Channeling Stupid on North Korea and More

Dan Froomkin analyzes yesterday's (as in Wednesday, although it's now midnight on Friday the 13th - wheee!) smirking, shoulder-hunching Bush press conference. Now, before I give you a snippet, tell me exactly when and under what earthshaking conditions (the rapture, North Korea's nuclear missile test blowing to the earth's core, the return of Elvis perhaps?) would Mr. Bush ever even begin to suggest that he can learn from a previous mistake? Hmm?

Here we go, on with the show:

President Bush tried to change the subject yesterday, away from the Mark Foley congressional-page scandal and the general Republican pre-mid-term meltdown.

But no topic is safe these days. And Bush apparently has very little new to say.

The president spent just over an hour parrying questions from the press in the Rose Garden.
On North Korea, rather than coming off as an assertive leader, Bush spoke meekly about what has so far been a failed and listless diplomatic effort. On Iraq, his rhetoric was familiar and unlikely to stanch the loss of public support for the war. Even his formerly dependable warnings about threats to the nation's security lacked authority amid the growing doubts about whether his approach to the war on terror is working.

Here is the transcript of the news conference.