bush thinks he's Johnny Frikkin' Carson laughing through his conference

[mopaul]

I'm not sure what he found so frikkin' hilarious but I watched it all, and he laughed and smirked and chuckled all the way through the press conference, interrupted only by the occasional hateful glare.

And he made sure not to sound too maudlin or show any pathos when asked about the 37 dead g.i.'s yesterday.

"They're afraid o' freedom"....snort snort, snicker smirk....

[ramapo]

1. He's such a lowlife

I wanted to say something cruder but I've refrained.

[Rapcw]

2. LOL I know!

He's a real asshole.

[Oilwellian]

3. I like Malloy's description

He's a giggling murderer.

[Englander]

4. Maybe 'cos he's a psycopath?

[Shopaholic]

5. President Bevis/Butthead in action

Hee-hee-hee-hee. I swear I expect him to burst out with , "Fire is cool" at any moment when I hear him speak.

[On the Road]

15. Oh My God

I had not made that connection. From now on, I'm going to hear that Butthead cackle every time he opens his mouth.

[RobertSeattle]

6. DailyKos had a great post on this

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/1/27/12758/0469

"Ponder that a moment. The White House announces a press conference in the morning. After the announcement comes the news that 31 Americans died in a chopper crash in Iraq (6 others died today in seperate incidents). The president takes the podium fresh with the knowledge of that tragedy--and radiates a cheerful disposition bantering with the press about senior citizens and their faulty memories. She can't see something scarily wrong with that? She doesn't spot some sort of emotional disturbance or disconnect? Imagine if Bill Clinton had been chirpy and chipper having just received the news of 31 soldiers dying in the theater of combat--Rush Limbaugh would have devoted three hours to it, and Fox News would have dragged Dick Morris out of the all-you-can-eat buffet for his "expert analysis."

When Bush did address the soldiers' deaths, he said that we "weep and mourn" when Americans die, but as he was saying it his hand was flatly smacking downwards for emphasis, as if he were pounding the table during the business meeting, refusing to pay a lot for a muffler. The steady beat of his hand was at odds with the sentiments he was expressing--he didn't look or sound the least bit mournful or sombre. And why should he? Death doesn't seem to be a bringdown for him. There isn't the slightest evidence that he experiences the anguish LBJ did as casualties mounted in Vietnam."

[MarianJack]

8. Nice Article.

The difference between LBJ and ** is that , as the article pointed out, LBJ had anguish. bush, on the other hand, feels such a sense of entitlement that he probably firmly believes that those Marines OWED it to him to die for his cause. He doesn't give a rat's ass about ANY soldier's life. He'll only have contempt for them for not having a daddy to get them out of serving or for being so poor that the service was the only option. He may also have contempt for anyone who joins due to a sense of DUTY.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. It might be time to try a new medication.

The deadliest day yet for American's in Iraq and he's yuk'n it up. What's he gonna act like if we lose a 100 or 1000 guys?

[MarianJack]

9. He'll Hide at the Pig Farm...

...and let a flunkie take the minimal heat that the "guddam librul" media would exhibit until they go back to kissing his ass!

[opihimoimoi]

14. His body language reeked of IN YOUR FACE ARROGANCE

AND LAUGHING AT US DEMS, The LOSERS. It is his way of saying, "I got here and here I AM.

He was laughing at US.

The deaths obviously meant little to him. They explain it as a price for Freedom/liberty.....all the while doing whatever it takes to make sure none of their people go into this war ....

[elehhhhna]

10. Hey, he & Laura had a good laugh the night of 911:

GEORGE AND LAURA ON 9/11 -- A BARREL OF LAUGHS!

The following is an interview with the First Couple from the current issue of one of my favorite magazines, Ladies Home Journal (Oct. '03). They are asked about what September 11, 2001, was like for them personally, and, although over 3,000 people had just perished, George W. was able to find some humor by the end of that day:

Peggy Noonan (the interviewer): You were separated on September 11th. What was it like when you saw each other again?

Laura Bush: Well, we just hugged. I think there was a certain amount of security in being with each other than being apart.

George W. Bush: But the day ended on a relatively humorous note. The agents said, "you'll be sleeping downstairs. Washington's still a dangerous place." And I said no, I can't sleep down there, the bed didn't look comfortable. I was really tired, Laura was tired, we like our own bed. We like our own routine. You know, kind of a nester. I knew I had to deal with the issue the next day and provide strength and comfort to the country, and so I needed rest in order to be mentally prepared. So I told the agent we're going upstairs, and he reluctantly said okay. Laura wears contacts, and she was sound asleep. Barney was there. And the agent comes running up and says, "We're under attack. We need you downstairs," and so there we go. I'm in my running shorts and my T-shirt, and I'm barefooted. Got the dog in one hand, Laura had a cat, I'm holding Laura --

Laura Bush: I don't have my contacts in , and I'm in my fuzzy house slippers --

George W. Bush: And this guy's out of breath, and we're heading straight down to the basement because there's an incoming unidentified airplane, which is coming toward the White House. Then the guy says it's a friendly airplane. And we hustle all the way back up stairs and go to bed.

Mrs. Bush: And we just lay there thinking about the way we must have looked.

Peggy Noonan (interviewer): So the day starts in tragedy and ends in Marx Brothers.

George W. Bush: THAT'S RIGHT-- WE GOT A LAUGH OUT OF IT!

[peacetalksforall]

11. Didn't you assume he was going to be speaking about the Iraq deaths?

But we get an upbeat (Bush sytle) propped-up press conference with barely a tear forming on his cheek.

More proof of his crutch supported, rigid, stupid humor and insults. He must be a grand bore in his private life.

That sneer and laugh at the idea of granting Carla Fay a pardon was a grand portent of things to come.

What is a word that encompasses diabolic ignorant narcissism?

[rwork]

12. Someday he will be alone

and have to close his eyes to sleep.No one around to prop him up.He will realize what he has done.The death and suffering and the hate and bitterness that will continue for generations.

[AlCzervik]

13. the part about payola?? Did you see him squirm

and try to deflect? One of the worst about about him being on TV and i often forget it, is that it's beamed around the world.

[aden_nak]

16. They shows clips of it on the news, with some quick edits.

I noticed that the very INSTANT Bush finished his "weep and mourn" line, they cut away from the video feed. And I mean the very instant. The words were hardly done being spoken and BAM they sliced to some other image/sound. I wasn't really paying attention, but later I saw a longer video of the conference.

They cut away so soon because Bush was smirking his biggest, Bushiest smirk. It was virtually Han Solo-esque (no offense to Harrison Ford) in its cockiness. And immediately after he finished that line, he did that little half-breath out of his mouth, his, "Huh, see how right I am?" pseudo-laugh. It looked beyond callous.

So the evening news cut it out.

[Gold Metal Flake]

17. We all know that Bush is coached...

I am sure the man was given the news about the chopper crash, and so
p r o b a b l y he was given instruction to be "upbeat". As a sociopath, he is unable to "act", to appear convincingly in an assumed emotional state. The struggle to maintain an assumed emotional state, remember the talking points, control the volatile temper, reign in arrogance, feeling under pressure and struggling with the deep-seated fear of being exposed results in, well, what we saw.

Now, think about the man yesterday, the exact same man with the exact same forces on him, being subjected to the WH Press Corps of 1973. Oh my, what a day it could have been.

[Norquist Nemesis]

18. Isn't there some disorder for innappropriate response?

Other than mental deficiency, of course.

[mopaul]

19. Sociopathy

if there is such a word....if there isn't...there oughta be....