Bush campaign thrown off course

[JoFerret]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/03/26/MNG475RPQ41.DTL

Contentious hearings this week by the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and criticisms by former White House adviser Richard Clarke about President Bush's response to terrorism have knocked the president's re-election effort -- at least temporarily -- off course and off message.

<snip>

Instead of continuing the attack against Kerry's record, Bush's top aides have spent this week jumping from one television interview to the next defending the president. GOP strategists say the White House's quick response has limited the damage but admit the charges have taken a toll.

<snip>

"This issue is a big distraction from everything they wanted to accomplish," Carrick said.

Kerry, who just ended a weeklong ski vacation in Idaho, has mostly kept mum, letting the charges against Bush churn through the news cycles.

The most damaging blows of the week came from Clarke,
<snip>
A new Pew Research Center survey, released Thursday, found significant interest in Clarke's claims, first aired in a "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday. The poll found that 42 percent of Americans surveyed had heard "a lot" about Clarke's criticisms, while another 47 percent said they had heard "a little" about his allegations.

The poll didn't ask if voters agreed with Clarke's views, but it showed a slight drop in support for the war in Iraq from a Pew poll last month.
<snip>


But supporters of the president argue it will be tough to damage the image Bush cultivated after Sept. 11 for rallying the country and plotting a successful military campaign in Afghanistan.
<more>

Meanwhile: Kerry campaign welcomes Clinton:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.clinton25mar25,0,2568861.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Pile on the sand

another paragraph from the article:

"These hearings, on their own, probably would not have carried a lot of weight, but it's the cumulative weight of everything that has gone on," he said. "It's like one grain of sand added to a growing pile. Pretty soon the machine comes to a halt."

[Bandit]

10. Drip Drip Drip Drip

I want not only defeat for Bush* but incarceration for all the crimes the Bush* Cabal has committed.

[Layman]

29. Is the Fix In? Fact or Fixtion?

White House, "Here's the deal. You kneecap Dean and let us walk then will give up power. If that crazy Dean gets the nomination and it looks like we might lose the election then we take the country hostage."
Kerry Camp, "What the hell does that mean?"
W.H. "Whatever you think it means and worse."
K.C. "You mean no pursuing 9/11, no anthranx investigation, no digging for Iraqi dirt, no medicare congressional strongarming looksees, no..."
W.H., "Yeah and keep that Palme b!%ch (ryhmes with rich) off are backs."
K.C. "And all I have to do is promise I don't prosecute your or any of your administration for any past deeds."
W.H. "Yeah You guarantee our immunity with as many presidential pardons we'll need."
K.C. "Cool. No prob. Let's shake on it"

[sadiesworld]

31. You left out...

:tinfoilhat:

[Just Me]

15. More like drops of water turning into a flood!!!

Which is a VERY good thing,...to flood these people out of the WH.

[mouse7]

2. Successfully plotting a successful military campaign in Afghanistan?

That's like the Brazillian Soccer coach demanding complete credit for a Brazillian defeat of Fiji.

Even Rumsfeld said there weren't any targets left to bomb in Afghanistan. Just moving rubble from one pile to a different pile.

[Terran]

12. If it was successful...

...why do our people keep dying over there from hostile action?

[LiberalFighter]

41. How do they claim it is successful?

Aren't the Taliban starting back up again?
Did they capture bin Laden?

[Tarheel_Dem]

3. thanks for the article........

but, sounds to me like the g.o.p. is still in damage control mode. they're really trying to downplay this administration's culpability in this whole fiasco. i don't think (or i certainly hope not) that the electorate will be as turned off as they'd like to think.

i think people will, however, become tired of them trying to point fingers at the clinton administration, especially since they'd been out of office for 9 mos.

[mouse7]

4. Gee, last I checked, Clinton wasn't running.

I'll defend a good bit of Clinton Presidency, but I will always close with...

"But... John Kerry is running. Not Clinton. All your ranting about Clinton is pointless because Bill Clinton is not on the ballot."

[Tarheel_Dem]

6. i'm sorry?

did i offend you somehow? i hope i was clear, but what i was trying to say is that i think the electorate will grow increasingly tired of the current administration dragging up "it's clinton's fault" everytime they get into hot water.

i think we're on the same page here.......:)

[wryter2000]

8. Definitely on the same page

Welcome to DU, Tarheel.

