Bush to ‘Meet the Press’

WASHINGTON — Amid Democratic attacks and a recent drop in his approval rating, President Bush has decided to take the unusual step of giving an hourlong interview to a Sunday morning television talk show, NBC’s "Meet the Press."

The show is scheduled to be aired locally Sunday at 10 a.m. on KONG TV.

"The president wanted to directly discuss with the American people his thinking about the war on terror" and other subjects, said deputy White House press secretary Trent Duffy.

Several polls conducted at the end of January detected a swift drop in the president’s approval ratings over the month. For instance, in a recent CNN/Gallup Poll, the president’s job approval fell from 60 percent at the beginning of the month to 49 percent at the end — the first time in his presidency that Bush registered below 50 percent in the Gallup Poll.

Bush’s appearance on "Meet the Press" comes during a difficult period for the president. Duffy said Bush proposed the idea Tuesday, after a weekend in which he decided to try to quell questions about pre-war intelligence on Iraq by agreeing to appoint an independent commission.

It also came after a month of hard politicking by the contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination, who have concentrated their fire on the incumbent, said Bush aides.

The interview will be conducted in the Oval Office today and aired unedited Sunday morning, according the NBC. The network expects to air excerpts today on its nightly news show.

It is rare, although not unprecedented, for sitting presidents to subject themselves to the Sunday talk show format, in which questions tend to be more confrontational and hosts often ask pointed follow-up questions. Bill Clinton did so a half dozen times in his eight years as president, twice on "Meet the Press."

As a candidate during the 2000 campaign, Bush appeared twice on the program.

Bush’s last network interview was with Diane Sawyer of ABC News. An edited version was broadcast Dec. 16 on the ABC news magazine "Primetime."