After Sunglasses Gaffe, Bush Apologizes to Legally Blind Reporter

June 14, 2006 — -- The president was in a jovial mood during his Rose Garden press conference Wednesday, joshing with reporters, excited to aggressively defend the Iraq war in the midterm elections, optimistic about his recent trip to Baghdad.

Then he was told a reporter he playfully teased about wearing sunglasses during the press conference has a serious vision problem and is legally blind.

By the end of the day, the exchange had merited a presidential apology. The reporter, Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times, said he bears no grudges and accepted the president's apology quickly.

"Clearly the president has more important things to worry about," Wallsten said.

The incident happened towards the end of the press conference, when the president called on the 34-year-old Wallsten.

"Are you going to ask that question with shades on?" Bush asked.

"I can take them off," Wallsten offered.

"I'm interested in the shade look," replied Bush. "Seriously."

Wallsten said, "All right, I'll keep it, then."

"For the viewers," the president said to the TV cameras, "there's no sun." Some in the press corps laughed.

"I guess it depends on your perspective," replied Wallsten, Zen-like.

"Touché," said the president, who then took Wallsten's question about Karl Rove.

Wallsten has Stargardt's Disease, a degeneration of the central area of the retina called the macula, where cells sensitive to light send visual signals to the brain.

It turns out Wallsten wasn't trying to be hip or cool or cop a 'tude -- he was wearing the pricey sunglasses because recent studies indicate that the progression of Stargardt's disease can be slowed by wearing sunglasses that protect the eyes from ultraviolet rays.

Wallsten suspects the president was informed of his gaffe by White House Communications Director Nicolle Wallace, who knows Wallsten and been aware of his vision problem for years, dating back to when both were in Tallahassee, where he worked for the Miami Herald and she for Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.