Bush in Dec. 20 Press Conference: U.S. Needs Bigger Military

In a morning Press Conference on Dec. 20, President George W. Bush appeared to be trying to reach out to the press at times, and at other times, Bush got quite testy. When questioned about Vice President Dick Cheney being called as a witness in the CIA identity leak trial of Lewis "Scooter" Libbey, Bush quickly brushed off the question and moved on. I suppose that was proper since it is an ongoing situation, but President Bush appeared very uncomfortable throughout the approximately hourlong conference. After a question about his statement a day before in which he appeared to say that we are neither winning or losing the War in Iraq, Bush quickly tried, in his inimitable way, to clarify the statement and in the process, left at least one viewer more puzzled than before about what, if any changes are being considered. Bush did say we need a bigger military, but I don't remember if he mentioned how he proposes to accomplish that goal. Bush also said "we will not be run out of the Middle East", without using the worn out "cut and run" cliche or the on again/off again "stay the course".

President Bush took umbrage at some of the queries, as I suppose most people would when being questioned about their job performance. However, it appeared obvious that he would rather be just about anywhere else on Earth than that podium. With a Father who occupied the Oval Office, and an unofficial "Brother" who did the same, one would think that the President would realize that it's just part of the job and at least appear to relish the opportunity to "get his message out". There aren't many such chances to communicate directly with the American people in such numbers, and in my opinion, Bush dropped the ball when given the chance to articulate his message. Then again, the words Bush and articulate are seldom used in the same sentence. I don't think even the Bush cheerleaders at Fox News would claim Bush to be articulate.