A reader agrees: “Derb—I’m with you all the way regarding your last

Corner posting. As I watched the press conference, I was thinking that the

President reminded me of a graduate student at his oral prelims who wasn’t

really ready, but thought the committee would just let him skate through. To

wit–Reporter: ‘Mr. President, during the 2000 campaign you stated

that the biggest mistake in your life was trading Sammy Sosa. What has been

your biggest mistake post 9/11?’ Bush: ‘Um. . . Gee whiz, Fred, I wish you

would’ve submitted that question in writing beforehand so that I could

prepare for it.’ Well Jesus, Mary, and Martha, how could he (and his group)

not anticipate that kind of question? Even a trite reply of ‘never

apologize, never explain’ would be better that the answer he gave.”

This is right. It sometimes seems that GWB is determined to play to the

negative stereotype of him, viz. that he is lazy, sloppy, and ill-prepared.

First-hand accounts of the administration, like David Frum’s book,

don’t leave that impression at all — but only us inside-baseball types read

those accounts. To the great majority of voters, Bush is what he appears to

be at events like last night’s: sincere, human and patriotic, but at the

same time lazy, sloppy, and ill-prepared.