Magnifisyncopathological: Grilling Bush on "Meet the Press"

February 05, 2004

Grilling Bush on "Meet the Press"

I was watching Chris Matthews last night and I can confirm what Newsmax is reporting:

Neither the White House nor NBC would confirm it Thursday morning, but MSNBC's Chris Matthews announced last night that President Bush will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" this Sunday.

"President Bush, by the way -- big news now -- will be Tim Russert's guest this Sunday on 'Meet the Press,'" Matthews told his "Hardball" audience.

All Rights Reserved © NewsMax.com

Nothing yet on the Whitehouse Press Briefings site, but they don't post the morning's comments until later on in the day. Nothing either on the Meet the Press website. You'd think if this were true, NBC would be hyping the crap outta it. It's a perfect opportunity to really dig into Bush and get his opinions on the issues. I plan on taping it if it's happening.

Here's a list of the things I'd like asked of President Bush:

Have their been any changes to the Axis of Evil besides Iraq?
What's going on in North Korea and Iran and what dangers do they present to the United States?
Do you trust America's intelligence community and what do you think went wrong in regards to the intelligence the US got on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction?
If Iraq were to dissolve into civil war, what would be the American response?
If WMD were found in Syria as David Kay thinks could be the case, what would be the American response?
What makes your approach to fighting terrorism better than the Democratic candidates'?
You speak so highly of human freedom, but you don't support the freedom of homosexual couples to attain legal marriages. Why?
Are you going to push for Social Security reform and what do you want to accomplish?
The war on drugs uses billions of law enforcement dollars and thousands of law enforcement man-hours to fight. What would be wrong with decriminalizing or even legalizing something like marijuana and diverting those investigative resources towards fighting terrorism?
The Whitehouse and your administration has seemed reluctant to cooperate with the 9-11 Commission. Is this true and what explains the delays in getting Administration documents to it?
What would be your five highest domestic priorities if you were reelected and no major terrorist attacks occur on American soil?
What do you say to the fiscal conservatives who have complained about the size and growth of the federal budget?
Did you go AWOL while on National Guard duty?
You speak highly of free trade, but you've either left in place or put into power legislation that can rightly be described as protectionist. Where do you stand on free trade?
No Child Left Behind is creating trouble with public schools around the country. They speak of unfunded mandates and conflicting standards and requirements. Was that a good law and what would you do to fix it?

There's no point in asking George W. Bush deeper questions regarding his philosophy (as much as I think questions like that are highly relevant) because you can deduce his ideological stance from his actions. Still, I'd love to ask him these just for "make him squirm" fun:

What are the proper functions of government?
Do you think society has the right to decide what's best for the individuals within it?
Do we as individuals have an obligation to provide for others if they need help?

UPDATE(11:58am)
Double-confirmed. I heard MSNBC talking about this during lunch and I now see that the front page of Meet the Press is now advertising the interview:

In an EXCLUSIVE Sunday morning show interview, President George W. Bush appears for the full hour, one-on-one with NBC's Tim Russert, live from the Oval Office. This will be the president's first Sunday morning show appearance since he took office.

I bet Fox News is miffed. :)

UPDATE(5:06pm)
Drudge has discovered the ball and is running with it.

UPDATE(2/8/2004 12:33pm)
Damn it. Looks like they broadcast it already. The transcript is here.

UPDATE(1:48pm)
Insta-Dude has some blogosphere reaction here. It doesn't look good.

Posted by Drizzten at February 05, 2004 10:10 AM

ATTENTION: Comments are closed. You are viewing my old blog, archived for search engine purposes.
To view the new blog, please go to the homepage. To find the current version of this entry, search here.

Comments

DUHbya's performance on "MTP" was laughable. He further proved that he is the most inarticulate and uninformed president in the history of the presidency. His malaprops and mangled syntax are embarrassing. Bush was clearly uncomfortable. I cannot wait until he goes eye to eye with Kerry: Hero vs. Zero.

Posted by: erik on February 8, 2004 09:24 AM

bush is dangerous. he was close to taking his football and going home. terror,terror,terror..... his excuse for all his screwups. he scares me and i am a registered republican

Posted by: jim danko on February 8, 2004 09:27 AM

I just saw Bush on Meet the Press with Russert. God help us.

