WP Froomkin's White House Briefing - Desperately Seeking Swagger

[Pirate Smile]

Desperately Seeking Swagger

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, September 26, 2005; 12:48 PM

Two major stories over the weekend suggest that a series of false steps, followed by accusations of incompetence and growing public disapproval, have left President Bush and his aides with their confidence badly shaken.

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"Aides who never betrayed self-doubt now talk in private of failures selling the American people on the Iraq war, the president's Social Security plan and his response to Hurricane Katrina. . . .

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And it turns out that the Valerie Plame case is indeed hanging over the White House like a pall.

VandeHei and Baker write: "The federal CIA leak investigation, which has forced Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove and others to testify before a grand jury, seemed to distract officials and left a general feeling of unease, two aides said. Aides were calling reporters to find out what was happening with Rove and the investigation. 'Nobody knows what's going to happen with the probe,' one senior aide said."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/linkset/2005/04/11/LI2005041100879.html

[Kaylee]

1. I love Froomkin's columns....

I learn more from his online column and chats than I do from the nightly news.

[Kolesar]

5. It reads like Salon.com... or DU ... eom

[Pirate Smile]

2. more

"Evan Thomas starts his piece in Newsweek with Bush sitting in the Colorado headquarters of Northern Command on Saturday.

"The president was hearing mostly good news. . . . The president didn't look all that relieved or happy, however. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep (he had been awakened all through the night with bulletins), and he seemed cranky and fidgety. A group of reporters and photographers had been summoned by White House handlers to capture a photo op of the commander in chief at his post. Bush stared at them balefully. He rocked back and forth in his chair, furiously at times, asked no questions and took no notes."'

Thomas writes: "And so what can Americans learn from this month of destruction and near destruction, of Category 3s and Category 4s, of slow presidential reflexes and presidential hyperactivity? . . . In an age in which terrorists have successfully struck the American homeland and hope to do so again, the 2005 hurricane season has made a seemingly boring quality of leadership sexy again: competence. . . .

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Gregory concludes: "Bottom line is, these are photo ops. White House aides admit they want Mr. Bush to be seen in briefings and personally tending to the government's response. Mr. Bush has no choice but to be in the middle of the action. Disaster relief and rebuilding are now the canvas of his second term. Between storms and war, the President's vision may face less scrutiny than his administration's basic competence."

[Kingshakabobo]

4. Poor little georgie porgie. Has to ACTUALLY do a little work.....

He comes apart at the seams and acts like a two year old who hasn't had his nap. More proof that he is the biggest phony to ever occupy the oval office.

[HereSince1628]

3. No one knows what's happening with the probe and I feel uneasy, too

Everyday that doesn't bring indictments is a day I worry there won't be indictments.

[aquart]

6. And still they see it as a PR problem.

[Pirate Smile]

7. kick - his columns are a great summary of many of the articles from today