Bush Photo Op or Opps?

When a Photo Op Bites Back

Don't you just love it when a reporter actually asks the tough questions? The Today Show's Matt Lauer isn't my favorite interviewer, but he did a pretty good job with the President. Lauer asked the President if he was trying to get a second chance at a first impression, comparing the number of trips post-Rita with the disastrous federal response to Katrina.

Dan Froomkin, in a special piece for The Washington Post wrote:

It was such a lovely photo op -- President Bush and his wife joining the volunteers building a house in Louisiana. The perfect backdrop for an upbeat interview, live on NBC's Today Show.
But then Matt Lauer had to go and pull back the curtain and ask: Isn't this all just an empty photo op?

What ensued was an unusually testy interview, with Bush waving off more questions than he answered, chiding Lauer for quoting too many Democrats in his windups and making it clear that he would have been much happier fielding questions about the charitable nature of the American people than about politics.

Here's the text ; here's the video .

"Q So much more visibility on your part, President Bush, following Hurricane Rita and, as I mentioned, the eight trips to the region, as compared to what was seen as a slow and inefficient federal response after Hurricane Katrina. Is this one of those situations where you're trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression?"

"PRESIDENT BUSH: I do my job as best I can. One of the things that we do is we respond to crisis. And as I told the people, if I didn't respond well enough, we're going to learn the lessons. If there's any mistakes made at the federal level, I, of course, accept responsibility for them. . . .

"Q I talked to a prominent Democrat in Louisiana who has said that this type of appearance, while it's great to see you guys rolling up your sleeves and grabbing a hammer and helping with this piece of wall here, that it's a photo op, and they want to see a plan on paper, your plan to rebuild this region. Do you have that kind of a plan?

"THE PRESIDENT: Well, Matt, you see, I don't think Washington ought to dictate to New Orleans how to rebuild. I guess we have a different philosophy than whoever the prominent Democrat was you spoke to. Last night, Laura and had dinner with Mayor Nagin and a group of distinguished New Orleans citizens from all walks of life. And my message to them was, we will support the plan that you develop.

"The point is, is that it comes from the local folks. And I recognize there's an attitude in Washington that says, we know better than the local people. That's just not the attitude I have."

Later, after Lauer began quoting another Democrat who has criticized the lack of a forgiveness clause in the administration's loan package for hurricane recovery, Bush interrupted and said, only half-jokingly: "You're quoting a lot of Democrats today, Matt, that's interesting."

Bush kept trying to turn the interview into more of a feel-good session. "I think our job is to elevate this whole process out of normal politics," he said.

When Lauer asked whether that was really possible, Bush shot back: "It depends on who asks the questions, I guess."

For the rest of the story.