Americans love humility. They love it when great people are humble. Part of what got W. as far as he has is his self-effacing, aw-shucks act.
At tonight’s carefully staged news conference (if I read between the lines correctly, he had a list of reporters, knew the questions they were going to ask, and had answers prepared…like “Hollywood Squares”), one of the last questions he got (and one which I think he didn’t know ahead of time) was that, in 2000, he said the biggest mistake he ever made was trading Sammy Sosa. But now, post 9/11…what would he say was his biggest mistake?
He couldn’t come up with one.
There was so many things he could have said that would have played well, cost him very little politically, and would perhaps have gone a ways to portray him as someone who learns from his miscalculations. Because it’s the lack of learning curve displayed by this administration that is its most alarming tendency.
He could have said, “I made a mistake in underestimating the levels of evil that a bin Laden would sink to. I pledge to my fellow Americans, I will never make that mistake again.”
Or, “I made a mistake in saying that the mission was accomplished. It’s not yet, but we have to finish it.”
Or, “I made a mistake in my estimation as to the intensity of fighting that continued in Iraq, but we have brave soldiers in the field and we will support them.”
Or, “I made a mistake in giving the country the impression for months on end that I was stonewalling the 9/11 commission.”
Something. Anything. In the words of Doctor Evil, throw us a frickin’ bone.
Nothing. Hundreds of Americans, thousands of Iraqis dead, WMDs still MIA, no clean exit strategy, no clear idea who runs Iraq after June 30, intelligence lapses being investigated…
…and he can’t think of anything in three years that falls under the category of, “Ooops. My bad.”
Whatever happened to the buck stopping at the desk where he sits? Or does that buck permanently rest on the Clinton desk, since Clinton continues to be blamed for whatever’s gone wrong in the past few years.
PAD
• 
I just read an article that said the economic recovery is benefiting only corporations an CEO’s. Corporate profits are up 37%, but hourly compensation is up only 1.2%. Tese figures come from a study by the Northeastern University’s Center for Lavor Studies and is entitled “The Unprecedented Rising Tide of Corporate Profits nad the Simultaneous Ebbing of Labor Compensation”. It also says that in every other economic recovery since WWII labor compensation increased at a greater rate than corporate returns. So, anyone who is having “great economic prosperity” right now, doesn’t need it as much as those who are working 2 jobs to feed and shelter their families. But there we go. The only ones that matter in this economy are the ones that are already well off.
Well, I don’t like Kerry. I think his military record is questionable as to being a “hero”, but not an issue to me. He does represents\ the same old worn out Democratic party that I’ve gotten tired of. Just don’t trust him. Not to pleased with Bush either. Not a lot of good choices, at least to me. So, to pick the lesser of two evils, Hmmm…
I just read my last post. Sorry about all the typos. I’m not really illiterate. (: )
And what are these idiot CEO’s going to do when they’ve gotten rid of so many employees and all that are left are low pay/no benefits service jobs and no one can afford their over-priced products?
We recently laid a few people off where I work. We’ve sent some of our work to off shore.
Better this than laying off all you mothers somewhere down the line… maybe.
Better this than laying off all you mothers somewhere down the line… maybe.
What the hëll is that supposed to mean?
Tim Lynch – well said!
…
Look, if the argument was that you were going to net zero more than you make by doubling your income… well, duh, that’s a complete no-brainer, you won’t make the money or go for that higher salary.
Here’s the thing, though… if your net gain is worth the time / effort you put into it, regardless of how much more “Uncle Sugar” is taking… what’s the problem? That you should get to keep all your money? Well, that’s a nice fantasy, but I kinda like the status quo.
…
Just to add a few more lines to “what government does for you”… I may be a bit biased because I live in Wash DC (but don’t work for the government, so I’m not a big ol’ sponge on y’alls tax money)…
Without taxes to operate the government:
… if you invest all that money you want to keep, hope you don’t mind that the Securities and Exchange Commission won’t be helping the little guy out, and preventing insider trading, and so forth…
… that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can’t operate… I mean, private industry does such a good job of regulating itself, why even bother inspecting nuclear reactors? One: Homer Simpson. Two: Chernobyl. Three: … let’s not, eh?
