Talkative Bush takes press corps by surprise Drops by for an extended Q&A session
By Laurence McQuillan for USA Today

''It's the new me,'' he joked. ''I'm answering all kinds of questions.''

Regular White House correspondents were caught off guard when Bush strolled over to them on the South Lawn as they waited to watch him depart for a quick trip to Michigan. (He was scheduled to give a speech, then make a campaign appearance for Thaddeus McCotter, a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives from suburban Detroit.)

Bush typically speaks with reporters a couple of times a week, and they rarely get in more than two to four questions.

But on this occasion, Bush answered about 15 questions. After a series of terrorist attacks abroad, he was eager to talk. ''I've constantly told the American people that the struggle against terror is going to be a long and difficult struggle; that we're dealing with cold-blooded killers; that the enemy does not value innocent life like we do; and that we must continue to pursue the enemy before they hurt us again.'' He said he suspected the al-Qaeda network was behind the recent attacks.

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Talkative Bush takes press corps by surprise Drops by for an extended Q&A session

By Laurence McQuillan
USA TODAY

WATERFORD, Mich. -- President Bush surprised some members of the White House press corps Monday morning. He answered their questions -- lots of them.

Even Bush acknowledged that it was a remarkable moment.

''It's the new me,'' he joked. ''I'm answering all kinds of questions.''

Regular White House correspondents were caught off guard when Bush strolled over to them on the South Lawn as they waited to watch him depart for a quick trip to Michigan. (He was scheduled to give a speech, then make a campaign appearance for Thaddeus McCotter, a Republican candidate for the House of Representatives from suburban Detroit.)

Bush typically speaks with reporters a couple of times a week, and they rarely get in more than two to four questions.

But on this occasion, Bush answered about 15 questions. After a series of terrorist attacks abroad, he was eager to talk. ''I've constantly told the American people that the struggle against terror is going to be a long and difficult struggle; that we're dealing with cold-blooded killers; that the enemy does not value innocent life like we do; and that we must continue to pursue the enemy before they hurt us again.'' He said he suspected the al-Qaeda network was behind the recent attacks.

He soon boarded his helicopter for the short flight to Andrews Air Force Base. There, as he started up the steps to Air Force One, he turned and addressed the ''pool'' -- the dozen or so reporters and news crew members who were taking their turn on the president's jet while the rest of the traveling press corps took a different plane.

He shook his head and grinned. ''You missed the news conference,'' he teased them.

Bush's extended exchange with the reporters who dog him daily came on the same day that The New York Times carried a story in which White House correspondents complained that the president and his staff are unusually tight-lipped. The reporters say the public has a right to know how and why Bush makes important decisions, particularly as the nation fights a war on terrorism.

Bush has had more than three dozen news conferences, loosely defined, since he took office. By the Times' reporting, that's roughly half the number held by his father and by President Clinton at this point in their presidencies. He has had a half-dozen more formally defined news conferences in the East Room of the White House.

Reporters complain that when Bush does speak with them, it's usually in a small group rather than at a formal news conference where a broader range of subjects could be covered. The White House says that reporters have plenty of access to Bush and that spokesman Ari Fleischer's daily briefings fill in the gaps.

By the end of Tuesday's conversation on South Lawn, reporters and Bush were bantering.

''Does this constitute a press conference?'' somebody asked.

''Absolutely,'' the president replied. ''The difference between this news conference and the one in the East Room is you didn't get to put makeup on.''

Then he added, still grinning, ''That was an unnecessary cheap shot. I apologize.''