A WH pool report from this morning's appearance at the Pentagon. We feel like it was written just for us. Highlights:

• As Bush spoke, all but Rumsfeld stood with their hands hanging at their sides. Rumsfeld held his hands behind his back, but looked serious, not at ease. [We'd like to point out that the WP described Rumsfeld as standing "ramrod straight," a phrase we find loaded with meaning. - Ed.]

• Throughout, the president looked as if someone was holding something extremely foul-smelling just under his nose: His face scrunched, his eyes often squinted, he spat his words (especially the passage: "What took place in the Iraqi prison does not reflect the character of the more than 200,000 military personnel. . . ") and punctuated his comments with sharp, clipped hand gestures. He never smiled -- no one smiled -- and at one point Bush glared menacingly at the gaggle of photographers crawling about on the floor scrambling for new vantage points.

• When Bush emerged with Rumsfeld, he waved off a question about whether he thinks the new photographs should be publicly released. Bush and Rumsfeld (obscured a bit by staff and official photographers as White House photogs loudly groused) vigorously shook hands and traded broad, public smiles. Each looked into the other's eyes. They shared a moment.

Mmmm. We shared a moment with Rumsfeld once. We're still sore.

Full report after the jump.

Pool Report #1

White House to Pentagon

May 10, 2004

A group of grim men left Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon office at 11 :54 a.m. and entered the adjacent Eisenhower Dining Room. The group came in two waves. First, new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Peter Pace, marched in grimly, taking up their places on small strips of silver duct tape on the floor. President Bush grimly led the second wave, with Vice President Dick Cheney and Rumsfeld behind him. The order, left to right, was: Negroponte, Powell, Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Myers, Pace.

The president, looking extremely somber, read his statement from a folder resting on the podium. Bush, who according to the White House had not yet seen new photos of Iraqi prisoners being mistreated by U.S. soldiers, opened with an unequivocal endorsement of Rumsfeld: "You are courageously leading our nation in the war against terror. You're doing a superb job. You are a strong Secretary of Defense, and our nation owes you a debt of gratitude." He then launched in to an update on the war effort in Iraq, noting the U.S. plan continues to be "to transfer sovereignty to an Iraqi government as quickly as possible." In the process, Bush said U.S. forces are "taking every precaution to avoid hurting the innocent, as we deliver justice to the guilty." The transcript is out.

As Bush spoke, all but Rumsfeld stood with their hands hanging at their sides. Rumsfeld held his hands behind his back, but looked serious, not at ease. Myers and Cheney once or twice clasped their hands in front of them, then resumed their previous position.

Throughout, the president looked as if someone was holding something extremely foul- smelling just under his nose: His face scrunched, his eyes often squinted, he spat his words (especially the passage: "What took place in the Iraqi prison does not reflect the character of the more than 200,000 military personnel ...") and punctuated his comments with sharp, clipped hand gestures. He never smiled -- no one smiled -- and at one point Bush glared menacingly at the gaggle of photographers crawling about on the floor scrambling for new vantage points.

Bush, in a dark grey suit with blue patterned tie, ended his comments at 12:07 and left as a reporter asked whether he had seen any new, as-yet unseen photos. By 12:08, White House staffers were stripping up the duct tape, each emblazoned with the name of the man once standing on it.

The president then went to the Chairman's Dining Room to tape an interview for the Armed Forces radio and television network. A well-placed authority said it contains nothing new. The White House expects the transcript to be released soon.

At 12:29, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Chief of Staff Andrew Card, who had accompanied the president to the Pentagon, came down the Pentagon stairs. Cheney came out at 12:31. His motorcade departed a minute later and the POTUS limo pulled into place at the bottom of the stairs. At 12:36, the nuclear football (in the hand of a young serviceman) came down the stairs, but went right back up.

A few minutes later -- about 12:40 -- Press Secretary Scott McClellan and the White House stenographer came down the stairs. All assumed the president was close behind. He was not. Bush did not come out until 1:09 p.m. McClellan said in his briefing that it was during that gap that Bush "went to the secretary's office, where the president looked at more than a dozen photos and images." An awful long time to look at 12 pictures.

When Bush emerged with Rumsfeld, he waved off a question about whether he thinks the new photographs should be publicly released. Bush and Rumsfeld (obscured a bit by staff and official photographers as White House photogs loudly groused) vigorously shook hands and traded broad, public smiles. Each looked into the other's eyes. They shared a moment.

At 1:10, the Bush motorcade pulled out. Trips to and from the Pentagon were uneventful.

Before delivering his statement, Bush, who arrived at the Pentagon at 10:18, met privately in the Executive Service Center with the above principals, with Gen. John Abizaid, top commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, patched through on a secure teleconferencing line. The president was 10 minutes late for the statement because the meeting ran long.

In the Eisenhower Dining Room, Bush stood before a U.S. flag and banners of the armed forces, draped with battle banners (one White House staffer tried to lay one specific banner flat before the event). Paintings of ships at war adorned the walls; on one side was a large, glass door armoire with silver pitchers and etched-glass decanters. Until the presidential entourage arrived, there were about 20 reporters, photographers and camera crews. Rice, Card, McClellan, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales -- along with a dozen lesser luminaries -- came in a minute before the principals.

Joseph Curl

The Washington Times