Of COURSE Bush can't handle criticism

We all know Bubble Boy has problems dealing with tough questions when he has to venture away from his staff of yes-men and the adoring, pre-screened crowds.  But I didn't realize just how easy it would be to rattle him with the most basic criticisms, nor how easy it would be to tell when he was receiving probing analysis of a subject for the first time.  Will I share the insight of Dan Froomkin in this diary?  Of course!

From Dan Froomkin's column today:

'Of Course' Watch

In last Friday's column, I encouraged you to perk up your ears every time President Bush says "of course," because in adversarial settings Bush seems to use that phrase whenever he's about to say something that supporters might find obvious -- but that his critics might consider a whopper.

Here's every instance of "of course" from last night:

• "Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations. Of course we're worried about Osama bin Laden."
  
• "Of course we're meeting our obligation to our veterans, and the veterans know that."
  
• Regarding his Social Security plans: "And we're of course going to have to consider the costs."

And here are the instances from last Friday:

• "Of course, we're going to find Osama bin Laden. We've already 75 percent of his people. And we're on the hunt for him."
  
• "Of course, I listen to our generals. That's what a president does."
  
• "[O]f course we've been involved with Iran. . . . Of course, we're paying attention to these. It's a great question about Iran."
  
• "And of course he's going to raise your taxes."
  

Here's the original article, from last Friday

Here's a debate-watching tip: Perk up your ears every time President Bush says "of course" tonight.

Because if recent history is a guide, what's coming is a statement that his supporters might find obvious, but that his critics might consider a whopper.

I first noticed this after last week's debate. (Here's the full text.)

"Of course we're after Saddam Hussein -- I mean bin Laden," Bush said early on.

Depending on where you're coming from, politically, that's either manifestly true or a Freudian slip exposing a significant falsehood.

Later in the debate, Bush said: "And, of course, Iraq is a central part in the war on terror."

Well, that was precisely the number one point of contention that night.

So I decided to see when else Bush said "of course." And here is every other use of the phrase on debate night:

• "Of course we're doing everything we can to protect America."
  
• After Kerry asserted that Bush rebuffed the United Nation's offer to play a role in post-war Iraq: "Of course, the U.N. was invited in."
  
• "First of all, of course I know Osama bin Laden attacked us. I know that."
  
• "Of course, we change tactics when need to, but we never change our beliefs, the strategic beliefs that are necessary to protect this country in the world."

They all have something in common, don't they?

There's even more examples in the second link, from his press conferences.  It's amazing how he has to defend himself with the most basic building blocks of argument ("well of course one plus one is two") because he has lost all experience with criticism.  I'd be curious to see how often he does it in his interviews, like Dr Phil and Bill O'Reilly.  It may be difficult to prove anything, with such a small sample size (of course).  

Here's the interview with O'Reilly (transcript 1):

From a question about the "Mission Accomplished" trip:

O'REILLY: Would you do it again?
BUSH: You mean have the sign up there?
O'REILLY: No, no, but go in there with the flight jacket,
BUSH: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: You would.
BUSH: Of course. I'm saying to the troops, on this carrier and elsewhere: Thanks for serving America. Absolutely.

From a question on Iran's nuclear program:

BUSH:  Well, let me try to solve it diplomatically, first. All options are on the table, of course, in any situation. But diplomacy is the first option.

From transcript 2:

O'REILLY: Well people are saying that because we have to fight this war on terror, because of the tax cuts, oh and you know how the propaganda, it's all over the place...
BUSH: No, I think we can -- of course I think we can balance the budget -- as a matter of fact, I put out a hand, a budget that says we'll cut it in half in five years, now, that's going to mean that the Congress has got to be fiscally wise, with our money.  
O'REILLY: Has that ever happened?

I can't find any transcripts of the Dr. Phil interview, nor the interview with the Manchester Union Leader.  I don't know of any other time when he's been available for unscripted questions, and I don't feel like slogging through the White House transcripts of his fake town halls with the loyalty oath crowds.  But it seems pretty obvious that, in an attempt to seem "certain" when being probed on something for the first time, he goes straight for this crutch.  Of course.  

•  Thank Dan for me

  E-mail Dan Froomkin

  by Plays in Traffic on Thu Oct 14, 2004 at 11:11:07 AM PDT