Bush Convinced He Knows Better Than Americans On Iraq

[bigtree]

December 11, 2006


Bush and his reshuffled cabal are busy rehearsing for a revival performance of their 'Enduring Iraqi Occupation' act, coming as early as next week with another 'major' speech explaining how over 2900 dead soldiers is 'progress', and how sacrificing even more would be a 'success'.

In Bush addled mind, everyone but him should take responsibility for the Iraq disaster. In a meeting with Senior State Dept. officials Monday, which was a transparent effort to promote his own failed Iraq policy team ahead of the influential Iraq Study Group, Bush stressed that the "role of America" is to help Iraq's "young democracy" to survive.

He also called on Iraq's neighbors to take responsibility for his nation-building fiasco. "Most of the countries understand that a mainstream society, a society that is a functioning democracy, is in their interests," Bush declared. "And it's up to us to help focus their attentions and focus their efforts on helping the Iraqis succeed," he said.

On the surface, it would appear that Bush had taken heed of last month's election in which voters soundly rejected his fear and smear campaign claiming that Iraq was the 'center' of the fight against terror by replacing his legislative majority in Congress. At first glance it would appear that Bush had taken heed of the conclusions and recs from the ISG which call for a withdrawal from Iraq whether they're ready or not, and is reviewing the 77 proposals in good faith.

However, Bush was just pretending to appreciate the efforts of his father's concierge, Baker, in crafting a way out of Iraq. Even before the group released its proposals, Bush made it clear that he was looking for a "way forward" with his bloody occupation, not a way out. He heaped praise on the folks who are managing the politics "on the ground" in Iraq, though, without once mentioning the ISG bomb that captured the attention of the White House and the world over the weekend.

"No question in my mind, there are some very brave State Department officials who are engaged in this really important endeavor," Bush said of Condi's diplomatic warriors. "I appreciate the advice I got from those folks in the field. And that advice is an important part, an important component of putting together a new way forward in Iraq," he told reporters.

Bush went on to promote the other counters he's planned to blunt the impact of the highly critical ISG report, as if there was still a speck of credibility from anything from this administration which would gain the confidence of an American public determined to end his Iraq obsession. "I'm looking forward to continuing my deliberations with the military," he said.

"There's no question we've got to make sure that the State Department and the Defense Department are -- the efforts and their recommendations are closely coordinated so that when I do speak to the American people, they will know that I've listened to all aspects of government, and that the way forward is the way forward to achieve our objective: to succeed in Iraq," Bush explained.

Bush wants us to know that he's listening to his defective "government", rather than listening to the independent, bipartisan Iraq Study Group's recommendations, or, listen to two out of three Americans who, according to the Newsweek poll, believe the United States is losing ground in Iraq (68 percent), and the sixty-two percent of Americans who want the Bush administration to set a timetable for withdrawal.

Bush talked a lot in his campaign for the presidency about "trusting the people" over the government. If Bush was really listening to the American public, by whose permission he's allowed to serve, he would be looking for an exit from Iraq, rather than planning a deeper commitment there.

He shouldn't be spared the judgment of their senators and representatives in the new Democratic majority, as they exercise their responsibility to hold him to account, that he adhere to voters' demands that he work to remove our soldiers from the middle of Iraq's civil war. If Bush won't accept the bipartisan compromise crafted by the ISG as his guide in Iraq, he should be held to full account for the continuing chaos and loss he permits to continue with his arrogance. He won't be able to hide behind his negligent administration lackeys.


http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

[Bitwit1234]

1. Bush does not know better than anything on anything

better than the American people.

[indepat]

2. The problem is the uniter and decider has decided his divinely-inspired

wisdom surpasses the collective knowledge and wisdom of every American, dead or alive, and tens of millions of Amurikans still support his every policy and action, no matter how disastrous, the venal, spineless and boot-licking Congress has rubber-stamped his near every demand, and most of the MSM have served as head cheerleaders and propagandists.

:rant: by inde:patriot:

Edited for spelling

[opihimoimoi]

3. The Arrogant Bastid is also NUTZ....get him off the stage...his is a poor miserable ACT

GET THE HOOOOOOOK............ASAP...............................

[bigtree]

7. he don't know nuthin bout nuthin

[librechik]

11. except that one time Congress had all the same info he had--and voted yes on IWR

remember the War Vote wasn't a scam cuz Shrub told em everything he knew. Including that bit about tiny planes with bombs coming from Saddam to attack us.

