August 22, 2006
Hotline After Dark -- Mood Ring Edition
A majority of last night's coverage (that wasn't JonBenet) concentrated on Pres. Bush's first full-fledged news conference since early 7/06.
CNN's Henry: "The president started out jovial. He was joking with reporters about our temporary digs across the street from the White House. He even teased one journalist about his seersucker suit, but I can tell you the mood shifted pretty quickly in that room because of the fact that the president was very serious and sober about the situation in Iraq" ("Situation Room," CNN, 8/21).
Ex-WH advisor David Gergen, on Bush's comment that as long as he is pres., the US is not leaving Iraq: "It suggests all this kind of speculation we've had, the encouragement we've had from within the administration, from within the military, that U.S. troops would start to withdraw this year, is clearly -- putting cold water on that now and saying 'I'm going to fight this out under my presidency'" ("AC 360," CNN, 8/21).
Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer: "If the argument is about withdrawing now, I think he can win the argument. If the argument's about was it worth it in the past, the original decision, he may lose it. So that's why he wants to focus on the issue right now. ... The major argument for withdrawal is that we can't win. We are losing anyway. Why lose another soldier? It's a losing cause. The president has to address that. That is a reasonable argument because the indices looks as if it is negative and he has to explain how we are going to change our strategy. He did talk about in saying the idea of securing Baghdad" ("Special Report," FNC, 8/21).
NBC's O'Donnell: "What was so noticeable was the forcefulness of the president. His animated
defense that American troop wills stay in Iraq despite public anxiety over the war. Bringing them out too soon, he said, would be, in his words, 'a disaster'" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 8/21).
CNN's Pilgrim: "President Bush today delivered one of the most blunt assessments of the war in Iraq. The president said the war is straining the psyche of this country. President Bush admitted, the chaos in Iraq is likely to be a major factor for U.S. voters in the midterm elections. But the president said, an early U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would help the enemy" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," 8/21).
Wall Street Journal's Fund, asked if he was surprised by Bush's change in tone: "The facts on the ground have been getting worse and I think the public has been waiting for some shift in the president's mood rather than just stay the course. The president has an opportunity now, his polls are slightly up after the bomb plot. Remember, we've not been attacked for the last five years. That is a success for this president. But Iraq is bad news and there's an election 80 days away. I think the president is thinking about his reality. The problem is this, he doesn't exude confidence and that's what you need in order to carry this war to a successful conclusion" ("Lou Dobbs Tonight," CNN, 8/21).
MSNBC's Matthews, on the news conference: "This puts Iraq the No. 1 concern for the American people in the spotlight for the upcoming election and directly on the front burner for the 2008 presidential contenders."
More: "It seemed like he did a very good job, no matter what your politics or your journalistic instincts are of saying hey, this is what the campaign is going to be about" ("Hardball," 8/21).
DCCC Chair Rahm Emanuel (D-IL): "All the president is offering is stay the course and that is not
acceptable when you go from a position that every milestone is mission accomplished, the insurrection is in its last throws. Every milestone this administration has predicted about how Iraq was going was wrong and their present course has gotten us to a position we're in an endless occupation by this president. And he is not altering course or dealing with the different terrain that Iraq is. It is not the Iraq we entered that he claimed mission accomplished three short years ago. ... That tells you the course he's on isn't working" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 8/21).
SILENCE IS GOLDEN?
At yesterday's press conference, Bush was also asked about the CT SEN race.
Bush: "I'm going to stay out of Connecticut."
Bush, after being reminded he was born there: "Shh, I maybe the only person, the only presidential candidate who never carried the state in which he was born. And by the way, I'm staying out of Connecticut because, you know, that's what the party suggested, the Republican Party of Connecticut, and plus there's a better place to spend our money, time and resources."
Washington Time's McCaslin, asked if this is Bush's "nice way of saying I'm rooting
for" Sen. Joe Lieberman (I) over GOP nominee Alan Schlesinger: "Yeah. He is steering clear, no doubt about it, of Mr. Schlesinger. And I think for good reason. ... I think that you'll find President Bush from the periphery supporting Joe Lieberman, especially now that all the Democrats are starting to go towards Lamont" ("Hardball," MSNBC, 8/21).
There was also some talk on Lieberman calling for Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld's resignation.
CNN's Brazile: "If Senator Lieberman had said this almost a month ago, he would be the Democratic nominee" ("Situation Room," 8/21).
Washington Post's Cillizza, asked why Lieberman is saying that now: "This is a little bit of political jujitsu, I think, on Lieberman's part. ... What you see when he's calling for Donald Rumsfeld to resign is an attempt to shore up that one in three voters who say, I'm not really ... comfortable with Lamont, but I am a Democrat and I don't know if I can vote for Joe Lieberman because of the war. He's saying look, I'm not a Republican. ... We need moreaccountability, he's needs to have done a better job and the fact that he doesn't means he should go. So, I think that's what it's aimed at" ("Countdown," MSNBC, 8/21).
A PACEMAKER FOR THE PRES.
An update on Pres. Gerald Ford's medical condition:
CNN's Oppenheim: "It sounds like pretty good news for former president, Gerald Ford. A statement from the Mayo Clinic ... says that he's completed an evaluation and series of tests and the result is an implantation of a cardiac pacemaker to enhance his heart's performance" ("Situation Room," 8/21) [KATHERINE LEHR].
Posted at 08:49 AM
Comments
Pundits give Bush far too much credit here. He didn't put the Iraq War on the agenda for these elections. The people did, and Bush is responding to that.
JoeyJoeJoe | 08.22.06 10:34 AM
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Am I the only one surprised by this story? Lieberman was calling for Rumsfeld's resignation back in 2004 when he was running for president, wasn't he?
CT_Voter | 08.22.06 12:19 PM
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