Bush and Republicans Close Their Eyes Hoping Iraq Will Go Away
Bush is still trying to manipulate the media. It's about the only thing he knows how to do and unfortunately there are still plenty of media types willing to parrot his messsage despite the obvious failures of the president's policies.
Staying the course is no longer an option an Iraq. The Bush option is to keep digging a hole when you can clearly see the walls beginning to crumble; those walls have been crumbling for some time. Worse, the nation and yes, even the Republicans, are no longer sure why Bush is digging the hole. But Bush says keep digging, and the Republicans close their eyes along with Bush and hope for the best. Meanwhile the world looks at us in utter astonishment. Where's our famous pragmatism? Where are the people who know what they're doing? Who are these people in power? And what is this obsession about public relations and talking points? Do talking points win war? Unfortunately, they sometimes can win elections.
Political consultant Paul Begala at the TPM Cafe has some thoughts on the midterm elections and Iraq:
One of the ways many media types are dishonest is simply ignoring the obvious agreement that Democrats do have: more of the same will not work, we need to reposition ourselves, we need to rebuild our credibility in the world because, as we disentangle ourselves from Iraq, we're going to need help, and to restore our credibility we can begin by firing officials like Rumsfeld who are part or the problem. After that, there's plenty of room for debate because there should be debate.
America in its best years did not follow a president blindly. Members of Congress debated. When things weren't going well, pressure began to be put on the president to make changes. It was the job of the president to listen to good advice, not to tell Congress that he knew what he was doing and to demand that our representatives follow him blindly. A good president always listened to good advice and then made whatever decision was necessary. But this president obviously doesn't know what he's doing. We see the evidence of Bush's incompetence day after day, month after month. Congressional Republicans used to think for themselves, and while they had different things to say, Republican leaders often gave good advice, but this Congress, dominated by right wing Republicans, just follows its marching order. So if Democrats have different ideas and can think for themselves like most Americans can think for themselves, the media is obviously missing the big picture: the president's policy of more of the same is a fiasco.
Staying the course is no longer an option an Iraq. The Bush option is to keep digging a hole when you can clearly see the walls beginning to crumble; those walls have been crumbling for some time. Worse, the nation and yes, even the Republicans, are no longer sure why Bush is digging the hole. But Bush says keep digging, and the Republicans close their eyes along with Bush and hope for the best. Meanwhile the world looks at us in utter astonishment. Where's our famous pragmatism? Where are the people who know what they're doing? Who are these people in power? And what is this obsession about public relations and talking points? Do talking points win war? Unfortunately, they sometimes can win elections.
Political consultant Paul Begala at the TPM Cafe has some thoughts on the midterm elections and Iraq:
...it’s still a reality that Democrats like Russ Feingold and John Kerry support a date certain for America’s withdrawal from Iraq, while most of their Senate Democratic colleagues do not. So, rather than deny or ignore the disagreement, Democrats should highlight it, celebrate it, emphasize it.
The only place in the American government where there is an honest and spirited debate over Iraq is within the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer are not on the same page – and that’s a good thing. Hillary Clinton and John Kerry disagree. Hooray for that.
If anyone tells you the solution to Iraq is easy or obvious, they’re a liar or a fool (a false choice in the case of our president). So why not feature the debate? At least someone is debating what to do.
One of the ways many media types are dishonest is simply ignoring the obvious agreement that Democrats do have: more of the same will not work, we need to reposition ourselves, we need to rebuild our credibility in the world because, as we disentangle ourselves from Iraq, we're going to need help, and to restore our credibility we can begin by firing officials like Rumsfeld who are part or the problem. After that, there's plenty of room for debate because there should be debate.
America in its best years did not follow a president blindly. Members of Congress debated. When things weren't going well, pressure began to be put on the president to make changes. It was the job of the president to listen to good advice, not to tell Congress that he knew what he was doing and to demand that our representatives follow him blindly. A good president always listened to good advice and then made whatever decision was necessary. But this president obviously doesn't know what he's doing. We see the evidence of Bush's incompetence day after day, month after month. Congressional Republicans used to think for themselves, and while they had different things to say, Republican leaders often gave good advice, but this Congress, dominated by right wing Republicans, just follows its marching order. So if Democrats have different ideas and can think for themselves like most Americans can think for themselves, the media is obviously missing the big picture: the president's policy of more of the same is a fiasco.
posted by Craig at 2:57 PM
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