TV/RADIO ALERT:

President Bush to Hold News Conference Tonight (Mike Allen, March 6, 2003, Washington Post)

The White House announced President Bush will hold a news conference at 8 tonight, but officials said he still has made no decision about war.

"This is not a scheduled announcement of anything," White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said this morning. "The opening statement will be about the successes in the war against terror as well as the importance of disarming Saddam Hussein."

Asked if the prime-time appearance is part of a public relations buildup to war, Fleischer said, "In the event that the president decides to use force, the president always thinks it's important to communicate but the president has not made any decisions about that matter."

The news conference will be the eighth of Bush's presidency and the second he has held in the East Room, one of the most formal settings available to a president.

The last East Room news conference was Oct 11, 2001-four days after allied cruise missiles and bombers began dismantling the Taliban. Bush's last solo news conference, held in a more casual setting, was Nov. 7, two days after the Republican triumphs in the midterm elections.

Obviously any American with access to same will watch on Fox News, but if, like some of us, you're not going to have TV access, try NPR just so you can giggle at Dan Schor's inane analysis. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 6, 2003 2:56 PM