This entry is embarassing to admit to, but since some Kossacks are asking how anyone could support Bush after last night, I'll post it on dKos anyway.
Last night I started listening to Bush's press conference on my kitchen radio. Every time he was asked a question he would dodge it and retreat to a jumble of words from his 2003 phrasebook. He was so bad that I turned on the TV to see if he would come across better there. It was worse on TV: his darting eyes, his weaving body language (and his tie, but let's overlook that). My wife was convinced that Bush was on something. It was literally the worst presidential press conference I've ever seen.
In short, it was the same conference that everyone in last night's dKos threads saw.
But then...
But then I listened to the press conference again this morning while driving to work. Traffic was heavier than usual, so I wasn't listening carefully. I didn't hear most of the questions and just listened to Bush's voice. To my surprise it made a huge difference. Bush had his own flow during the Q&A that was independent of the questions. His awkward "I-can't-remember-my-talking-points" pauses sounded like meaningful pauses. Is this a shallow way to listen? Yes, but damn if Bush didn't seem earnest and steadfast.
So I've seen two sides of this Rashomon conference. If you were looking for specific answers -- or at least direct ones -- then last night was a disaster. But if you were a wavering Bush supporter who just needed to see strength and resolve, maybe the SCLM's questions didn't matter to you anyway.
I Bush won any converts from the left or the middle last night. But he probably won back some of his base.
(Aside: I miss Dean and his directness. Sigh.)