Bush interrupted, "Sounded like the question to me."

[dajoki]

Slate
http://www.slate.com/id/2148197/

What a Moronic Presidential Press Conference!
It's clear Bush doesn't understand Iraq, or Lebanon, or Gaza, or …

By Fred Kaplan
Posted Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2006, at 5:48 PM ET

Among the many flabbergasting answers that President Bush gave at his press conference on Monday, this one—about Democrats who propose pulling out of Iraq—triggered the steepest jaw drop: "I would never question the patriotism of somebody who disagrees with me. This has nothing to do with patriotism. It has everything to do with understanding the world in which we live."

George W. Bush criticizing someone for not understanding the world is like … well, it's like George W. Bush criticizing someone for not understanding the world. It's sui generis: No parallel quite captures the absurdity so succinctly.

This, after all, is the president who invaded Iraq without the slightest understanding of the country's ethnic composition or of the volcanic tensions that toppling its dictator might unleash. Complexity has no place in his schemes. Choices are never cloudy. The world is divided into the forces of terror and the forces of freedom: The one's defeat means the other's victory.

<<snip>>

Here, as a further example of this failing, is his summation of Iraq:

I hear a lot about "civil war"… the Iraqis want a unified country. … Twelve million Iraqis voted. … It's an indication about the desire for people to live in a free society.

What he misses is that those 12 million Iraqis had sharply divided views of what a free society meant. Shiites voted for a unified country led by Shiites, Sunnis voted for a unified country led by Sunnis, and Kurds voted for their own separate country. Almost nobody voted for a free society in any Western sense of the term. (The secular parties did very poorly.)

<<snip>>

This is where Bush's performance proved most discouraging. He said, as he's said before, "Resentment and the lack of hope create the breeding grounds for terrorists." This may or may not be true. (Many terrorist leaders are well-off, and, according to some studies, their resentment is often aimed at foreign occupiers.) In any case, what is Bush doing to reduce their resentment?

<<snip>>

Asked if it might be time for a new strategy in Iraq, given the unceasing rise in casualties and chaos, Bush replied, "The strategy is to help the Iraqi people achieve their objectives and dreams, which is a democratic society. That's the strategy. … Either you say, 'It's important we stay there and get it done,' or we leave. We're not leaving, so long as I'm the president."

The reporter followed up, "Sir, that's not really the question. The strategy—"

Bush interrupted, "Sounded like the question to me."

[acmavm]

1. Too bad we don't have anyone in a position of power who cared

enough about this country to say "this is where it stops. This is where this bunch of thugs and criminals get the hell out of the White House, get the hell out of Washington D.C., and bide their time until they're hauled before a court and are punished in the manner they so richly deserve."

[dajoki]

15. Amen!!

[TomInTib]

2. That is a quite succinct article

This should be read aloud (with clips) on every so-called 'news' program.

Up is the new version of Down.

[dajoki]

3. * lives in the Bizzaro world n/t

[spindrifter]

4. Every day he gets a bit more disconnected and

a lot more outrageous. Even his appearance is deteriorating.

[dajoki]

18. I truly believe...

his mental state is about to hit rock bottom. I mean, he is not right to begin with, but lately he has gone way over the edge.

[Warren Stupidity]

5. I liked the part where he said 'here pull my finger'

and then ripped a big one right on the podium. That was awesome. I think I finally like the guy.

[Jim Sagle]

6. Even better was later on when he dropped his pants and shitted on stage.

Awsum residuncial behaveyer!

[Warren Stupidity]

7. The sad part is that he could in fact light a fart

for the press corp and get away with it. This is where the gang that brought down Nixon has gotten to. Only Helen Thomas would note that a president lighting farts in public, or in fact in private, qualifies for removal via the 25th amendment.

[OnyxCollie]

8. What a dickhead. nt

[Supersedeas]

9. why doesn't the Corp Cable Media break down Pressers this way--Wolf has

time -- but I guess JonBenet is more impordant

[leesa]

10. The only stated dream the Iraqis ever had was for the sanctions

to end. The whole world was willing to end them except the US and Israel. Two hundred thousand kids dead because of those sanctions. Except for a handful of stooges, they didn't say anything about Saddam or democracy or any such things...those were internal issues they would deal with.

[flordehinojos]

11. hmmmmm, was it NICARAGUA when some character by the name of

Bucaramanga (?) was elected and it became clear that the man was incompetent and insane, they removed him from office. why aren't we doing the same?

[flpoljunkie]

12. Thanks. Great article! Kaplan is my favorite at Slate. K&R!

[Skittles]

13. WOW

I like the acknowledgement of the fact bush doesn't seem to understand what the word strategy means - I wonder if he confuses it with STRATEGERY.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. We understand the world we live in entirely too well:

We have a crazy mutha fuka running the country!

[LittleClarkie]

16. Nah, he leaves it for Cheney to question the patriotism of those

who disagree. He leaves it for his pet pundits to question the partriotism of those who disagree.

[GeorgeGist]

17. Is it really any surprise...

that the man doesn't know the difference between a stategy and a goal.