The President's Word-a-Day Calendar Is Working

That's the only explanation for The Most Surprising "Vocab Word" Used In A Bush Q&A:

Q: Could you explain why living within the legislation that allowed your administration to get a warrant from a secret court within 72 hours after putting in a wiretap wouldn't be just as effective?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I appreciate the question. He's talking about the terrorist surveillance program that was -- created quite a kerfuffle in the press, and I owe an explanation to.

Let's ignore, through gritted teeth, the dangling preposition and focus in on Bush's use of a true SAT word. This wasn't part of the pre-written speech; he really did use "kerfuffle" off the cuff. I now eagerly await him describing America's "zeitgeist" and his own personal "cathexis." Of course, upon further reflection, it's possible that some advisor told him to use "kerfuffle" in describing the wiretapping agitation because the American connotation for the British term describes a relatively minor inconvenience or fuss -- and maybe "uproar" was believed to give the opposition more credibility. Also, I love how he shoulders the outrage onto "the press" as if only a few dozen reporters, and not nearly half of America, found fault with the program.

Wonkette cracks wise after the same press conference/Q&A session, as well as during.