Bush's Plea for Attention

"'I happen to agree,' Bush said. 'But what do I know?'

"'Yes, sir,' Gonzales replied, drawing chuckles from those in the crowd who thought he was agreeing with the 'what do I know' quip."

Milbank notes that Bush "labeled the violence 'inexplissible,' apparently merging 'inexplicable' and 'inexpressible.' And he had to guide the discussion away from one panelist's remark about 'computer predators' -- a dangerous topic during the Mark Foley scandal."

John Aloysius Farrell writes in the Denver Post: "President Bush said he wanted Tuesday's White House conference on school safety to produce a concrete plan of action. But tangible solutions like the use of metal detectors or a ban on assault weapons were rejected and eclipsed by testaments to the power of love."

The Violence Policy Center issued this statement yesterday: "The fact that guns are not on today's agenda only confirms what was already obvious: The Bush Administration is in complete denial regarding the catalytic role that guns play in school violence. How is it even possible to have a discussion about preventing school shootings without talking about guns? . . .

"[T]he Bush Administration continues to allow the gun lobby to extract its 'price of freedom' for unfettered access to firearms: an endless string of bloody school shootings."

CBS News reports: "William Lassiter, manager of the Center for the Prevention of School Violence, questioned the Bush's administration attempt to cut $347 million in school-safety grants for states this year. Bush's budget says the program is ineffective.

"The White House says that beyond those state grants, the government spends larger amounts on successful school safety programs through its education, justice and health agencies."

Richard Pyle wrote for the Associated Press on Sunday: "President Bush and Republican lawmakers should restore funding for a federal program that put security officers in school hallways to guard against violent students and intruders, a congressman said Sunday.

"Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., said the COPS in Schools program, set up after the Columbine High School massacre of 12 students and a teacher in Littleton, Colo., in 1999, over the past four years was reduced by Congress from $160 million annually to $5 million and then was phased out."

Talk About Tax Cuts

The White House also wanted the press corps to write about tax cuts yesterday, and Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press obliged -- with a twist.

"President Bush portrayed Democrats on Tuesday as the party of big spending and high taxes, aiming to give increasingly endangered Republicans an edge in a midterm election debate dominated recently by congressional scandal and overseas crises," Loven wrote.