Live Blog of President Bush's December 4 News Conference

Photo of Ken Shepherd.

I'll be live-blogging the press conference (mostly just the questions from the journalists as we're focused on the bias) and if a video update is warranted, we'll post one shortly after the conference concludes:

10:44 closes press conference, leaves podium.

10:41: Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune, says reading Bush's body language he can tell he's "somewhat dispirited." Then he says "the facts have failed you" on things he's telling the American people. Quotes Harry Reid. "Are you feeling troubled... credibility gap?"

10:37: unid'd reporter "Wolf" asks about if Bush's personal relationship with the Democrats in Congress is affecting getting legislation through.

10:35: another unid'd reporter named "Wolf" asks Bush to react to 2008 U.S. presidential race

10:35: reporter asks if he discussed Russian elections with Putin

10:33: unidentified reporter asks Bush if in his conversation with Putin if he asked him to not sell uranium to Iran.

10:30: Baier, Fox News: "What does the vote in Venezuela mean for the U.S.? .... What's your reaction to Chavez opponents winning?"

10:28: Bret Baier, Fox News, "Will this NIE not lead to a change in U.S. policy towards Iran or a shift in focus?"

10:25: Unidentified reporter: "Are you setting a different standard in this case" on Iran since the non-proliferation treaty doesn't bar countries have knowledge related to nuclear weaponry

10:23: Ed Chen, L.A. Times, "was the govt. too slow to recognize the subprime mortgage problem" and what steps would he take to address a slowing economy.

10:20: John McKinnon, Wall Street Journal asks if there's anything beyond mortgage payment assistance that Bush administration might be considering.

10:20, Henry, CNN asks a followup to prior question.

10:19: Ed Henry, CNN, asks about Saudi Arabian court sentencing rape victim to 200 lashes. "Did you press them on this case.... If not, did you give them a pass?"

10:18: Raddatz, ABC News, "Why should you trust this intelligence.... Why should you trust it any more?"

10:16: Martha Raddatz, ABC News, "The rest of the world is going to see the lede is that the nuclear weapons program was halted in 2003... weren't you angry?.... How can you possibly think the rest of the world is going to... continue to rally around you and your intelligence?"

10:13: Jim Axelrod, CBS News, asks if at any point anyone in Bush's administration asked him to "back down a bit" on his rhetoric about Iran as a threat.

10:09: David Gregory, NBC News: "When it came to Iran you...warned about the prospect of World War III...Can't you be accused of hyping this threat and don't you worry that that undermines U.S. credibility?"

10:07: Toby Zakaria, Reuters, asks President Bush if he thinks the United States is seen as "the boy who cried wolf" since Iraq had no WMD and Iran halted its nuclear program in 2003.

10:05: Terence Hunt, Associated Press cites new intelligence report showing Iran halted nuclear program in 2003. "Do the new findings take the military option that you talked about off the table?"

10:02: President Bush gives his opening statement, hitting congressional inaction on Iraq war funding, inaction on renewing a law regarding intelligence gathering, inaction on tax to address the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Bush also mentions that 11 of 12 appropriations bills remain unpassed. "Holidays are approaching, the clock is ticking for the United States Congress..."

—Ken Shepherd is Managing Editor of NewsBusters


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Helen Thomas...

Anyone notice the shot where Helen Thomas is sitting there in the front row with her hand raised, hoping that Bush will call on her???

Ed... Sure have...poor

Ed...

Sure have...poor Helen, may make my day if he just ignores her altogether...probably call on the screecher last.

I posted elsewhere about this and so far I have been right about these scavengers and there attempt at making President Bush a fool with Iran by using comparisons to Iraq WMD's...it does get old.

 Btw...as if Iran is our pal now just because the NIE last word being Estimate in the report by the National Intelligence Estimate...

ROFL!

OMG...he didn't call on

OMG...he didn't call on Helen....

He made my day!!!

ROFLMAO and thank you Mr. Prez!!!

Oh Helen......

News conference has been over for 5-minutes now, and Helen is still sitting there in the front row, head slumped down, waiting for President Bush to call on her...

