Many wags claim that Bush's latest press conference offers evidence that he is still taking instructions from an offstage handler. This clip is the moment most often fingered.
I'm afraid Bush's actions here aren't nearly so telling as his "Let me finish!" outburst during the first debate. First, Suzanne Malveaux of CNN asks him a difficult question about Vladimir Putin's expressed willingness to send short-range missiles to Syria and nuclear materials to Iran. Bush responds:
"Yeah, we have, uh...first on a...just on a broader..."
Then he closes his eyes and looks down. It is an odd moment, almost as though his mind has hyperlinked to a new web page which isn't loading swiftly enough.
"Wait a minute...A broader sense of..." This seems to continue the previous thought, but the "Wait a minute" is oddly placed. Suddenly, the 'new web page' (figuratively speaking) appears:
"I had a long talk with Vladimir there in Slovakia about..."
After watching this clip a few times, I must categorize it as a "maybe." It certainly isn't as telling as a couple of other well-known 'gotcha" moments. Even so, the clip is worth a watch, because you don't have to be an utter paranoid to find something a bit odd in the president's behavior.
The full press conference can be found on C-SPAN, here. The full video offers a startling degree of odd pauses -- really odd. They are at striking variance with the fairly fluid (by Bushian standards) responses to preceding questions. Sentences seem to reach the period in the strangest places...and then they pick up again.
"I had a long talk with Vladimir there in Slovakia about..." LONG pause. "Democracy!"
Well, as I said: This one is a "maybe." Partisans will interpret the same material in very different ways. Dubya's other answers, while not impressively articulate, do seem to come from a man speaking his own thoughts.
At least one Democratic Underground participant claims to have heard a low voice during the above-cited pause. I didn't hear it.
2 comments:
I didn't watch, but it is normal for Bush to stammer when talking about something in which he is not interested. He speaks fluidly when it is about killing, revenge, pigheadedness, etc.
Joseph, I also watched the press conference carefully and noticed the usual odd pauses and halting delivery. I find myself wondering not if w is wired, but how they are transmitting responses, given the debacle of the first debate. It seems that instead of feeding him verbatum reponses to recite, "they" may feeding him key words and phrases in hopes that he will fill in the blanks with the usual BS and fend off any meaningful dialogue.
One one other note, I don't know much about TRB News or their credibility, but have you seen the latest missive from the "Voice of the White House?" It is very interesting to say the least, and lots of fun to speculate about...I mean, where is a blue dress when you need one?
http://tbrnews.org/Archives/a1554.htm
Kim in PA
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