Read E&P to see Scotty try to explain why Bush was playing the guitar on the Tuesday after Katrina had destroyed New Orleans:
It's rich. After a reporter asked Scotty whether Bush's trip to Texas tomorrow was just a photo op, they got on to the subject of the guitar which you can see has the Presidential seal on it:
Q But it sounds like a bit of a photo op, one that he'd prefer over playing the guitar at the airport photo op.C'mon Scotty. It was a pre-planned photo op. That's why the guitar had the Presidential Seal on it. You had to approve it.
MR. McCLELLAN: Well, first of all, let's correct the record on that. There was a reporter from your news organization that was backstage during that event. That was an event to go and thank our troops and talk about the war on terrorism. And it was not an event, as you may have portrayed to some people that are watching this out there by this simple statement. It was --
Q He didn't pick up the guitar while the hurricane was rolling into Louisiana?
MR. McCLELLAN: -- much more than that. The person that was entertaining our troops there presented a gift to the President. So I think you need to make that clear to everybody who's watching this or to your viewers. And it was one of your colleagues at ABC News who was backstage taking a picture of that.
Q It was a very good picture and I'm proud of her, but the question I have --
MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, but that picture was taken by someone -- hang on, hang on, Terry -- that picture was taken by some people way out of context. And it was portrayed that the President was simply doing that, and that's not the case, as you and I know.
Q The point was that he was over there and not --
MR. McCLELLAN: As you and I know, I had announced shortly before that, that we were returning the next morning. As you and I know, we had announced the President -- the day before -- all the briefings he was participating in. The President spoke the day before. He spoke that day about the hurricane. So let's just set the record straight.
And we all know that tomorrow's trip to Texas is just a photo op because Bush is tanking.
