i'm watching the replay of the bush/condi press conference today on the u.n resolution and am absolutely convinced bush is up to his old tricks - the "hidden" coach behind the scenes!
watching his "presentation", i was struck by the inappropriate pauses in his sentence structure, the breaks and pauses that preceded each sentence fragment, the disassociated "look" in his eyes (as though he were listening intently) - the "forgetting" of a word that was critical to the statement - and lastly, the amazing audio presentation of his "statements" resembling a first grader struggling to read words he doesn't comprehend.
the contrast to rice, who spoke in normal sentence structure, complete phrases, comprehensible (for her) statements relevent to the topic is stunning.
however, there was more that appeared to the "theatrical" eye in that news conference . . . please follow to the next "scene" below!
bush is like a bad actor - and as a director, used to "setting" the scene, "portray the character" and "create the mood" of the scene to unfold, i was struck about how bad this bit of "theater" is playing! with a directorial eye, i was struck by many "little" mannerisms, many "little" character developments.
first, let me say that bush and rice BOTH are on the ropes here! they are speaking with "upper chest breathing" - quickly inhaled breaths that "lock" the column of air to "set" muscles for "fight or flight". this is typical of people under attack... people who are afraid ... people who are anxious!
i've never noticed it to this degree before in either bush OR rice, but you can hear the rapid intake of air as they suck in the next breath before they speak. diaphramatic breathing allows people to speak without forcing air - it happens when people are confident, relaxed and at ease - all of which bush and rice are NOT! the speak in the tense, harsh forced voices of "panic". the obvious sign is the gasp for air and rushed speech. these two are totally out of their element in the current world situation... (they were trying to give each other support, instead, they fed upon each other's anxiety! btw)
next, bush also stops dead in the middle of a phrase and waits - eyes unfocused, head tilted - frequently in this press conference - as if waiting for the "prompter". all of this suggests to me that he is being fed what to say - that he is repeating without connecting to the phrases he is saying. DAMN! THAT is what i have been seeing all along! the only thing missing is his calling into the wings, "LINE"!
also, his vignettes, such as "i was reading about that this week, funny you should bring it up..." type of stalling, imho, allows his "handlers" to research the topic that the reporter unexpectedly brings up. he was asked about contact with syria and it was extremely strange that he then said, "of COURSE we have had contact... we sent ........ ........ ......... colin powell, and ...... ....... (then continued to rapid fire names). then there are the strange twists in the conversations that change direction without making a lick of sense! he gets lost in the "directed" lines and suddenly starts throwing around the pat talking point phrases - it is total gibberish!
normal people do not speak in disjointed phrases, split prepositional phrases, long strange breaks that disrupt the coherency of a single sentence. he rattles on and on about certain subjects where he feels comfortable, then he suddenly goes into the pause and start/stop answers.
i fear we have finally given rise to a true "puppet" government - and, frankly, i want to know who is behind the curtain pulling the strings!
watch - not to "hear" him - watch him as a director of a film or play - you will see the "technique" that shows his disingenious presentation. that, i believe, is why people are so viscerally opposed to him... no one likes being played for a fool - especially BY a fool! when he isn't being "directed" - we get "hands on" with the head of another nation, we get open mouthed masticulation filled with cursing, we get his "wimpy wave" and "smug" attitude of the bad actor who thinks that he has won the oscar when he really is only a b-rated bit player... with his finger on the button.
never thought i'd say this... but in this case, i MISS ronald reagan! at LEAST- HE was a DECENT b-rated actor!
[bona fide here: i have a degree in speech, oral interpretation and voice production. i have directed both stage and television productions of reader's theatre and plays. vocal production, inflection and speech are vital elements representing my directing style.]