Watching this briefing, I was struck by the plain talk that the president and the other officials used. It was like we were eavesdropping on their meeting. A very natural back-and-forth conversation.
One thing though: while Alabama's governor was speaking it looked like W was truly annoyed with him. Did anyone else notice that, or am I just imagining it?
W and Riley have a history of sorts. W came to Alabama and campaigned heavily for Riley. Riley talked very conservatively but when he got in office he tried to enforce the largest tax increase in the history of Alabama. Riley can come across as a poser of sorts. Uses things to his advantage. I don't think Bush ever got over being used that way and the state Republican party still has a bad taste for Riley. That being said Riley has surrounded himself with good people and has tried to amend his greivous error of tax hikes. :) Of course when 75% of Alabamians voted against it what else could he do?:)
The guy speaking next to President Bush in that photo is the FEMA chief, not the Alabama Governor.