Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Micro-Pundit:  Interview with President Bush

Juan Williams, senior political correspondant for NPR, was given the opportunity to interview President Bush yesterday, and NPR ran the entire interview during All Things Considered yesterday afternoon.  I listened to about the last half, and I was amazed.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good kind of amazement.

NPR has a policy of never editing the words of a president.  They run everything, ums, ahs, oopses and all.  And in the process of not editing President Bush’s words, I heard a man that appears to think in talking points.  When Mr. Williams asked President Bush questions that were off the usual talking points, Bush stammered.  The President of the United States sounded like a bumpkin.  Worse yet, he tripped over and couldn’t complete his own thoughts, never mind effectively answer the questions he was asked.

Did President Bush sound like a “nice guy?” Mostly.  Did he sound like an “everyman?” Not really.  Did he sound presidential in the fashion of Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Ford, or even Nixon?  No, unfortunately, he didn’t.  President Bush sounded like he was either a moron, or like he was nervous to be interviewed.  The President of the United States - nervous.  That’s never something you want to hear in the voice of a man who controls the most powerful military machine the world has yet seen.

But don’t take my word for it.  Listen to the interview yourself.  Read the transcript.  And be very afraid that this is the man we elected to be our President.