At any rate, I give Bush an A+ for his performance.
The media likes Presidents who act like dimwits. Present an intelligent face, and they will feel obliged to argue the opposite tact, in a competitive and combative manner.
On the other hand, simplistic catch-phrases typically make the interviewer feel superior, so they won’t press the matter.
Reagan demonstrated this. Now Bush doesn’t have early-onset Alzheimer’s, but he does have some verbal problems. Liberals call Bush a chimp, but this only plays into his agenda. The President is no idiot: he is a master at lowering expectations, all the better to make his blatant falsehoods (documented above and below*) seem like careless errors, rather than intentional deception.
- IMHO: Bush did not release all his military records in 2000, and he knows it. He had no intention of releasing all his records, although he said the opposite. He knows that he has done little or nothing to control discretionary spending. He trusts that neither the New York Times nor his co-called conservative allies in the press will hold him to his words.
In Iraq, Bush knows that Saddam permitted inspectors to re-enter the country in late 2002, notwithstanding his false claims: "And then we went to the United Nations… and got an overwhelming resolution – 1441 – unanimous resolution, that said to Saddam, you must disclose and destroy your weapons programs… He chose defiance. It was his choice to make, and he did not let us in.(1/2004) Emphasis added.
Also: " The larger point is, and the fundamental question is, did Saddam Hussein have a weapons program? And the answer is, absolutely. And we gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn’t let them in." (7/2003) Emphasis added.
In sum, President Bush is not an idiot: I prefer the word, “Phony”.