8.31.2004

GW Bush: Flip-flopping Cowboy

Bear with me folks, this is a long one. I'm sure you've all seen the story at some point, but here's how it happened. Yesterday, in an interview with NBC's Today show co-host Matt Lauer, President Bush opened up and admitted he doesn't believe we can win the war on terror.

Bush said in the interview that any retreat ''would be a disaster for your children." But when asked whether it's possible to win the war, he said it was not.

''I don't think you can win it," Bush said. ''But I think you can create conditions so that . . . those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world."


I think the best line is the one about terror being "less acceptable." As if terrorism is "acceptable" anywhere. That's the kind of thing you say about smokers, not about people who kill (directly...we all know smoking kills).

Anyway, the dems caught onto this flap and were immediately riding Bush on the issue.

''After months of listening to the Republicans base their campaign on their singular ability to win the war on terror, the president now says we can't win the war on terrorism," said Senator John Edwards, Kerry's running mate. ''This is no time to declare defeat. It won't be easy, and it won't be quick, but we have a comprehensive, long-term plan to make America safer."


Scott McClellan, White House Spokesperson, had this to say, in response:

''I don't think you can expect that there will ever be a formal surrender or a treaty signed like we have in wars past," McClellan said. ''That's what he was talking about when he was talking about that. It requires a generational commitment to win this war on terrorism."


Nice job, Scotty-boy, always back up your boss. Of course, only Bush himself should be able to clarify what he actually meant, so he did, today, in Nashville:
"We may never sit down at a peace table, but make no mistake about it, we are winning and we will win," Bush told 6,500 veterans at an American Legion convention.

"We will win by staying on the offensive, we will win by spreading liberty," Bush told the veterans.


I'm trying to come up with a picture of Bush spreading a jar of peanut butter, labeled "liberty", all over the middle east with a butterknife. Honestly, the man doesn't know how to speak. He even said so himself:

Bush himself said in a radio interview with talk show host Rush Limbaugh, "I probably needed to be more articulate."


You're telling me! It's no wonder they generally don't let this guy do press conferences, interviews, anything, without his "handlers" close by. This media blitz of late surprised me. But now that I see how he's handling it, I hope it continues. Of course, Kerry and clan were on top of things today. John Edwards spoke today and made heavy references to Bush's back-tracking.

"We believe -- John Kerry and I -- that this war is winnable; they don't," Edwards said.

The Kerry-Edwards campaign said Bush flip-flopped on the issue, and released previous comments from the president saying that the war on terror could indeed be won.


Wow. I'm really not sure what to say. They've accused JFK of flip-flopping, but only in unrealistic situations (not voting for bills, even though he voted for other versions that included less riders and tack-on provisions). Bush is clearly changing his stance almost daily on these issues, yet they want to call Kerry on changing his mind based on evidence that perhaps things were blown out of proportion.
Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?