cnn crawl says Bush found out about the port deal when WE did.

[elehhhhna]

Rove must be awol.

[Deja Q]

1. Well, from any perspective, CNN isn't exactly helping Bush on this one...

[Connie_Corleone]

2. That's actually pretty quick for Bush.

He usually doesn't find anything out until a couple of days after we have.

[Stephanie]

3. they must have made him a DVD of the news coverage

[journalist3072]

11. Good one!! You know, every time I think about Katrina

One of the things that stands out in my mind, is that Dan Bartlett had to make Bush a DVD of the nightly newscasts from NOLA, in order for him to see the reality of what was happening on the ground.

So sad...

[Stephanie]

13. and he did it on THURSDAY NIGHT

after Katrina hit on MONDAY. They didn't really "get" how bad it was until THURSDAY.

Excuse me, I'm going to throw up again.

[journalist3072]

18. Exactly right!!! But you know, that really shouldn't surprise us

Especially considering that when Idiot Son was first coronated, White House staffers and aides were told 2 things about him: 1) he likes to go to bed by 9 or 10:00 and 2) he's not a big reader, so keep your written briefings to a minimum (like a page).

[Mandate My Ass]

4. Heh

Not sure that helps his case if that's what they're aiming for.

Either he's too stupid and out of the loop to be pres or he's too corrupt. The hissy fit about the veto is now the issue. Quite frankly, six of one, half dozen of the other.

[Sanity Claws]

5. So it proves that Bush is just the pretend prez

Who's the puppet master? Oh, yes, the big Dick

[oscarguy]

8. I guess you mean Deadeye Dick is the Real Pres.. Time to`press Dick...

into Volksgrenadiers as a water boy. Can`t be trusted with a gun and all that. ...Oscar

[skylarmae]

6. I'm so sick of him pulling this 'I was uninformed' routine

He's the pResident of the United States for crying out loud...and it seems that he doesn't know dick about anything.

[liveoaktx]

15. Here's what I wonder-IF that is true, then WHO recommended David Sanborn

for Maritime Administrator? Did that somebody just shove a piece of paper in front of Bush that he signed and didn't read? It's an interesting dilemma. EITHER he knew and is playing dumb now to try to avoid fallout or to hide what he's doing OR he didn't know and he's a stupid cardboard cutout.

[cami715]

17. It is his job to know.

So if he didn't know, then once again he has proved his incompetence. But for him to say he was not informed is not a valid excuse. Everytime he opens his mouth, I expect stupidity to fall out, and he has never failed to do that .

[FormerRepublican]

7. Didn't stop him from rushing out the threat to veto...

...puts the blame firmly on Bush himself. What a coward - trying to blame everyone but himself.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. He probably can't even locate these ports on a map

how the hell is he suppose to know who owns them?

Of course, he will veto any attempt by Congress to stop this deal, even though he doesn't even know what the deal is?

[journalist3072]

10. Let us crawl back in time some, shall we?

Remember Bush pleaded ignorance over the re-entry plan as well! The rat bastard is clueless!

Friday, April 15, 2005 - Page updated at 12:00 a.m.

Bush puzzled by U.S. re-entry plan

By Knight Ridder Newspapers and The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — President Bush expressed dismay yesterday over plans to require American, Canadian and Mexican citizens to show passports to enter the United States — a requirement of an intelligence-reform bill he signed late last year — saying it could "disrupt the honest flow of traffic."

"When I first read that in the newspaper, about the need to have passports, for particularly the day crossings that take place — about a million, for example in the state of Texas — I said, 'What's going on here?"' Bush told the American Society of Newspaper Editors. "I thought there was a better way to ... expedite the legal flow of traffic and people."

Bush said he has instructed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Department of Homeland Security to review the plan to see if there is any way to lessen the impact, such as using electronic fingerprint imaging "to serve as a so-called passport for daily traffic."

In calling for flexibility, Bush is looking to change part of the sweeping intelligence-overhaul bill that Congress passed and he signed last December. The change is aimed at preventing terrorists from entering the country by exploiting what U.S. officials believe is today's overly permissive policy.

In most cases, U.S. citizens must show only driver's licenses to re-enter from Mexico and Canada. The new rules also will require Mexicans and Canadians to present passports or another official document to enter this country. The change has raised concerns among businesses, such as trucking and tourism companies.

A senior U.S. government official said State and Homeland Security officials had vetted the change exhaustively with the White House before announcing it April 5.

In a speech to the editors, Bush focused mostly on rising gas prices, the administration's energy policy, Social Security and his efforts to spread democracy in the Middle East.

