I’ve written before about Bush avoiding press conferences like the plague. His discomfort makes sense at a certain level; answering questions is not his strong point.
An item in U.S. News & World Report, however, highlights just how worried Bush is before these events.
Apparently, when word was released to the media that Bush was hosting his first press conference in five months, it was intentionally held secret until just 90 minutes before it took place. The White House, meanwhile, had been planning the press conference for weeks and prepping Bush on possible questions.
“To leave nothing to chance, the team decided in advance which journalists Bush would call upon and created a crib sheet of their names,” U.S. News explained.
In other words, the reason these events feel like well-orchestrated, carefully choreographed presentations is that they are exactly that.
Withholding the announcement until 90 minutes before the press conference was, as U.S. News put it, “a ploy to prevent [reporters] from preparing their questions too carefully and generally to keep them off balance.”
I can appreciate Bush feeling a little anxious before a press conference, but items like this lead me to believe he is literally afraid of the White House press corps. For all his bluster and bravado about being a tough Texas cowboy, Bush has to let reporters know about an event shortly before it begins so they aren’t too mean to him. It’s kind of sad, really.