President Fights Back

Mark I at RedState reports that President Bush was in rare form at his press conference today.

President Bush was asked the following question about Sen. Russ Feingold (D-kos) drive for a resolution censuring the president for ordering up the NSA terrorist surveillance program:

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. On the subject of the terrorist surveillance program, not to change the (OFF-MIKE) bipartisanship, but there have been now three sponsors to a measure to censure you for the implementation of that program. The primary sponsor, Russ Feingold, has suggested that impeachment is not out of the question. And on Sunday, the number two Democrat in the Senate refused to rule that out pending an investigation.

QUESTION: What, sir, do you think the impact of a discussion of impeachment and censure does to you and this office and to the nation during a time of war and in the context of the election?

President Bush could have answered this with an updated version of a famous Clintonism: "No censure ever killed a terrorist or prevented an attack on an American city." That would have answered the direct question about the impact of the censure movement on the war, but would not have sufficiently defined the motives of the censure advocates.

President Bush's actual answer goes much further in defining Congressional Democrats as both unserious and dishonest about the war on terror. The president:

BUSH: I think during these difficult times -- and they are difficult when we are at war -- the American people expect there to be an honest and open debate without needless partisanship. And that's how I view it. I did notice that nobody from the Democratic Party has actually stood up and called for the getting rid of the terrorist surveillance program. You know, if that's what they believe, if people in the party believe that, then they ought to stand up and say it. They ought to stand up and say, The tools we're using to protect the American people shouldn't be used. They ought to take their message to the people and say, Vote for me. I promise we're not going to have a terrorist surveillance program. That's what they ought to be doing. That's part of what is an open and honest debate.

BUSH: I did notice that, you know, at one point in time, they didn't think the Patriot Act ought to be reauthorized -- they being at least the minority leader in the Senate. He openly said, as I understand -- I don't want to misquote him -- something along the lines that We killed the Patriot Act. Now, if that's what the party believes, they ought to go around the country saying, We shouldn't give the people on the front line, who are protecting us, the tools necessary to do so. That's a debate I think the country ought to have.

These are the types of responses from our President that we need. He has allowed the press and the Democrats to frame the conversation so long that he simply appears to be completely out of touch to many Americans.

Today he appeared to be in control and in touch.

Read the rest. Several good reader comments follow the article.