Reply #2: I don't think the reporter was claiming to "represent the public" [View All]

[starroute]

He was just saying that reading the papers or watching the news is a way to find out what the public thinks. (It's not necessarily the best way, but if you're a high government official who doesn't get out much, it may be the only way.)

It was Bush's spin to accuse the reporter of thinking that *he* represented the public. That would be arrogant on the part of the media -- but I don't believe this is what the reporter meant.

Bush is a master of twisting people's questions in a way that makes them look bad. It's like the question at the press conference, where someone pointed out that aside from the US and Britain (and the mercenaries), the other countries' contributions didn't amount to much. Bush's response was, "How dare you insult our allies!"

He's done just the same thing here.