who was the last reporter -- Don who? He was excellent!

A new reporter who obviously didn't know his proper place.

QUESTION: Following on both Judy and John's questions, and it comes out of what you just said in some ways, with public support for your policies in Iraq falling off the way they have, quite significantly over the past couple of months, I guess I'd like to know if you feel, in any way, that you have failed as a communicator on this topic.

BUSH: Gosh, I don't know. I mean ...

QUESTION: Well, you deliver a lot of speeches, and a lot of them contain similar phrases and may vary very little from one to the next. And they often include a pretty upbeat assessment of how things are going, with the exception of tonight. It's pretty somber.

BUSH: A pretty somber assessment today, Don, yes.

QUESTION: But I guess I just wonder if you feel that you have failed in any way. You don't have many of these press conferences where you engage in this kind of exchange. Have you failed in any way to really make the case to the American public?

BUSH: You know, that's, I guess, if you put it into a political context, that's the kind of thing the voters will decide next November. That's what elections are about. They'll take a look at me and my opponent and say, let's see, which one of them can better win the war on terror? Who best can see to it that Iraq emerges a free society?

And, Don, you know, if I tried to fine-tune my messages based upon polls, I think I'd be pretty ineffective. I know I would be disappointed in myself.

I hope today you've got a sense of my conviction about what we're doing. If you don't, maybe I need to learn to communicate better.

I feel strongly about what we're doing. I feel strongly it's the course this administration is taking will make America more secure and the world more free and, therefore, the world more peaceful. It's a conviction that's deep in my soul. And, you know, I will say it as best I possibly can to the American people.

I look forward to the debate in the campaign. I look forward to helping -- for the American people to hear, you know, what is the proper use of American power. Do we have an obligation to lead, or should we shirk responsibility? That's how I view this debate.

And I look forward to making it. Don, I'll do it the best I possibly can. I'll give it the best shot. I'll speak as plainly as I can.

One thing is for certain, though, about me, and the world has learned this: When I say something, I mean it. And the credibility of the United States is incredibly important for keeping world peace and freedom.

Thank you all very much.

THE END! SAY GOODNIGHT GRACIE!!

from NPR - surprised he took a question from the liberal media source

/sarcasm

... and lost!

After 2years of listening, I'm equally surprised Donnie boy nailed Bush so hard after so much whoring, but Don asked a brave question tonite and let's hope he doesn't lose his job over it.

NPR is underwritten by Mobil and other Fortune 500 companies. They have taken a hard turn to the right since Bush took office. I used to call shows like the Connection and On Point, and now the call screeners rarely let someone through with a liberal opinion.

USIA, really CIA

She could always be counted on to make it exciting.

She was deliberately not allowed into that hand picked crowd, or she would have been there. Thank god Don took up the gauntlet for her, if he knows he did that.

saw her before the "show" started. * ignored her obviously.

But I don't know his name, only the first, Don, because Bush kept saying "Don" over and over.

And when Bush tried to dodge it, he repeated it word for word.

HAVE YOU BEEN A FAILURE AS A COMMUNICATOR???

Ironically, I think Bush has COMMUNICATED the republican agenda more clearly than any other republican ever. He's been a FAILURE in every other way.

Did an excellent job of letting everyone know that Iraq is not the last country we're going to wage war on. WATCH THE MEDIA IGNORE IT!!

And who cares about how he FEELS. It's about NATIONAL POLICY, dumbo.

I loved watching chimp twist and twirl (just like that tie he was wearing.)

Does anyone have Don's email address.

he'll be out sweeping the sidewalk with Bob Edwards in a week

and whoever said upthread he's basically a shill is absolutely right

I've noticed his affinity for the chimpshrimp on many occasions

SO very glad to have AAR

listening to David Sirota (sp?) from CFAP deconstructing all the lies from Condi, the lies about the PDB

Ofranken does this awfully palatably, too.

pleasantly surprised with the way he's been dealing with three hours a day

Weirdo! His tie was a pinkish/gray stripe. Pinko!

I mean he implies that bush is right but either the stupid american people havent gotten that yet or bush has not explained it well enough to them. I saw it as a softball to say oh george let me lob this up so you can explain why you are right and we just havent been getting it in the past when you explain about the evil doers and freedom haters and lovers of terra

I think you're right that basically that question was a softball, albeit phrased in a rather combative way. Poor Bush struck out, though, even on the softball.

Reagan or Clinton would have hit that one out of the park, probably.

--Peter

dumbo: who can win the war on terror

that's where he is now

'why do you and Cheney have to appear together before the 9/11 Commission, when they asked specifically for you to appear separately?'. Bush gave a stupid-ass non-answer, and tried to dodge, and the guy from WP asked it again.. and Bush blew him off!

Also, Someone was asking how we'd know if the questions were pre-submitted.. well... how about the fact that Bush kept having to look down at notes when he answered, AND he even alluded to someone that he had a "must call" list to follow, when he apologized for not picking him. AND.. when they did ONE shot over his shoulder, you could see VERY LARGE black handwritten notes on pages in front of him.. that was after his little speech.. that he had to read, also. He knew who he would pick, and what they would ask.. he let a few, i.e. WP and NPR ask at the end, to make it look real.