You can talk at that bully pulpit all day, but if no one broadcasts it, you are simply wasting your time.
Miss Marple,
The President giving speeches on the campaign trail is not the same thing as him giving a speech from the Oval office.
Perhaps my comment did not make this clear but seriously, after a major disaster like Katrina I do think either a press conference or a talk to the American people from the Oval office or other serious venue would be warranted.
Same for updates on the Iraq war.
All of the media covers this sort of thing and that is what I meant.
More important in my post is the NEED for this President to communicate, not necessarily MORE, but MORE EFFECTIVELY.
They give Bush two or three phrases and all he does is repeat these phrases but with different emphasis.
The whole point of my comment, and hey I could be wrong as there's always things going on that us minions don't know about, is that the President, indeed the entire Republican party, needs to be a bit more honest and SAY WHAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.
Two great examples are how they let the mantra that Katrina was a FEDERAL booboo and the Weapons of Mass Destruction...NOT. Sure Rush and the conservative pundits tried to get the truth out but some things you need the LEADERS to grow some gonads and say what has to be said.
This sadsack pubbie congress does not and it's why so many things got out of hand these past two years. Some good, solid and honest rhetoric would have changed the course of events this past Tuesday, I'm sure of it.
I sure don't think firing Donald Rumsfeld the day after the midterms was a smart move but then that's a whole different topic.