Obama's second press conference was a virtuoso performance. You know that it was flawless when the best Matt Drudge and the right-wing media can come up with is that it was "boring," a ludicrous assertion in of itself.
Bush's second press conference was given on March 29th, 2001 in the context of escalating violence in Israel-Palestine after some initial neglect by the Bush administration. When watching the videos side by side, Obama's eloquence, understanding of the issues, intelligence, and off-the-cuff speaking are especially evident. On the other hand, Bush's delivery is awkward, his answers rambling, his jokes decidedly unfunny ("misunderestimate"), and the atmosphere chaotic. What you see is a man squirming, clearly over his head, a frightening foreshadowing of what we would have to endure for the next eight years.
A transcript is here for those who can't stomach the video.
The videos really speak for themselves, and I don't think there is much to add here. The bumbler-in-chief delivers a litany of broken promises. He speaks of an urgent energy crisis and the need to develop an energy policy. His solutions? ANWR, and if Congress doesn't let him do that, the Canadians. Oh yeah, and clean coal and natural gas. I guess he did do something to help oil prices in the end, if you count being asleep at the helm and letting the economy collapse.
The reason I looked back at this video was not out of a masochistic need, but to see if the White House press corps treated Bush with kid gloves. I do think they did ask some tough questions, but the mistake was in letting him get by with lame, often illogical answers. The follow-up was not there, even when Bush was giving answers that were laughable and ridiculous.
"There's gas in our hemisphere." "Brazil is a huge country." Does anybody doubt that Obama would have been ripped apart for such brainless statements?
For a nice chuckle, see Helen Thomas's question at 5:30.
The most disturbing segment?
On missile defense, for example, I've assured our allies that we will consult with them. But we're moving forward to develop systems that reflect the threats of today. I mean, who knows where the next terrorist attack is going to come from, but we'd better be ready for it. And I believe I've got the opportunity to convince our friends and allies that our vision makes sense. It brings a lot of common sense to an old, stale debate, the old arms control debate.
In waaaay over his head.
And finally, here is the master, showing everybody how it's done: