"Hard-hitting" questions dog the president at press conference

Hat tip to Crooks & Liars for bringing my attention to this one.

This brief transcript dramatically illustrates just what is wrong with the press in this country. I'm tired of the whole "liberal media" vs. "conservative media" camps; regardless of where you stand, few can argue that Bush has received a "pass" from many members in the media - specifically during the run-up to the war, but also since the 2004 election.

Following a speech to the annual gathering of the Associated General Contractors of America, these are the four questions that Bush was asked:

1. "In May of 2006, my second cousin was on his second tour in Iraq. Corporal Cory Palmer, he’s in the Marines, he was on patrol in a Humvee, and they ran over a roadside bomb. He and many others in that Humvee perished. What do I need to do, what does the media need to do to help you, so that my second cousin, and others like him, have not died or been injured in vain?"

2. "I'd like to know, like a lot of other people in this room, we have family members — we have family members who are actively involved in the security of this country in various ways. From them, we've received positive information that we consider credible, who say about the success and the good things that are happening as a result of us being in Iraq. I would like to know why and what can be done about we, the American people, receiving some of that information more from the media."

3. "What do you pray about, and how we can we pray for you?"

4. "You talked about the terror of 9/11, and what I wanted to share with you, my wife and I had our first child two months after 9/11. We named her Grace, because we felt that the world needed some grace at the time. And what I wanted to (inaudible) is the fact that our appreciation and keeping my family and also the families of America safe for the past five years."

Sickening. Just sickening. Every question doesn't have to be a "gotcha" question, but this is the quality of questions the media asks our president these days? Just despicable.

By the way, the answer to question one should have been: "Heh heh heh, keep asking questions like that one! NEXT!"

With Gonzo-gate, Karl Rove being investigated, Gonzo getting subpoenaed yesterday, the War in Iraq, the funding of the war, Bush's second veto, etc., these are the questions that Bush fields? His aides were no doubt high-fiving aboard Air Force One on the way back to Washington.

These questions are so ridiculous, I would not be surprised if there were a few "plants" put in the audience by Karl Rove. It's not like it hasn't been done before by this White House. As I read the above questions, I kept thinking of Jeff Gannon.

Nice job, "liberal media" - keep cheer leading disastrous leadership.