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. thanks wryter.........

great to be here! :toast:

[Buns_of_Fire]

17. "Still in damage control mode"

Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. Exxxxxxxxxxxxxcellent (as Monty Burns would say). Now, we just need to KEEP them there... :evilgrin:

Welcome, Tarheel_Dem. :hi:

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. thanks B.O.F.

:hi:

[young_at_heart]

30. Another welcome from WNC

It's nice to know that there are other North Carolinians who care about democracy!

[Tarheel_Dem]

34. hey y-a-h...

thanks for the welcome.. :toast:

[radfringe]

27. bushies damaging themselves with damage control

When Clarke testified in 7/02 he was doing as a bush* official

by calling that testimony into question - the bushies are also calling into question ALL testimony given by ALL bush* officials

it also calls into question ALL statements, speeches, interviews etc given by ALL bushies whether or not they were under oath at the time...

the big questions -- at what point does 'spin' become a lie? Can we trust anything coming out of the white house?

[dbt]

5. What a WONDERFUL headline!

Imagine the Dork Lards of Distraction being distracted themselves!! It smells like burning!

:bounce:
dbt

More sand! More sand!

[Chitown_Dem]

7. Here we go again with the "image"

"But supporters of the president argue it will be tough to damage the image Bush cultivated after Sept. 11 for rallying the country and plotting a successful military campaign in Afghanistan."

One of Kerry's campaign commercials should contrast Bush's supposed "image" with the realities of the past 3 years.

Also:

1. He didn't "rally" the country - that's giving him way too much credit. The events of September 11 were enough, for a short time, to bring a lot of Americans together in shared grief and compassion. The Bush administration subsequently p*ssed all over that and the goodwill from around the world.

2. If he "plotted" anything regarding Afhganistan, it was which reporters would get to have lunch with him after the press conference.

[wryter2000]

9. Besides

Clinton gave him a plan to invade Afghanistan and get Bin Laden before he left office. Bush didn't plan anything in that regard.

[trogdor]

19. Furthermore...

...we have the best trained, best led, best equipped Army in the entire world. All Bush had to do is pick up the phone.

[JoFerret]

13. Duh!

[rocktivity]

14. How can Bush call Kerry soft on defense

when he's being proven to be a lying traitor at worst and a complete incomptent at best?

How can Bush call Kerry fiscally dangerous
when he's put the U.S. economy billions of dollars and millions of jobs in the red?

How can Bush call Kerry a flip-flopper
when he's an even bigger one?

How can Bush call Kerry a filthy rich Northeastern elitist
when he's a filthy rich Northeastern elitist himself?

:headbang:
rocknation

[saigon68]

18. One thing---Kerry is not President Cheney's "Cluelass Sock-Puppet"

Sorry Clueless :-)

[calimary]

16. AHA! Now they're campaigning on Afghanistan - moving away from Iraq.

"But supporters of the president argue it will be tough to damage the image Bush cultivated after Sept. 11 for rallying the country and plotting a successful military campaign in Afghanistan."

Well, heck, EVERYBODY should be moving away from Iraq, particularly OUR TROOPS!

NOTE MY SIG LINE. DON'T LET THIS DIE! ALERT YOUR REPS. YES, EVEN THE REPUBLI-CON ONES!

[JoFerret]

20. Running scared

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/comment/story/0,14259,1178658,00.html
The Bush administration fears voters will believe Richard Clarke's allegations, writes Philip James

Friday March 26, 2004

The swiftness and ferocity of the Bush White House's attack on Richard Clarke tells you two things: his story may be largely true, and the Bush administration is terrified that the American people will believe it.
The central allegation - that Mr Bush was so obsessed with going after Saddam Hussein that he openly challenged his counter-terrorism adviser to find a link between September 11 and Iraq the day after the attacks took place - is serious.

It threatens the fundamental platform of the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign: that you are safer with them than you are with the Democrats.

The White House did not let a single news cycle go by before questioning that the alleged encounter between the president and Clarke had ever taken place, assigning dark motives to a man who has served four presidents, three of them Republicans.

But you don't have to be Bob Woodward to check Clarke's story out. There were other witnesses to this meeting, one of whom spoke to me.

