War Critics See New Resistance by Bush
Immediately after the beating his party took in November, President Bush indicated that he had received the message that voters wanted change, and that he would serve some up fast. He ousted his defense secretary, announced a full-scale review of his war plan and contritely agreed with critics that progress in Iraq was not happening “well enough, fast enough.”….But in the last two weeks, the critics and even some allies say, they have seen a reversal. Mr. Bush has shrugged off suggestions by the bipartisan Iraq Study Group that he enlist the help of Iran and Syria in the effort to stabilize Iraq. Countering suggestions that he begin thinking of bringing troops home, he has engaged in deliberations over whether to send more. And he has adjusted the voters’ message away from Iraq, saying on Wednesday, “I thought the election said they want to see more bipartisan cooperation.”
If there has ever been a President more criminally stupid and arrogant, more determined to do what HE determines to be right in the face of all evidence and logic…I certainly can’t think of which one it might be. Not even Richard Nixon was so deluded, so self-righteous and cocksure, and so determined to fly in the face of convention and common sense as Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader seems to be.
A couple of weeks ago, I predicted that Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader would s#!&-can the Iraq Study Group’s report and recommendatios. Lo and behold, that appears to be exactly what’s taking place. Of course, I could brag about my prescience in predicting Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s immunity to sage advice and counsel. Sadly, it hardly takes a Ph.D. to realize that the man is not above wasting ideas, money, and lives if it means doing what the voices tell him to do.
With Congress out of session, Mr. Bush has sought to reassert his relevance and show yet again that he can chart his own course against all prevailing winds, whether they be unfavorable election returns, a record-low standing in the polls or the public prescriptions of Washington wise men.
He has at least for now put the Iraq war debate on terms with which he is said to be more comfortable, if only because they are not the terms imposed on him by Democrats and the study group.
“I”M THE DECIDER…AND I’LL DO THE DECIDING AROUND HERE….”
What else would you expect from a man so intellectually incurious, so doggedly stubborn, and so determined to chart his own course despite a preponderance of evidence and common sense advice and counsel? I understand that leadership means making the tough decisions and that those decisions can be unpopular. That’s part and parcel of occupying the Oval Office. Making the tough decisions does not, and should not mean basing all decisions on your limited intellectual and religious horizons. “What Would Jesus Do?” is not a solid or sensible basis for making policy decision, no matter how strongly you happen to be committed to your Christianity.
Thankfully, it appears that Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s stubbornness and ignorance are poised to run smack into the reality of Lame-Duck-hood.
Democrats warn — and some Republicans privately say they fear — that Mr. Bush is in for a dousing of cold water when he returns from his ranch in Crawford, Tex., in the new year to face a new, Democratic-controlled Congress ready to try out its muscle. His recent moves have already caused a fair degree of crankiness among his newly empowered governing partners.
“I’ve seen very few tea leaves in the mix that would give you any sense of hope or confidence that he is getting it so far,” said Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who supports the study group’s advice that the administration seek help from Iran and Syria in Iraq. “The bottom line is this president can’t afford not to change course. The time is up.”
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, a former Army ranger who is a member of the Armed Services Committee, said, “I don’t think he’s given up the sort of sloganizing and the simplistic view of what’s happening there.”
“I think the American people’s message was deep concern about Iraq, deep skepticism about his policies, and what they want is a resolution of Iraq,” said Mr. Reed, who supports a steady withdrawal that is fundamentally at odds with any idea of an increase in troops there.
Given the reality that Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader’s poll numbers are in the low 30s and headed ever-southward, it seems clear that the American people do NOT want more of the same “Americans don’t cut and run” propagandizing. Americans at this point, almost four years into the war, appear to be deeply concerned that we’re mired in a quagmire in Iraq. The fact of the matter is that Iraq has morphed into this generation’s Vietnam, claiming ever-growing numbers of Americans lives in a war seemingly devoid of planning, goals, or an exit strategy.
Come next month, Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader may well get a stiff reality check. Facing a Congress in which both houses will be in the hands of Democrats, Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader will hopefully no longer have the advantage of a sycophantic Congress willing to rubber-stamp a bloody, never-ending involvement in an illegal and immoral war.
“I’m growing more disturbed every night by how isolated George W. Bush has become,” the former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough said on his MSNBC program last week. “Shouldn’t more Americans be disturbed at this unprecedented example of a White House that’s in ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ and you can only call it this ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ a bunker mentality?” The screen below him read, “Bush: Determined or Delusional?”
I don’t think I need to tell you on which side of that question I fall. I wonder how many more of our sons and daughters are going to have to die while Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader maintains his “I’M THE DECIDER” delusion? How many will have to come home in boxes while The Decider © continues feeding Americans the propaganda that victory is just around the corner>
I try very hard not to hate. It’s such an ugly, unproductive emotion, and nothing positive results from it. In the case of Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader, I’m making an exception.
I hate what he has done to this country.
I hate his arrogance and his ignorant, brain-dead stubbornness.
I hate the fact that he values the lives of our sons and daughters only insofar as he thinks he can use them to burnish his legacy.
I hate his ability to make the worst decision possible, and then “stay the course”…as if a resistance to intelligence and common sense is a sign of leadership and manhood.
I hate his willingness to impugn the patriotism of those who happen not to agree with his self-delusional lunacy.
I hate his willingness to completely ignore the counsel of the Iraq Study Group, who selflessly worked long hours to devise a plan to minimize our involvement in Iraq and bring our sons and daughters home.
I. HATE. HIM…with the fiery, burning passion of a thousand suns. If there is any justice in this world, he will roast in a very special place in Hell, tormented by the souls of those murdered by his arrogance, his ignorance, and his inability to do the right thing.
NOW CAN WE IMPEACH THE LYING, MURDERING BASTARD???
