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Bush Press Conference

Bush_2President Bush spoke with members of the press this morning in the East Room of the Oval Office, in follow-up to last night's address to the nation.

Questions ranged from the improperly leaked NSA surveillance information to progress in Iraq to race baiting.  I haven't seen a transcript or video yet, but Bulldog Pundit at Ankle Biting Pundits put up a thorough liveblog.

None of the questions were particularly incisive, nor was there much new substance to the answers (at least to those that have been paying attention lately, which - judging by prevailing rhetoric and media coverage - includes a limited swath of the public).  But what impressed me about the back-and-forth was Bush's ability (and willingness) to smack down or sidestep all the flawed premises, poisoned wells, and loaded questions that saturated the press corps' barrage.

Capping this year-end blitz of renewed rhetorical vigor with an appropriately assertive interactive performance like this strikes me as a smart move and an indication the Bush feels he's got a bit of his groove back when it comes to defending sound policy and rebuffing faulty criticism.

Update:

The White House has released a transcript and video.

Handcrafted by Flip on December 19, 2005 |

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Comments

Did you like his speech? I thought he did a very good job in addressing critics and faulty intelligence, whether you agree with him or not.

Posted by: Tom | Dec 19, 2005 3:14:14 PM

I thought that this was the President's strongest performance of recent vintage, even stronger that the 5 speeches on Iraq. As I observed here, (http://therevolutionwillbeblogged.blogspot.com/2005/12/great-news-conference.html), "I hope this is a picture of the feisty side of President Bush that we'll see the rest of his presidency. His biggest troubles come when he's passive like his dad. His highest highs come when he's showing Barbara's feistiness." I loved how he shot down this question in a great exchange: Thank you, Mr. President. I wonder if you can tell us today, sir, what, if any, limits you believe there are or should be on the powers of a President during a war, at wartime? And if the global war on terror is going to last for decades, as has been forecast, does that mean that we're going to see, therefore, a more or less permanent expansion of the unchecked power of the executive in American society? THE PRESIDENT: First of all, I disagree with your assertion of "unchecked power." Q Well -- THE PRESIDENT: Hold on a second, please. There is the check of people being sworn to uphold the law, for starters. There is oversight. We're talking to Congress all the time, and on this program, to suggest there's unchecked power is not listening to what I'm telling you. I'm telling you, we have briefed the United States Congress on this program a dozen times. This is an awesome responsibility to make decisions on behalf of the American people, and I understand that, Peter. And we'll continue to work with the Congress, as well as people within our own administration, to constantly monitor programs such as the one I described to you, to make sure that we're protecting the civil liberties of the United States. To say "unchecked power" basically is ascribing some kind of dictatorial position to the President, which I strongly reject. Q What limits do you -- THE PRESIDENT: I just described limits on this particular program, Peter. And that's what's important for the American people to understand. I am doing what you expect me to do, and at the same time, safeguarding the civil liberties of the country. This is a theme that we'll see often in the days to come so get used to it. It's shameful & misleading but that's what we should expect from the narrative that the Agenda Media will use, regardless of the facts.

Posted by: Gary Gross | Dec 19, 2005 8:15:55 PM

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