Donny Rumsfeld's Patronizing Briefings

Hi,

Donald Rumsfeld's press conferences remind of a scene in Monty Python's Meaning of Life. You know the one where John Cleese is a teacher trying to explain something mind numbingly complicated and pass it off as so simple that only an idiot wouldn't immediately get it.
"I do wish you'd listen, Wymer, it's perfectly simple. If you're not getting your hair cut, you don't have to move your brother's clothes down to the lower peg, you simply collect his note before lunch after you've done your scripture prep when you've written your letter home before rest, move your own clothes on to the lower peg, greet the visitors, and report to Mr Viney that you've had your chit signed. Now, sex... sex, sex, sex, where were we?" (I got the text from Monty Python's Completely Useless Website, http://www.intriguing.com/mp/ )

I think Rumsfeld takes an exceptionally patronizing tone with the press. Today someone asked him how the recent violent unrest in Iraq could take the administration by surprise. He responded that they weren't all that surprised. This prompted a question about why if they weren't surprised did they have to extend the deployment times of 20,000 troops just as they were preparing to come home. His response was much like Cleese's response to Wymer above, just substitute flag waving and accusations about aiding terrorists for "sex sex sex".