Posted by: Mack on February 8, 2004 10:57 AM

erik, are aware that Bush and Kerry belong to the same club?
are you aware that neither will discuss the oath they took to each other?

Yes, Kerry too, is a Skull.

Posted by: zorro on February 8, 2004 03:38 PM

Utterly astounding!Stuttering stammering and blathering bullshit!"Blah,blah blah and terrorists this,terrorrists that,the terrorists are coming to get you! Fear,fear, fear only I can save you!"
Listening to him speak, let alone reveal his thought process, is truly terrorizing!WE now know that over 9000 people are dead, not because Saddam had WMD but because he imagined or thought about them!Let this be a lesson to all rogue nations,as long as the Smirk junta is in office----"What you DON'T think can't hurt you!" If this administration decides you MIGHT think something you are in serious trouble. Brilliant! Explainations about the deficit and his AWOL were also profoundly underwelming convoluted drivel.God save us!

Posted by: B.A. on February 8, 2004 04:48 PM

I managed to watch Dumbya this morning, although it was difficult to take 60 minutes of his blathering, stuttering, stumbling chatter. The best was when Tim would start a question, and in the cowboy's best tough guy image, he would interrupt with "yeah".
The look on his face when Russert started asking about his military record was priceless.
The Moron from Midland doesn't know how to answer a question. He is without a doubt the dumbest president we have ever had to endure. Another 4 years? We are F******!!!

Posted by: Sharon on February 8, 2004 05:48 PM

You know, you might be interested in this site, B.A: http://www.cpa-iraq.org/human_rights/Mass_Graves.htm

Particularly this part:

Mass graves in Iraq are characterized as unmarked sites containing at least six bodies. Some can be identified by mounds of earth piled above the ground or as deep pits that appear to have been filled. Some older graves are more difficult to identify, having been covered by vegetation and debris over time. Sites have been discovered in all regions of the country and contain members of every major religious and ethnic group in Iraq as well as foreign nationals, including Kuwaitis and Saudis. Over 250 sites have been reported, of which approximately 40 have been confirmed to date. Over one million Iraqis are believed to be missing in Iraq as a result of executions, wars and defections, of whom hundreds of thousands are thought to be in mass graves.

Posted by: Erik on February 8, 2004 08:21 PM

Erik,
I never claimed that Saddam was not a maniacal depot however, he WAS contained.He gave in right before we attacked, to unlimited inspections of Iraq. Hans Blix should have been allowed to finish his job. 9000 people would be alive today if we had. Saddam was a terrible dictator but the path the Bush administration took has proven to be the biggest blunder in our nation's history.

Posted by: B.A. on February 8, 2004 08:55 PM

It's sad to see that Bush would deny the surviving victims, as well as the rest of our country, an extension to finish the 911 commission's findings. All to secure the little chance Bush has to secure a legal election. His reason was, "the american people deserve the answers now." Well, if the Bush adm.wouldn't have stammered in giving out documents, and if they truly had found the truth already, I doubt they would ask for an extension to keep the truth from the public. Furthermore, Bush initially objected to an independent investigation of pre iraq intell. Does Bush want the truth?

Posted by: j on February 8, 2004 09:09 PM

I just read the transcript. It was awful. I cannot believe this man is our president.

My favorite part was when he said, "I'm a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind... And the American people need to know they got a president who sees the world the way it is."

Nice to know that we have a "war president."

-Winger

Posted by: Winger on February 8, 2004 11:01 PM

Approximately one half of the American electorate is obviously either severely brain damaged, or insane. Anyone that continues to support this deranged simpleton and his perpetual war, rape of civil rights, and wholesale givaway of government to monied interests is obviously a "child left behind."

Posted by: Seapost on February 9, 2004 10:07 AM

In response to Seapost's comments, I want to mention that the average IQ is 100, which means that the average voter doesn't have to be brain-damaged or insane, just a bit dull and a knee-jerk reactor. The average voter probably relates easily to a leader of similar intelligence. There are drawbacks to any democracy, but a good education for all can raise its quality and effectiveness. At present, it is too easy to respond to emotional appeals and media hype.

Posted by: Vic on February 9, 2004 01:38 PM