Bush Press Conference

[Darzog]

In case any of you didn’t have time to do your patriotic duty and listen to the press conference yesterday morning, here is the transcript.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0060321-4.html

For those of you in the minority that still aren’t fully convinced and supportive of the President’s Mandate and results, this should clear everything up.

*hides in the shrubbery to avoid the flaming and criticism*

[fable]

I think it showed a first rate sense of imagination and a keen, understated touch of whimsy.

[Darzog]

I agree. I think he had the best grasp of the issues at hand during this exchange.

Quote:

THE PRESIDENT: Cannon. Q Mr. President -- THE PRESIDENT: No, you're not Cannon. That's Cannon. You're Ken. Q Thank you, sir. THE PRESIDENT: Sorry, Ken. You thought I said Cannon -- Q I thought you said Ken. THE PRESIDENT: Bazinet. (Laughter.)

I mean how can you argue about Iraq after that?

[fable]

Quite so. Once one gets beyond the obvious qualities of Bush--his personal warmth, his integrity, his grasp of historical minutiae, his willingness to listen to the experience of others and grow--the final impression is of an immensely penetrative intellect, never at a loss for detail but always understanding as well the larger picture. We are so blessed to have a man like that at the helm of government.

[Luis Antonio]

Helen. After that brilliant performance at the Grid Iron, I am -- (laughter.)

Q You're going to be sorry. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Well, then, let me take it back. (Laughter.)

Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

THE PRESIDENT: I think your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- is that -- I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --

Q Everything --

THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please.

Q -- everything I've heard --

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

Q They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.

THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained --

Q I'm talking about Iraq --

THE PRESIDENT: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences --

Q -- go to war --

THE PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.

Q Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld -- (laughter.)

Q Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: You're welcome. (Laughter.) I didn't really regret it. I kind of semi-regretted it. (Laughter.)

This part has got my special attention. Interesting. I dont feel strenght in his words. Anyone agree that he's undeniably defeated but (and this but is bad) he is still thinking he's invincible?

[Darzog]

I think you are right that he still thinks he is invicible. I also hope you are right that he is defeated. Unfortunately his arguement (if you don't bother looking into the facts of the situations at the time) can be persuasive to people that want to believe in him. You should see some of the responses (read bleating) I've gotten when I've written to my Senators (John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison) complaining about the stances they take. These two in particular think GWB craps morality and budget surplusses. I'm surprised you don't smell Hutchison's shampoo when Bush burps.

Back on topic... the argument is persuasive enough that if all you want to hear is a reason to believe again, it will work. There is enough in there that almost sounds like it could be close to the same room as the truth. And the amount of people that are in that camp is (unfortunately) bigger than you would like.