Mr. Bush Unvarnished--WaPo (Unintentional humor?)

[Demeter]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101679.html?referrer=email



Mr. Bush Unvarnished
Wednesday, March 22, 2006; Page A20


PRESIDENT BUSH should hold more news conferences. In his hour-long exchange with reporters at the White House yesterday, he was considerably more effective in explaining and defending his commitment to the war in Iraq than in the three carefully worded speeches he has delivered in the past week. In his sometimes blunt, sometimes joking and sometimes unpolished way, he sounded authentic -- no more so than when he was asked what had become of the "political capital" he claimed after the 2004 election. "I'd say I'm spending that capital on the war," Mr. Bush replied.

And so he is. The president's approval ratings are low and sinking, and Iraq is the main cause: Polls show most Americans no longer believe the war is worth the cost or expect the "victory" Mr. Bush's speechwriters keep promising. Republicans in Congress have joined Democrats in pressing for a major withdrawal of U.S. troops this year. Even senior military commanders appear more interested in justifying that drawdown than in defeating Iraqi insurgents.

Mr. Bush, however, hasn't lost sight of the stakes. "The enemy has said that it's just a matter of time before the United States loses its nerve and withdraws from Iraq. That is what they have said," he told reporters. "And their objective for driving us out of Iraq is to have a place from which to launch their campaign to overthrow moderate governments in the Middle East, as well as to continue attacking places like the United States. Now, maybe some discount those words as kind of meaningless propaganda. I don't. I take them really seriously."

....

Much of the administration's approach in Iraq continues to strike us as feckless. Though he has been publicly calling on Iraqi politicians to form a unity government, Mr. Bush doesn't seem to be doing all he could to promote a deal; for example, there has been little visible effort to mobilize international pressure on the Iraqi parties. The focus on training Iraqi forces and consolidating U.S. bases since the December elections may have allowed Iraqi insurgents and foreign terrorists to regain ground, even in the city that Mr. Bush held up Monday as a model, Tall Afar. Though Iraqi power generation and oil production remain below prewar levels, the administration seems to have all but abandoned U.S.-financed reconstruction. But the president clearly has not lost sight of the enormous importance of the Iraqi mission, to U.S. security as well as to his presidency. Pressed repeatedly to say when American forces would leave the country entirely, he finally answered: "That will be decided by future presidents and future governments of Iraq." Not the most politic response, perhaps, but one that shows Mr. Bush remains committed in the theater where U.S. commitment, and leadership, are still desperately needed.



IS THIS A CASE OF DAMNING WITH FAINT PRAISE? A JOKE FOR THE "IN" PEOPLE? OR SOME MORE INSANE FORM OF PROPANGANDA? READ THE REST (IT'S SHORT) AND GIVE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WHY ANYONE WOULD WRITE SUCH DRIVEL.

[Burried News]

1. The post editorial board wants American troops in the Middle East.

In my opinion to protect Israel.

[adriennui]

4. that is BS.

iran has always been the threat to israel. the chimp's administration subtly uses israel to "blame" for the iraq war.

i find it tiresome when israel is used as the cause for the world's ills.

[Burried News]

5. Read this and then tell me.

http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/Research/wpaper.nsf/rwp/RWP06-011

[katinmn]

7. Thanks for posting. I caught a snippet of Scarborough blasting the report

Figured it must be a good one to read.

[Burried News]

11. The download is 83 pages (Acrobat) of which about 50 are

source citations. So if you save roughly the first 40 pages you can decrease the time. For a more concise summary see the link below which I think leaves out the details that build the case. Frankly if you follow DU, Truthout, Common Dreams, Kos and Antiwar.com it will read quickly.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0321/dailyUpdate.html

[katinmn]

12. Thanks! I do read them. This is so touchy that it will be interesting

to see which so-called progressive sites censor or lambaste the report.

I heard someone call it anti-semitic last night on teevee.

[Demeter]

13. Thanks for the Research!

I agree that Israel/US relations are dysfunctional, harmful to both parties, and need to be totally rethought, reworked, and brought into some kind of ethical and logical structure.

We let Israel get away with murder, and have for years. In return, they let us get away with murder. That is not right for either of us.

But there's more to BushCo than that. Unfortunately, the whole package is toxic.

[adriennui]

2. unvarnished?

unlistenable, incoherent, and embarrassing.

[Warren Stupidity]

3. WP: Bushwhore Media Inc.

They obviously attended or watched a different press conference.

Bush on why we attacked Iraq:

"Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy, and that's why I went into Iraq.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: Hold on for a second. Excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al-Qaida.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Helen, excuse me.

That's where — Afghanistan provided safe haven for al-Qaida. That's where they trained, that's where they plotted, that's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_text_1

He couldn't even keep from mixing up Afghanistan with Iraq. The WP is a disgrace.

[Chulanowa]

6. Is there another Bush

This is clearly an article about Bizzaro-Bush, the intelligent and well-spoken strategist, capable of handling off-the-cuff questions with aplomb and ease.

[MADem]

8. Oh, joy, the monkey is AUTHENTIC!!!

Authentic=talks like a mentally challenged, drooling fuckwit. The man sounds like a STOOOOOOPID fool...and we are supposed to be thrilled that he actually toddled out and met the press? We're supposed to express the same level of joy as when one's toddler finally does his doody in the big boy toilet?

Give me a break....talk about LOWERED expectations!

[kstewart33]

9. So let's praise the president for being authentic(!).

The expectations for this guy have been set so low.

[fasttense]

10. This article loses sight of the obvious.

Bush* was effective in explaining what exactly? That he now claims a different excuse for going to war with a country that had no WMDs and had NOT attacked us?

Bush*s bluntness was characterized by arrogance. His jokes came off as pathetic. The only authentic emotion he displayed was anger and annoyance.

The writer acts as if somehow bush* was forced into this position of defending a failing war. But the writer loses sight of the obvious. Bush* got us into this situation. The writer forgets that Iraq was not involved in 9/11 and acts as if all the propaganda for going to war was well founded.

What this article fails to state is that bush* set up Iraq as a platform to overthrow moderate governments in the Middle East, as well as to attack places like the US. Notice bush* said "continue attacking". He implies that Iraq has attacked the US previously, when we know that is not the case.

The writer buys into the RW spin that Iraq was the cause of 9/11 and portrays bush* as a president burdened with a war he didn't create.

[Ben Ceremos]

14. Bush is the most fake president...

this is his authenticity.