Demagogue

Newsweek's Howard Fineman on last night's televised address:

George W. Bush spoke with all the confidence of a perp in a police lineup. I first interviewed the guy in 1987 and began covering his political rise in 1993, and I have never seen him, in public or private, look less convincing, less sure of himself, less cocky.

The "less cocky" part, at least, was a welcome change. Fineman continues:

With his knitted brow and stricken features, [Bush] looked, well, scared. Not surprising since what he was doing in the White House library was announcing the escalation of an unpopular war.