Bush and his White House: Perpetually "puzzled"

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: The Puzzled Presidency
Dana Milbank

Dan Bartlett has had 36 hours to think it over, and he's still puzzled.

"There's not a lot of specific evidence (for) some of the more explosive charges that he's putting in this book; that's the part that is leaving us most puzzled," the former Bush White House official said of his turncoat former colleague, Scott McClellan, on NBC's "Today" show this morning. Bartlett's understanding does not appear to have advanced much from Wednesday, when he announced his befuddlement on television. "Those of us who were close to Scott during this process and the last eight years are really just puzzled by and bewildered by the views," he said then.

The puzzlement was pervasive. "We are puzzled," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. And President Bush? "He is puzzled," Perino reported. Of course, nobody's really puzzled about anything. They're peeved and perturbed. But they can't admit that, so they have retreated to the practice -- time-honored in the Bush White House -- of discrediting your opponents by labeling their actions confusing and irrational.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's claim that Bush can't launch military action in Iran without congressional consent?

"I'm puzzled," Perino said at the time.

The media's interest in John McCain's criticism of the Bush administration's Iraq war?

"It's puzzling to me," Perino said.

Opposition by Democrats to Iraq war spending?

"I'm puzzled," said Vice President Cheney.

Problems with deficit spending during a war?

"I'm always puzzled," said then-press secretary Ari Fleischer.

Disagreements over Bush's Medicare proposals?

"Very puzzling," Fleischer said.

But perhaps nobody spent as much time being publicly -- and implausibly -- puzzled as McClellan himself did, from the White House podium. An article on the treatment of prisoners? "Puzzling." Democratic complaints about Karl Rove's fear tactics? "Puzzling." Changes to restrict information on the White House Web site? "I'm somewhat puzzled."

In his book, McClellan describes the time when Bush was asked whether the Iraq war was a war of choice or a war of necessity. Bush "seem puzzled," McClellan wrote. "This, in turn, puzzled me."...

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/roughsketch/2008/05/the_puzzle_presidency.html

[ladjf]

1. It's their operative word that is used to label the actions or thoughts

of others as being somehow without basis, a bit odd or perhaps dumb and crazy.

[Muttocracy]

2. He was pretty funny about "puzzled" on KO's show too. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Well, Dan Bartlett should know "There's not a lot of specific evidence" because they've

been destroying said evidence for years!