Hey, and welcome back to my rarely updated website! Whoo hoo! Not much is going on…my Aunt and Uncle from Maryland are visiting! I haven’t seen them yet as they’re staying at Mom’s, but they’ll be headed my way soon and I’ll be going out to see them too! Also, the weather has been great and I’ve been out rollerblading. I’ve also had the opportunity to air out my apartment and here’s a little formula: (1.bachelor + 9.closed_windows + bachelor_cleaning_habits + many_Del_Taco_runs) x 160 days = FUNK! Yup, it takes a real man to admit it, but it’s time for spring cleaning–I just need to find someone to do it for me…ok, I’ll do it!
Now on to serious stuff: Did you watch bush’s press conference last night!? First observation: WHERE IS HELEN THOMAS? If you don’t know who she is, she’s the most senior member of the White House Press Corp who has covered all presidents since JFK, and as a courtesy, the first question goes to her. Since I didn’t see her and given that bush’s press conferences are as rare as a full beer in Pat Sumerall’s refrigerator (get better Pat! I hope your new liver works out!), I thought she had passed away. After a little research at www.dead-or-alive.org, I was shocked that she was still alive! Where is she? Apparently she’s been asking too many tough questions and the White House moved her to a less prominent seat: namely, not in the first 10ish rows (don’t know her exact location, but traditionally, she sat front row in the closest seat to the aisle). Why is the hard hitting Helen Thomas put in the back of the bus? Let bush speak for himself when he couldn’t answer a question asking to name a mistake he has made since 9/11:

I wish you’d have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it. John, I’m sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could’ve done it better this way or that way. You know, I just — I’m sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn’t yet.

And ending his response…

I’m confident I have [made mistakes], but you put me on the spot and I’m not quick enough on my feet to come up with one.

THIS MAN IS OUR PRESIDENT? I’m embarrassed! Why? It wasn’t a press conference! It was a horrible audition for a high school play! Reporters had submitted questions to him BEFOREHAND and he wasn’t able to answer those in a coherent fashion! It was obvious that he was following a script of talking points!!! And several reporters had the audacity to ask unscripted questions *gasp*!! And it wasn’t only that question. He refused to take any accountability for 9/11 and the failings in Iraq! Any rational person can believe that he is not responsible for 9/11, but it happened on his watch and at least he could say like any good leader, “The buck stops here!” .sigh.
My two favorite questions (paraphrased) were “Why do you have to appear with VP cheney before the 9/11 commission (when Bill Clinton and Al Gore appeared seperately)?” His response (not paraphrased), “Because it’s a good chance for both of us to answer questions that the 9-11 commission is looking forward to asking us. And I’m looking forward to answering them. Let’s see. Hold on for a minute. Let’s see. Oh, Jim [ergo: he moved on to the next question].” No shit Sherlock! If you’re in the same room, both of you will be able to answer the questions. But why does cheney need to hold your hand? He couldn’t answer it! Bush is uninformed about his own administration! Did you see him look down at his crib notes?! (I’ll give him crib notes for remembering reporter’s name, but he looked down during answers!).
The last question was asked by some dude from NPR (paraphrased), “Since these press conferences are so rare, do you think you’ve failed as a communicator?” His response (paraphrased), “er uh…uh…er..uh..er I don’t know. I mean…” Pathetic. Pathetic. Remember folks: Don’t Drink and Vote! You might vote for bush!