Clueless Bush Backs House Speaker Hastert

President Bush is backing House Speaker Dennis Hastert despite Hastert's clueless behavior in the years that Foley was sending sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages to 16-year-old pages in Congress. We've already seen plenty of evidence of Hastert looking at the other way as various corrupt Republicans were milking the system. Reuter's has the story on Bush backing Hastert:

Breaking his silence on a scandal that has jolted the Republican Party, President George W. Bush said on Tuesday he was disgusted by former Republican Rep. Mark Foley's sexual messages to teen-age boys.

Speaking to reporters, Bush also voiced support for Illinois Republican Rep. Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House of Representatives who is under fire for not having moved faster against Foley.

(snip)

The Washington Times, a leading conservative newspaper, called for Hastert's resignation, accusing him of barely pursuing warnings about Foley's messages to teen-age boys.

I often disagree with the Washington Times because they too often back Bush's nonsense but I agree with them this time around. Hastert should go. He has repeatedly shown that when it comes to his fellow Republicans, he's willing to look the other, say nothing or utter those famous words, "I know nothing."

Keep in mind that House Speaker, Dennis Hastert is George W. Bush's kind of Republican. Hastert will rubber stamp anything that Bush sends him if he and his Republican friends are allowed to feed at the public trough. Hastert will also defend and cover for any Republican as long as said Republican keeps himself out of the news.

Our president, who seems clueless that the American people are catching on to all the corruption and lies in Washington is once again falling in the polls; let's hear from Bloomberg reporting on CNN's latest numbers:

A majority of U.S. adults say President George W. Bush has deliberately misled the public about progress in Iraq and opposition to the war matches an all- time high, according to a poll conducted for CNN.

The poll, released today, coincided with publication of the book ``State of Denial'' by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, which says Bush ignored warnings from military officials about the growing Iraq insurgency and made claims of success that conflicted with intelligence assessments.

In the Sept. 29-Oct. 2 poll, 58 percent said the administration misled the public about how the war is going. In addition, 57 percent said the conflict has made the U.S. less safe from terrorism, indicating that Bush's central argument in defense of his policy isn't gaining traction with voters.

``The decisions that I have made have made this country safer,'' the president said today during an appearance at a political fund-raiser in Stockton, California. Democrats counter that the Iraq conflict has distracted efforts to hunt down terrorists and -- bolstered by a recently declassified intelligence report -- that the war is fueling Muslim extremism.

Sixty-one percent said they oppose the war, up from 58 percent at the beginning of September. It matches the high mark for opposition hit in mid-August, following a spike of insurgent and sectarian violence in Iraq. Sixty-six percent said they disapprove of the way Bush is handling the situation in Iraq, up from 62 percent at the beginning of August.

The CNN poll was taken before many people had heard about Woodward's book and before the impact of the Foley scandal and probable coverup became known. We shouldn't forget that the NIE makes it clear we're getting nowhere in Iraq. The evidence is piling up that the current crop of Republicans in Washington have put America on the wrong course and their answer to everything is to spend tens of millions on campaign ads and blame somebody else. Bush is still president for two more years but we need new voices in Washington who are not tied to the current incompetence, corruption and business as usual.