In the question-and-answer session that followed, Bush defended the administration's refusal to declassify more information since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and said he is in the beginning stages of selling his plan to restructure Social Security. He also discussed the death penalty, China and other issues.

Bush, who presided over more executions as governor of Texas than any other governor, said there is no contradiction between supporting the death penalty and defending what he calls a "culture of life" by intervening to try to save Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged woman in Florida who died last month.

"The difference between the case of Terri Schiavo and the case of a convicted killer is the difference between guilt and innocence," he said.


Polls continue to show a lack of public support for his plan to allow workers younger than 55 to put some of their Social Security taxes into private accounts, and Bush said it is going to "take a while" to persuade Congress to restructure the federal retirement program. "This is a heavy lift for a lot of people in Congress," he said.

Speaking about reports that the administration paid media figures to promote its policies, Bush said it was wrong for the Education Department to pay conservative columnist Armstrong Williams to tout its policies. He said viewers should be alerted when the government provides a video news release to broadcasters.

On China, Bush said he hoped its government would adopt a more flexible currency to help with the trade deficit. "On human rights, we expect China to be a society that welcomes all religions. When it comes to foreign policy, we expect China to cooperate in the war on terror," he said.

Asked if he thought House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has become a liability because of the controversies surrounding him, Bush said, "He's been a very effective leader. I'm looking forward to working with him."

Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company

[newyawker99]

30. journalist3072

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.


NYer99
DU Moderator

[katinmn]

12. Maybe "Bush's Brain" needs to give up his WH policy advisor job

he sure is screwing EVERYTHING up lately.

:evilgrin:

[Disturbed]

14. This Pres. is a Sock Puppet.

It is obvious. Only Bushbots are as clueless as he is.

[bobbieinok]

16. 1st I saw at DU was a Forbes magazine report that it was a 'done deal'

decision made by small group

I don't remember if what I read specifically mentioned W but I assumed he'd said 'fine; whatever you guys decide is ok with me'

[w8liftinglady]

19. Bush is a member of CFIUS

The Secretary of the Treasury is the Chair of CFIUS,
The other CFIUS member agencies are the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Commerce, OMB, CEA, USTR, OSTP, the NSC, the NEC and the newest member, the Department of Homeland Security

sec of treasury-Secretary John Snow
sec of state-Secretary Condoleezza Rice
sec of defense-Donald Rumsfeld
sec of justice dept-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
sec of commerce-Secretary Carlos Gutierrez
OMB-Joshua B. Bolten
CEA-Katherine Baicker and Matthew J. Slaughter
USTR-Rob Portman,ambassador;Rob Lehmann-chief of staff
NSC-The National Security Council is chaired by the President. Its regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) are the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, and the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the statutory military advisor to the Council, and the Director of Central Intelligence is the intelligence advisor. The Chief of Staff to the President, Counsel to the President, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy are invited to attend any NSC meeting. The Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are invited to attend meetings pertaining to their responsibilities. The heads of other executive departments and agencies, as well as other senior officials, are invited to attend meetings of the NSC when appropriate.

NEC-Allan Hubbard is Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council (NEC).
Dept homeland security-Michael Chertoff

[BrotherBuzz]

22. FWIW - Rumsfeld only learned about the transfer this weekend, too!

QUESTION: Are you confident that any problems with security — from what you know, are you confident that any problems with security would not be greater with a UAE company running this than an American company?

RUMSFELD: I am reluctant to make judgments based on the minimal amount of information I have because I just heard about this over the weekend.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/02/21/rumsfeld-not-consulted/

[w8liftinglady]

25. um...according to him.

[BrotherBuzz]

27. Um...understood.

Truth be told, I can't remember the last piece truth that came out of his mouth. :)

[FreedomAngel82]

20. So who the hell is running things? Cheney as usual?

This is just fucked up.

[NVMojo]

21. No way, cuz he apptd that Dubai dude to a US seat in January

what a freaking liar ...

[Bluebear]

23. Yeah, right.

No backroom deal with his oil cronies involved, folks. Hahahahaha!

[Jeanette in FL]

24. Same as the PDB "August 6th, 2001"

Kindly remind your fundie friends.

[otohara]

26. Who Ever Approved This Doing "A Heck of a Job"

just a matter of days before we hear that one again.

[stepnw1f]

28. bullshit! He Underestimated AGAIN!

[Raine]

29. Gawd

that really give one confidence in the 'leadership' of this country!:sarcasm:

[in_cog_ni_to]

31. Right. He also didn't know about Valerie Plame and who outed her.

:eyes: He's a LIAR. Believe NOTHING he says. Believe NOTHING repukes say. They're ALL LIARS.