Miss Him Yet?

I suppose it's a little late in the game to start paying attention to the fine details of "Bushspeak" but check out W's interview in with the Dallas Morning News. Specifically:

But he also noted that his presidency was shaped by the unexpected, such as the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
“Much of my presidency was defined by things that you didn’t necessarily want to have happen,” he said.

 Things that you didn’t necessarily want to have happen. People we're all overlooking the UPSIDE of 9/11 and Katrina! Sure they weren't all peaches and cream, and maybe we could have waited until the 2nd term to obliterate New Orleans with controlled nuclear strikes, but come on! I did the best I could with this stuff!

Missed you at the RNC, dude.

Miss Me Yet Yet?

Hey, look what just turned up via the Tea Party on Facebook!

When I left office, unemployment was 4.7%, gas cost $2.26 a gallon and 17 million Americans were on food stamps. Almost 4 years later under Obama, unemployment is at a record 8.3%, gas costs $4.00 a gallon and 43 million Americans are on food stamps. Click "LIKE" and "SHARE" if you miss me yet?

This is what fascinates me about the Right. First of all how can the Tea Party have their own page? They're not a party, they're a movement. Second, I'm certain the phrase "when I left office" refers to January 20th, 2009. Unemployment was 7.8 and climbing to 8.3. Gas was even lower than it says, at $1.84. Probably because people were taking their money out of oil stocks. And that month, 32 million Americans were on food stamps. So I think what they're getting at is Bush retroactively left office in August 2008. 

And yet, when I point this out to anyone on the right they're going to insult me, insist I need to learn to read, and intimate that I'm a Muslim.

I'll admit I do miss him. Why, oh why, isn't he going to be speaking at the RNC convention? And Palin too! I miss them both! 

An Image That I Wish Wasn't So Resonant



If Romney wins the nomination, it'll be Obama under that Romney mask.

Bush Too Consumed With Grief at Bin Laden's Death To Function

Thought I was kidding yesterday?

WASHINGTON — President Obama invited former President George W. Bush to join him at ground zero in New York City on Thursday to mark the killing of Osama bin Laden, but Mr. Bush declined, a spokesman for the former president confirmed on Tuesday.

“President Bush will not be in attendance on Thursday,” said his spokesman, David Sherzer. “He appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight. He continues to celebrate with Americans this important victory in the war on terror.”

The White House did not confirm that the invitation had been made or comment on Mr. Bush’s decision.

Which is very nice of the White House, but let's face, it, Bush is going out of the way to be conspicuously absent at this event. And it's not like he's a guy who is squeamish about executions. Bush will probably spend the day in prayer, on a mat facing Mecca.

Good News For The Bush Administration!

Those guys fear investigations so much, but when one goes through, they come out okay.

A special prosecutor has decided not to bring any criminal charges in connection with the firing of a United States attorney in 2006 in a political controversy that dogged the George W. Bush administration until its final days, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

The special prosecutor, Nora Dannehy in Connecticut, spent nearly two years investigating whether the firing of the United States attorney in New Mexico, David C. Iglesias, broke the law and whether Justice Department officials lied to Congress about it.

In the end, Ms. Dannehy concluded that while the politically motivated firing of Mr. Iglesias violated Justice Department principles, it was not a crime and did not warrant criminal charges. She also concluded that misleading statements made by the former attorney general, Alberto R. Gonzales, and others at the Justice Department did not rise to the level of a crime, according to a summary of the investigation sent to Congress by the Justice Department.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. accepted Ms. Dannehy’s decision, a Justice Department official said.

The decision brings to a close the last in a string of investigations into the Bush administration’s 2006 firings of nine United States attorneys, including Mr. Iglesias. The controversy led Democratic critics to charge that the Bush administration had politicized the Justice Department, and it spurred the resignation of Mr. Gonzales in August 2007.

See? Dude resigned for NOTHING! It's not like the actions rose to the level of a crime! But remember, it's the fault of Bush, for forcing an innocent man out of the job he was doing so very well. At least he was doing it within the bounds of legality.

Now they need to clear their names on that other black mark, the process that lead up to the Iraq war. If I were Karl Rove and Bush and Cheney (hear that steady buzz? It's his pulse!) I'd pony up money to get the grand jury set up, so historians can finally judge them innocent of wrongdoing.

Do You Miss Him Yet?

If you do, watch out for November, when his book comes out.

In gripping, never-before-heard detail, President Bush brings readers inside the Texas Governor's Mansion on the night of the hotly contested 2000 election; aboard Air Force One on 9/11, in the hours after America's most devastating attack since Pearl Harbor; at the head of the table in the Situation Room in the moments before launching the war in Iraq; and behind the Oval Office desk for his historic and controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iran, and other issues that have shaped the first decade of the 21st century.

