Reacting to President Bush’s Monday press conference, on Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Harry Smith remarked: "Not going to get a 'job well done'...on the report card, on the final report card." That observation was prompted by Republican strategist Ed Rollins declaring: "I think to a certain extent, we have a lot to be thankful to this president for his service, but he's not going to get a ‘great job’ from the American public."
Prior to that exchange, Rollins criticized Bush for being too confident: "...you saw a lot of confidence yesterday, he always was a man that was overly confident." Smith asked: "Did you say overly confident?" Rollins elaborated: "I think he’s overly confident. I think he’s overly confident about a lot of things. I – there was no humility there yesterday when you basically talk in terms of the ‘Mission Impossible’ [Referring to ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner] sign, at the same time he can't find weapons of mass destruction...You know, you also -- forget ‘Mission Accomplished,’ he flew in a jet, he had a pilot's outfit on, it was sort of the conquering hero."
Smith also spoke with former Bush advisor Dan Bartlett and used Rollins comments to ask: "Dan Bartlett, that whole 'Mission Accomplished' thing, there's been so many stories about that. The Navy said they did it, Scott McClellan said he was responsible. Who really was responsible for that?" Bartlett responded: "...yours truly was the guy who actually signed off from the people out on the air craft carrier...But the president didn't throw us under the bus, he took responsibility, and that's why he endears so much loyalty from people like myself and others who have worked for him."
Here is the full transcript of the segment:
7:00AM TEASE:
JULIE CHEN: President Bush reflects on his eight years in office.
GEORGE W. BUSH: Clearly, putting a 'Mission Accomplished' on a air craft carrier was a mistake.
7:12AM TEASE:
HARRY SMITH: Coming up next, President Bush, candid, emotional. What a range yesterday in that press conference. We're going to talk to Republican insiders about what he had to say.
7:16AM SEGMENT:
HARRY SMITH: One week from today, President Bush leaves office. On Monday, he held his final news conference at the White House, offering a candid look back at the past eight years.
GEORGE W. BUSH: Clearly, putting a 'Mission Accomplished' on a air craft carrier was a mistake [Picture of Banner]...There have been disappointments, Abu Ghraib, obviously, was a huge disappointment during the presidency [Picture of Abu Ghraib]...Not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment. I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not but they were -- things didn't go according to plan, let's put it that way...I thought long and hard about Katrina, you know, could I have done something differently, absolutely, but when I hear people say 'the federal response was slow,' what are they going to say to those chopper drivers or the 30,000 that got pulled off the roofs [Picture of Bush on Air Force One]...I believe the phrase 'burdens of the office' is over stated, yeah, it's kind of like 'why me?,' Oh, the burdens,' 'why did the financial collapse have to happen on my watch?' It's just -- it's pathetic, isn't it, self pity...I was affected by TV after the elections, when I saw people saying 'I never thought I would see the day that a black person would be erected president' and a lot of people had tears streaming down their cheeks when they said it. [Footage of Obama victory speech and Jesse Jackson crying] And so, I am -- I am -- consider myself fortunate to have a front row seat on what is going to be a historic moment for the country.
SMITH: Joining us, Dan Bartlett, former senior advisor to President Bush, and a CBS News consultant, and Ed Rollins, a Republican strategist. Good morning to you both.
ED ROLLINS: Good morning.
DAN BARTLETT: Morning, Harry.
SMITH: Dan, I want to start with you. You know this guy as well as anybody on this planet, worked so closely with him. When you watched this 46-minute news conference yesterday, what went through your mind?
BARTLETT: Wow. I mean, this was the guy I saw everyday in the Oval Office. And this was the type of person I think that a lot of Americans came to really enjoy to watch and the reason why they probably voted for him in 2000 and 2004. He really is an open book, Harry when you walk in-
SMITH: He was yesterday, that's what-
BARTLETT: a whole wide range of-
SMITH: I thought yesterday-
BARTLETT: He was-
SMITH: Because the window really opened yesterday in a way we hadn't seen in years.
BARTLETT: And that -- and the interesting thing is that's really how he is everyday in the Oval Office when he's going about doing his job. He's funny, he can get mad, he can be steadfast in his views. I'm just glad that the American people got a good glimpse of it hear at the -- in the final chapter of his presidency.
SMITH: One of the things that he talked about with such passion yesterday, at the end, was connecting the dots, that section where he said 'do you remember what it was like here after 9/11? And it -- he basically said the reason I did the things I did with the laws of this country, the reason there is a Guantanamo, the reason there is all of this stuff, is because that's my responsibility. We saw an answer to that question that I didn't think we'd ever seen before.
