Out of the Question - Is Bush's biggest mistake too awful to admit?

[UpInArms]

http://slate.msn.com/id/2107517/

How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?

That's what it all comes down to--this debate, this war, this election. For all the differences between Iraq and Vietnam, the awful question John Kerry posed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971 is the same one hanging over us now.

This time, however, Kerry isn't raising the question. His opponent, the president of the United States, is raising it. Why? Because Iraq is different from Vietnam. We were attacked on 9/11. We thought Saddam Hussein was behind it. We thought Iraq posed the next threat. We don't want to believe that we were wrong, that we've committed $200 billion and sacrificed more than 1,000 American lives in error. We can't imagine asking thousands more to die for a mistake.

<snip>

That's how Bush judges the war's worth: not by costs and benefits, but by character. It shows our nobility. It shows we did our duty. He used the word "duty" seven times tonight. Kerry never used that word, except to refer to "active duty" troops. Eleven times, Bush called the mess in Iraq "hard work." To recognize error would be to abandon that work and shirk our duty. Again and again, he framed the acceptance of bad news as moral failure. Will. Resolute. Steadfast. Uncertainty. Weakness. Supporting our troops.

...more...

[T Roosevelt]

1. Is it just me

or did I have to read through a bunch of slams against Kerry to get to the point of the article?

[MADem]

4. It's Saletan, no surprises there!

He sits to the right of Attila the Hun. A way to get back at him is to send him an email praising his writing, but saying, with faux regret, that you thought the fearless leader tanked last night. Always start with praise, it messes with their heads, and makes them LIKE you (Why? Because YOU like THEM!)... :evilgrin:

On a sidebar note, I just heard PAT BUCHANAN on the Irritating Imus program call the debate decisively for Kerry.

It is important that as the RNC attempts, in the days ahead, to shift the tone of this coverage from a 'Kerry rout' to a 'tie,' that those of us who support Kerry RESPOND to these shifts immediately. If you see an article or a news program that says anything other than KERRY WON, get typing. Find an email address, praise the nitwit (yes, LIE) who made the statement, and then politely disagree, with feigned regret.

It's an RNC tactic. They used it with great effect in 2000. But as the wee cowboy said "Fooled me once, won't get fooled again."

[Inland]

2. That's point I have raised--truth is so awful, its hard to look

Most Americans can't take the truth about Bush and Iraq. Wanting so badly to believe in our out righteousness and destiny, they simply won't admit what's before their faces--Your president is an idiot, your war is a mess, your occupation is an evil handout to corporate cronies. Its a terrible, awful set of circumstances, more awful than 9/11 itself.

During the debates, Bush most heavily emphasized that faking success was the way to go. Telling the truth makes our troops or allies feel bad.

Americans are whistling in the dark with Bush.

[madrchsod]

3. it`s to bad that

no one in the media didn`t realize this before tens of thousands have died or mained. it`s easy for them to say this now it took courage to say it before bush started.
yes, people do not want to admitt that their canidate,the great moral leader, is nothing more than a failed human being.

[Enraged_Ape]

5. I resent that.

Bush is a human being?

[bpilgrim]

6. How do you ask anyone to be the last one to die for a LIE?

and fight an ILLEGAL WAR.

the UN has now proclaimed it as such, no wonder we don't wanna join the world criminal court.

and i HATE that everyone talks, STILL, bout how important and justified to 'DISARM' saddam :argh:

we need to DENOUNCE preventive war ie. the 'bush' doctrine.

peace

[Disturbed]

7. The apologists.

It was a huge freakin' mistake and I was 100% against it from the drum beatings.

Even most of the Neocons are now saying that the Iraq invasion aftermath was totally bungled and that not enough troops were sent. That falls on w, vp and rumsfailed.

How to get out?

I haven't read or heard of a credible plan yet.