Cross-posted at Clark Community Network.
For more than 6 years, I’ve criticized the Bush Administration for all things, small and large. But something happened at yesterday’s press conference that struck me as the weirdest on-camera moment to date (barely beating out the press conference of Harry Whittington, who emerged from the hospital and apologized to Dick Cheney for getting shot in the face...by Dick Cheney.)
So the press conference was in the White House Rose Garden. Instead of providing chairs and microphones for the reporters, as is the normal practice, the White House forced the reporters to stand in the grass and shout their questions to Dear Leader. Belittling the press is nothing new for BushCo. That wasn’t the weird moment.
Much more weirdness...
Magically, a microphone appeared among the standing, shouting press pool – just in time for a Fox News reporter to change the subject. For some unknown reason, the Fox reporter didn't ask about Iraq, which was the stated subject of the press conference (Don't take my word for it. The graphic in the following video says so. And graphics don't lie.) Anyways, the Fox correspondent inquired about gay issues, something that’s very important to the Fox core demographic. Funny timing there. When Fox needs to ask a question, it’s loud and clear. Giving special treatment – a microphone when everyone else had to shout - to the Republican propaganda machine? That’s nothing new for BushCo either. Not the weird moment.
In several responses regarding the Senate and Congressional war funding bills, Dear Leader claimed that the Democratic congress was under-funding and/or delaying funding "for our troops who are in harm’s way." Of course, both bills provide plenty of funding for the troops, and the Democrats are well ahead of the last two Republican-controlled congressional sessions when they were supposed to have approved military spending bills. Lying and misleading are also not new for BushCo. That wasn’t the weird moment.
Dear Leader has threatened to veto the military funding bill if it contains any deadlines for withdrawal from Iraq. Never mind the fact that the President doesn’t care what the majority of Americans want, which is a total withdrawal from Iraq. In one breath, he threatened to kill the bill that would fund the troops, and in another breath, he blamed the Democrats for delaying funding for the troops. Hypocrisy isn’t new for BushCo. That also was not the weirdest on-camera moment of the Bush Administration.
Dear Leader then demanded that Congress call off its Easter break next week in order to vote on the military spending bill. This from the most vacationed president in American history (405 days at Crawford alone.) And he made this demand as he was preparing to leave on his own Easter vacation. See note about hypocrisy above. No, this was not the weirdest on-camera moment in the Bush Administration.
No, none of these otherwise-weird moments qualifies as really weird behavior from the Administration that has managed to top Nixonian weirdness. Even collectively, all rolled into one giant mangle of weirdy weirdness, they don't come close to the Weirdest Ever On-camera Bush Moment.
That distinction goes to none other than Dick Cheney, who (sort of) attended yesterday’s press conference...
Weird. Very, very weird.