George W. Bush sat down for a few brief television interviews yesterday. Well, "interviews" might not be the right word. From what we saw of them, the sessions along the border -- sweet dune buggy, Mr. President! -- were more like talking-points distribution sessions with questions interspersed. The talking point Bush seemed determined to push hardest? As Karl Rove explained the other day, Americans aren't really unhappy with the president; they're just "sour" on the war. In Bush-speak, "sour" becomes "unsettled," and off we go.
Here's how he rolled it out with NBC's David Gregory:
Gregory: In the most recent survey, your disapproval rating is now one point lower than Richard Nixon's before he resigned the presidency. You're laughing, but ...
Bush: I'm not laughing, I just ...
Gregory: Why do you think that is?
Bush: Because we're at war, and war unsettles people. We got -- listen, we've got a great economy. We've added 5.2 million jobs in the last two-and-a-half years. But ... people are unsettled. They don't look at the economy and say life is good. They know we're at war and I'm not surprised that people are unsettled because of war.
Gregory: But they're just not unsettled, sir. They disapprove of the job you're doing.
Bush: That's unsettled.
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