This seems kinda odd as well, I can get mysql as user, but not as root:
[dulithgow@3e6b36fa ~]$ mysql Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g. Your MySQL connection id is 4 to server version: 3.23.58
Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer.
mysql> exit Bye [dulithgow@3e6b36fa ~]$ su - Password: [root@3e6b36fa ~]# mysql ERROR 1045: Access denied for user: 'root@localhost' (Using password: NO) [root@3e6b36fa ~]#