… that the National Institutes of Standards and Technology aren’t insisting on product standardization – after all, the market can do that, right? Very small example – the glass elements in photospectrometers (that help drug companies and others analyze prospective drugs) are tested and certified by NIST. Hope you don’t mind that that drug wasn’t quite manufactured up to scratch…
… that the National Institutes of Health aren’t up to the job (or doing anything for) of testing and subsidising research that often universities or companies aren’t going to do on their own, and IN FACT heavily subsidizing the research of drugs companies!
… that the Centers for Disease Control aren’t able to track that pesky Ebola virus, or SARS…
… that the intelligence community (CIA, NSA, NRO, DIA, etc etc) can’t operate to see what our enemies are doing…
… that Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Agency wouldn’t exist…
I could go on, but I trust you get my point.
Some people I know have argued that government shouldn’t be in as many aspects of our lives as it is, that it should do defense and not much more… but y’know, sometimes I *like* the fact that “we” have all agreed that these other functions, which would be very difficult to provide privately, have come into being.
Personally, I like drivable streets, fire departments, public education, checks on investors getting screwed by companies, pollution controls, product and food safety standards… and so on. But these things cost money.
“Personally, I like drivable streets, fire departments, public education, checks on investors getting screwed by companies, pollution controls, product and food safety standards… and so on. But these things cost money.”
Too bad the public education system is joke, the roads are full of potholes and crumbling, the crooked investors never seem to get caught or suffer any penalties of they do, yeah, the corparate world has GREAT pollution controls….
Too bad the public education system is joke, the roads are full of potholes and crumbling, the crooked investors never seem to get caught or suffer any penalties of they do, yeah, the corparate world has GREAT pollution controls….
So what’s your suggestion? Remove all taxes and let the market decide everything?
It’s easy to say X doesn’t work. It’s a lot harder to be constructive.
(And as for the crooked ones never suffering any penalties, that’s a serious flaw in the system, but one that has a lot more to do with how government is influenced than it does with the tax system. If half the Senate weren’t in the pocket of a lot of these folks, I suspect penalties would be just a smidge more harsh.)
TWL
Karen, Tim and Everyone,
First, let me say that this has been a tough economy, and I have experienced its effects personally. I had the inside track on a fulltime writing gig at the Philadelphia Daily News in 2001. I had a meeting with the editor-in-chief and he was setting everything in motion. Literally less than a week later, American Appliance filed for bankruptcy, and that was the straw that broke Knight-Ridder’s (our paper’s parent company) back. They immediately sent a memeo starting that a hiring freeze was being instituted immediately and that buyouts would begin. They haven’t stopped. I was in sales at the time and that department was cut to the bone. I had many clients who cut back spending and eventually lost my job as a result. Because when companies are going through rough times one of the first places they cut back is advertising. Also, since the hiring freeze has been instituted corporate-wide, it means they are not hiring at the 35+ papers Knight-Ridder owns. Which means papers in Miami, Chicago, etc. And last year they almost nuked the freelance department. BUT there are many factors involved with this. It is far too simplistic (and inaccurate) to blame this mess on greedy corporate CEOs and tax cuts for the rich, as I will explain.
Well Timmy, when I’m elected I’ll make my suggestions for fixing these things, but no one’ll like them.
Too bad it’s not my job to fix them. Why waste my time coming up with solutions when I’m not in a position to implement any of them? Not like the govenment listens to its citizens anyway (at least not unless that citizen donates several million to them…).
First,
Big labor can be just as corrupt and inefficient as Big Business, if not more so. Especially the inefficient part. I was on a sales team that was 100% commission, which means I and everyone else had to bust our áššëš. In 2000, I made more money than I had ever made in a year (though still less than $40,000) and had one terrific month. I worked about 12-14 hours a day.
Meanwhile, there were people on salary – some of whom absolutely hate the commission people’s guts – who literally f—ed around all day every day and made more than I did! The union guaranteed them work (they would take away our accounts if they went over $100,000 in a year, a great disincentive to get more ads at a certain point, don’t you think?) and freedom from accountability.
Check this out. Let’s say in my best year I made $40,000. My percentage on some ads was 30% – almost a third – and on some was 15 %. So let’s split the diffence and say I made $20,000 at 15% – which means I generated $120,000 in business – and $20,000 at 30% – whic means I generated $60,000 in business. So I generated $180,000 in business and made under $40,000.
