'No One Suffers More Than the President'

Peter Baker and Michael Abramowitz write in The Washington Post: "President Bush said Tuesday that the verdict is still out on whether the Iraqi government can make the political changes necessary to end sectarian violence as he offered a mixed report card on the progress of his new Iraq strategy."

Matt Spetalnick writes for Reuters: "President George W. Bush said on Tuesday that U.S. commanders likely will be able to gauge by September whether or not the troop buildup in Iraq is succeeding."

The Associated Press reports: "President Bush said Tuesday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might have one-on-one talks with Iranian leaders at an international conference on Iraq next month, but that Tehran's nuclear program would not be on the table.

"In an interview, Bush initially appeared to rule out any contact with Iran, a member of his 'axis of evil.'

"'What I'm not willing to do is sit down bilaterally with the Iranians,' he told PBS' 'The Charlie Rose Show.'

"Later, he said Rice and Iran's foreign minister might have bilateral conversations at the conference. 'They could. They could,' Bush said."

Brendan Murray writes for Bloomberg: "President George W. Bush said he's confident that U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales did 'nothing wrong' in the firings of eight federal prosecutors and said Iraq's leader is meeting U.S. expectations.

"'Al could've done a better job and his department could've done a better job of just explaining why we did what we did,' Bush said in an interview in New York today on PBS television's 'Charlie Rose' show. 'Instead we've got hearings and testimonies based on something that was perfectly legal.' . . .

"'I've got confidence in Al,' Bush said. 'He's caught up in Washington right now; it's what happens in that town a lot -- there's a lot of politics.' "

New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley writes: "Charlie Rose is a talk show host known for long and rambling questions. President Bush is famous for his short, Texas-terse answers.

"On last night's show, the two men reversed roles. Mr. Bush spoke forcefully and at length about Iraq. Mr. Rose was succinct."

Stanley may be right about Rose, but she completely misstates Bush's history in this sort of interview. He relishes the opportunity to take softball questions and answer them at great, filibuster-like length, mostly with overly familiar talking points.