UK reports of the press conference have been including a sequence in which Bush was struck speechless by a simple question. (What was his biggest mistake post 9-11, and what had he learned from it?) After a painfully long pause, he said he'd have had a better chance of dealing with the question if he'd had written notice of it. Then after a further, agonising pause, during which he seemed to forget even where he was, he said that a response might eventually come into his mind, but that right then there was no sign of it.

Incredibly, one BBC reporter said that such "candour" would probably play well with Bush's supporters! But surely there's a lesson to be learnt: that every Reagan should have a Nancy who can come to the rescue in those awkward moments.

A strange paradox, though, that such a strong nation can find itself led by such donkeys.