Meanwhile, a there were people making a salary of $40,000 who didn’t even bring in that much in revenue! They would literally laugh right in our faces. These people are GIVEN not just leads but clients, too. All they have to do is call back and do a little work and they would be easiy pull in what I did in a year in one month. But they have no motivation. They will be protected no matter what. The company can’t do anything – except phase out salary salespeople, which they are now doing. It sucks for the salary people who do take advantage of their opportunity and even make bonus money. But there are too many of the absolute lazy POS, and they ruin it for everyone else.
I agree, labor unions are just as bad, just in different ways. Big corporate can move their operations overseas or find non-union labor, the unions can’t just suddenly manufacture new jobs to replace lost ones.
Re; Bladestar
I was going to mention this down the line, but your last post just exemplifies what I was going to say, so I may as well respond to it. You say:
“Well Timmy, when I’m elected I’ll make my suggestions for fixing these things, but no one will like them.
Too bad it’s not my job to fix them.”
Too bad it IS, Bladestar! See, this is precisely the problem. This is YOUR country, they are YOUR elected officials, and they are YOUR crumbling roads that YOU have to drive on, YOUR schools, YOUR public libraries, YOUR police and firemen that are there to serve you. If YOU don’t care, why should they? For someone who’s so in-your-face on this blog, I can’t imagine you can’t get four people you know to make your city councilmen aware of something important to you at a meeting. Not that many people go to council and township meetings (whic is the problem), so with a tiny group you could dominate it. Heck, eventually they may ASK you to run. It’s amazing how many lower-tier elected officials are older and uneducated. They’re used to doing things a certain way, and may lack energy and/or knowledge. A township supervisor near where I live said he would quit tomorrow if he knew whoever replaced him would know what te hëll they were doing. It’s not easy keeping up with all the grants and the like available for goods and services from the federal and local level. A lot do a poor job of it, but they’re doing the best they can. They NEED people like YOU.
YOU would also likely dominate your local library Friends group, which assists libraries in fundraising, event planning and purcasing new books. want to make sure controversial books get in your library and prevent censorship? Here’s your chance to do it.
In addition, most of your local state reps, state senators and congressmen are constantly holding open houses and they do listen. Or go to a $25-35 beef n’ beer for one of them. It’s a great and cheap way to gain “access” and meet other people who care enough to get involved.
It is easy to criticize buy hard to find solutions. So don’t just criticize.
And ideas do matter. Jonathan Kozol isn’t a politician, but his book “Savage Inequalities” changed my views on public education forever.
As George Carlin said, “If you have an ignorant, uninterested and uneducated electorate, what do you think you’re going to elect?
Thanks but I’m too much an extremeist for that to work. Too politically incorrect. And too impaitient. And I’m too busy just trying to hopld my own ground to devote too much time to solving others problems. Been laid off twice in the past 3 years for just over 8 months total and took over 35% paycut in the process. Plus I have no interest in going to law school, and you practically need to be a lawyer to navigate the legal system and get anything done.
Be honest with ourselves and ditch the election system and switch to a “government lottery”. Even 2-4 years, all the Senators, Representatives, The President, Vice-President, and Supreme Court Justices would be drawn at random from the list of Natural Born American Citizens. Your number gets drawn, you fill the position. The only way to get re-elected is blind luck of the draw. That alone would solve alot of problems…
The system is pickier about who serves on a jury in the long run than who runs the country.
PAD:
That answer was a total cop-out.
So, Bush is president. Why would the press, who makes it thier business to report “mistakes” (and rightly so. They should be reporting the news) fish for an answer to an absurd question?
That question was nothing more than an attempt to manufacture news. I could see the headlines if Bush actually answered.
Let’s say Bush would have said “I would have confirmed more of the intelligence before entering Iraq.” The headline would read “Bush admits to rushing into Iraq on faulty intelligence”.
That question, frankly ranks up there with “if you were a tree…”
Yes, the president SHOULD be held to a higher standard. But as recent history shows us, that is not always the case.
I don’t have time for law school, or council meetings, but when I become a mutie, which is any day now, I’m sure, that’s when the world will finally be set right! I guarantee it!
Actually Wolf, PAD’s answer was dead-on accurate.
Bush asked to be president, he fought to be president. He wanted the right to run the nation, so now he has to face up to teh responsibilty, that includes being honest with the citizens of the country, instead, Bush tries to hide everything from the American people, his admin. has the worst record in years for having information declared “Classified” and hiding it from the “Freedom of Information” act. A free country cannot survive being governed in secret. U.S. news and World Report and the local papers have been doing stories lately on how insulated and secretive this administration is.
