[NYTr] Bush Talks at Length; Charlie Rose Shuts Up Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 05:40:39 -0400 (EDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit [Charlie Rose tends to hog at least 50% of the air time on his show, and usually finds as many possible excuses as possible for the half-wit in the White House, and always giving the most generous and charitable interpretations of Bush's actions. It's no accident that Bush chose Rose to give the only extended interview he's provided recently on his disastrous war. For the occasion, PBS aired the program an hour earlier than usual, and Rose actually shut his trap and let Bush speak expansively. If you missed it because they aired it before George's bedtime, there is a rerun on most PBS stations that carry Charlie Rose the following afternoon. - NY Transfer] Reuters - Apr 25, 2007 http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN2419141020070425 Bush says Iraq buildup may be reviewed by September Wed Apr 25, 2007 4:48AM EDT By Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that U.S. commanders likely will be able to gauge by September whether or not the troop buildup in Iraq is succeeding. Bush spoke in an interview on the Public Broadcasting System's "Charlie Rose Show" a day after a suicide truck bomb killed nine U.S. troops in one of the worst attacks on American ground forces since the invasion in 2003. He said Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, felt it was too early to fully assess the impact of committing additional troops, mostly in Baghdad, because only about half of the new forces had been deployed. Asked when such a review would be carried out, Bush said: "I think (Petraeus) would tell you that in September he might have a pretty good feel for whether or not it made sense or not." The administration has avoided saying how long it will keep the expanded force of about 160,000 troops, including about 30,000 ordered in by Bush in January. But officials have said the situation will be reviewed in late summer. The implication is that a drawdown in forces could then begin, but remarks by commanders and other officials suggest higher levels would likely remain for months beyond that. Monday's bombing of a military outpost north of Baghdad came amid a showdown between Bush and congressional Democrats over their efforts to tie Iraq funding to a timetable for U.S. withdrawal. Bush has vowed to veto the legislation. U.S. commanders have said the latest security crackdown has yielded mixed results so far, with a drop in sectarian murders but a rise in high-casualty car bomb attacks. In the television interview Bush also held out the possibility of contacts between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian officials if they take part in a conference on stabilizing Iraq, to be held next month in Egypt. "What I'm not willing to do is sit down bilaterally with the Iranians," said Bush, who has led a campaign with other world powers to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, according to a transcript of the program. But when asked whether Rice and Iran's foreign minister might have bilateral conversations at the conference, Bush said, "They could, they could." He maintained, however, that contacts would be limited to urging Iran to stop sending weapons into Iraq "that will end up hurting our troops." Tehran has denied providing arms. © Reuters 2006. All rights reserved *** The New York Times - Apr 25, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/arts/25teevee.html A Host Dials Down, and Bush Speaks Up By ALESSANDRA STANLEY Charlie Rose is a talk show host known for long and rambling questions. President Bush is famous for his short, Texas-terse answers. On last night?s show, the two men reversed roles. Mr. Bush spoke forcefully and at length about Iraq. Mr. Rose was succinct. It was the closest Mr. Bush has come to the kind of winding declamations that Richard M. Nixon delivered to the British interviewer David Frost in 1977 and that are now resurrected on Broadway in ?Frost/Nixon,? a play by Peter Morgan. Mr. Morgan, who was one of Mr. Rose?s guests on Monday, told the host that American audiences would see parallels ?between presidents facing the wrath of a country that feels that in their name, bad decisions were made.? Actually, Mr. Bush looked more at ease than he usually does in interviews, but he did not offer any revelations about his showdown with Congress over financing for additional troops or his support for his embattled attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales. He mostly expanded on positions he had staked out in the past. It was his wordiness that spoke volumes. The administration is under attack by Democrats and some Republicans, and Mr. Bush is increasingly described by his critics as isolated and out of touch. To counter that image, Mr. Bush turned to one of his least favorite pastimes: explaining himself to a reporter in front of a camera. Mr. Bush was fairly candid about why he decided to spend almost an hour defending his policies on public television, a venue that many conservatives mistrust as too liberal. ?I do think it?s important for me to explain to your listeners one more time, if I might, why I made the decision I made,? Mr. Bush said. ?I believe that if Iraq were to fall apart, and there were to be a vacuum, into that vacuum would come extremist elements.? He continued from there, explaining his concerns about a regional conflagration with less restraint and more dependent clauses than usual. It was Mr. Bush?s first in-depth interview since a round of television appearances he made after announcing in January that he would send more troops to Iraq. As the two men sat face to face in a room in the Waldorf-Astoria, Mr. Rose raised the issue of military buildup almost casually, saying, ?How is what?s sometimes called ?the surge? going?? Mr. Bush?s answer was mixed. ?The good news is that sectarian death is down in Baghdad,? he replied. ?The bad news is that spectacular car bombs still go off, in a way that tends to shake the confidence of the Iraqi people that their government can protect them.? Mr. Rose asked his guest about Senator John McCain?s admission that he had no ?Plan B? if the administration?s current strategy failed. Mr. Bush replied, somewhat grimly, ?The Plan B is to make Plan A work.? But he went on to assure Mr. Rose that his administration constantly reassessed its plans and decision-making. Mr. Bush chose Mr. Rose over other interviewers for the obvious reason: the courtly host does not traffic in hectoring, Mike Wallace-style interrogations, instead giving his guests room to free-associate and set their own agenda. And sometimes, that is more effective than cross-examination. Mr. Rose did not wring any secrets or expressions of regret from Mr. Bush, but he gave viewers a glimpse of what this president sounds like when he talks to a visitor behind closed doors, when the cameras are off. Mr. Rose is a Larry King for Mensa members; he is more genteel and cultivated than his brash CNN rival, but he, too, conducts a conversation, not an interview. His drawn-out questions come out pell-mell ? sometimes bland, sometimes probing and sometimes even highly personal, but in no particular order. Mostly, Mr. Rose is a facilitator, creating a comfortable ambience where important people and opinion-makers can speak at length and make more than one point. Dick Cavett in his heyday was wittier and more penetrating, but for viewers interested in thoughtful talk, Mr. Rose?s stark studio is the best place in town. For presidents who want to reassure viewers that they think long and hard before they act, it is the only game in town. Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company * ================================================================ .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org .List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ .Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr ================================================================