Press Turning Thumbs Down on Interview

At the outset of the show, Bush's body language was relaxed, his tone welcoming. He chuckled when NBC Washington bureau chief Tim Russert cited Republican Senator Charles Grassley's belief that the United States will capture Osama bin Laden before the November election. He also called several inquiries "legitimate questions," while at the same time invoking his status as a wartime president confronting terrorists and "rogue nations." As the hour continued, however, Bush became more tentative and his posture increasingly pinched. He was unlikely to have allayed serious public concerns in his interview yesterday, as he failed to answer with consistency Russert's questions definitively or even all that directly.

The few tough queries produced the predictable replies from Bush. And then Russert did not come back with the obvious follow-ups. He was not his usual self: a polite but aggressive quizzer who sticks to specifics, wielding quotes and source material to force his subjects to address previous statements and past actions. Instead, Russert allowed Bush to dish out the all-too familiar, White House-approved rhetoric. It pains me to say, he was more enabler than interrogator.