Duck Walking with the LA Times

In Friday's LA Times there is a page one article with the headline "He's not walking like a duck." The article then goes on to suggest that Bush was defensive in his last press conference and is therefore a lame duck. When you go to the inside part of the story - it is a bit more balanced - listing the strengths that Bush has compared to other second term presidents of recent memory. The story comes from news that was created by the tone of the questions in the news conference and then is mitigated when you get to its meat.

There could be an interesting story here. a) Bush has been extraordinarily ambitious for a second termer (in terms of goals and programs) and b) most presidents at this point in their tenure begin to lose steam. Then the story could have analyzed the situation with a bit of care and precision. But then that would be reporting.