Laura Bush Discusses Jenna's Wedding During Myanmar Press Conference

A White House press conference given by First Lady Laura Bush took a bizarre and insensitive twist when the focus of the conference, the devastation wrought by a powerful cyclone in Myanmar, switched to Jenna Bush's upcoming wedding. While the reporters and the First Lady bantered back and forth about Jenna's wedding details, MSNBC left up their chyron, saying "First Lady Talks About Deadly Cyclone In Myanmar." They also continued to show images of the devastation in Myanmar while Mrs. Bush offered more information about the wedding, including the "Texas limestone altar" built by her husband.

Watch footage of the press conference below.

Comments

[famu96]

Now just imagine how Michelle Obama WILL handle that type of press conference.

[LostCause]

Why aren't these people fighting in Iraq?

[Daly]

as far as I could tell, Laura B's only mistake was in entertaining the question - it was the idiot media types that jumped onto the wedding bandwagon.

Laura simply answered the questions and For me this was the first time I've seen her in the political forefront, I am gesiing that Bush and Chaney are such pond scum that they looked for the best image they could or Laura pushed the dummy into offering up more help after what he said on this issue.

Goodness, this is not her job, and from her behavior it seems she is focused on her daughters wedding and getting away from the whitehouse,

[knowhelpnow]

You are right this is what our media has come to, but then why was she picked to talk about the disaster anyway?

[MSMBlowTorch]

I agree. It was the media who threw out such a retarded question at a time like that. But SHE should have called them on it. She should have said "I really don't think that question is appropriate considering the immense loss of life and urgent aid that is needed in Myanmar right now. Can we stay focused on this for just a second, THANKS!"

[folksonomy]

Brilliant Mrs. Bush. Go back and rest up from your apparent case of vapours.

[bigeugene]

"I know we called this press conference to talk about the devastation and massive deaths in Burma, but, much like Katrina, that is sooooooo booooring. Let's talk about my daughter's wedding! What fun! Oh hahaha, George and that altar he built, oh ha ha! Weddings are grand!"

"Weren't we talking about something else? Oh, I can't remember what it was, let's talk more about my daughter."

[defneocon1]

you people really are idiotic. I guess she should avoid all questions the media pose her. Of course, then she's accussedof dodging questions. You're twisted little rage filled minds see nothing but hate. Get over yourselves, chastise the media for asking the f'ing question.

[EvSmith]

That is one of the lamest things I have ever seen. It runs parrallel to the official U.S. stance and response to the Human Rights tragedy that is Myanmar, formerly Burma.

[gala1]

Dear Laura

More Cowbell.


gala

[CompliantMedia]

I am a regular viewer of Keith "I hate Hillary" Olbermann (MSNBC) and even occassinally Bill O'Reilly (FNC) and I seldom see errors by their graphics people.

But the rest of MSNBC (especially Dan Abrahams entertaining show) and the FNC (especially their morning show) make so many mistakes with their graphics I cannot count them.

Howard Kurtz's Sunday morning show on CNN also gets a grade of 'F' from me for its mistakes.

I have to ask, "Where do they get these people?"

[Dannydel]

The sooner this family of redneck morons vacates the White House, the better.

[chronic]

EXACTLY!!

[CharlotteWilson]

Our county should gladly help the suffering people in Burma (yes I said Burma) - it's our responsibility as one human to another. But we can accomplish a lot more if we do NOT insult their government no matter how resistant to Democracy they (the government of Burma) is. Let's tell Laura Bush to use diplomacy, not the bully approach...not overbearing verbal confrontations.

[liberalissima]

Dear CharlotteWilson, the Bush government and all its attachments have never been famous for diplomacy or caring for anybody including the American people. They only care for themselves and their rich corporate friends and oil friends; we should not expect any of them to speak diplomatically, besides you only have to listen to Georoge W. to know how "sensitive" his wife can be about other people's suffering. When you have a Vice-President replying "SO?" to the suffering or our soldiers
did you expect better?

[JulieSA]

You have a good point, but if the Burmese government doesn't let the US Navy in, many more people are going to die. This is an emergency, and it's a matter of life and death. There's no time.

[gemcando06]

Do we, as the American government, have the respect and trust of the rest of the world? This is terrible! I, for one, cannot blame any foreign goverment for not trusting us.

Who the hell have we become?

[JulieSA]

"humanitarian AID" that should read

[JulieSA]

"Who the hell have we become?"

We are the people who provide more humanitarian by far than anyone else in the history of the earth.

Burma is run by a dictatorship that doesn't care how many of its people die. They are refusing visas to the UN and to all other aid groups so far, so it's not just us they mistrust. Most other countries would let us in without hesitation.

They are one of the most secretive countries on earth, because they don't want anyone to see to see how awful they treat their people.

Our Marine Expeditonary Units are by far the greatest disaster aid force on the planet. One is in the area waiting to be to be dispatched, along with a hospital ship. Meanwhile, people are suffering and dying.

