Bush Presser at 10:00 AM ET

I will be post the high points as well as any Gregory inanities as they happen.

Update: Pretty standard speach recapping Iraq successes, upbeat and confident.

Questions:

AP reporter asks if he agrees with Alawi that Iraq has fallen into civil war. Prez cites other Iraqi voices who do not agree. Nice snark about knowing Allawi and his thoughts better than most.

Gregory is a no show today, too bad, was looking forward to a smackdown.

Helen Thomas asks: "What was your REAL reason for going to war?"(implying of course that he hasn't been honest with us on the real reason. What a venomous hag) Then she goes further..... she calls him a liar and says he wanted to go to war from the minute he walked into the White House. Prez says To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen". She tries to interrupt. He shuts her down. Explains how he changed after 9/11 then effectively rebutts her saying "I did not want war - no President wants war"

Bush explains to the press corp that the terrorists are blowing up people so the media will report on it in an attempt to get us to pull out and lose the war. (The mere fact that Bush has to "educate" the media on this fact speaks volumes.)

Unknown reporter "Would you benefit from any changes to your staff"?

Bush: "I have a staff of people who place their love of country over their self interests...I am satisified with the people i have surrounded myself with, we are remarkably stable"

Unknown reporter: "Polls show Americans don't like you, do you mind?" (What a marroon)

Bush:"The job of the President is not to worry about short term attitudes. The job of the President is to confront important issues."

CNN "Do you tihnk rumsfeld should resign"

Bush: No I dont think rumsfeld should resign..."

Karl Cameron raises the issue of censure. Bush says no one on the dem side got up and called for the end of the NSA program. They ought to take their case to the people if they don't think we should be doing it. Cites Reid saying "we killed the Patriot Act." Nice slapdown on both issues.

Bush is treating the press corp like a classroom full of unruly schoolchildren (and quite rightly so). He has had to discipline them several times for yelling, interrupting etc.