"Let me just be very clear about this . . . Had we had the information that was necessary to stop an attack, I’d have stopped the attack. … If we’d have known that the enemy was going to fly airplanes into our buildings, we would have done everything in our power to stop it." – Bush, quoted recently here … Read More
Eric Embarrassment Watch I
Who’s "Eric"? I don’t know — perhaps a Special Assistant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Whoever he is, chances are he’ll be out of a job by the end of the day. Why? It looks like he left his notes regarding strategy sessions on how to deal with Clarke, etc. at a D.C. Starbucks. (Included in his … Read More
New Rule (with Apologies to Bill Maher)
Politicians cannot engage in political humor, if they don’t know what’s funny. At last night’s Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association 60th annual dinner, Bush presented a series of slides: A recurring joke involved photos of the president in awkward positions — bent over as if he’s looking under a table, leaning to look out a window — accompanied by remarks … Read More
Uh . . . Question?
Fox News in August 2002 had an interview with Richard Clarke (then working for Bush White House). Clarke was on background, which is why Fox had to seek permission from the White House to release the transcript yesterday, identifying Clarke as the source. (The White House, of course, granted permission) Apparently, this is how it is done. I have no … Read More
Law Enforcement & Intelligence vs. Terrorism
Kerry’s still singing that same tune about how law enforcement activities and intelligence activities are going to win the war on terrorism. He said it again yesterday, even though it makes him look "soft" (to some): This is the time to redouble our efforts in every way – law enforcement activities, intelligence activities — and deal with this threat to … Read More
Yes, Foreign Leaders Want Kerry To Win
Why? Because those allying with Bush lose in their elections. Germany in ’02, South Korea in ’03, and Spain in ’04. Bush is the kiss of death. And now, the President of Poland (part of the ever-dwindling "coalition of the willing disenchanted") is distancing himself from Bush in a big way, saying that Poland too was "misled with the information … Read More
Bush Embarrassment Watch CLXIII
With all the "One Year Later" retrospectives going around, a reader at Atrios’ site posted Bush’s speech of March 13, 2003 — the start of the war. Many of us thought it was a crock then — and now — with benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it clearly was one. This passage particularly struck me: The terrorist threat to America and … Read More
The “Iraq On The Record” Database
The Bush Administration’s deceptions regarding the War on Iraq are so numerous that Rep. Henry Waxman has put them on a searchable database. This Iraq on the Record database contains statements made by the five officials that were misleading at the time they were made. The database does not include statements that appear in hindsight to be erroneous but were … Read More
House Republican Embarrassment Watch
I try to have toleration for people with different viewpoints than me. There’s nothing I respect more than loyal opposition. But it’s hard for me to respect conservative House Republicans. I truly feel that many of them have no concept of how our government works. Here’s their latest foray into stupidity: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited … Read More
That’s A Fisk?
At the Bush-Cheney blog, they’re trying to make some inroads by pointing out Kerry flip-flops. Here‘s an example (NOTE: I’ve put Kerry quotes in italics, but otherwise, this is a cut-and-paste from the Bush-Cheney site): Let’s go back to the Time piece for some historical reference: TIME: What would you have done about Iraq had you been the President? KERRY: … Read More
Don’t These Guys Know How To VET?
You know, if I were to do Bush Embarrassment Watches, I’d do nothing else in my life but post here. But this one is too good to let go: Last Labor Day, Bush announced that he was creating a new office — the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services. In doing so, he noted that that the U.S. … Read More
“Just Don’t Get TOO Creative . . .”
You can go to the Bush-Cheney site here and create your own custom color Bush-Cheney poster. They even let you insert your own "custom text" into the poster. Well, not really. I wasn’t able to insert MY "custom text" (heh heh heh). Play around with it and you’ll see what I mean.
Special Interests Favor Who?
For a while, Kerry was tagged as being in the pocket of "special interests". Then it all died down. Good thing, too, because . . . The Center for Responsive Politics reports that "nearly half of Kerry’s biggest financial supporters contributed more money to Bush than to Kerry himself through Jan. 30 of this year . . . In all, … Read More
Blame the Media
This is still premature and third-hand, but according to Josh Marshall, the President today blamed the economic downturn during the run-up to the war on . . . you guessed it . . . the media. In other words, if that damned media hadn’t reported on Enron, Worldcom, and the uncertainties about going to war, then everything would be fine!
Bush on Letterman
The Bush line — which we have heard often — is that we learned on 9/11 how dangerous the world is. And that was why there was a marked shift in Bush’s foreign policy after 9/11. It holds water, except for one problem: David Letterman. In October 2000, presidential candidate George Bush appeared on Lettermen, where they had (in parts) … Read More