Amy Elizabeth Sullivan at PoliticalAims (who confesses a fondness for hockey over media gaggles) is still mulling some of George Bush’s language during his Tuesday press conference. (She listened to it on radio, so no distractions from the necktie.) Bush, writes Sullivan, “reminds us of a classic `C’ student. He can barely be bothered to try and yet he’s offended when accused of phoning it in.”
Other bloggers turned their scrutiny overseas. The British press had its own take on Tuesday’s prime-time Q&A, and by and large it wasn’t kind to the president. Kevin Drum says he normally tries to play it semi-straight, but then admits to the guilty pleasure of linking to the raucous Daily Mirror’s account, complete with photo layout (G-rated, by the way).
On a more (but not very) serious note, Matthew Yglesias reports on a new poll of college-age voters by the Harvard Institute for Politics, which includes a political litmus test. Yglesias elsewhere expresses doubts about the survey based on his own score: Harvard thinks he’s a centrist.
For readers concerned about having a neutral political topic to discuss at weekend cocktail parties or dinner with the in-laws, Politicalwire.com comes to the rescue with a bit of trivia guaranteed to upset no one.
And, finally, one we can’t resist courtesy of Beijing Evening News, which informed its readers that Congress is threatening to leave town unless taxpayers build a retractable roof over the Capitol. Although such a project could possibly be hidden away in the federal highway bill, it actually is a spoof concocted by The Onion. “At first, the Evening News stood by its story,” writes Wired‘s Dan Terdiman, “demanding proof it wasn’t true. It finally did apologize, but stubbornly tried to deflect blame for having been duped.”
Don’t look for The Onion to establish a Beijing bureau anytime soon.
–Susan Q. Stranahan
Susan Q. Stranahan wrote for CJR.