[samtaylor1]

The real problem I have is with the "journalists" that are covering this story. The run our questions to ask about Myanmar? How do you you run out of questions. I guess when 90% of the 24 hour "news" cycle will be spent on wriight, Ayers, Britney Spears, and a President's daughters wedding", you don't need to ask many questions to fill 2.4 hours of news time (not includding the endless commercials where where I learned that there is a pill that will make my penis larger).

Honestly these news channels have become the equivalent of my hotmail accounts junk mail box, where most of the e-mails are crap and sometimes I find bit of info that was accidently put there

[Daly]

Bingo

[Myshkin57]

I have no problem with her being excited about her daughter's wedding, but this is the wrong venue. Go on The View and talk about that. Is there anyone attached to this administration that isn't tone deaf?

[GiggidyGeshmoygen]

and don't forget barbara bush, who said she thought the katrina survivors in the astrodome had it pretty good

THEY're living on another planet in another reality...

[ggmome]

STAY FOCUSED! The lost of 22,000 lives is of no consequence, when I have a daughter getting married, that is so appropo for these empty shells, and wastes of human flesh.

[awrightenoughalready]

Give me a break!! I am certainly no fan of Bush---he is a nightmare, but come on! It is ridiculous to criticize her on this point. She was only responding to the reporters' questions. It was obvious that she did not initiate the discussion and that the discussion of Myanmar was concluded. She was ready to leave and the reporters continued to ask her about the wedding. There are infinitely more than enough serious crimes concocted by this horrendous administration: do we really have to take cheap shots like this?

[disgusted48]

She's the first lady for goodness sake! She needs to stay focused, and not on herself and her daughter. If those idiot reporters can't do any better, she should have learned by now how to handle the press. There are no excuses. This was not the appropriate venue to discuss family weddings. The Bushes are just a self-focused group of people. It has always been all about them and their friends. They don't really care about this country or the people that live here.

[luvthelaw]

I don't understand why she couldn't have just said that under the circumstances, discussing the wedding would be inappropriate. If she wanted to discuss the wedding, she could have offered to do it at a later time in the day or whenever. It did seem kind of crass.

[georgiaR]

That would have been rude. She was just answering the reporters questions.

[JulieSA]

I suppose that, ideally, she could have told the press to take a hike at that point. But I watched the press avail live. I was so impressed with what she had said about the disaster that I really didn't notice the wedding stuff as she was tryihg to leave..

She's been a longtime supporter of Aung San Suu Kyi, and a great advocate for liberalizing the government there.

HuffPo should have carried her press conference in its entirety. Her call for the Burma junta to allow aid into their people was quite moving. Instead, HuffPo shows that it's more interested in scoring cheap political points then in actually helping people. The people who run this site are vile.

[BadgerBoy]

The press asking is hardly an excuse, she could have easily changed the subject back to Myanmar.
But then again, this is the only positive thing that she has from being married to george i guess.

[sandiegoconservative]

You are right. I have never heard a liberal spouse steer the questions back to something else . . . unless it was an embarassing question (see Mrs. Obama).

[disgusted48]

sandie
Are you embarrassed about your party's performance over the last eight years? I would be if I were you. If I were you I would go hide under a rock.

[skeptique]

Unless it was all staged. Not that it was. I'm just sayin'.

[watchingthings]

Just because a few thousand of "those people" have died and a few hundred thousand have been left homeless....it is no excuse to steal the spotlight away from her daughters wedding.

[PigLipstick]

The transparent nature of the first lady, she'll probably be runing for president in a few years like Hillary. Both have gone way over their fifteen minutes of fame !

[kroses98]

LIKE HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, she has a "let them eat cake" attitude! Soon, it will be "off with their heads," because the American people will not allow this to go much farther!!! People are starving and losing their homes, and the cavalier Bushian attitudes are not going over very well with us! Marching in the streets will become as common as the starving that is becoming commonplace in this once great country!!! Bushes are now equated with old insensitive royalty!!!

[marymansour]

YAWN...ho hum... who the hell cares if one of the Bush litter, those former drunken college girls, is getting hitched.

[layman]

When did she become the spokesman for this thief-and-thug administration. They could not find somebody to speak for them, or just taking a photo op.

Did she come out and speak for the people in the Katrina disaster ? Did she do anything to help the Katrina people. So Evangelical, so Christian ???? or is it hypocritical ??? whatever !!!!!
.
GW went to Louisiana, took a couple pictures with the victims, like he cared, or just used the victims for publicity. Then, nothing much has been done so far.

Heck of a job Brownie ! Cick, Click, Click, Pictures taken, Mission accoplished.

[mnnice]

Cant wait till the msm has to start reporting on bush, cheney ,rumdum ,rove complicity in 9/11.Stay tuned its a comin.

[5thGenDem]

I'm no fan of any of the Bushes, but I have to wonder if her remarks concerning the wedding were at her initiative or in response to reporters' questioning.

[JulieSA]

It was questions as she was leaving the conference.

Her statements on Burma were magnificent. Obviously HuffPo is more interested in wedding gossip than in humanitarian crises.