As president, he MUST be held to a higher standard when he’s throwing our soldiers lives away in a country that posed no threat to the US.
“I don’t have time for law school, or council meetings, but when I become a mutie, which is any day now, I’m sure, that’s when the world will finally be set right! I guarantee it!”
Please. We prefer the term “genetically advantaged”.
Let’s say Bush would have said “I would have confirmed more of the intelligence before entering Iraq.” The headline would read “Bush admits to rushing into Iraq on faulty intelligence”.
**************
Actually, this is exactly what did happen. Reuters carried the headline “Bush Stakes Re-Election Bid on Success in Iraq,” despite the fact that President Bush said nothing like that during the press conference.
Bladestar,
They’re not just others’ problems, they affect you as well.
At the very least, you should help your local library. Threy need it and deserve it and get NO support.
In Philadelphia, they slashed the library budget by 50%. Some of it was restored. Which is a disgrace. But it is too simplistic to blame our “leaders”. I blame people for not giving a dámņ!
Case in point, most of the places where they are cutting hours and services are branches in black neighborhoods, which brings out the usual cries of racism. But it’s not. It is simply based on usage. The branch with the least usage by the community will get the most cut, and so on. If these neighborhoods actually took more advantage of the resorces that were available to them, they would not get as much cut.
Heck, if as many people were as passionate about taxpayer money being used for libraries as they were for using taxpayer dollars to fund two exorbiantly expensive new stadiums for rich owners and their rich players, the money WOULD go there instead.
If more people are interested ingames and rooting for millionaires than libraries, why should a politician risk his neck and tell them they’re wrong. People get what they deserve.
One final note. I worked for months to get our branch’s friends group up and running again. I took money out of my own pocket to help pull it off. At the first meeting, there were six people, including our “core” group of four unofficial officers.
So we had this big open house with Ronald McDonald for the kids, novelist Samuel Delany and Miss PA USA Camille Young, who came as a favor to me. Thee was pizza, arts and crafts and everything and a bunch of people signed up. I followed up with e-mail and phone calls to remind people about our next meeting.
The next meeting, five people showed up, including our “core” group of four.
But the previous week, 250 people ad found the time to bìŧçh about the impact of neighboring St. Joe’s University, bìŧçh about these “white kids” renting in their community, bash “outsiders” like Korean store owners and talk about what was “owed” them by the college and neighboring businesses.
Heck, ten idiots the previous week took the time to block a bus route in the community because it “was causing pollution”. And of course, if it stopped running there, they would be accused of abandoning the elder;y, the handicapped, and just people without cars who need to get to work.
In the end, people truly do get the government they deserve.
I don’t really care about libraries. If I want a book I either buy it or borrow it from someone who has it. I’m rough on books so libraries are of no interest to me.
I’ve got my own money worries and have little enough time as it is. Maybe if I didn’t have to pay so much in taxes, I might have some to spare, but since the government takes my money at effective gunpoint, spending it however they want, without my approval, I see no reason to give away even more of my hard-earned money to the things the government is supposed to be taking care of with my taxes. Quit throwing away money getting soldiers killed in lands they have no business in.
Quit giving big rich corporations huge tax breaks while also letting them move all our jobs overseas and sheltering their income in offshore banks and cheating on their accounting.
People tried to get involved, and while the 60’s were fun, no real change came of it. People are too busy trying to keep their families clothed and housed and just trying to keep what little they have…
Jerome,
While we may have been on opposite sides of several discussions lately, I do agree with you that this is something everyone should consider “their problem” and not something for someone else to fix.
(Frankly, I’m not sure our Mr. Star is doing anything but trolling. Nobody who actually seeks out someone else’s blog can be that much of a proud know-nothing nihilist.)
As for your situation … first, I sympathize. Second, I agree with you that it’s far too simplistic to blame the whole thing on “greedy CEO’s and tax cuts for the wealthy”. By the same token, however, it’s equally simplistic to suggest that tax cuts for the wealthy and removing restraints on corporations is a panacea for everything that ails us — and that particular simplification isn’t too far removed from our current economic policy.
Got a surplus? Tax cuts.
Got a recession? Tax cuts.
Got a war? Tax cuts — and hey, spend more while you’re at it.
