Bush Shows New Willingness to Reverse Course --WaPo Analysis(hah)

[Demeter]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300922.html?referrer=email


By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, March 4, 2007; A05


The same president who mocked the idea of talking with Iran and Syria as recently as two weeks ago is now sending emissaries to a regional conference to talk with Iran and Syria.

For President Bush, last week's decision was the latest of several reversals on issues on which he once refused to budge. Since Democrats captured Congress, Bush has fired Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, authorized direct talks with North Korea, sent more troops to Iraq, agreed to discuss the contours of a Palestinian state in Middle East peace negotiations, and even proposed a tax increase for millions of Americans -- all ideas he rejected earlier.

But it can be a bitter pill for a politician who got to the nation's highest office by stressing his unwavering fidelity to core principles and painting his opponents -- first Al Gore, then John F. Kerry -- as flip-floppers who changed their minds depending on the political currents. Now, suddenly, it is George W. Bush -- the stubborn, resolute, "never give in" leader -- who finds himself explaining how he can reject a position one moment and embrace it the next.

In Bush's case, he sometimes acknowledges a shift and attributes it to evolving conditions, such as his decision to increase the number of troops in Iraq after years of insisting he had sent enough to do the job. In other instances, though, the White House denies any change of position at all, offering nuanced arguments for why the latest move is consistent with past statements.


More important to Bush.... is burnishing the record before his term expires: "They're really playing for the history books now."

LIKE THAT'S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO HISTORIANS--AFTER YOU'RE GONE, DUMBYA, YOU HAVE NO REWRITES!

[aquart]

1. Are they idiots? Do they take us for idiots?

GEORGE LIES. It doesn't matter what he says. He always lies. Saying he's going to help Alabama, investigate Walter Reed, talk to Syria and Iran.....does not matter. He's still going to do exactly what he's been doing and damn us all.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. So, who are the emissaries he's sending?

And, in the photo at the WP link, McFuckwad sure has the eyes of an alcoholic who's been on a binge.

[Demeter]

3. So Somebody Yanked His Leash--Big Deal

One or more of the powers behind the Idiot has told him to back off, and so he does. It's not that he or they have had an epiphany or anything. It's just that they cannot make any further "progress" as they define it without a change of direction. It is the goals, not just the directions that need changing. Oh, and a change in regimes wouldn't come amiss, either.

[talkinghead]

4. Stay the course...reverse course

It sounds like an obstinate male driver on a family vacation. Maybe this is why we need a female president (but not Hilary). She would at least stop and ask for directions.