Reply #4: If it was rigged, it was badly rigged.

[Brazenly Liberal]

The Shrubya was defensive, stuttering and stammering, and looked like he was damn close to losing his temper. His answers, which were his usual strung-together soundbites in place of saying anything, were even more disconnected from the questions than usual. His treatment of Helen Thomas made him look like an inarticulate, juvenile bully.

He KNEW what she was likely to say if he called on her, he called on her anyway, and then had the next thing to a tantrum at her question.

He blew it when asked if he could envision the US ever leaving Iraq, committing us to at least three more years on the spot and committing his staff and spokesliars to spending the rest of the day "clarifying" what he meant.

If this is rigged, give me rigged any time. I stopped watching his few and far between press conferences long time ago because they were so scripted and so infuriating. Lately, though, he's been speaking off the cuff more often, which is never good for him and often very revealing and/or highly amusing, so I watch again.