"Future presidents have to deal with the repercussions of his rhetoric"

[dajoki]

Reuters
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13740277/

'Axis of evil' haunts Bush's final term
President's legacy in world affairs increasingly at risk

Updated: 3:50 p.m. ET July 6, 2006

WASHINGTON - More than four years ago, U.S. President George W. Bush branded them charter members of the "axis of evil."

Now the three countries he targeted, Iraq, Iran and North Korea, are haunting the final years of his presidency, topping the list of unresolved foreign policy problems he likely will leave to his successor.

North Korea's missile tests this week in defiance of U.S. and international warnings underlined the growing sense that Bush's legacy in world affairs, something aides say he thinks about more and more these days, is increasingly at risk.

"He identified these states as threats but seems unable to move toward acceptable solutions," Georgetown University political scientist Stephen Wayne said. "Future presidents will have to deal with the repercussions of his rhetoric."

Overhanging Bush's foreign policy challenges are his low approval ratings, now languishing in the mid-30s, among the worst poll numbers of any president facing midterm congressional elections.

[Mythsaje]

1. Arrrgh!

I've always thought the "Axis of Evil" statement was one of the DUMBEST things he's ever said. I truly believe it made it possible for the hard-liners in Iran to wrest control from the reformers, and turned Iran into the exact sort of 'enemy' Bush wanted them to be.

Iran was making progress, moving AWAY from that sort of thing, when Commander Pinhead spoke those fateful words. He owes a personal apology to every single supporter of democracy in Iran.

Not like they'll ever get one from the likes of him.

[dajoki]

2. One of the dumbest...

too many to remember. Everytime he opens his mouth, I shudder.

[Art_from_Ark]

3. "Axis of Evil" sounds like it came straight out of a

Marvel comic book.

[Mythsaje]

4. That's an insult to Marvel...

;)

[Art_from_Ark]

5. OK, then, I'll rephrase that

"Axis of Evil" sounds like it was taken from a Saturday morning cartoon show.

Is that better? :D

[Mythsaje]

6. Yep...definitely. n/t

[rodeodance]

7. "It takes a while," Bush told a news conference on Thursday.

\...."Here you have a shoot-from-the-hip president who is out of ammunition," Wayne said.

Engaged so deeply in Iraq, Bush has had little choice but to play down the potential use of force against Iran and North Korea, focusing instead on diplomacy.

He also has backed away from the go-it-alone approach used in Iraq and tried to forge an international consensus against Tehran and Pyongyang over their nuclear programs.

Though unapologetic about having taken aim at what he dubbed the "axis of evil" in his 2002 State of the Union speech, Bush has toned down his rhetoric on Iran and North Korea and tempered expectations for a quick solution.

"It takes a while," Bush told a news conference on Thursday. "I mean, these threats didn't arise overnight ... And these problems won't be solved overnight."