So … er … when exactly are tax cuts NOT the suggestion of this president?
TWL
Bladestar,
Does the fact that you don’t tend to patronize libraries mean that they’re not worth caring about? Or is it that you’re not inclined to care about something unless it directly affects you?
TWL
I have no use for libraries, so I’m not going to go out of my way to help them.
They’re worth caring about, but they’re someone else’s cause, not mine.
You can’t fix everything, you have to pick what’s important to you. Animals, especially dog and cats are my concern. YOU take care of the libraries if they’re so important to you.
No one can work on everything, it’s impossible, you have to pick your battles or you’ll be to tired and punch drunk to be effective at anything.
Thanks for the insult Tim (“Nobody who actually seeks out someone else’s blog can be that much of a proud know-nothing nihilist”), you merely confirm my opinion of you. Nice to know that those who don’t agree with you are “know-nothings”.
Explains so much about your psyche.
PAD says:
“Which means one of two things: Either George W. Bush thinks he’s free of human error, which shows arrogance on a monstrous scale. Or he’s so intellectually inept that he is incapable of self-analysis, even though the ability to analyze one’s own job performance for weaknesses is a trait that anyone at the most basic middle management job should possess, much less the Commander in Chief.”
Or……alternative answer C–he did not feel obliged to hand over a juicy sound bite that would have been used in the next Kerry For President campaign ad the very next day.
Since you have proven to be a man gifted with a tremendously creative imagination I can’t understand why you could not imagine this possibility, one that not only makes sense but doesn’t put the president in the worst possible light and…oh, wait, right.
“Got a surplus? Tax cuts.
Got a recession? Tax cuts.
Got a war? Tax cuts — and hey, spend more while you’re at it.
So … er … when exactly are tax cuts NOT the suggestion of this president?”
In Bush’s defense, tax cuts really do help fix recessions. Tax cuts during wars and surpluses are just good because taxing people less helps get you re-elected.
So is this the thread where i comment about FALLEN ANGEL # 10?
🙂
I actually watched most of the press conference and all it did was remind me of why I am not voting for Bush in the upcoming election. Most of his answers let me asking “Why?” and “How?” Par exemple, how does a free Iraq put a kink into the future plans of terrorists? How is it linked to terrorism at all? Why are you still talking?
Ahem.
Anyway, but yes… I can’t believe he’s so blind as to not come up with one SINGLE mistake that he’s made in this entire Iraqi campaign. I really do wonder if he’s living in some perfect fantasy world where he is appointed by God to rid of all the “evils” in this one. He’s just…his mind has gotta be veiled by SOMETHING; he’s not seeing much of anything clearly. *twitches*
The question: how does a free Iraq put a kink into the future plans of terrorists?
Answers:
1) The former leader of Iraq paid a bounty to the families of suicide bombers in Israel. While this might not have looked like a lot of money to you and me (as in, not worth dying for), it actually was a lot of money to a Palestinian family. Now, of course, the follow-up question is: what does that have to do with terrorism?
Glad you asked. 🙂 Aside from the fact that suicide bombings in Israel are terrorist acts, we do have to recognize that they aren’t terrorist acts directed at Americans (in general). However, one of the major recruiting pitches that is given by folks like Osama bin Laden is that America supports the Israelis and is preventing the Palestinians from obtaining justice. The absence of a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians is a continuing problem that aids in the recruitment of terrorists. And most informed people (I think) believe that Palestinian suicide bombings are generally detrimental to successful Israeli – Palestinian negotiations.
So by removing Hussein and creating a free Iraq, we would seem to improve the chances of peace between Israelis and Palestinians by reducing the incentives for suicide bombers, which should help reduce the overall incidence of terrorism.
2) In many Islamic nations in the Middle East, children are placed in madrassas, which are Islamic religious schools that — in general — teach a brand of religious fundamentalism that tends to breed more terrorists.
The theory is that a free, successful Iraqi state which is not bound to “radical Islam” will cause the populations in the surrounding nations to move away from the fundamentalists to emulate a moderate Islamic state with (presumably) a better standard of living, respect for human rights, and the like. So, instead of being a breeding ground for terrorists, you get stable, moderate states in the Middle East.
