Bush goes on the defensive: Houston Chronicle

[jbfam4]

Feb. 9, 2004, 6:11AM

Bush goes on the defensive
Explains Iraq decision, economic policies in TV interview
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory/2393879


The president denied going to war unnecessarily, saying on NBC's Meet the Press that even though weapons of mass destruction have not been found, Saddam Hussein's ability to one day make such weapons was reason enough to wage war.

"We thought he had the weapons," Bush said of the toppled Iraqi leader. "He had the capacity to make a weapon and then let that weapon fall into the hands of a shadowy terrorist network."

Responding to charges that he misled Americans about the reasons for the war in which 529 U.S. troops have died, Bush said: "Sitting behind this desk, making very difficult decisions of war and peace, I based my decision on the best intelligence possible."



Several political analysts said Sunday they are uncertain whether Bush's switch in strategies paid off, characterizing his demeanor as somewhat defensive and his explanations of policies as breaking little ground that might sway swing voters.



University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato said Bush "came across as defensive. I don't think he was presidential."

[Richardo]

1. ooooooooo "shadowy terrast network"! I scared!

:scared: <--- see?

What a dip. I'm tired of people (eg Molly Ivins et al) giving him a break by saying saying he's not stupid. He IS!! He may be ruthless and calculating but that doesn't mean he's SMART!

</rant>

[Taeger]

2. Stupid is a matter of perspective

An honest, intelligent man who follows the law to the letter would be considered "stupid" to some.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. GW Bush's strength seems to be campaigning and rhetoric. He is a master SHMOOZER.

Actually, if you read Al Franken's latest book, you would see that Al makes the same comments. Al said that Dubaya dodged a trick question that he gave him. He framed the question in terms of saying he didn't do Coke before 1974, but has ever done Crystal Meth. Had GW said "NO", he would have implied that he DID INDEED use Cocaine. Instead, he turned it into a joke.

The man is ruthless and cunning. He's also lazy. He is NOT an intellect. But he is a master at reading people and getting what he wants from them. In another life, he would be a Carnie psychic or a con man.


So no, he isn't stupid. But he is ignorant of the policies and issues that really affect our country and our world. He has no desires for science, math, mathematics, literature or anything remotely scholarly. Furthermore, I doubt that he has any interest in art, mechanics, or any craft or trade that a regular joe would enjoy.

So, I guess he's just a con-man asshole. But he's not stupid.

[ozymandius]

3. Fine assessment Taeger

He has demonstrated that he can think on his feet - albeit clumsily. I often thought his handicap in dodging rhetorical traps was due to outright stupidity. Your comments have articulated more of what I felt to be true. The man is ignorant. Willfully ignorant and unlearned by circumstance. This is because a real education with real credentials was never required of him. Such is the case as he carries himself into late life.

[Dr Fate]

4. Yeah, but he "clears brush" on his pig-farm!

Regular Joes like that, right?

[historian]

5. "regular joe bush"

Most freepers and the plain idiots "identified" with Bush because he is plain spoken (in other words illiterate) drove a Jeep, wears plaid shirts when he is not busy screwing up the world, doesnt read and loves baseball. How many freepers who identify with this slime have millions of dollars, get into Harvard because daddy got him in, have 4 businesses which they ran into the ground etc....
Unless we wake up the sheep we are doomed to this cretin for another 4 years.

[kskiska]

6. There's a great new book on how *s persona was manufactured

(excerpt in Salon)

"Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You

Building a better Bush

How an Andover-Yale preppy, scion of one of our nation's most powerful families, was reinvented as a straight-shootin' Texan with "regular guy" values. An excerpt from "Fraud: The Strategy Behind the Bush Lies and Why the Media Didn't Tell You."

Before a press conference in August 2002 at the Bush estate in Crawford, Texas, workers brought in hay bales to cover up the propane tanks sitting in camera view, the better to give the impression that the president was a real old-time rancher. Of course, Bush had purchased the spread just before the 2000 campaign. The hay-bale tableau was in many ways a perfect metaphor for the persona of George W. Bush himself: Artifice intended not only to conceal reality, but to give the impression that Bush is "real," a simulation of authenticity itself.

The popular perception is that George W. Bush is just a "regular guy" -- unpretentious, friendly, likes country music and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, not some highfalutin know-it-all who thinks he's better 'n other folks. But this image is a persona, carefully constructed over the years to deal with one of the key difficulties facing members of the Bush dynasty. After all, we are talking about a man afforded advantages available to literally but a few dozen Americans, who walked on a path paved with the priceless cobblestones of influence and wealth, who earned so little in life but was given so much. Given that Bush's father was defeated in 1992 in large part because of his perceived inability to understand the struggles of ordinary people, the son's advisers understood that a man with George W.'s particular combination of experience and skills could hardly be presented to the public as a model of empathy. So as the scion of the Bush dynasty was prepared for his entry into public life, he was burnished with a down-home gloss and a new man was created. The creation of this persona came off virtually without a hitch.

more…
http://salon.com/books/feature/2004/02/10/fraud_excerpt/index.html

[Skittles]

8. yes, the evildoers are now a shadowy terrorist network!!!!

I WANT MY MOMMY!

[papau]

7. that was a tough Russert interview - "now let's move on"

Russert: Do you go to war for phony reasons?

Bush: Saddam was a dangerous man, a madman, and you can never trust a madman.

Russert: That's good enough for me, now let's move on...

[swinney]

9. FRAUD BY PAUL WALDMAN GREAT SUPER

BUY IT.