Yep, the leader of the free world steeled his courage and came out to face the press today. I guess they figured it was OK since he's going on vacation for a month, he'll have time to recuperate. Any new Bushwhoppers? Not really, but a few things worth noting:

• It's something, at least - The buck stopped, or at least slowed down, this morning, with Bush saying "I take personal responsibility for everything I say, of course..." but hedging his bets again with the watered-down formulation, "And I'm confident that our search will yield that which I strongly believe: that Saddam had a weapons program." I mean, really, how dare he? Doesn't he know those programs are dangerous?
• The quality of intelligence is not strained - When Wolfowitz talks about it, it's "murky" intelligence. When Bush talks about it, though, it's "good, solid, sound intelligence". Really makes you wish they'd pick a story and stick to it, doesn't it?
• We're all bozos on this bus - When asked to simplify his "view on homosexuality" in the context of gay marriage, after explaining that administration lawyers are drafting a law that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, his first words were, "I am mindful that we're all sinners," which isn't terribly enlightening as legal guidance. But he went on: "I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. And I think we ought to codify that one way or the other." Sanctity and sinners are the language of religion, not the law. It troubles me that the President gave no reasons for his legal position beyond his religious beliefs.

There may have been a bit of unintentional truth-telling when he was asked how his campaign would spend $170 million in the primaries with no opposition, and replied in part, "It's kind of an interesting barometer, early barometer, about the support we're garnering." Yes, I'd say it is. Lots of money from a relatively small number of rich people.