Bush plays good cop, bad cop

November 21, 2005

Responding to a reporter’s question today in Beijing, the president seemed anxious to tone down the rhetoric.

“People should feel comfortable about expressing their opinions about Iraq. I heard somebody say, well, maybe so-and-so is not patriotic because they disagree with my position. I totally reject that thought. This is not an issue of who’s patriot [sic] and who’s not patriotic. It’s an issue of an honest, open debate about the way forward in Iraq.”

At this risk of sounding ungracious, isn’t it a little late in the game for Bush to express tolerance for dissent?

After all, only a week ago it was the president who said criticisms from Democrats “send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America’s will.” It was also his White House that issued a formal statement in response to Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), comparing him to Michael Moore — for the Bush gang, a serious insult — and suggesting that Murtha’s position purports to “surrender to the terrorists.” And it was the Vice President who offered similar rhetoric, lashing out at “a few opportunists” he believes are undermining the troops.

Indeed, at a press conference in Korea last week, a reporter told Bush that Dick Cheney called it “reprehensible” for critics to question how the administration took the country to war, while Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said it’s patriotic to ask those kinds of questions. Asked who he thinks is right, Bush said, “The Vice President.”

But now the president wants everyone to know that we’re having an “honest, open debate” and he “totally rejects” calling others’ patriotism into question. Looks like he was for demagogic attacks before he was against them.

Sound like there was some overnight polling done, but we know this White House never does that.

  • Bush is like a steel ball inside an old-fashion pinball machine, caroming off in whatever direction he last hit. Since there has been so much blowback from their co-ordinated screams of “traitor” — from Bush himself, to Cheney, to Mehlman and Bartlett, to Scotty, and even the evil-faced Jean Schmidt — that not only will their eyebrows get burned off but they’ll lose some pubes, too.

    Don’t believe Bush’s “I reject that” B.S.; he ALWAYS says one thing and does the opposite. It’s his track record; it’s in his DNA. And with Rove still pulling his strings, we can’t expect anything else.

  • I wonder if Jean Schit thinks General Casey is a coward, too.

    Mr Rumsfeld was asked several times whether General George Casey, commander of US forces in Iraq, had submitted plans to reduce troop numbers from the current 160,000 to under 100,000 by the end of 2006 if conditions permitted. He was also asked whether such a reduction was possible.

    “But sure, is it possible? Sure it’s possible. Anything’s possible,” Mr Rumsfeld told Fox News. “We’ll wait and see what General Casey recommends, but it’s proper for him to be making plans of that type.”

    I would imagine there’ll be serious plans for troop withdrawal, like Casey’s and Murtha’s, just in time for the midterm elections. Casey’s sounds a lot more like Murtha’s plan than that fraternity stunt resolution the GOP thought was so cute. You know Casey, that Michael Moore kind of general?

  • Bush’s quote makes it sound like he’s back on his meds. Maybe the prez is a little bi-polar??

    So is their new plan, one week of attacks, one week of reconcilliation, then another week of attacks followed by another with a more concillatory tone, etc. etc.??

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