As a service to you the reader I'm watching the presidential news conference as covered on Fox News Channel. My goal here is to give you the questions the various reporters ask and if feasible, go back and clip video of the most biased questions.
Wrap-up, 11:27: There were no questions on the Hsu scandal and Hillary Clinton nor about Dan Rather's lawsuit, even though Memogate promulgated a bogus storyline intended to negatively impact Bush's 2004 reelection. The Jena Six controversy was raised by two reporters although it's had very little national media coverage. And unsurprisingly, no one asked about the Petreaus smear by MoveOn.org except Bill Sammon of the Washington Examiner (and also a Fox News contributor).
* * * * * * ** * * *
Bush turns over press conf to Michael Leavitt for q's on SCHIP, 11:20, Fox News fades out of press conference, as do other cable networks.
Bill Sammon, Washington Examiner, 11:19: What is your reaction to the MoveOn.org ad that mocked Petraeus. Would you like to see Democrats including presidential candidates repudiate the ad?
unid'd reporter, 11:19: REcently a company owned by one of your longtime supporters has a deal to drill for oil in Iraq... what's your opinion of that kind of deal and how it impacts long-stalled oil-revenue sharing legislation?
unid'd male reporter, 11:17: To what extent has the recent blackwater incident frayed relations and why is blackwater above the law?
unid'd male reporter 11:15: have the goalposts shifted on the surge?
Ann Compton, ABC News Radio, 11:13: If there's a tax increase on cigarettes to fund SCHIP, is that a tax increase you oppose?
Herman ?, 11:11: Mr. President, to the Republicans seeking election next year are you an asset or liability?
unidentified male reporter, 11:08 : Mr. President, there's a deal today where govt. of dubai will buy stake in Nasdaq, there's some concern on Capitol hill... what's your reaction to it and what's your level of concern about protectionism in general?
unidentified female reporter, 11:06, notes Rumsfeld saying he didn't "miss" President Bush and Alan Greenspan's criticism of overspending under Bush and GOP congress. She asks, "Do you feel betrayed... can you respond to Greenspan's criticism?"
unidentified male reporter, 11:05: What do you say to those who criticize you for not speaking out about the Jena Six situation?
Roger ?, 11:04: Do you think the half-point rate cut was enough to stave off recession?
Wendell Goler, Fox News 11:03: What do you think about Ahmadinejad wanting to go to Ground Zero
Malveaux: Do you think this is a defining moment in race relations?
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, 11:03: Thousands are marching in Jena, La., over a racially motivate incident... you've worked to bring blacks and Hispanics into teh GOP, but the immigration debate and republicans refusing to go to univision, morgan state debates, has raised concerns about whether the state of race relations is deteriorating in the country and your party. Your thoughts?
Raddatz, 11:02: Do you believe they are aiding Syria?
Martha Raddatz, ABC 11:01: Do you believe North Korea is aiding Syria with a nuclear program?
Jim Axelrod, CBS, 11:00, noting that Defense Secretary Gates isn't sure if removing Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do: Is that second-guessing [your administration's policy] and has that changed your mind at all?
10:56, Gregory: How is that dynamic changing, your level of frustration with the lack of political progress [in Iraq] and how long should American people wait for you to do something different
10:55, David Gregory, NBC: what does the Israeli bombing raid on Syria do to change the dynamic in middle east -- Gregory asks a few followups, each answered by Bush similarly: that he will not comment on the matter
10:53, Caren Bohan, Reuters: Question about French foreign minister raising possibility of war with Iran and what the president thinks of risk, possibility of war with Iran
10:52, Terry Hunt (?): Do you think there's a risk of a recession? How do you rate that?
10:51, Terry Hunt, AP (?): Economists say the nation is at increasing risk of recession, what do you say?
10:46: Bush opens press conference with veto threat of SCHIP bill sponsored by Democrats.
NB: As I'm transcribing on the fly, I can't promise the questions will be listed verbatim, but I will go back and post the link to the White House's transcript later in the day.
