Brian Williams interviewed George Bush on the one year anniversary of Katrina. Crooks and Liars has the video. The 9/11 attack wound up being a major topic of discussion. Wilson asked Bush about sacrifice:
Williams: The folks who say you should have asked for some sort of sacrifice from all of us after 9/11, do they have a case looking back on it?
Bush: Americans are sacrificing. I mean, we are. You know, we pay a lot of taxes. America sacrificed when they, you know, when the economy went into the tank. Americans sacrificed when, you know, air travel was disrupted. American taxpayers have paid a lot to help this nation recover. I think Americans have sacrificed.
That’s something to consider when we see how Bush’s response to 9/11 has not only undermined our national security by strengthening al Qaeda and Iraq, but has also caused the economy to go “into the tank.” When talking about taxes, Bush failed to mention that much of the cost is being passed on to our children, and undermining our retirement accounts, due to the deficet Bush is running up.
Wilson also asked Bush about his reading. The transcript has Bush saying, “Well, I’m reading about the battle of New Orleans right now. I’ve got an eclectic reading list.” People who watched the interview are saying that it sounded like Bush said “I’ve got an epileptic reading list.” (Wonkette also heard it this way). The interview became almost incomprehensible by the end:
WILLIAMS: How have you been read wrong?
BUSH: I don’t know. I frankly don’t pay that much attention. I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings, but…
WILLIAMS: Still not watching television, huh?
BUSH: I watched a good baseball game.
During the interview Bush commented on how historians will be evaluating his Presidency in the future. Perhaps thay should remember that George Bush “watched a good baseball game” while “the economy went into the tank.”
Actually, I thought this was a great interview by Brian Williams because he asked questions that he knew Bush would not be able to answer very well. He’d ask a question and then he’d just let Bush go and Bush was totally his inept self. It was sickeningly amazing.
By the way, my hubby thought he said “echolectic” which isn’t even a word. So I don’t know which is worse–epileptic or a non-word.
Out of the whole interview the biggest flaming lie has gone almost unnoticed in the press.