ED ROLLINS: I think this president has assumed those responsibilities in a very important way after 9/11. I think 9/11 obviously had a great impact on all of us. And I think that's the highlight of his presidency. I think lots of other things that he did, you saw a lot of confidence yesterday, he always was a man that was overly confident. The things-
SMITH: Did you say overly confident?
ROLLINS: I think he's overly confident. I think he's overly confident about a lot of things. I -- there was no humility there yesterday when you basically talk in terms of the 'Mission Impossible' sign, at the same time he can't find weapons of mass destruction-
SMITH: 'Mission Accomplished,' yeah.
ROLLINS: You know, you also -- forget 'Mission Accomplished,' he flew in a jet, he had a pilot's outfit on, it was sort of the conquering hero. And I think to a certain extent, we have a lot to be thankful to this president for his service, but he's not going to get a 'great job' from the American public.
SMITH: Not going to get a 'job well done'-
ROLLINS: Right.
SMITH: on the report card, on the final report card.
ROLLINS: I don't think so.
SMITH: Dan Bartlett, that whole 'Mission Accomplished' thing, there's been so many stories about that. The Navy said they did it, Scott McClellan said he was responsible. Who really was responsible for that?
BARTLETT: Well, the interesting thing, and I think it speaks to the character of this president, that he didn't attempt to throw any staff under the bus yesterday when it came to the banner. Of course, as you know, Harry, he didn't have anything to do with the actual banner. And I -- it's funny that Scott said it, quite frankly, yours truly was the guy who actually signed off from the people out on the air craft carrier, actually, when they were going through Hawaii, to say they wanted to hang this sign to tribute to the troops who had been on leave for more than 14 months, I think the longest service ever of an air craft carrier in war. And I was the guy they called and I conferred with Ari Fleischer and others, and we said 'yeah, that sounded fine.' And I regret it to this day, because it did send the wrong message. The old communications adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, was so true. But the president didn't throw us under the bus, he took responsibility, and that's why he endears so much loyalty from people like myself and others who have worked for him.
SMITH: Dan Bartlett, thank you so much, do appreciate it, good to see you sir. Ed, thanks for stopping in as well.
BARTLETT: You too, Harry.
ROLLINS: Thank you, thank you.
SMITH: Alright, guys.
—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.





















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Shocking.
January 13, 2009 - 18:08 ET by mattmShocking.
my take: STFU Harry - no
January 13, 2009 - 20:51 ET by TruthMongermy take: STFU Harry - no one gives a sh*t what you think
besides you have your own pathetically miserable job performance to deal with before you lecture anyone else
congrats to all the new U.S presidents - and press secretary obama
Amen
January 14, 2009 - 02:00 ET by gordonHarry Smith is a baldheaded, brainless, babbling buffoon. He's a complete wimp with the iq of a radish. How this dolt ever got a job on a network is unfathomable. Liberalism is nothing but aimless contrarianism in the raw pursuit of power.
Don't any of these
January 13, 2009 - 18:51 ET by motherbeltDon't any of these guys remember this:
President Clinton, his wife and daughter took off for Martha's Vineyard right after he testified in the scandal involving Monica Lewinsky. A couple of days later, it was announced that a statement would be made to the press from a schoolhouse on the island. The statement was that the President was on his way back to the White House to deal with "a matter of national security." Later that day they announced a statement from the Oval Office that night.
The statement? The bombing of an drug factory in the Sudan.
Now did this warrant all the hoopla around it, including an Oval Office speech? Or was it all for show to distract from the personal matters? Whether or not it was a "wag the dog" scenario, any other time, a statement would have been issued by the press secretary while the President was on vacation and that would have been it.
I don't recall the media making a big deal about that at the time...
Bush was attacked
January 13, 2009 - 19:13 ET by ConservativeMissourianas usual. He didn't throw anyone under the bus yet he was criticized anyway. Not to mention the nice words of advice he had for Obama.
mb
January 13, 2009 - 21:58 ET by thebutlerdiditOh Yes, I remember that well. Along with the other "sleight of hand" Clinton tricks used to distract the Am. people from the elephant in the room. I just happened to look at the Neilsen ratings, whomever said that Harry needed to be concerned by his own record, was right. He is dragging along in the ratings, along with the other morning shows. Fox beats him hands down every morning. I have a question. Did anyone listen to Rush today? He wasn't there. He suddenly went to Washington. I know everyone will think I'm crazy, I am, but I think he went and met with PEBO.
