During his interview with Bush, Limbaugh referenced comments that Sen. Harry Reid allegedly made about the war in Iraq. Bush again claimed, "I still don't think it's right to engage in name-calling if you're the president of the United States." From the transcript of the November 9 interview:
RUSH: Why didn't you do more about [Reid's comments]? Why didn't you comment more about it at the time? I mean, I asked you once, and you said that you didn't want to sully the office of the presidency by descending to base political level. But I mean this was not simply base politics. This was keeping the country safe.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I understand that, but on the other hand I do believe in the institution of the presidency, and I didn't think it was right then, I still don't think it's right to engage in name-calling if you're the president of the United States. I was focused on the mission, as were the troops. And, because of their bravery and sacrifice, the situation turned around shortly after that statement. I've discussed this with other people in my administration, when they call me a liar should I have called them names, and my attitude was no then, obviously, and I still feel very strongly that's the way a president ought to conduct himself.
FACT: Bush and his administration repeatedly launched personal attacks on opponents. On September 10, 2006, former Vice President Dick Cheney accused critics of the Iraq war of aiding terrorists, saying on NBC's Meet the Press, "Suggestions ... that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq simply feed into that whole notion, validates the strategy of the terrorists." On the Senate floor in 2004, Cheney told Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to go "f--- yourself" after Leahy questioned Cheney's ties to Halliburton. In September 2000, Bush himself was recorded calling New York Times reporter Adam Clymer a "major league a**hole" at a Labor Day event in Illinois. Following his criticism of the Bush administration's pre-war intelligence claims, Bush administration officials launched a smear campaign against Ambassador Joe Wilson, culminating in the outing of his wife, Valerie Plame, who was at the time a covert CIA operative.
Hannity, Limbaugh, Lauer, Van Susteren, Steve Doocy, and Brian Kilmeade's interviews all were marked by unchallenging softball questions lobbed at Bush during their interviews. For example:
Hannity interviews Bush during a "driving tour" of the Crawford ranch. Hannity led the interview by asking about Bush's "favorite place" to "wind down" -- his Crawford, Texas, ranch. Hannity noted that Bush "hopped behind the wheel of his pick-up truck to give me a driving tour of his beautiful 1600 acre property." Indeed, most of the interview took place during this "driving tour." Bush told Hannity: "Yes, we love coming here. And it was great during the presidency to come here to give me a chance ... to get outdoors. And exercise and to work the countryside. You know, cutting down cedars and building bike trails."
Hannity: "When I last saw you were ... totally, completely at peace. ... Your job was done and you seem even more at peace now." Hannity followed up his question about "wind[ing] down" at the ranch by asking:
HANNITY: When I last saw you were -- my perception was you were totally, completely at peace.
BUSH: Yes.
HANNITY: Your job was done and you seem even more at peace now.
BUSH: I am at peace. And I was honored to serve the country.
Hannity: Do "[y]ou remember what you felt" when you realized your "purpose" was to "defend freedom?" Referencing the 9-11 attacks, Hannity said to Bush:
HANNITY: What you wrote in the book was, in a single morning the purpose of my presidency had grown clear.
BUSH: Yes.
HANNITY: To protect our people, defend freedom that had come under attack. You remember what you felt then?
BUSH: I felt a duty of protecting the country. In the book, I take the reader back to the environment in which I was making decisions. We were under threat, a lot.
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