Bush upbeat about recent TV interviews
President Bush is described as very pleased with his performances in a spate of high-profile TV interviews that he granted in the past couple of weeks. Specifically, Bush believes he got the best of his encounters with anchors Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Charles Gibson, and Matt Lauer.
White House insiders say the president wasn't eager to do the interviews in the first place because he believed the anchors would try to embarrass him in order to burnish their credentials as tough interrogators and get higher ratings. Now that the interviews are over, the president believes he made his points smoothly and effectively, especially about the importance of winning the war in Iraq and the overall war on terrorism, and perhaps persuaded more Americans to support his policies in those areas.
"He's been very comfortable" with the interviews and will do more between now and the congressional elections on November 7, says a senior White House official.