Where is the Media?

I just ran across this gem:

"I'm also not very analytical. You know I don't spend a lot of time thinking about myself, about why I do things."

— George W. Bush to reporters aboard Air Force One, June 4, 2003.

Don't believe it? I didn't.

Couple more quotes:

THE PRESIDENT: One of my jobs is to try to help relax people in a setting. I hope I'm pretty good at that. How do you feel, do you feel relaxed right now?

Q: More relaxed than I should.

* * *

Q: What's your role? What do you do? You talked about giving the Secretary and Dr. Rice specific obligations. What's your obligation?

THE PRESIDENT: I show up when they need me to call people to account, to praise, or to say, wait a minute—you told me in Jordan that you would do this, you haven't done it, why? How come? What is it? It's to keep the thing moving, keep the processes moving. They've got the man on the ground that is going to—he's just going to—I used the expression, ride herd. I don't know if anybody understood the meaning. It's a little informal in diplomatic terms. I said, "We're going to put a guy on the ground to ride herd on the process." See them all scratching their heads.

Q: Meanwhile, in Arabic and Hebrew, exactly how does that translate?

[Emphasis added]

* * *

Q: Mr. President, in the events of the last two days, have they exceeded what you expected coming over here?

THE PRESIDENT: That's a good question. I'm supposed to say—that's an interesting question. (Laughter.)

Q: You're supposed to say what you think.

I also ran across these great sites:

• McSweeny: Daily Reasons to Dispatch Bush.
• FreePress.net. Free Press is a non-profit organization working to involve the public in media policymaking and to craft policies for a more democratic media system.