Bush Apologizes to L.A. Times Reporter
By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jun 14, 8:22 PM

WASHINGTON - President Bush, who often teases members of the White House press corps, apologized Wednesday after he poked fun at a reporter for wearing sunglasses without realizing they were needed for vision loss.

The exchange occurred at a news conference in the Rose Garden.

Bush called on Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Wallsten and asked if he was going to ask his question with his "shades" on.

"For the viewers, there's no sun," Bush said to the television cameras.

But even though the sun was behind the clouds, Wallsten still needs the sunglasses because he has Stargardt's disease, a form of macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss. The condition causes Wallsten to be sensitive to glare and even on a cloudy day, can cause pain and increase the loss of sight.

Wallsten said Bush called his cell phone later in the day to apologize and tell him that he didn't know he had the disease. Wallsten said he interrupted and told the president that no apology was necessary and that he didn't feel offended since he hadn't told anyone at the White House about his condition.

"He said, `I needle you guys out of affection,'" Wallsten said. "I said, 'I understand that, but I don't want you to treat me any differently because of this.'"

Wallsten said the president said he would not treat him differently, so Wallsten encouraged him to "needle away."

"He said, `I will. Next time I'll just use a different needle,'" Wallsten said.

Wallsten said he thought that was a pretty good line. And his only complaint is that the president didn't answer his question at the news conference.

Wallsten, who is also author of a book coming out next month titled "One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century," had asked about White House credibility now in the aftermath of top aide Karl Rove having been cleared in the CIA leak investigation. But Bush said he wouldn't comment with another top White House aide still facing prosecution in the case.

Damn. That should have read "Bush Kicks Puppy AFTER Making Fun of Blind Guy..."

Anyways, I was impressed with the "Next time I'll just use a different needle" comment. That was actually kind of witty.

And of course it was an innocent comment that turned out to be bad because of unknown circumstances. But what a faux pas...

What the hell are you mumbling about now? I found nothing in there about a puppy being kicked by Bush.

That's funny.
Reading your quotes of Ann Coulter, I find nothing supporting her claims either...

That's some funny stuff of Coulter's. Which one did you like the best?

Yeah. He was only mocking a blind man, albeit unintentionally.

A lot of people could have made that same mistake. He is standing alone and has no quide dog and is looking right at the president.

Not all blind people have guide dogs. In fact, most don't. It's just good sense to avoid making fun of someone because they are wearing sunglasses. Furthermore, being blind doesn't necissarily mean that one can't see anything at all. For example, I'm half blind, but if you shined a flashlight in my blind eye, I'd be able to see the light, and I can see some colors as well.

Maybe I'm just extra sensitive about it because I have cogenital toxoplasmosis, and I know a fair number of blind people as a result.

Of course, this isn't the first time the president has made such a gaffe. I don't blame him for it, since it was obvious from the footage that it was entirely accidental. This isn't half as bad as the time he waved at Stevie Wonder. (although I heard that might be an urban legend)

Hahaha...there are certain things that you just have to laugh at. Bush really cracks me up sometimes, in a good way. I think he has a real good sense of humor. The "Now watch me hit this drive" clip in Farenheit 9/11 was hilarious.

However, this is very much an aside. He is a very likeable guy...just not quite sure if he should be President.

likeable in a used car salesman sorta way