DODGE BALL: Bush's Press Conference

Here is an exchange from this evening's press conference that kind of encapsulates the whole thing:

QUESTION: Mr. President, I'd like to follow up on a couple of these questions that have been asked.

One of the biggest criticisms of you is that whether it's WMD in Iraq, postwar planning in Iraq, or even the question of whether this administration did enough to ward off 9-11, you never admit a mistake. Is that a fair criticism, and do you believe that there were any errors in judgment that you made related to any of those topics I brought up?

BUSH: Well, I think, as I mentioned, you know, the country wasn't on war footing, and yet we're at war.

And that's just a reality, Dave. I mean, that was the situation that existed prior to 9-11, because the truth of the matter is most in the country never felt that we'd be vulnerable to an attack such as the one that Osama bin Laden unleashed on us.

We knew he had designs on us. We knew he hated us. But there was nobody in our government, at least, and I don't think the prior government that could envision flying airplanes into buildings on such a massive scale.

The people know where I stand, I mean, in terms of Iraq. I was very clear about what I believed. And, of course, I want to know why we haven't found a weapon yet. But I still know Saddam Hussein was a threat. And the world is better off without Saddam Hussein.

I don't think anybody can -- maybe people can argue that. I know the Iraqi people don't believe that, that they're better off with Saddam Hussein -- would be better off with Saddam Hussein in power.

I also know that there's an historic opportunity here to change the world. And it's very important for the loved ones of our troops to understand that the mission is an important, vital mission for the security of America and for the ability to change the world for the better.

What the f$$k?

They're already calling the entire event incoherent gibberish over at the Eschaton comment boards. I'm inclined to agree with them. Without going into a lot of analysis, I would add that the President was also extraordinarily evasive. He was asked to name what he thinks his biggest failure as President is; he said he wasn't prepared to answer. He was asked if he had failed to get his message about Iraq across to the American people; he said that would be left up to the elections in November. He was asked if he owed an apology to America for 9/11; he said that bin Laden is responsible. He was asked about the Iraq/Vietnam analogy; he rejected it as false, but then launched into some of that incoherent gibberish, without offering any explanation as to why that analogy is false. He was asked about the White House's pre-war claims, ultimately proven false, about WMDs, Iraqi oil paying for the reconstruction, and the love and goodwill of Iraqis toward their liberators; Bush's response was near incomprehensible.

After the speech, I watched a bit of an interview on MSNBC with an editor from the liberal Nation magazine and an editor from the neo-conservative Weekly Standard: both of them were in agreement that Bush didn't effectively address the reality of the situation in Iraq.

As Shakespeare said in The Tempest, "misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows."

Click here for the rest of the transcript.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$