First, compare this to his comments in his Meet the Press interview:
Russert: It's now nearly a year, and we are in a very difficult situation. Did we miscalculate how we would be treated and received in Iraq?
President Bush: Well, I think we are welcomed in Iraq. I'm not exactly sure, because the tone of your question is, we're not. We are welcomed in Iraq.
Obviously, he didn't answer the yes-or-no question, "did we miscalculate?" So that insulates him, in just the tiniest way imaginable, from accusations of suddenly flip-flopping.
And then there's that press conference in April:
Q: Mr. President, I'd like to follow up on a couple of these questions that have been asked. One of the biggest criticisms of you is that whether it's WMD in Iraq, postwar planning in Iraq, or even the question of whether this administration did enough to ward off 9/11, you never admit a mistake. Is that a fair criticism? And do you believe there were any errors in judgment that you made related to any of those topics I brought up?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think, as I mentioned, it's -- the country wasn't on war footing, and yet we're at war. And that's just a reality, Dave. I mean, that's -- that was the situation that existed prior to 9/11, because the truth of the matter is, most in the country never felt that we'd be vulnerable to an attack such as the one that Osama bin Laden unleashed on us. We knew he had designs on us, we knew he hated us. But there was a -- nobody in our government, at least, and I don't think the prior government, could envision flying airplanes into buildings on such a massive scale.
The people know where I stand. I mean, in terms of Iraq, I was very clear about what I believed. And, of course, I want to know why we haven't found a weapon yet. But I still know Saddam Hussein was a threat, and the world is better off without Saddam Hussein. I don't think anybody can -- maybe people can argue that. I know the Iraqi people don't believe that, that they're better off with Saddam Hussein -- would be better off with Saddam Hussein in power. I also know that there's an historic opportunity here to change the world. And it's very important for the loved ones of our troops to understand that the mission is an important, vital mission for the security of America and for the ability to change the world for the better.
My goodness, what a long answer! Again, did you notice any "yes" or "no" in that answer? No, because he completely dodged the yes-or-no question.
From the same press conference:
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. In the last campaign, you were asked a question about the biggest mistake you'd made in your life, and you used to like to joke that it was trading Sammy Sosa. You've looked back before 9/11 for what mistakes might have been made. After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?
THE PRESIDENT: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.
(Fast-forward through long, drawn-out non-answer and many hems and haws.)
I hope I -- I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.My two cents: This helps him, in as much as it reassures some undecided voters that he at least has the capacity to admit mistakes and change. I'm sure it was polled to the gills.
On the other hand, this hurts him, in as much as it provides fodder for hacks like me to beat him over the head with this press conference, his Tim Russert interview and similar moments when he has refused to acknowledge error.
Also, doesn't this place even more pressure on Donald Rumsfeld? The guy has been fingered in the Abu Ghraib scandal and now has been saddled with "miscalculations" in post-war Iraq. Why does he still have his job? The longer he's in office, the more Dems can beat Bush up about it.
Of course, I don't see anybody doing much beating about this issue. Maybe it will take some time.
And maybe the New York Times needs to tear its eyeballs away from the bright, shiny object of the Not-So-Swift Boat Liars for Bush (NSSBLFB) and notice that this "admission" by Bush is the real headline here.
Unfortunately, they bury it four grafs down. It's Bill Keller's crappy world. We just live in it.
Update: Oliver Willis is on it, but he doesn't spend a bunch of time on it. He's underwhelmed, apparently.
Update 2: TalkLeft is also on it, though he says little about it.
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