Bush Is Stumped on Question of Mistakes

Thanks for the ping Brian. The Press may just as well carry signs saying "DNC Memeber". Some really stupid questions designed toput Bush on the spot were asked yesterday.

41 posted on 04/14/2004 11:46:49 AM PDT by SAMWolf (Live long and prosper... But don't let the IRS know.)

Oops...I didn't see that previous post. My bad.

42 posted on 04/14/2004 11:51:57 AM PDT by Frunabulax ("If the truth will kill them, let them die.")

It's times like these when I'd pay to see Dubya morph into Coach Bob Knight, telling the press whores a thing or two about their stupid questions.

If I were Karen Hughes, I'd consider this possibility for sometime during the spring of '05. Given the poll numbers regarding public respect for the press corps, I'd bet the public would stand up and cheer.

43 posted on 04/14/2004 11:52:40 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Ted Kennedy has questioned Dubya's integrity. Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.)

To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

The only mistake GWB made was not firing all of Clinton's appointees!

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

44 posted on 04/14/2004 11:54:24 AM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)

Actually, he should have said that the Steel Tarriffs were a mistake. One which has now been corrected.

Agreed. I hope Karen drills this into him before the next time he gets asked.

45 posted on 04/14/2004 11:55:33 AM PDT by presidio9 ("See, mother, I make all things new.")

President Bush, "Well, on hindsight, my biggest mistake was not firing Dickie Clarke when I took office."

You must be really smart, because that is almost word for word how my supra-genius wife responded.

46 posted on 04/14/2004 11:55:40 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Ted Kennedy has questioned Dubya's integrity. Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.)

Real mistakes Bush has made:
Not firing Richard Clarke
Steel Tarriffs
Letting Ted Kennedy anywhere near any legislation

On the other hand...
He has not tired.

He has not faltered.

He has not failed.

More than good enough for me.

48 posted on 04/14/2004 12:03:28 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback (Ted Kennedy has questioned Dubya's integrity. Mary Jo Kopechne could not be reached for comment.)

Any other answer President Bush gave would just have provided a bigger hammer for the media to hit him with. It was the best possible answer politically speaking that could have been offered.

49 posted on 04/14/2004 12:07:41 PM PDT by Libertarianize the GOP (Ideas have consequences)

I don't see this source on the 'Excerpts Only' list, so ....
Apr 14, 12:37 PM EDT
Bush Is Stumped on Question of Mistakes
By CALVIN WOODWARD
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush acknowledged a good deal of introspection after all the questions lately about his government's actions before the Sept. 11 attacks and in Iraq, but not a whiff of contrition. Bush was asked in his prime-time news conference if he had made any mistakes.
"I'm sure something will pop into my head here," he said Tuesday. It didn't.
Bush is rarely one to second-guess himself and wasn't about to now, despite failures highlighted in the government's pre-Sept. 11, 2001, intelligence operations, the futile search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and all the recent violence there.
"I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes," he said Tuesday night. "I'm confident I have."
But "maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one."
He went on, "I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could've done it better this way or that way."
To be sure, Bush acknowledged the difficulties of recent weeks in Iraq, the horrible scenes of bodies on television and the sense that the war has dragged on for a long time. "It's been really tough for the families," he said. "It's been tough on this administration."
He said he has asked himself repeatedly whether his administration could have done anything to stop the Sept. 11 attacks. He did not directly answer his own question, saying only that if he'd had an inkling about what was to happen, he would have done anything to head it off.
"Hindsight's easy," he said. Sure, he would have liked to have had a Homeland Security Department and Patriot Act before the terrorists struck. Yes, the country should have been on a war footing when it is now apparent "the enemy was at war with us."
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry apparently found Bush's attitude off-putting.
"The president may refuse to acknowledge a single mistake in the course of his presidency," he said, "but with deaths mounting and American sacrifice increasing, it's time he offered a specific plan that secures real international involvement, gets the target off the backs of our troops and starts to share the burden in Iraq."
Bush asserted the Iraq war was justified. "Of course, I want to know why we haven't found a weapon yet," he said. "But I still know Saddam Hussein was a threat. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein."
On the protracted struggle against insurgents trying to drive the Americans out, Bush said liberty doesn't come easily, and invoked the American Revolution: "I mean, we had a little trouble in our own country achieving freedom."
He declared, "I would've gone into Afghanistan the way we went into Afghanistan. Even knowing what I know today about the stockpiles of weapons, I still would've called upon the world to deal with Saddam Hussein."
And there was to be no apology for what the government did and did not do in the months before the terrorist attacks, when the air was thick with signs of trouble that his administration says were too vague to act on.
"Here's what I feel about that," he said. "The person responsible for the attacks was Osama bin Laden. That's who's responsible for killing Americans. And that's why we will stay on the offense until we bring people to justice."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
________________________________________________________
Here is the BIG version of that pic:

A reporter asks President Bush a question during a news conference in the East Room of the White House Tuesday, April 13, 2004, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

50 posted on 04/14/2004 12:14:28 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Become a monthly donor on FR. No amount is too small and monthly giving is the way to go !)

