My opinion of President Bush is pretty well known here so I don't think I have to defend myself against charges of defending him. That said, I think there should be civility even towards those we disagree with. And I think the President of the U.S. -- meaning the office more than the incumbent at any particular moment -- deserves an extra level of respect. I hear what you and others are saying, that President Bush's actions have exempted him from this unwritten rule, but I guess I have an old-fashioned regard for the institution. I couldn't imagine mocking a president to his face.


>You are kinda gettting really, really close to the line of defending, if not crossing over. Remember, it was common knowledge that the "Town Hall", everyone welcome, meeting that bush had with the common folks, had a bunch of security out front to make sure only hardcore, bush supporters were allowed in.
>
>
>>>>Victor,
>>>>
>>>>>Do you remember seeing Bush do a press conference where the questions were submitted BEFORE the press conference? He had reviewed all the questions (well, I'm sure he had someone that could read do it for him) and had all the answers prepaired ahead of time (again, sure he had someone answer them for him too), so when he did the press conference, he'd just call a reporters name out, they'd ask their question (that they'd submitted) - then he'd respond with his prepaired answer. It was one of the most ridicilious things I'd ever seen.
>>>>
>>>>When and where was this? Can you please provide a link to the stories about this incident? I really can't imagine the press corps going along with such a scheme. Was this an isolated incident or are you suggesting that all his press conferences are done this way? Where is the documentation that this happened? I'm very interested in reading more about it.
>>>
>>>
>>>It was Bush's press conference of 2003.03.06
>>>
>>>http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2003-03-09-media-mix_x.htm
>>
>>I believe David's point is the issue that reporter questions are submitted in advance, which i dont see in the link. I too would find that hard to believe. There's a note (from Bush) about the presser being "scripted" but that doesnt mean pre-submitted questions. Granted there's a lot of peculiarities with Bush q&a sessions (Gannon, fake town-hall questions, the square thing on his back ;), people getting thrown out of meetings).
>>
>>Regarding Plant's question to Bush about Rove, it was rude and stupid. It was simply a snide taunt. He could have asked Rove/Bush some real questions like his take on his ex-assistant Ralston working with the Feds re the Abramoff case, or his apparent violations of the Hatch Act & the Presidential Records Act, or the affidavit by a Repub attorney in Alabama that names him as being involved in the Siegelman case, or why Bush didnt fire him for leaking Plame to Cooper, or was the reason that Bush changed his position from 'firing anyone involved in the leak' to 'firing if convicted of a crime' because he learned that Rove leaked to Cooper. Not that they would answer, but worth asking.