Government Propoganda: A. Williams

Government funds were used to pay for a radio commentator to advertise NCLB and slip the message into his program. The Education Secretary tried to defend the practice but the radio commentator "said that he made a mistake by accepting the government money but has said he won't return it." Then the President said "I appreciate the way Armstrong Williams has handled this, because he has made it very clear that he made a mistake. All of us, the Cabinet, needs to take a good look and make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

I do not appreciate the way Williams handled this. He should admit his mistake and refund the money. No one should be trying to defend this because it is a precident that could balloon and poison all of our media.

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Education Secretary Rod Paige defended the contract, saying it was "standard practice" when complex ideas need to be communicated to the public. He said the deal with Williams was to buy advertising on his syndicated radio and television program. "The funds covered those costs alone and nothing more," he said.

But a copy of the contract, obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act, says that in addition to the six-month ad campaign last year, Williams was to "comment regularly on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts" and "encourage the producers" of a cable TV program, America's Black Forum, to do the same. The program has terminated its relationship with Williams.

Paige expressed sorrow "that there are perceptions and allegations of ethical lapses" and said he was asking the department's inspector general to investigate.

At the same time, the Senate panel that handles the Education Department's budget and oversees its spending asked the department to turn over records of its contracts with public relations firms. The panel reminded Paige of the ban on using tax dollars for "covert propaganda."

The letter from Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, asked for records of the deal with Williams, made through a $1 million contract with the Ketchum public relations firm. The letter also asked for any other contract over the past three years that had a similar purpose.

In a separate statement, Harkin noted that the congressional Government Accountability Office has documented other instances of "propaganda" whose links to government funding were not disclosed.

Williams has said that he made a mistake by accepting the government money but has said he won't return it.

In the interview, Bush said, "I appreciate the way Armstrong Williams has handled this, because he has made it very clear that he made a mistake. All of us, the Cabinet, needs to take a good look and make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again."