I notice that you did not respond to my critique that you (like kholt) think of yourself as non-partisan, despite the fact that you are liberal, precisely because you are liberal.
You don't have to respond, I am just taking notice.
As for Bush, I thought the speech was excellent. The question-and-answer quite uneven, and I doubt that all the prepping in the world will make him any different. One-on-one he's low-key and chummy, which doesn't work well in the press conference venue, but he's got to be who he is.
I sensed that the questions are - whether intentionally or not - warm-ups for the presidential debates and many, if not most, were hardballs. He took a lot of hardballs first, and he was the one who chose the line-up.
I don't feel that any of his answers were "wrong" - he said what he thought, and the chips will lie where they may. You won't vote for him no matter what, I won't vote for Kerry no matter what, so it's really up to the undecideds.
The only answer that surprised me was whether he blamed himself for 9/11. I might have answered it with more finesse, something about "the buck stops here", that, while he personally has racked his brains and the brains of everybody around him about what could have been done differently, nevertheless, at the end of the day, he's the President, and blame, if any, yadda-yadda. Needs work.
I was pleased to see him pick up the "they blame us for taking pre-emptive action against Iraq, yet they blame us for not taking pre-emptive action in Afghanistan" trope I was struggling for a few days ago. That's a keeper. Make it into a meme, I think it deserves that.
Not changing course in order to please people and get re-elected was a given, but still good to hear, and a keeper, too. He needs to keep on that message. |
