George Bush, having just finished delivering via satellite an otherwise forgettable speech to a group of Christian educators last week, told his audience, "And now I will be delighted to take your questions."

He might have added, "As long as you ask them in order."

By arrangement, members of the Association of Christian Schools International meeting in Anaheim, Calif., were supposed to ask prescripted questions of the President, who would give prescripted replies. Unfortunately the questions came out of order, and Bush had to dump an answer about tuition vouchers for one on testing. Stalling for time, he ad-libbed, "Well, that's a very comprehensive question."

The President, who has been teleconferencing by satellite for several months to save travel costs, relies on talking points displayed on TelePrompTers to make his answers seem as "spontaneous" as the questions. The effect can be even more deadening than his often wooden speeches. But when questioners veer from the script, the result can be breathtaking. During a session with newspaper publishers in Boca Raton, Fla., last month, a prearranged question about the news business was changed at the last minute to a query about the economy. Bush managed to forge a seamless link between his plans for the economy and the problem of vandalism of newspaper boxes.

After last week's snafu with the educators, a live microphone accidentally captured Bush's dissatisfaction with the canned Q&A: "These questions! We've got to get this sorted out. I mean, if I just listen to the question, I can answer whatever it is. But if I think it's going to be on [the TelePrompTer], I don't listen to the question." Bush is best when he wings it in his own words. That he and his aides don't seem to realize it is another sign of a presidency in some disarray.