Speechification

President Bush held a press conference this morning in the White House Rose Garden. Time for some cursory analysis.

On an Amnesty International report that criticizes U.S. conduct in the war on terrorism: "It's absurd. It's an absurd allegation."
Read the report for yourself and see if you agree.

On Senate Democrats' requests for more information about U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton: "In terms of the documents, I view that as just another stalling tactic."
So you aren't going to hand over what they asked for, right?

On the recent White House terrorism scare about which officials didn't tell him until it was over: "I was very comfortable with the decision they made."
I wasn't.

On plans to press forward with his Social Security privatization plan despite widespread public disapproval: "It's like water cutting through a rock."
If the rock were consistently growing more waterproof, yes.

On the increasingly deadly Iraqi insurgency: "What the insurgents fear is democracy because democracy is the opposition of their vision."
Might I suggest some summer reading, Mr. President?

On the meaning of the phrase "extraordinary circumstances" in the recent bipartisan Senate compromise to save the filibuster: "I guess we're about to find out."
Nah, it's not a veiled White House threat. Pretty open, actually.

On concerns about a second-term slump: "I don't worry about anything here in Washington."
But isn't that what we pay you to do?

On vocabulary: "Disassemble -- that means 'not tell the truth.'"
No, it doesn't.