GET A LIFE!!!!!

But, Donald trumped himself the other day in yet, another news conference.  I guess he was getting a little bit testy with all of the questions, some implying he might be retiring and being left out of important policy meetings. 

He really got his back up when a reporter quoted Maureen Dowd – a New York Times columnist who feels the same way about George Bush and the Republicans as Sheila Copps feels about Paul Martin.  She had called him to confirm if indeed he was being left out of important policy meetings.

She’s no fan of Republicans, having called Dick Cheney, among other things, “Doctor Strangelove.” and “Shooter” – after the now infamous hunting accident. 

She’s been known to “reword quotes” to make someone look bad.

From May 2003:

…Dowd apparently twisted to fit her point of view Bush’s assessment of the danger posed by al-Qaida terrorists just days before a terror attack in Saudi Arabia.

…Dowd, it seems, may have taken the title of her column — “Liberties” — way too far.

…Here’s what Dowd wrote in the column in question:

““Al-Qaida is on the run,’ President Bush said last week. ‘That group of terrorists who attacked our country is slowly but surely being decimated … they’re not a problem anymore.’”

Here’s what Bush actually said:

“Al-Qaida is on the run. That group of terrorists who attacked our country is slowly but surely being decimated. Right now, about half of all the top al-Qaida operatives are either jailed or dead. In either case, they’re not a problem anymore.”

…New York Daily News columnist Zev Chafets offered a perfect criticism of what Dowd did.

…“The words in italics were replaced in Dowd’s column by three little dots. Those dots say to the reader: Trust me, I’m abbreviating here, but what I’m leaving out doesn’t change the meaning.

…“But the dots did change the meaning,” Chafets wrote. “In fact, they turned it upside down. Far from declaring al-Qaida ‘spent,’ Bush was warning the country against complacency. The only terrorists the president declared ‘no longer a problem’ were the ones already jailed or dead.”

…Dowd quietly “corrected” herself by including the full quote in a subsequent column…

You can understand Mr. Rumsfeld’s disdain for Ms. Dowd.

Here’s an excerpt of his press conference. 

Click here to watch the video.

  MCINTYRE: Mr. Secretary, I’m just curious, do you feel at all embattled at this point in your tenure given the fact that…

  RUMSFELD: No.

MCINTYRE: Aside from the retired two two-star general calling you “incompetent” and asking you to step down in an op-ed over the weekend, you also had a call from Maureen Dowd, in which she quoted an unnamed administration official saying that you don’t hold the same sway in meetings and that you’re treated as “an eccentric old uncle who’s ignored.”

  RUMSFELD: You like to repeat all that stuff don’t you—on camera? Did you get it? Let’s make sure you got it. He loves that stuff. It’s a sure way to get on camera.  He’ll be on the evening news.

  MCINTYRE: I know you like to have the facts in the premise of the question.

  RUMSFELD: Yes, I do. And you did it very well. No.

  UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do one-arm pushups and put all this to rest.

  RUMSFELD: The answer is no.

  MCINTYRE: Do you hold the same sway in meetings?

  RUMSFELD: Oh, come on. I’m not going to get into that—Pam.

  QUESTION: Sir, in your opening statement you said…
  RUMSFELD: If you believe everything you read from Maureen Dowd, you’d better get a life.

You really can’t blame Donald for getting testy. He was trying to answer questions on how long American soldiers were going to be in Iraq.

These reporters were bound and bent to get something from him that would indicate that he didn’t hold much sway in the Bush administration anymore. 

They thrive on that – like buzzards feeding on corpses.

As we all know, once reporters get hold of something, they’re like a dog with a bone – they just won’t let it go. 

Look at the recent “fat flap” concerning Stephen Harper.  There are more important sotries going on in the world.  I think the “average joe” can relate to Stephen – some of us approaching middle age are a little chunkier than we ought to be and can relate to Harper’s weight problem. If obesity is such an issue, why has no one gone after Mike Duffy?

Donald handled them in his own style.  You may disagree with him about Defense policy, but you gotta love him in a press conference. 

They’re never a dull moment and to listen to him confuse and confound the Washington Press Corps – it is a joy to behold.