WaPo Leads With Sarcasm, Approval Rating Chart on Bush's Last Press Conference

The Washington Post put opinion first in its treatment of President Bush's last press conference. The news story by Michael Abramowitz was at the bottom of page A3. The snarky opinion column by Dana Milbank was at the top of A3, suffused with the sarcastic tone that Bush was, of course, a disaster:

By the time he finished, it was hard to imagine why only 23 percent of Americans are able to see the Bush years for the unqualified success that they are.

In between these articles, the Post placed a page-wide graph that tracked the decline of Bush's approval rating. Among the historical markers of the Bush era, according to the Post: the 1,000th, 2,000th, 3,000th, and 4,000th U.S. casualty in Iraq. Also on their list were the "Mission Accomplished" speech, the CBS report on Abu Ghraib, and Hurricane Katrina.

In addition to obvious dates, like 9/11 and the start of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the chart marked the dates Saddam Hussein was captured and executed.

Milbank's most obvious misstatement was this: "Further complicating his last-minute legacy rehabilitation: Nobody seems to be paying attention." He noted the last two rows of reporter seats were empty.

But clearly, anyone watching the newscasts or reading the newspapers would know this presser grabbed more attention than usual, largely because it was Bush's last. (CBS gave it heavy play last night.) Even if the Post put it on A3 and let the humorist/columnist take the first whacks at Bush for the reader.