As far as the reader’s observation that Bush’s Meet the Press interview reassured the base, I can’t believe that fiscal conservatives were relieved by the president’s patently dishonest answer when Russert brought up the spending issue. Russert said to Bush that even conservative commentators like Rush Limbaugh are criticizing his spending. The president countered by saying that in times of war, every government spends more money, for the sake of the troops. Which is true, but evades the point of the Right’s critique of this administration’s fiscal irresponsibility. Nobody in Bush’s base is complaining about military spending. It’s all the other spending that’s got our knickers in a knot. Bush had nothing to say about that.