DAN THOMASSON Bush needs to read the news

WASHINGTON -- Will Rogers said that all he knew is what he read in the newspapers. That certainly is not true of George W. Bush, who verified what has been suspected for some time. He doesn't read them, even though he gets to his office pretty early in the morning and chances are a news summary is one of the things on his desk when he arrives.
That somewhat startling revelation was about the only news to emerge from a highly touted one-hour interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer. It was a curious mixture of defiance, anger, boredom and strained humor that seemed to reflect Bush's true nature somewhat better than the rehearsed appearances that are the usual way Americans see him.
The defiance and anger emerged when Sawyer, a former aide to Richard Nixon, insisted on trying to win a concession from the president that his justification for the war -- Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction -- was simply wrong. The president's explanation (that the verdict on WMD still was out and that his decision was based on intelligence believed credible -- not only by him but by his predecessor -- and that anyway the world was a safer place without Saddam Hussein) didn't prevent Sawyer from hammering away until the situation became obviously uncomfortable.
The entire scene was in sharp contrast, with the relaxed atmosphere of the president's press conference the day before and his easy handling of questions in the wake of the capture of Saddam, whom (he made clear both then and in the television interview) he would like to see treated as they did old-time horse thieves in his home state of Texas -- given a fair trial and then hanged.
The question of Bush's reading habits came up in a session in which Laura Bush joined him and he candidly conceded that he doesn't read the newspapers, an admission that may be the first of its kind by a chief executive. His answer was that he wasn't interested in the opinions of the press and that he got his news from his aides and advisers and Cabinet members firsthand. Mrs. Bush, however, a former librarian, said that she did read the newspapers and some columnists, at least those who aren't known Bush-bashers.
The way it should be
The relationship of the presidency and the press always has been strained, and that is as it should be if both are to do their jobs properly. One would like to manage the news to fit his purposes and the other is intent on seeing that doesn't happen. It is what makes the system work.
Few White Houses in modern memory have been as tightly managed as the current one -- even Lyndon Johnson's, where a leak about even a minor appointment could cause the president to change his mind. But no president most of us old-timers can remember would be foolish enough not to peruse the day's happenings in the newspapers, where there still is a whole lot more hard news detail than on television and, contrary to popular opinion, most of it isn't biased.
Diversification
A president's depending solely on what aides tell him can lead to serious problems. Their slant isn't always what the president should be hearing.
Even Bush's father still reads the newspapers and particularly the columns. I know because he took sharp exception to one of mine that ran in his hometown paper, The Houston Chronicle. His reaction came in one of those "from the office of" letters he obviously authorized or dictated, and was not going to give me the satisfaction of signing himself. His chief of staff got that privilege. Under the circumstances, I didn't reply. But at least he was paying attention.
As for commentary and editorials, how does a president tell the good guys from the bad guys (from his point of view) if he doesn't bother to read them? How does he know the difference between those who will give him a fair hearing or support a position and those who won't, no matter what he does? There is even the possibility that he can learn something important from those who are the most critical of him. A wise leader listens to his detractors as well as his friends. I'm sure someone said that once.
This is a nation where youngsters more and more learn to read and then don't. It would be nice to have a role model who didn't do the same thing. Then I'm shouting into the wind, aren't I, since there doesn't seem to be much chance of the president's reading this.
XDan K. Thomasson is former editor of the Scripps Howard News Service.