What those naughty liberal "journalists" where looking for was a sound bite like "I'm sorry for..." that KetchupBoy could use in his campaign.

I was highly amused that they thought they could get over on the president by doing this. He wasn't biting......so, who looks like a "dummy"???

51 posted on 04/14/2004 12:18:04 PM PDT by duckbutt ("The weapon of destruction was embedded in Saddam's brain." Bassim Al Fadhly)

This proves they were working together to make Bush look foolish.

Sure puts the lie to the media claims about how they are not in collusion, but competition, so they "never" pre-plan questions, share research or advance copies of each others' stories. Ha!

52 posted on 04/14/2004 12:19:34 PM PDT by Wolfstar (John F. Kerry is a true Leftist idealogue — a true Leftist believer.)

Amazin'! I had to click on the link to confirm that this was supposed to be a straight news story - not an opinion peice.

The "whiff of contrition" phrase is the sort of thing you read in stories about unrepentant defendants at their sentencing.

53 posted on 04/14/2004 12:20:41 PM PDT by G L Tirebiter

To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

My Gawd, TGYC ! The AP is absolutely despicable in this article !
They really hate President Bush, don't they ?? ...

Click here or on the pic for AP text/source/inspiration

54 posted on 04/14/2004 12:21:04 PM PDT by MeekOneGOP (Become a monthly donor on FR. No amount is too small and monthly giving is the way to go !)

I don't see the point of asking or being asked the weakness question. It's too much a cliche and a gotcha. If you're a good interviewer, you'll find what you're looking for without that question. The idea that not answering the weakness or area of improvement question automatically makes the interviewee another arrogant know it all is the same idea that W is unable to admit a mistake because he didn't answer the press jackals last night. Not that there aren't people who will tell you flat out they don't have weaknesses or areas in which they can improve. Generally, though, they signal the arrogance long before you get to that point.

On the other hand, the strength question can serve a good purpose in providing an idea of what the interviewee is interested in and wants to do because they may be apart from the job at hand. Sometimes they're so apart from the job at hand that it's obvious there isn't a good match.

55 posted on 04/14/2004 12:50:32 PM PDT by Dahoser (9/11---The Legacy of Clinton treating terrorism as a law enforcement issue.)

This is simply bad reporting by Washington Post, as if I am surprised. The question was asked about his 'worse' mistake, not 'any' mistakes. It was put to him in the context of his "previously saying (in jest) that his worse mistake was loosing Tommy Sorta from his baseball team, would he reconsider what was his worse mistake now with 9/11 behind us". Kind of a silly question that demands someone to assess how history will look at you. Bush should NOT have acknowledged any 'worse' mistake as 9/11 was not his problem and in fact he should be acknowledged (as I am sure history will) as one that really did was necessary and then some. If only Bush was in office previously when we were downsizing our military, restricting our intelligence assignments and everyother screw up that Clinton did to leave us exposed.

56 posted on 04/14/2004 1:01:46 PM PDT by AgThorn (Go go Bush!! But don't turn your back on America with "immigrant amnesty")

Excuse?... Where's their contrition for same! Sick bastards are aiding and abetting the enemy shooting at our brave Soldiers. Every time Chris Matthews or Fat Teddy or Undertaker Kerry opens their mouth to proclaim 'quagmire' or 'Bush's Vietnam' or 'president led us to war on lies', the jihadi pigs are encouraged to continue killing Americans in Iraq on the hjope that a democrat will be elected and turn tail and run. They're right on one count,

57 posted on 04/14/2004 1:02:31 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)

At least he did not forget some bimbos name.

58 posted on 04/14/2004 1:04:06 PM PDT by cynicom

why can't bush just not call on them?

59 posted on 04/14/2004 1:11:04 PM PDT by LynnHam

To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub

I agree wholeheartedly. Here are some exerpts for articles in our local smalltown newspaper today.

Front Page - AP - "Conceding a couple of 'tough weeks' in Iraq", President Bush .....(this article about the press conference was biased and condescending.)

OP-ED section - Headline of editorial: "Rice case on terror response just rhetoric"....(this little gem came the local paper from the Toledo Blade, the entire piece is horrible.)

OP-ED section - A very derogatory "cartoon" about the President's June 30 deadline in Iraq. (courtesy of Kevin Stiers/Charlotte Observer)

Page 10B- AP - Headline "Bushes, Cheneys pay smaller share of 2003 income in federal taxes than year before"......Suffice it to say the first several paragraphs are Bush/Cheney bashing. At about paragraph 5 the writer does grudgingly add a quote from White House spokesperson Claire Buchan that..."109 million other Americans have benefitted from tax cuts". Now why couldn't that have been the headline???????

And this is just a sampling of what is in the paper every day. As a rule, I don't pay for this fishwrapping, I read it online to check out local news. I just happened to pick up a copy today. It will be the last time they ever get a dime from me.

60 posted on 04/14/2004 1:25:46 PM PDT by LisaMalia (In Memory of Sgt. James W."Billy" Lunsford..KIA 11-29-69 Binh Dinh S. Vietnam)

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