President Snippy

Two quick comments on Bush's post-election press conference:

Contra the usual sycophantic commentators (like Chris Matthews) who have been talking about how gracious, humble, generous, funny, and relaxed Bush appeared, I thought he seemed even more snippy than usual--saying all the right things (which of course had been carefully scripted for him) but doing so in a style that clearly conveyed his underlying disdain for the bipartisan message. His demeanor reminded me of a teenage boy who doesn't want to attend a family gathering but who has been sternly warned by his mother that he not only has to attend but that he'd damned well better behave himself for once--and who therefore shows up at the event and acts superficially cordial but makes very clear through his facial expressions and sarcastic tone of voice that he regards the whole thing as a huge imposition and that he is only there to satisfy his idiot parents.

Speaking of which: What is going on with the Bush Oedipal thing? For the first five years of his presidency, Bush seemed to revel in thumbing his nose at his father, deliberately reversing the moderate policy choices Bush 41 made and publicly disdaining his dad's advice. Now, with Iraq blowing up in his face, he has called upon first James Baker and now Robert Gates--two of his father's closest advisors--to bail him out. I can't imagine this is sitting well with Bush 43. I suspect it's going to be Tension City around the family table this coming Thanksgiving . . .

Tags: Bush, Robert Gates, Chris Matthews, Oedipus Complex