Yeah, Atrios pretty much has this one nailed:

Cower, My Pretties

Submit before my will! Suckle at the presidential teat, oh Gannon! oh Bumiller! Bow before my presidential charm! Dare not question me! For I AM BUSH! And I WILL PRE-EMPT THE O.C., winning me fans nationwide! Fans of Will & Grace will be forced to WATCH ME! For I am the PREZNIT! YOU MUST LISTEN!

Asking the networks to televise a bamboozlepalooza event at 7:30 PM CT, when it will run for about an hour, means pre-empting the following TV programs, with some noted by their Nielsen ratings as of last week:

• CSI (#1)
• Survivor: Palau (#6)
• The Apprentice (#16, and now down to its "final four")
• The O.C.
• Will & Grace
• WWE Smackdown!
• The Simple Life: Interns

Of course, no one ever watches any of this stuff, so they won't be annoyed or inconvenienced in the slightest to give them up for an hour of the President making shit up about Social Security so that his minions can shout all weekend that he really said whatever it is they think will get people to support his non-plan to eliminate the "Social" and "Security" parts of "Social Security."

If you're trying to repair an image of trampling individuals (the Schiavo case, the Denver 3) and the laws (no WMD in Iraq, Tom DeLay, Jeff Gannon), the way to do it is not to force seven high-rated shows (and three of the top twenty) off the air. Of course, not feeling shame or embarrassment, they wouldn't know this.