President Bush writes honestly and directly about his flaws and mistakes, as well as his accomplishments reforming education, treating HIV/AIDS in Africa, and safeguarding the country amid chilling warnings of additional terrorist attacks. He also offers intimate new details on his decision to quit drinking, discovery of faith, and relationship with his family.

A groundbreaking new brand of memoir, Decision Points will captivate supporters, surprise critics, and change perspectives on one of the most consequential eras in American history—and the man at the center of events.

It's dropping (as the kids say) Nov. 8, after Election Day. Considering how much of the Democrats victories in the last few elections are a direct consequence of Bush fatigue, this seems like a smart decision; but of course there are going to be the interviews and the excerpts and all that comes with a book release. It could hurt the Republicans in a big way, seriously.

The problem is, of course, that even in the absense of direct debate with the man, there are going to be pundits deifying him and trying to whitewash the things that Americans found so distasteful. Bush himself will be forced to either admit responsibility for the bank bailouts and the deficits and the Iraq war bungling or, more likely, insist that none of those things were bad and if they were, it was someone else's fault and the presidency is hard work. And if that happens, I think we keep the supermajority after all.

Well, it's early to say, and probably the ghostwriter is only half finished with the actual book anyway, so let's just put this on the back burner until after summer.

A Medal-Of-Freedom-Shaped Scar On Her Forehead

Look, none of this stuff matters, but did you ever notice that JK Rowling hasn't received a presidential medal of freedom for encouraging millions of young people to read, you know, books? No? Well, if you had, would you have wondered why? Yes? Good.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling missed out on a top honour because some US politicians believed she "encouraged witchcraft", it has been claimed.

Matt Latimer, former speech writer for President George W Bush, said that some members of his administration believed her books promoted sorcery.

As a result, she was never presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The claims appear in Latimer's new book called Speechless: Tales of a White House Survivor.

He wrote that "narrow thinking" led White House officials to object to giving Rowling the civilian honour.

This story is mostly notable because it comes from the BBC, which explains why it's so prominently placed there - famous local girl denied award because of crazy American religious beliefs. It's a perfect storm to those guys. Still, considering this was the last time in history that kids will read books (now they're reading text messages) it seems a shame to have let the opportunity pass.

(cross-posted to HANG A LANTERN ON IT, my other blog.)

Boehner's On the Right Track

John Boehner, talking yesterday to Stephanopolous:

“We’re digging ourselves out of a deep hole,” he admitted. “We took it in the shorts with Bush-Cheney, the Iraq War, and by sacrificing fiscal responsibility to hold power.”

It's a little simple, blaming it on Bush and Cheney though. My observation is that what really caused trouble for these guys is Party Unity. It was the willingness to go along with Bush-Cheney's crazier ideas, and then loudly insist THIS IS CONSERVATISM, DAMMIT! If it contradicted some deeply held belief, just insist louder.

And to be fair, there were many nutty things that Republicans just wouldn't buy. Bush's Social Security plan never flew, for example. Harriet Miers never even made it to the confirmation hearing stage. John Bolton didn't have a lot of supporters in Congress, though had it been necessary they might have had to step up anyway. Still, the perception is that almost anything Bush wanted, Republicans would approve. And two of those things were tax cuts simultaneous with a very expensive war.

Anyway, if people make fun of the Democrats for their disorganization and inability to stay on message, well, how you like us now?

Kicking A Man When He's Down, By Proxy

The Bush Legacy project took another hit today when a democratized, liberated Iraqi reporter hurled shoes at the president during a press conference. If you like your hostile gestures half-full, at least it proves Bush was right about something: he never should have started giving all those press conferences!

"This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog," the journalist shouted (in Arabic), Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times reported in a pool report to the White House press corps. Myers reported that the man threw the second shoe and added: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."

Hopefully this will the be the coda to the whole misbegotten enterprise - Bush blamed for it all and America's role in it ignored. After all, we're already spending good tax money to protect Bush for the rest of his life. Protecting the whole country from things that Iraq might want to fling (terrorists, 'cause they ain't got no weapons) is a much pricier job.

The trip to Iraq has been described as a "victory lap" by the White House. Running shoes are therefore an appropriate parting gift.

Not The Tiniest Bit Cynical

Yesterday the story came out that in July, George Bush secretly approved orders to allow US Special Forces to carry out ground assaults in Pakistan without informing the Pakistani government. This is a problematic bit of foreign policy, but then Pakistan is a problematic ally. On one hand, it's great to have their support because they're geographically well-positioned for our bases, being close to Afghanistan and Iraq and (shhhhh!) Iran. 

On the other hand, they fuckin' hate us. They hate us so much that they forced the one guy in the country who had a nice thing to say about George Bush out of public office. So this stunt isn't likely to make them like us any more. So do we still need their cooperation? Or is Bush kind of running a fire sale here?

I think it's the latter. I think Bush came to the conclusion that Musharraf was never going to give up Bin Laden and decided that he had to go in himself. (The extended commander-in-chief self, of course.) Still you wonder, why now? Why not, say, just AFTER an election? See where I'm going with this?

