Snow: Bush not frustrated by Iraq

Posted by Jennifer Fox at 11:13 AM on August 16, 2006.

Tony Snow had a bone to pick with the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times for publishing articles that suggested President Bush is frustrated about Iraq.

Snow (shockingly) singles out the NY Times more so than the LA Times. Both newspapers had published articles regarding a recent meeting that Bush had with four Iraqi scholars. Below are quotes from the NY Times article, courtesy of ThinkProgress:

“I sensed a frustration with the lack of progress on the bigger picture of Iraq generally — that we continue to lose a lot of lives, it continues to sap our budget,” said one person who attended the meeting.

“I do think he was frustrated about why 10,000 Shiites would go into the streets and demonstrate against the United States,” said another person who attended.”

Snow could not have made it any clearer that the President is not frustrated, in any way, over Iraq. In fact, Snow even talked to the note taker at the meeting, others who attended the meeting and even the four scholars and they all (another shocker) corroborated with him and 'take exception' to the President being cast as frustrated.

Which is worse—a President frustrated by the death and destruction in Iraq, or a President who wants to make it perfectly clear that he’s not frustrated by it at all?

Jennnifer Fox is an AlterNet intern.