Is the theory correct? Hard to say. But Patty Hearst, Timothy McVeigh, and the Unabomber aside, you tend to see fewer people in wealthy states engaging in terrorist-type activity than you do among desperately impoverished populations. Or, more simply, you don’t often get mugged on the street by a rich guy. (They just engage in corporate fraud. But I digress… 🙂 )
Nice to know that those who don’t agree with you are “know-nothings”.
Which, of course, bears no resemblance to what I actually said. There are lots and lots of people who disagree with me, precisely one of whom I’ve referred to with that phrase. There are plenty of people who disagree with me politically who I think are very intelligent people.
You’re simply not one of them.
TWL
Well,
Those of us that were guessing on what Kerry would do if Pres. just got our answer.
Kerry did the response to Bush’s radio address just a bit ago. Kerry made it cleat that his actions on Iraq would be to……………
stay.
His stated belief is that we have to stay there and finish this. He only differs himself from Bush in what we should do while staying there. Not that he was really clear about his plans.
So, we’re in and we’re staying no matter who wins in Nov.
To respond to Bill Roper’s “answers”:
1. Regarding Saddam’s payments to the Palestinian suicide bombers’ families, you have noticed there have been several suicide bombings since Saddam was toppled, correct? I would posit that those who are blowing themselves up may not be all that concerned with the money. The entire Palestinian situation existed before Saddam came to power (Saddam didn’t have anything to do with the Munich Olympics tragedy, and Entebbe is in Uganda–both incidents involved terrorist acts that had nothing to do with Iraq or Osama).
Yes, the bombings are a detriment to the peace process, but Sharon and the Likudists and their Orthodox Jewish supporters are every bit as much a detriment, and any failure to acknowledge that aspect dooms any hope of peace. Even the Palestinian Prime Minister, Qureia, felt betrayed by Bush’s apparent thumbs-up for Sharon’s recent “pull-out plan”–and Qureia is the guy that Bush said he would be willing to work with. I guess that only applied if Qureia was willing to accept being shafted by Bush.
2. A “madrassa”, in and of itself, teaches the Qu’ran. “Radicalism”, “fundamentalism”–these are no more unique to madrassas than they are to many Christian private schools, and to many trying to foist religion into the public schools (such as the recent evolution flap in Georgia). It should also be noted that in Israel, that beacon of democracy in the Middle East, the current government in completely beholden to ultra-orthodox religious parties and it’s Orthodox Judaism that dictates much of the country’s secular life. (Recently, there were news reports that Orthodox rabbis were refusing to perform their services since they hadn’t been paid by the government.) It may be to the average Israeli’s benefit that the country has so many political parties that none can hope to form a government by itself; otherwise, Israel could become little more than a mirror image of Iran.
As for your comment about “fewer people in wealthy countries”, you might want to ask yourself why there were so many terrorist groups operating in Europe (the IRA in Northern Ireland, the Red Brigades in Italy, the Baader-Meinhof Gang/Red Army Factions in Germany, Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, Corsican groups in France) for much of the latter half of the 20th Century. Even if you’d limited yourself simply to “the United States”, it would really depend on how exactly you classify a terrorist. Someone who kills abortion providers or blows up gay or lesbian nightclubs would qualify as “terrorists”, and, of course, there was the KKK.
“Actually, this is exactly what did happen. Reuters carried the headline “Bush Stakes Re-Election Bid on Success in Iraq,” despite the fact that President Bush said nothing like that during the press conference. “
If that’s the article I’m thinking of–and I’m reasonably sure it is–that wasn’t a “news” article. Instead it was an analysis, an opinion piece, and clearly labeled as such. The writer never said that Bush said any such thing. Instead the writer opined that–in not allowing for the slightest hint of misjudgment or rethinking of Iraq–Bush was taking a calculated risk vis a vis the election. The piece noted that the electorate is more polarized than it’s been in years, and split almost down the middle. And that by not budging at all on his handling of Iraq, Bush was doing nothing to pull in the small percentage of undecideds. That he was catering only to those who already supported him, and if he continued on that course, he was going to have to hope that that group is large enough to put him back into office. Iraq has become one of the (if not THE) defining issues of his presidency, and the writer believes that his electoral success will stand or fall on the state of Iraq.
The writer’s opinion of Bush’s electoral hopes was then fairly accurately summarized by the headline writer.
So unless I”m remembering a completely different article, I’m not seeing the problem.
PAD
“Or……alternative answer C–he did not feel obliged to hand over a juicy sound bite that would have been used in the next Kerry For President campaign ad the very next day.”
