Betsy Devine: Funny ha-ha and/or funny peculiar

In just the third such prime- time session of his presidency, Bush will
deliver an opening statement on Iraq, where U.S. troops face mounting
casualties, and answer questions about how he handled terrorism
warnings in the months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The 5:30 p.m. PDT event comes amid poll numbers that analysts say
reflect doubts about Bush’s leadership the foundation of his
re-election campaign.

That is a sharp contrast to the popularity Bush enjoyed in the months
following the Sept. 11 attacks, when up to 90 percent of Americans
perceived him as taking decisive action to combat the nation’s foes and
protect the homeland against further strikes.

“Now the world seems to be collapsing around him,’ said presidential
scholar Stephen Wayne, professor of government at Georgetown University
in Washington. “Hiding over the weekend on the ranch was not the best
strategy.’

Bush took an extended Easter vacation at his sprawling Crawford, Texas
ranch last week during some of the bloodiest days yet in Iraq. About 70
U.S. and allied forces and 700 Iraqi insurgents have been killed this
month.

“American Idol,” (search) Fox’s biggest ratings bonanza, has been
bumped from its usual Tuesday-night spot to make way for Bush’s live
news conference.

The reality talent show will air Wednesday at 8 p.m. and the results
show, originally scheduled to air live tomorrow at 8:30 p.m., will move
to Thursday at 8 p.m.

Bush’s news conference will air at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and be carried by ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox as well as PBS and cable networks.

After Bush announced his news conference, most of the networks
immediately decided to pre-empt their regular programming. Fox,
however, took some time before announcing the decision to move “Idol,”
a major ratings grabber for the network.

However, a Fox spokesman said there was no struggle about whether to reschedule the show for the president.

“There was no debate,” Fox spokesman Scott Grogin told The Washington
Post. “The president asked for time. We’ve moved ‘American Idol’ to
Wednesday night.”

Another show that will be bumped around the TV schedule is “24,” which
will air on Sunday at 9 p.m., also on Fox. ABC will preempt …