Bringing the government in to run Wall Street is like saying, "Dad burned the dinner, let's get the dog to cook." PJ O'Rourke
Fox News could put them all
January 14, 2009 - 02:06 ET by RR GOPFox News could put them all under if they'd get rid of Huckabee, for starters and bring back some of that conservative zeal they had during the election.
What the hell? Do reports on the Obama birth certificate, keep reporting on Ayers and other associations, do exposes on the Clintons (a lot of viewers don't know or remember that stuff), nit pic and do stories on every outrageous/unsubstantiated bit of junk out there like the regular MSM. The Leftists are going to attack both straight reporting as well as opinion pieces by Fox anyway.
It's not like Fox is doing well with smug independents, blue hairs worried about their retirement, nor RINOs and assorted fence-sitters, and certainly not the Communists and their Liberal allies (Moscow intel called them "suckers" way back when) and nor I suppose Roman Catholics judging from the election results, as well as many 'Evangelicals'.
Let them live in Obama Land through the fawning MSM and let the Conservatives have at least one damn TV network. I assume there's a sizable market right there.
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
I see...glad they all
January 13, 2009 - 19:13 ET by bigtimerI see...glad they all explained how things are to me here in the real world.
Btw...Rollins...when was the last time you've been good at anything you've touched...besides the leftist msm loving your rear-end...when convenient?
"America isn't the problem...America is the solution." ~ Rush Limbaugh
Smith= Crap
January 13, 2009 - 19:33 ET by Redrowan2000I never saw this guy Smith prior to Newsbusters but he comes across as a pedantic, smug, hate America first type. When the American people wake up it may be too late or it may be too late for Mr. Smith. He claims to have looked evil in the eye. But wouldn't support our hero soldiers in Iraq and Afgahnistan who really look evil in the eye every day. His evil is middle class American values that are against abortion , terrorism and the forced gay agenda, oh and while we're at it ILLEGAL ALIENS. I use caps to differentiate immigrants and ILLEGALS.
"Don't let the bastards grind you down."
Red
Dear Ed
January 13, 2009 - 21:43 ET by timzankHow about you go fark yourself and take that wussy of an "interviewer" hairball smith with ya? For the love of God, these people need to get a frickin' life and find something to do.
SO Tired of hearing about the banner!
January 13, 2009 - 21:44 ET by jarrett.edwardsI am just so sick of hearing about the “Mission Accomplished” banner. The mission was to remove Saddam and it was accomplished. The problem was that then there was a new mission to hold the country together and elect a democratic government. The only problem with the banner is it should have said “Mission ONE Accomplished on to Mission TWO” so the the morons in MSM could understand!
Actually no
January 13, 2009 - 23:46 ET by thebutlerdiditThe banner was there to celebrate the mission of the guys on the craft, who had been gone 14 long mos. Everyone took it wrong, and even when it was attempted to be explained, people like this, Maddow, Olby, etc., still don't want to hear it. Just like Maddow was still complaining about KATRINA and the lack of response. They want Bush to spill forth with Mea Kuplas, and he won't play. They call him smirky, and arrogant, instead of just the simple answer, he is AT PEACE, and CONFIDENT. I am also sick of hearing this crap, and I think I will be glad when Bush is allowed to go home, maybe the poor man can get some peace and quiet from these horse's asses. Excuse my language.
Bringing the government in to run Wall Street is like saying, "Dad burned the dinner, let's get the dog to cook." PJ O'Rourke
Smith
January 14, 2009 - 01:36 ET by merlin61thebutlerdidit: I agree with you, and hope that
he can find peace after leaving office. I believe
he did a great job. He's not perfect, no man is.
Lets see when the critics start picking on the
Pres-elect. Not gonna happen for a while
I'll bet.
Ed Rollins is a hack
January 13, 2009 - 22:23 ET by Captain KirockDid anybody catch Rollins' act on Anderson Cooper's show last night? He essentially called Bush's presidency a total failure. Much more harsh on Bush than he was here with Smith.
I guess when you're palling around with the likes of David Rodham-Gergen and Anderson Cooper (the Earl Camembert of cable news) on a nightly basis you have to toe the liberl line if you want to stay on tv.
Harry & Jenn
January 13, 2009 - 23:45 ET by zachlindAnd with that signoff, Harry Smith retires to his luxury office to graze over his Jennifer Aniston scrapbook collection.