Well, that would certainly show some cunning reasoning on his part. How about we look at exactly what he said, so we can judge for ourselves whether he was thinking so quickly that he was pre-empting himself, or whether the synapses simply weren’t firing:
“Bush: Hmm. I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. … You know, I just, uh, I’m sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn’t yet. .. I, uh, hope I — I don’t want to sound like I’ve made no mistakes. I’m confident I have. I just haven’t — you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I’m not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.”
Noooo…I’m forced to go with “intellectually inept.” Because if he was REALLY concerned about how it was going to look in the next “attack ad,” he would have come up with something more cunning than stammering, hemming, hawing, and looking like a deer in the headlights. And if that WAS his goal, by the way, then he failed miserably at it, because the new DNC ad features him fumblingly unable to come up with a single mistake…and then listing them for him, just as I did in my initial blog post.
Too bad he didn’t see that coming. Could it be lack of imagination?
PAD
Joseph,
1.) I don’t recall Mr. Roper saying that money was the ONLY reason for bombings. Fanatics, will of course do these things for free. But for desperate people on the edge, money WILL help push them over it.
Regarding Bush “shafting” the Palestinians. Please. The proposed agreement would still require Israel to give up settlements in the West Bank. Bush is simply not wiling to give away te store.
Heck, Carter was – and is – so sympathetic to the Palestinians he has been viewed by many as anti-Semitic.
Clinton desperately wanted his “legacy” to include Mideast peace. From the Oslo accords to Hillary standing by while a high-profile Palestinian woman bashes “the Jews” in public, there may never have been an Administration that did – or will – give the Palestinians the chance for a fair deal.
In fact, it was at Oslo that Clinton insisted that ALL Palestinian prisoners be released. Israel agreed but refused to release those “with blood on their hands”.
But Clinton insisted ALL needed to be released to make the deal “fair” to the Palestinians.
So Israel gave in.
Turns out one of those “with blood on their hands” was Mohammad Atta, who showed how thankful he was to Clinton and America for negotiating his release by flying a plane into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Actually, under “the Bush deal” Israel would keep SOME of the west Bank and settlements while pulling out of the Gaza Strip.
Another case for SnopesBoy!
Turns out the “Attah, Mohamet” released by the Israelis was, in fact, not the same as the “Mohammed Atta” who was, at that moment, in Afghanistan, acquiring the false documents and training in English needed to come to America and learn to fly multi-engine jets.
Mohamet Attah is currently alive and well, and working in a vegetable stand in a Palestinian refugee village (hard to call them camps at this point…).
Well TIMMY!!!!,
Considering my opinion of you, your opinion of me doesn’t really matter.
The theory is that a free, successful Iraqi state which is not bound to “radical Islam” will cause the populations in the surrounding nations to move away from the fundamentalists to emulate a moderate Islamic state with (presumably) a better standard of living, respect for human rights, and the like.
So, why aren’t we doing more with the existing moderate Islamic nations, such as Jordan?
Craig J. Ries: So, why aren’t we doing more with the existing moderate Islamic nations, such as Jordan?
Well, how much oil has Jordan got?
(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
tOjb
The theory is that a free, successful Iraqi state which is not bound to “radical Islam” will cause the populations in the surrounding nations to move away from the fundamentalists to emulate a moderate Islamic state with (presumably) a better standard of living, respect for human rights, and the like. So, instead of being a breeding ground for terrorists, you get stable, moderate states in the Middle East.
And then, magic fairies will fly out of George W’s butt and turn our belly lint into gold.
Well, our troops have had their supply lines cut. Spain is bailing. It looks like this may be the end game.
Naturally, the first thing that came to my mind was a song:
Bye Bye Bush
Bye Bye, Smirking Chimp
Farewell, Corporate Pimp
Your prospects have run dry
Bye Bye Bush
Goodbye, Chickenhawk
Tough action beats tough talk
You sent our troops to die
Because you told a lie
Bye Bye, George Bush, Goodbye.
They bombed our towers
So you fought back
And sought Al-Qaeda
Inside Iraq.
