Having a Loud Microphone, With Not Much to Say

"The president is relevant here."

-- Bill Clinton, April 18, 1995

"The microphone of the president has never been louder."

-- George W. Bush, Dec. 19, 2006

There reaches a time in every man's presidency when he becomes defensive about the volume of his microphone.

For President Bush, that moment was Tuesday, when he answered a question from The Post's Michael Fletcher about whether he was "out of the domestic policy business." A week earlier, he had confided to People magazine that he occasionally took sleeping pills, "but I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would assume."

Yesterday, the full White House press corps got the chance, at a presidential news conference, to get the newly introspective Bush to talk more about his microphone, his sleep and his innermost thoughts. The results were unsatisfying.

"You said this week that your microphone has never been louder," the Baltimore Sun's Julie Davis reminded him. She pointed out that "use of the presidential microphone hasn't yielded the results that you wanted," and wondered "why you think your microphone is any louder and how you plan to use it differently."

"Yes," the president said into the microphone. "Microphone being loud means -- is that I'm able to help focus people's attentions on important issues."

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times tried to follow up on the presidential sleep issue. "Lyndon Johnson famously didn't sleep during the Vietnam War," she pointed out. "I can't help but wonder if this has been a time of painful realization for you."

"Yes, thanks," Bush said in a clipped manner suggesting he was not thankful for the question. He retreated quickly to boilerplate about making sure "the sacrifice has been worth it."