Here's a new twist: instead of the usual Fox News reporters pretending not to be employees of the Bush administration, here we have official Bush administration employees pretending to be Fox News reporters.

Washington Post -- Advance Workers for Bush Impersonated Reporters:

"The White House said yesterday that it will discipline two government employees who masqueraded as journalists this month while scouting locations for a presidential visit to the Gulf Coast.

A Mississippi couple whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina said two men who later identified themselves as Secret Service agents pretended to be Fox News journalists when surveying their neighborhood in advance of a March 8 visit from President Bush."

Update: Apparently a similar thing happened in the Rochester area last week when Bush et. al. came to town. This time they applied a little force to prevent old folks from chatting with the Pres and the White House press corps that was in tow. (Thanks to Bat for pointing this out).

Olean resident Brenda Snyder went to Canandaigua on Tuesday to talk to President Bush about health care. What she got was a lesson in message control.

Mrs. Snyder said no one at the meeting was given an opportunity to speak to the president and many, including herself, were prevented by security at the event from talking to the press after the president?s town meeting.

Mrs. Snyder said after the meeting a group of television reporters at the back of the room asked her a question. When she tried to reply, she says she was herded out of the room.

[snip]

Mrs. Snyder said she felt threatened by the security officer.

?He kept saying ?move along? and kept blocking my way and I kept saying, ?I?m a U.S. citizen I have a right to answer some questions,?? she said. ?It felt like if you were out of order at all, someone was going to take you away. It was very threatening.?

Mrs. Snyder went to the president?s town meeting in Canandaigua with a contingent from the Cattaraugus County Department of the Aging. Last year she helped an elderly friend who was having health difficulties remain in his home despite a determination from Social Services that the man needed to move to a group home.

[snip]

She said her experience in Canandaigua has changed her life.

?I think America is going in a very scary direction. I felt like I was in a police state and that as a citizen I don?t have many rights,? she said.

[snip]

?I was just interested in the process and how I would be treated. I wanted to ask a few questions and answer a few questions. I wasn?t allowed to do that and I was outraged,? she said. ?The president was out of the room. Why couldn?t I talk to the press??