- 37 percent -- O'Donnell aired a video clip of Bush shaking hands with audience members at a public event meant to promote his Medicare prescription drug benefit. O'Donnell contrasted the public's current low approval of Bush's job performance with the “warm” reception typically given to Bush by audiences at his public events.

From the March 16 edition of NBC's Today:

O'DONNELL: A harsh judgment of the president from Americans surveyed in this new poll. And it says that the judgment on Iraq is showing great pessimism for the long term, and also for the nation more broadly.

O'DONNELL: In person, at these events, the applause is usually quite warm. Public feedback is only sometimes pointed.

BUSH [video clip]: Yes. I'll take your words to heart, and take -- think about it.

O'DONNELL: The new poll numbers are stark. The key mark -- the president's job approval -- down to a low of 37.

But O'Donnell failed to inform viewers that the Bush administration reportedly screens audience members prior to Bush appearing at public events, removing any protestors who find their way into the events and scripting any questions to Bush in advance -- all to ensure a positive reception for the president. In a December 7, 2005, column, Slate.com editor Jacob Weisberg noted:

At phony town hall meetings, Bush's audiences are hand-picked to prevent any possibility of spontaneous challenge. At fake forums, invited guests ask the president to pursue his previously announced policies.

[...]

Anyone on the inside who doubts the party line is shown the door.

Similarly, on the October 13, 2005, edition of CNN's The Situation Room, CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux noted that "[i]f you've ever seen a President Bush event, you know that they go through rehearsals, that these audiences are hand-picked, and it's far from spontaneous." Additionally, a September 5, 2005, Time magazine article by White House correspondent Matthew Cooper noted that "[m]uch of Bush's presidency has been built around keeping him away from unfriendly audiences. His campaign rallies were carefully screened and so are his policy events where he chews the fat about issues like Social Security."

A March 31, 2005, Associated Press article described some of the tactics the administration uses to ensure a positive reception for Bush at events like those cited by Cooper. Reporting on an event during which Bush touted his plan to overhaul Social Security before “a carefully screened crowd of about 1,000 people,” the AP noted:

Forum attendees were carefully selected. Only those given tickets were allowed to attend and tickets were limited to Bush supporters known to organizers.

[...]

A small group of protesters was kept well away from Bush's event.

Also describing the tactics used to pre-empt any dissent at Bush events, a March 30, 2005, Washington Post article reported:

The president has held Social Security rallies in more than a dozen states this year. The crowds are closely monitored for possible disruptions, and protesters are quickly escorted away.

Protesters often stand out because the crowds are packed with Bush supporters, who have been invited by a local GOP House member or organization. Those onstage at most of the town hall meetings are carefully screened people from the area who agree with the president's Social Security proposal. The participants typically rehearse what they will say with members of the president's advance team and rarely, if ever, say anything critical about his plan for private accounts.

The Bush administration's manipulation of crowds at Bush's public appearances is so widely known that White House aides reportedly made a point of announcing that the crowds at recent events focusing on Bush's warrantless domestic wiretapping program were not exclusively composed of Bush supporters, and that questions posed to Bush were not rehearsed in advance. A January 12 Washington Post article noted:

The president's forum here [Louisville, Kentucky] was different than most of the events he attends nationwide. Usually he speaks to carefully screened partisan audiences and takes no questions. White House aides described Wednesday's audience of business and community leaders as bipartisan, and Bush opened himself to unscripted audience questions during the town-hall-style event.

However, a January 23 AP article describing a separate event noted that, although "[t]he White House says none of the questions [posed to Bush at the event] was prescreened," the location of the event “was in friendly Bush territory in the reliably 'red' state of Kansas.” The AP reported that “a coliseum full of roughly 9,000 people ... got tickets distributed by [Kansas State] university. Six thousand were students, 800 were soldiers from nearby Fort Riley who just returned from Iraq, officials said.” The article did not say how the university went about distributing the tickets, but noted that “Bush received a hero's welcome, with long standing ovations and loud applause as he defended his most controversial positions. There was a noisy crowd of a couple hundred sign-waving anti-war protesters outside the arena where Bush appeared.”