Bush is doing the party a favor by finally knuckling down and catching Bin Laden.  Ideally a couple of weeks before Halloween, to give McCain something to run on. If they already HAVE Bin Laden, I hope he has the smarts and bile to commit suicide while waiting to be presented to us.

It could also be timed this way as a desperate last-ditch attempt to salvage a troubled legacy, but given the way the terror alerts always spiked around elections (or when a distraction was needed) and the timing of Saddam Hussein's trial, this looks like the action of a man who can't be troubled to fight terror unless there are bonus points for Republicans in the deal.

His Terrible Swift Sword

Last night's Republican National Convention, they say, was classy. It's an extrordinary thing to set aside an entire quarter of your infomercial and devote it to non-partisan efforts. I'm not going to watch this one much either, but the talk in the streets is the RNC got it right. And since Gustav has apparently shed much of its strength and fury, it is safe to return to a more conventional Convention.

I'm just wondering though, for consistancy's sake, about the role of God in all this.

The evangelical community was quite fond of pointing out that Katrina was God's way of punishing New Orleans for its sinful ways. So presumably the storm this time around is God's way of saying, "You're cleaning up there, New Orleans. Good on ya." However, Gustav forced Republicans into giving up all that free TV time - isn't that God's way of saying that they're on notice?

And though some were saying that the party dodged a bullet in that they were able to credibly cancel the President's and Vice President's appearance on Monday. But Bush will speak, via satellite, tonight. So his appearance is separated from Palin's speech and McCain's (he's also running) speech by one less day. Surely, if God uses storms as a way of administering justice and engineering the big picture, this demonstrates that he wants the Republicans to lose, right?

As a matter of fact, there was a movement several weeks ago. A pastor implored people to pray for rain during Obama's stadium speech. And the Democrats were spared rain while Republicans were flooded out of an entire convention night. I don't claim to speak for Mr. Big there, but there's no mistaking which team he's rooting for right now.

Addendum: Here's the class keepin' on goin' - President Bush this morning.

President Bush said Tuesday that while it’s too early to assess Hurricane Gustav’s damage to U.S. oil infrastructure off the Gulf Coast, the storm should prompt Congress to OK more domestic oil production.

“One thing is for certain, when Congress comes back, they’ve got to understand that we need more domestic energy, not less,” Bush said in the Roosevelt Room. “One place to find it is offshore America lands that have been taken off the books, so to speak, by congressional law and now they need to give us a chance to find more oil and gas here at home.”

It takes a guy who doesn't do nuance to use a massive gulf storm to argue that offshore drilling is a great idea.

My, That George Bush Fellah is Evil

So this morning Bush announced that he was going to both withdraw the surge by summer AND reduce the time soldiers are out in the field back to 12 months, both on the advice of the commanders in... I dunno, sub-chief? He also announced that he will hold the line on any further withdrawals until Petreus and company can evaluate the situation caused by the first set of withdrawals.

Interestingly, NPR's hourly newscast is emphasizing the last point, that Bush is refusing to consider further withdrawls at present. Could be liberal bias, could be that they consider that the real news since we knew he was going to say the other stuff.

Bush also whined about the next emergency war funding bill, saying that unless Congress met his conditions for it he would veto it. I think that when Bush whines about stuff, he really believes it. It's when he's not whining that he's lying. The whining is his way of saying, "you idiots! Why are you fighting me on this? I'm right!" I gotta admire a man who so doesn't accept compromise that he's willing to underfund his own war in order to get his way. There's your rejection of nuance!

By the way, how is this an emergency? Were they planning on the war being over when they did the regular budget?

I think Bush made a good point about the need to keep troops in until we have defeated the terrorists. If we withdraw, they will be emboldened. But if we don't and we don't "defeat" them, they will also be emboldened. And the terrorist aren't likely to throw in the towel any time soon, because they're terrorists.

And how did poor Iraq get in this situation, with us taking over their country to lure terrorists away from our own soil and thus fight them there? Isn't that the worst possible foreign relations move? I'm deliberately ignoring the point in the narrative where we claimed to be invading Iraq because they were harboring the 9/11 attackers. Because they stopped saying that for a long time and only recently started saying it again.

It was amusing to hear the President say that 15 months ago we were on the defensive... I don't recollect that kind of assessment coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania 15 months ago. As I recall, victory was just around the corner back then. Well, the corner must be pretty damn vast.

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Almost forgot my most important point! Why is Bush willing to draw down the troops? That's not like him!

Well, maybe even he recognizes that if he doesn't want to be the one to start up the draft again, he's going to need to get his Iran invasion force from somewhere. He's got till the end of the year to crank up THAT machine, and from the speech I'm guessing it's going to be sooner rather than later. Maybe that's the emergency which will postpone elections. Still too early to tell. I'm keeping some money on a bird flu epidemic.