Thanks for the update BT

Made my day too! Soooo funny! :-)

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

bigtimer

Have you seen the NY Times? They are SALIVATING over this latest NIE report (an agency that is very fluid with it's assessments from year to year) citing with "moderate confidence" that Iran's nuclear program remains frozen. They had it plastered on the front page, with a headline and page real estate/space normally reserved for a really major news event.

They are really presenting it to the readers like, "Okay, Iran is safe, let's pack up everything and leave them alone once and for all."

 

"Shywear makes a great Stocking Stuffer!" - Free Stinker

Shy.... I didn't see it

Shy....

I didn't see it ...but I have heard about it all morning before the press conference.

I feel the same as you do about all of this as I stated in a post above somewhere....

As if everything is A-Ok now with Iran....

How dumb do the press think we are out here in the real world?

Their fellow leftists think like them, below room temp. so they know they will follow their agenda...but we and a lot of others like us WON'T!

Just a bunch of simpletons all....

BT

Yeah, the early morning addition had it almost filling up the entire upper-half of the front page!

The NYTimes and the rest of the MSM ilk are working feverishly to project this fabricated reality that there is no Iranian crisis. A) it makes Bush appear to be more of a war-monger, and B) another war will certainly ensure a Republican win in 2008... oh and C) they don't want waaaaarrrr... period! ("waaaaa, please, no more war!!... Iran is okay... Iran is okay... more sanctions, more sanctions....")

 

"Shywear makes a great Stocking Stuffer!" - Free Stinker

What if....OUR Iran Intelligence is like the WMD Intelligence ?

We could be "Wrong" again on Iran, just like WMD's.... as the MSM reported our intelligence was wrong on WMD's.

JT... I know I

JT...

I know I know...let's ask Valerie Plame...after-all she was covert and working on Iran.

Btw...I heard her name mentioned in relation to all this report somewhere this morning, it may be a stretch but I put nothing past the leftists like her and her husband and all their ilk....the NIE is about as important to me as watching the snow melt.

JayTee, I've heard it said

JayTee, I've heard it said we can't afford to be wrong even once on the GWOT. We've used our only "pass" card. Best to just nukem and apologize afterwards.

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

MM... Bullseye!!! Btw...

MM...

Bullseye!!!

Btw...I still think with all that I have read the WMDs are in Syria somewhere...or we and Israel helped destroy them lately....we may never know in our lifetime, but someone will talk someday.

Just my opinion.

Loved to hear the President

Loved to hear the President say to David Gregory, "I hate to contradict such an august reporter like you". Watching these things, it strikes me that many reporters regard a press conference as a debate between them and the President.

Chris.... I absolutely

Chris....

I absolutely loved that too!

BT, I wish that, just once,

BT, I wish that, just once, the President would respond to some of these prosecutorial questions, delivered in a disrespectful tone (calling him "sir" doesn't mitigate their contemptuous tone, in fact it sounds sarcastic), with, "Why are you being so confrontational and hostile?" - or something like that. I know a politician isn't supposed to argue with the press, but if anyone has earned the right to do so, it's this president.

Chris... You don't know

Chris...

You don't know how much I have wished to see your very suggestion....as you say this president has been treated with nothing but disdain and scorn from day one by the leftist brainless press/msm vultures.

I hope I live long enough to see someone that is a conservative President do that very thing....

Oh.... say.... Thompson?

I don't know why they

I don't know why they didn't install trap doors under the seats in the new press room and a bank of switches in the podium.

Click... sproing....yeooohhh!

Next 'question' please?

"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...

Well......

........at least David Gregory looked like he was sober!

}}---> Press conference

We could have done without Gregory giving mouth to mouth to that horse they beat to death.

DEM RESPONSE

As usual, the Democrats found it necessary to stage an opposing news conference of their own. I don't know why they felt the need to do this. The MSM already did it for them about an hour earlier!

billb... I didn't even

billb...

I didn't even know they did....wonder if anyone listened?

LOL!

You sure have that right about the msm having an outright defense for the dems after the President gets done, nothing new there, must be why I didn't know about the dem one, I do not listen much anymore to the leftist twits when it comes to this...same old tactics with them all.