"The conversation absolutely took place. I was there, but you can't name me," the witness said. "I was one of several people present. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the president had Iraq on his mind, first and foremost."

This former national security council official was too terrified to go on the record - he knows how vengeful this administration can be.

<more>

[calimary]

21. Holy Smokes, this is some Friday night news dump...

Just looked at the Guardian article. These, as my husband just remarked, are AMAZING times. AMAZING!

[9215]

32. This is exactly what is needed. In Clarke's book he names the people who

were there. "Lisa" somebody.

Corroboration, the more the merrier, is vitally important here.

[LiberalTexan]

22. NPR reporting today that

NINETY percent of Americans polled had heard of Clarke's criticisms of the Administration. That's a LOT of people. Enough to keep Clarke's book #1 on the bestseller list. NPR says it's been FLYING out of stores.

:) I love good news. :)

[9215]

33. Hee, hee. They can't print enough of them!!!

[LiberalFighter]

42. Last I heard it was in it's 5th printing

[AspenRose]

37. When does the 9/11 commission report come out?

Isn't it due out in August?

If so, should Clarke's book start to wane, it may resurge again, right about the time the commission report comes out. Conveniently 3 months before election time.

[Kool Kitty]

24. What a bunch of crybabies.

What was the big thing that they wanted to accomplish? They certainly are easily distracted. If they are so above reproach, as they say, what's the big problem? Wah,wah,wah...:cry: :cry: :cry:

[scottxyz]

25. At the very least...

...Bush is gonna have a hard time trying to use 9/11 in his campaign ads now.

Cheer up George - even though you're now "soft on terror" you can always run on the economy! I hear the billionaires all support you!

[are_we_united_yet]

26. Lets take that in pieces...

"it will be tough to damage the image Bush cultivated"

TRUE. I've seen enough.



"plotting a successful military campaign in Afghanistan"

Oh. Thanks I didn't realize it was so successful.

[lebkuchen]

28. It isn't. The reinforcements have just arrived.

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – More Marines have landed in Afghanistan.

Following the lead elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, which arrived last week, 2,200 more troops are heading into the region from their Navy expeditionary strike group in the Persian Gulf to help fight against al-Qaida and other anti-coalition forces, according to military officials.

The Marines, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., left Feb. 18 on board three amphibious ships; the USS Wasp, USS Whidbey Island and USS Shreveport, according to a Defense Department news release.

The Marines and sailors will join the 13,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

...cut...

The BLT’s mission, according to the unit’s Web site, is to “locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver; or to repel the enemy’s assault by fire and close combat.”

more...

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=21248

[are_we_united_yet]

39. Yeah

I was trying to be a sarcastic as I could muster

[Ravy]

43. Maybe Rummy could use this as an analogy....

"it will be tough to damage the image Bush cultivated"

This is essentially the same thing he has been saying about bombing Afghanistan. You pound rubble into more rubble, then they build a tent on top. Just like *'s image.

[yardwork]

35. This article is full of Republican spin.

And full of opinions that are laughable. Like this one:

"Most people have a favorable impression of how Bush acted from Sept. 11 on," said Republican strategist Allan Hoffenblum.

I live in a red state and I grew up in a purple state. Many of my friends and relatives are moderate independents, and a lot of them voted for * in 2000.

They are hopping mad at * now over the economy. They do NOT have a favorable impression of "how Bush acted from Sept. 11 on." Far from it.

If these so-called "Republican strategists" believe this, then they are way overpaid. My guess is they are just saying what their * handlers tell them to say.

[tigereye]

36. good they deserve to squirm

their hypocrisy and arrogance is just infuriating. Hope this is just the beginning of the tornado that spins them right out of office.

[calimary]

38. Well, didn't Richard Clarke admit to that, too?

Clarke talked about that private briefing that Pox News released (wrongly, it wasn't for public release) from awhile back where he was "defending" the bushies. He said, as a staffer, that's what he was asked to do. And he told the 9/11 commission that he had "done that for several presidents." He told Larry King he had three options: to resign, to lie, and to put the best face on it so he could stay within the system and try to work for something better.

[LiberalFighter]

40. They're worried now in March?

When in most cases elections don't really begin until Labor Day?