BUSH: "Don't Worry, It's Not As Bad As It Looks"

[kpete]

Stubborn or Stalwart, Bush Is Loath to Budge

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 17, 2006; Page A01

The perception of Bush as unusually stubborn has defined his tenure to some extent, much to the consternation of adversaries and sometimes even allies. But Bush was deeply influenced by the fate of his father, whose decision to break his no-new-taxes pledge as president helped doom his reelection. The lesson: Stick to decisions regardless of shifts in political winds.

The seemingly unshakeable confidence in the rightness of his positions has helped the current president weather political storms that might overwhelm others. For a man who presides over an unpopular war, just lost Congress and faces a final two years with constrained options, Bush gives little sign of self-pity. At holiday parties for friends and family in recent days, he has found himself bucking up others depressed by the turn in his political fortunes. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," he told one friend visiting the White House. "There's a lot we can get done."

The friend, who shared the private moments on the condition of anonymity, was struck by how upbeat Bush seemed. "But he's not a fool," the friend added. "He knows how bad all this is, trust me. There is some resignation that this is where he finds himself. I know he's got a lot of second thoughts about how he got there. Anybody would."

Bush decided a long time ago that expressing second thoughts publicly would be seen as a sign of weakness, according to some close to him. "I'm oftentimes asked about, 'Well, you're stubborn,' and all this," Bush told a group of conservative journalists in September. "If you believe in a strategy, in Washington, D.C., you've got to stick to that strategy, see? People want you to change. It's tactics that shift, but the strategic vision has not, and will not, shift."

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121601033.html

[radfringe]

1. it's never as bad as it looks

when you live in a buble and have your head up your ass

[Botany]

2. Memo to bush:

It is as a bad as it looks.
Iraq is a failure and now is in civil war.
bin Laden is still not accounted for.
The Palestinians are in Civil war in part thanx to the war you urged Israel to start.
Iran is now a much more radical anti western force and stronger in influence in the Mid East.
The Pakistanis are letting al Qaeda stay in their country.
Your "Daddy"* has been funding the Iraqi Sunnis who have been killing American troops
and they called Dick Cheney over to bitch him out on Thanksgiving.
North Korea has A-bombs and missiles.
The dollar is in free fall.
Only 9% of the U.S. now thinks your ideas will bring victory in Iraq.



* the Saudis

Betya old W would say that this train needs to changes it's tactics.

[tiptoe]

3. An example of who/what's behind * "principles" and "stalwartness"...

Bush Sought ‘Way’ To Invade Iraq? O'Neill Tells '60 Minutes' Iraq Was 'Topic A' 8 Months Before 9-11 Jan 11, 2004

The former treasury secretary [Paul O'Neill] accuses Vice President Dick Cheney of not being an honest broker, but, with a handful of others, part of "a praetorian guard that encircled the president" to block out contrary views. "This is the way Dick likes it," says O’Neill.
...

“It's a huge meeting. You got Dick Cheney from the, you know, secure location on the video. The President is there,” says Suskind, who was given a nearly verbatim transcript by someone who attended the meeting.

He says everyone expected Mr. Bush to rubber stamp the plan under discussion: a big new tax cut. But, according to Suskind, the president was perhaps having second thoughts about cutting taxes again, and was uncharacteristically engaged.

“He asks, ‘Haven't we already given money to rich people? This second tax cut's gonna do it again,’” says Suskind.

“He says, ‘Didn’t we already, why are we doing it again?’ Now, his advisers, they say, ‘Well Mr. President, the upper class, they're the entrepreneurs. That's the standard response.’ And the president kind of goes, ‘OK.’ That's their response. And then, he comes back to it again. ‘Well, shouldn't we be giving money to the middle, won't people be able to say, ‘You did it once, and then you did it twice, and what was it good for?’"

But according to the transcript, White House political advisor Karl Rove jumped in.

“Karl Rove is saying to the president, a kind of mantra. ‘Stick to principle. Stick to principle.’ He says it over and over again,” says Suskind. “Don’t waver.”

In the end, the president didn't. And nine days after that meeting in which O'Neill made it clear he could not publicly support another tax cut, the vice president called and asked him to resign.
...

[rug]

4. Depends on the angle.

[pacalo]

5. Nevermind that elephant in the room.

[The Count]

6. "There's a lot we can get done"....As long as there's one tree standing.....