WP, p. 1: President Is Long on Resolve but Short on Details

Analysis
President Is Long On Resolve but Short on Details

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 14, 2004; Page A01


An unapologetic President Bush stood before the nation last night.

Robustly defending the principles behind his policies in Iraq and the war on terrorism, Bush steadfastly refused to admit mistakes and passed up opportunities to explain what it will take to achieve his goal of a free and stable Iraq.

From his opening statement to his final answer an hour later, it was clear that the president's objective was less to lay out new details of the path forward, suggest any change in direction or acknowledge any rethinking of his decisions in the face of recent setbacks. Instead, it was to restate his determination to stay the course and to argue anew that the war in Iraq will make America more secure.

But for Americans looking for an insight into what the president has learned from an occupation of Iraq that has been far bloodier and more difficult than the administration had suggested, or from the government's failure to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush had less to offer. He repeatedly did not answer pointed questions about his policies and was better at describing his vision of a democratic Iraq than in explaining how he will overcome the mounting obstacles to achieve that vision....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10018-2004Apr14.html

he never did -- but the major media has given him a pass. lowered the bar -- EVERY DAMN YEAR OF HIS PRESIDENCY!
now it's too late -- and you want to look like you have a mind of your own.
sorry but i had to vent -- sometimes the post pisses me off.

"Nobody likes to see dead people on their television screens," he said. "I don't. It's a tough time for the American people to see that. It's gut-wrenching."

So he wants people to be as ignorant of the events as he is. I guess the Bushes all share one "beautiful mind".

They never do stuff like this. They actually tried to convey the awkwardness of a so-called "president" standing there dumbstruck by a simple question.

Toward the end of the news conference, Bush was asked what lessons he had taken away from events since the Sept. 11 attacks. He stopped, shook his head, looked quizzical and then came up empty, although it was the kind of question he must have been told to prepare for. "I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer," he said. "But it hasn't yet."

Pretty damning.....http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=3&u=/nm/bush_mistake_dc

The first line: "President Bush...grimaced, sighed, rambled and chuckled under his breath on Tuesday, before saying he could not think of a single mistake he had made since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

if you watched the talking heads last night on TV you would have thought Bush was the best thing since sliced bread. At least print is stating the obvious.

that's all I have to say.