Milbank on Bush’s ‘Tells’
The WaPo’s Dana Milbank has a column that was like catnip to a cat for a Bush-watcher like me: For president under duress, body language speaks volumes. It looks at how Bush behaved during the interview he and Laura did with Matt Lauer the other day in connection with the “hammers like a girl” photo op.
The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was “trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression,” Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.
When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer — along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.
I didn’t actually see the interview on the Today show. I’d be curious what people who did think about Milbank’s characterization. Did Bush seem visibly uncomfortable? Did we get a lot of those yeah-he’s-wired pauses?
