"You think I'm nuts?"

Politics Watching President George W Bush stuttering through the press conference earlier I was somehow minded that although I don't really like him or his party or his policies, that at least Prime Minister Tony Blair has a statesman-like quality and knows how to conduct himself in front of the media. After the prepared statement, Bush found himself being harranged and unable to deflect the charge that he'd lied to three pressmen who'd visited the White House before the election about the replacement of Donald Rumsfeld. It's not that he lied, it's that he was unable to cover it up with any skill.

His argument seemed to be that he couldn't have lied to the men of the press about Rumsfeld staying on because he hadn't yet had a final conversation with his replacement. But why would he be even talking to replacements if Rumsfeld was staying on? When asked this question fairly directly, he squirmed slightly them spoke fairly condescendingly to the people he really should be convincing as though they were stupid because they didn't understand his logic. No, Mr. President we don't understand your logic.

I think it must have been the longest time that BBC News 24 have stayed with a US Presidential press conference so it was a change to see unexpurgated coverage of Bush inserting his foot in his mouth without interjections from Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. Setting aside what he was saying, he struck me as a very rude man, never looking anyone in the eye and often interrupting their questions mid-flow which seemed to be a deflection tactic. When answering, his statements seemed to either ignore the question (which is a classic trick of all politicians) or reiterate the same point in different ways.

He often denied saying something moments after he said them. In this transcript, he states: "Look, this was a close election. If you look at race by race, it was close. The cumulative effect, however, was not too close. It was a
thumping." (my emphasis)

Seconds later, the following exchange occured with Jim Ruttenberg:

"Q Thank you, Mr. President. You just described the election results as a "thumping."
THE PRESIDENT: I said the cumulative -- make sure -- who do you write for?
Q The New York Times, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yes, that's right. (Laughter.) Let's make sure we get it -- the facts. I said that the elections were close; the cumulative effect --
Q Is a thumping.
THE PRESIDENT: -- thumping. (Laughter.)
Q But the results --
THE PRESIDENT: A polite way of saying -- anyway, go ahead. (Laughter.)

Actually, that should be (Nervous Laughter.) which is pretty much what it was all the way through. Bush basically attributes something he said to Ruttenberg summing up the essence of what he said. Did he forget he said it? Was he that nervous? Or was he actively attempting to covering up what he said?

As Wonkette suggests, these weren't great questions, Bush wasn't getting brickbats, Paxman or Humphreys aren't going to lose any sleep, and yet here was The President largely unable to navigate his way through most of them with any great clarity. At some points his answer boiled down to 'Um -- don't know -- you've looked at this in greater detail than I have...' Which just doesn't seem right to me.

And neither does answering the tail end of an answer with a question which everyone is bound to have an answer for:

"You think I'm nuts?"*

Sure I'm partisan. I'm an, ooh, liberal and a Democrat supporter if it's possible for someone in another country to take a political position in another. In the UK, I'm currently without party since our Liberal Democrats have dropped into a directionless meltdown and noth Labour and particularly the Conservatives are ideologically confused. At this rate I'll be voting Green which might seem like a wasted vote but which at least leaves me with a clean conscience.

But what I'm, well ok, criticising here is that the apparent leader of the free world is unable to spend an hour with the press, after six years of being in office, and show a performance within a crisis which does not appear to have markedly improved within that time. I'd have the same criticism of any President who gave that showing because in the end doesn't he not only embarass himself but also the workers who've supported his party? It's part of the office, I thought, showing leadership. When Bush could have been proving his critics wrong, he simply confirmed everything. Who briefs him? Does anyone brief him?

* As an aside I was watching a grand documentary the other week in which a Democrat was fight an entrenched Republican candidate. In many of his speeches he would quote the great words of former Presidents. I look at "You think I'm nuts?" and wonder if this Bush has actually said anything that's quotable that isn't a joke?