Even when he knows somethin he doesn't know somethin

[bigtree]

13. He was give a chance after 9-11 to step up and do the right thing

Despicable men throughout history have done as much and more. Bush just doesn't care how vile he becomes.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Yes, Andy Card had this to say, "The president by definition knows more than any of those people

who are serving on these panels.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/world/middleeast/10prexy.html?ex=1323406800&en=fa44800df797346a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

[bigtree]

8. the quote:

Andrew H. Card Jr., the president's chief of staff until last spring, said that whatever Bush did in Iraq would probably fall short of many of the commission's recommendations, and that he was likely to continue making decisions that he believed were right even if they were unpopular. Referring to Bush's secret intelligence briefings, Card said, "The president by definition knows more than any of those people who are serving on these panels."

"The president's obligations sometimes require him to be very lonely," he said.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. So, We're Going To Spread Democracy By Having A President. . .

. . .who ignores the will of the people? How's that supposed to work?
The Professor

[JHB]

19. Just like every business success Bush has had....

...it won't, but he'll claim success later anyway.

[ProfessorGAC]

20. You Got Me!

Good one! And, the 20% with the intellectual depth of a fence post will believe him.
The Professor

[thereismore]

5. he has the in-fur-may-shun ordinary folk ain't got. Trust him. nt

[bigtree]

17. he trusts the people

the military industry warriors in and out of his administration who dictate policy to him

[cassiepriam]

6. Arrogance and ignorance are a particularly bad combination.

Actually a very dangerous combination, as we have found out.

[bigtree]

21. a deadly combination

a blustering, blundering idiot

[cassiepriam]

24. The combination has always been dangerous, but never so deadly.

[HuffleClaw]

9. He won't be able to hide behind his negligent administration lackeys? SURE HE WILL.

its worked fine for him so far. they've got a looooong list of folks to blame for their own blunderings in iraq. so far as i can recall they've blamed: clinton, al qaeda, the american people (for not being FULLY behind the war), cindy sheehan, the military itself, the entire intelligence community, the iraqi people, THEIR puppet iraqi government, the democrats, the media, pretty much every arab nation but especially iran and syria, rumsfeld (likely to be the first in a long and growing list of their own folks to be tossed to the wolves), the entire united nations, the state department, 911, the entire us justice system (read: 'activist' judges which includes the supreme court when it doesn't kowtow to bush wishes), and of course the 'terrorists' (which means ANYONE who dares fight back against their war of occupation) and last but not least, islam as a whole (though they are careful in how they word it).

[bigtree]

10. It worked because a compliant Congress refused to confront him

or his administration lackeys.

I don't expect that to continue with the Democratic majority.

[HuffleClaw]

16. a cowed 'post-911' congress

i'd like to think the democrat majority can do SOMETHING to stop the horror, but i can't pretend i'm all that optimistic.

[bigtree]

23. 'cynicism is a luxury'

--Bill Clinton

[Donald Ian Rankin]

12. That's not a fair criticism, to be fair.

At the start of the invasion of Iraq, most Americans supported it, so the criticisms you raise here are just as valid of the opponents of the war as of its supporters.

The reason Bush is wrong is because he's *wrong*, not because of the number of people who disagree with him.

[bigtree]

15. why dance around the polling, before, during, and after the election

which shows a clear majority opposed to the occupation, just to make your point that Bush was wrong? Of course he was wrong.

The issue I'm addressing here is the result of the last election which was a direct referendum on his Iraq occupation and whatever strategy and ambition he articulated in his fear and smear campaign. Bush is clearly intent on ignoring all of that opposition and continuing on his own course. As for the minority who are still in favor of the occupation, they are wrong as well.

The point I think you're missing here is the same as with those who want a prosecution of Bush in some court. The Executive is to be held to account by the people while he is serving at our will. Everything associated with that accountability is political. The "number of people who disagree with him" will be extremely relevant in Congress' decision to confront him effectively. The manner in which he has disregarded the will of that electorate should be extremely significant in their consideration of the manner in which they ultimately hold him accountable.

The past public opinion which marked his original decision to invade is less relevant to that end.

[leeroysphitz]

18. Of course he knows better than the rest of us.

He's rich. From a rich family and the rich are obviously better equipped to make the big decisions for the rest of us. They are smarter. That's why they're rich. You can't go around letting the impoverished, ill-informed rabble that makes up the vast majority of the American electorate make the BIG decisions. Let them vote for American Idol instead!

Reagan knew it, Goldwater knew, Hoover knew and the Bush family knows it. :sarcasm:

[bigtree]

22. Kafka

-- The worries that are the burden of which the privileged person makes an excuse in dealing with the oppressed person are in fact the worries about preserving his privileged condition.