re: too many flags - I think the same thing every time. Does he think that more flags make him patriotic? It just makes him look needy.
Exactly! I haven't seen his other flag-filled appearances, so I didn't know this was SOP.
He waxed nostalgic about campaigning after campaigning for the room. He likes the applause and crowd approval. Actual work as a president isn't nearly as fun--no crowds cheering in the Oval Office; all those pesky Republicans and even Democrats who have to answer to their constituents about an oinker of a bill. He tried to put lipstick on the ever-growing hog but is irritated that he's actually having to work on something that supposed to be a done deal on Coronation Day.
He needed to hear clapping and gathered a group of yay-sayers for a personal pep rally. He addressed them exclusively, never once looking straight into the camera which represented the rest of America; I found that odd. I don't recall Pres. Bush ever avoiding looking at us so deliberately, even when he had to say something he knew wouldn't be popular with his own base.