The George Bush administration has officially lost its sanity and any amount of pride it once had. In a
press conference this morning an exchange occurred between Bush and a "reporter", which can only be described as extremely bizarre.
First, Bush became heavily flustered when a reporter asked him about his and Dick Cheney's involvement in the crime of leaking undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to the public. After not answering the question, Bush called on a "reporter", who can only be described as Jeff Gannon wearing a wig and a dress.
This obvious plant by the Bush administration asked Bush about bird flu of all irrelevant and inconsequential topics. Bush, trying to act natural, as if this was a real reporter asking a real question, went into a long and barely comprehensible tirade about bird flu. His response was oviously scripted and rehearsed. Bush cannot string together a complete sentence without extensive practice. In this case he made three points, saying first, second, and third with great emphasis before making each well-focused and well-scripted point.
The more bizarre part of it is the suggestion he actually made in response to the question. He said he would consider using the military to "effect a quarantine" in the event of an outbreak of bird flu. He also suggested that putting National Guard troops under federal, rather than state, control might be one part of a response to the "catastrophe".
First, it is obvious that this was an attempt by Bush to do the only thing politically he has ever been effective at, which is to fear-monger. Realistically, however, he has no authority to take control of the national guard nor does he have the authority to have the military quarantine American citizens.
His proposals are absurd, but the real scandal is that another Jeff Gannon is being planted into press conferences to save Bush from having to answer real questions from real reporters. Until the Bush administration comes clean, any honest reporter should refuse to take part in the Bush Administration's mockery of the free press.