Now they all hate us
You lit the fuse
We may be “good guys”
But still we lose
Bye Bye Bush
Goodbye, Condoleez’
Farewell to Mideast Peace
The Rapture may be nigh
Bye Bye Bush
Goodbye, Ðìçk and Don
I’m feelin’ you’ll be gone
Before we reach July
Because you told a lie
Bye Bye, George Bush, Goodbye
You lost Bin Laden
You got Saddam
You turned the desert
Into Vietnam
You might kill soldiers
Or swim in graft
But raise gas prices
And you’ll get the shaft
Bye Bye Bush
Bye Bye, Preznit Punk
Your package has been shrunk
A drunk left out to dry
Bye Bye Bush
The New Butcher of Bagdad
Shoulda listened to your dad
It’s time to say goodbye
Because you told a lie
Bye bye, George Bush, Goodbye.
“So unless I”m remembering a completely different article, I’m not seeing the problem.”
You’re remembering a completely different article.
The article I’m referring to can be found here –
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=4819481§ion=news
It’s a news article. Not an editorial. At least, it’s in the news section. So, if it’s an opinion piece, that’s pretty poor organization.
Also, I botched the headline. It actually said, “Bush Says He Will Stake Re-Election on Iraq.” So, regardless of whether or not this is an editorial, the headline is an outright lie. The President said no such thing.
So, regardless of whether or not this is an editorial, the headline is an outright lie. The President said no such thing.
Hmm. A better headline would be “Bush is staking his reelection on Iraq”, because that’s exactly what he’s doing.
“Hmm. A better headline would be ‘Bush is staking his reelection on Iraq’, because that’s exactly what he’s doing.”
If it’s an editorial, that would be the case. If it’s a straight news item, I’d prefer the facts without the opinion.
This is meant to reply to the suggestion that the Reuters headline was an outright lie, and an unfair mischaracterization of what the President said. Here is the exact text of the offending exchange, copied from a transcript of the press conference:
“QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.
Sir, you’ve made it very clear tonight that you’re committed to continuing the mission in Iraq, yet, as Terry pointed out, increasing numbers of Americans have qualms about it. And this is an election year.
BUSH: Yes.
QUESTION: Will it have been worth it, even if you lose your job because of it?
BUSH: I don’t plan on losing my job. I plan on telling the American people that I’ve got a plan to win the war on terror. And I believe they’ll stay with me. They understand the stakes.”
Maybe Reuters wasn’t at accurate at portraying the exchange as they could have been, and hëll, maybe misinterpreted the word “stakes” in that sentence, but the exchange does give credence to their headline, by my reading. It does sound like the President is saying that the American people know the stakes of the re-election campaign, and that he thinks they’ll follow his leadership and vote for him again.
How is the Reuters headline a mischaracterization of that exchange, just out of honest curiousity? I’m not being sarcastic. I just don’t see how the Reuters article title is so offensive given the exchange I quoted above.
Brad Walker,
Yep. Spain has played a HUGE role in Iraq. Of course, by letting the terrorists sway their election, they gave the scum who are killing our men and women hope that if they just hurt us enough we’ll up and leave too. Too bad our President refuses to give in. Of course, that’s a good thing. A very good thing.
Your song was actually pretty lame. So much so,I’m surprised you didn’t get it from Air America radio.
“How is the Reuters headline a mischaracterization of that exchange, just out of honest curiousity? I’m not being sarcastic. I just don’t see how the Reuters article title is so offensive given the exchange I quoted above.”
Because Bush never during the entire news conference stated that he was staking his re-election bid on the outcome in Iraq. The exchange that you cited certainly doesn’t say that. The Reuters headline is wrong because its not the truth.
Given the fact that Bush never states in the exchange that you cited that he was basing his re-election bid on success in Iraq, how can you claim that the Reuters headline is accurate? Worse, how can you justify such a blatant bias as being anything but bad reporting at best? Unless the reporter writing the story either didn’t read the transcript, didn’t attend the press conference or couldn’t understand what was being said.
To me, this is like my writing a news article on the end of Captain Marvel with the headline, “Peter David Cancels Captain Marvel with Issue 25.” You might say, “Wait. PAD didn’t cancel Captain Marvel. He doesn’t have the power to do that. And he wanted to keep on writing it.” To which I respond, “Well, I read on his blog that he’s going along with it. He’s writing a finale to the series, so he must not be too upset about it. In fact, since he’s willingly writing a finale that he’s trying to make as good as he can make it, he’s a willing participant in the cancellation of the title. Therefore, my headline is accurate.”
My headline’s a load of baloney. So’s the Reuters headline.