From the White House transcript of today’s press conference:
"THE PRESIDENT: Right, I’ve listened to them very carefully. I’m a thoughtful guy, I listen to people. (Laughter.) I’m open-minded. I’m all the things that you know I am."
The press seems to think this was a joke. Everyone in D.C. today knows that Bush trusts his "gut" to make decisions and others to follow, and so when he makes a show of listening–to the Republican Party in Connecticut, no less–people in the press room laugh.
Maybe you had to be there. That’s the best I can say. To me it seems as if this President is a joke, and bad one.
Kit Stolz 