'A Moment of Opportunity'

"Q I asked you about the loss of American influence in the region.

"PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, David, we went to the G8 and worked with our allies and got a remarkable statement on what took place. We're working to get a United Nations resolution on Iran. We're working to have a Palestinian state. But the reason why -- you asked the question -- is because terrorists are trying to stop that progress. And we'll ultimately prevail, because they have -- their ideology is so dark and so dismal that when people really think about it, it will be rejected. They just got a different tool to use than we do: They kill innocent lives to achieve objectives. That's what they do. And they're good. They get on the TV screens and they get people to ask questions about, well, this, that or the other. I mean, they're able to kind of say to people, don't come and bother us because we will kill you.

"And my attitude is, is that now is the time to be firm. And we've got a great weapon on our side, and that is freedom, and liberty. And it's got -- those two concepts have got the capacity to defeat ideologies of hate."

Deconstructing that response could be the work of a week's worth of columns.

But first and foremost, as a journalist I was astounded at Bush's suggestion that by asking the question he did, Gregory was serving the goals of the terrorists.

Is Bush saying that if we ask questions like that one, the terrorists win? It was a good question, getting right at the central issue of Bush's apparently failing approach to the region, and it deserved a response.

Bush of course did not directly answer the question. In fact, throughout the press conference, Bush responded to specific questions with rambling theoretical discourses that seemed very detached from the situation at hand.

The plight of Lebanese civilians came up repeatedly, prompting Blair to point out that "look, anybody with any human feeling for what is going on there wants this to stop as quickly as possible."

But you didn't get a strong sense of Bush's human feelings when he was asked this question:

"Q Mr. President, you spoke of having a plan to rebuild houses in Lebanon. Wouldn't the people of Lebanon rather know when you're going to tell the Israelis to stop destroying houses?"

His response was essentially that, although he cares deeply about the loss of life on both sides, the Lebanese should be grateful that they are being bombed. A cease-fire "won't solve the problem. And it's certainly not going to help the Lebanese citizens have a life that is normal and peaceful."

Asked what his message was to the governments of Iran and Syria, Bush sounded unprepared. "My message is, give up your nuclear weapon and your nuclear weapon ambitions. That's my message to Syria -- I mean, to Iran. And my message to Syria is, become an active participant in the neighborhood for peace."