What Will Bush Say at the “Press Conference”?
So, for the first time since March of 2003, and only the third time in his entire presidency, Bush is going to do a press conference in primetime. Well, except that if he follows the pattern he’s established with previous events, he will only call on a small group of reporters chosen for their willingness to throw softballs and eschew tough followups.
Still, officials have indicated that Bush will deign to answer questions on Iraq and the recent 9/11 commission hearings:
“The president believes this is a good time to provide the American people with an update,” [White House press secretary Scott] McClellan said, adding that he expects the president also will address the recent violence in Iraq. “This is an opportunity when we can reach many Americans.”
White House communications director Dan Bartlett said Monday that the president also is prepared to address questions about a memo, titled “Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S.,” that he received on Aug. 6, 2001, as part of the President’s Daily Brief.
So, what will he say? I’m guessing it’s going to be large amounts of “we’re making progress in Iraq,” “we need to stay the course and demonstrate the manly, upright firmness of our resolve,” and “our opponents over there are few, weak, scattered, and desperate.” Expect something touching and down-home, also, about the sacrifices “our brave young men and women of the armed forces” are making.
On the President’s Daily Brief, expect more of what he’s been floating over the last few days, slipping nimbly away from accusations that he paid insufficient attention to the warnings, taking refuge in claims that there was nothing “actionable” in them, and claiming (paradoxically) that besides, he was already doing everything appropriate anyway.
The overall subtext I’m expecting to see is: look at how somber I am. Look how hard I’m working on this Iraq thing. I’m a serious, serious president, looking very, very presidential.
So go watch him do that. But while you’re watching, keep in mind this latest in the long series of hilarious photographs revealing the fun side of our Class Clown in Chief (courtesy of Wonkette; image stolen shamelessly from Jason Reed of Reuters):
Good Lord. This man is the president.
April 13th, 2004 at 2:24 pm
That poor dog.
April 14th, 2004 at 7:55 am
John: Will you be writing a review of the speech/conference? I thought it was painful, moreso than usual, but of course I’m an evil Commie traitor, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Still, I thought his stumbling, non-answers and blank looks were cringeworthy. Then I read the right-wing press online and it’s like we’re in two different universes. I give up.
April 14th, 2004 at 9:27 am
Well, the right-wing press and the mainstream media are two fundamentally different sorts of things. The latter is about trying to describe the world as it is, despite the inevitable clouding effects of observer bias. The former is about cheerleading for one side at the expense of the other, truth be damned.
You should only venture into the echo chamber occasionally, for laughs. Otherwise, ignore it. Life’s too short.
When I was in high school, some friends and I had a club that we facetiously named after a roller derby team (roller derby being essentially the same thing as pro wrestling; a for-show-only “sport” where the outcome is scripted in advance) called the “Riley’s Renegades”. We had lots of fun with it, and even went to downtown L.A. to watch a roller derby event in person at one point. And we were having a great time, laughing and pointing and doing syncronized cheers for one side or the other. And the weird thing was that as we looked around, we realized that the people sitting on all sides of us, for the most part, actually believed the event they were watching was real.
I’m not sure you can lose too much sleep over people like that. Those who watch Fox News, or listen to Rush or O’Reilly, or subscribe to the National Review or the Washington Times, and actually believe the information they’re getting is real, are in some ways a lost cause. And yeah, it’s depressingly clear that things like television and the decaying public education system have helped dumb down the nation to the point where more and more people lack the discernment to separate real news reporting from ideologically slanted entertainment.
But you have to have faith. Look at it this way: If the electorate in this country really is too confused to see through Bush’s performance last night, just because Bill O’Reilly tells them the president did a great job, then yeah, we’re doomed.
I think “the people,” meaning that great mass of mostly ill-educated, annoyingly self-centered people that sit in the middle of the public opinion polls and shift one way or the other based on what flashes across their TV screens, are actually smarter than that. At least in aggregate, and at least when they have enough time and accumulated evidence to get a clear picture of things. I think they are seeing through Bush’s smokescreen. And Bush doesn’t have an answer.
All those folks in the echo chamber can whine and kvetch about Theresa Heinz-Kerry’s philanthropy (or whatever) all they want, but when people go into the voting booth, the bulk of them are going to make a sincere effort to make the right choice.
I think performances like the one Bush gave last night will push enough of those people into Kerry’s column to decide the election in his favor.
Oh, and yes, I’m planning to comment on the parts of the press conference that I found noteworthy. Look for that later this morning. Thanks for asking.
And when are you going to start blogging again? I took you out of the blogroll here yesterday as part of some housekeeping, but you’ll go back in the minute you start posting again.
April 14th, 2004 at 12:14 pm
Can someone please explain to me what the president was talking about last night when he said,”We aren’t going to leaf”. What does that mean, spring isn’t coming? I am so confused.
April 14th, 2004 at 2:09 pm
John: Thanks for asking when I’m coming back. I’m hoping I can get everything together by the end of the month. I even have a list of topics to write about. :-)