The man who has trouble remembering making any mistakes in office now regrets some of his “[tag]tough talk[/tag]” regarding the war in [tag]Iraq[/tag]. Sort of.
[I]n an unusual admission of a personal mistake, Mr. [tag]Bush[/tag] said he [tag]regret[/tag]ted challenging insurgents in Iraq to “[tag]bring it on[/tag]” in 2003, and said the same about his statement that he wanted Osama bin Laden “[tag]dead or alive[/tag].” Those two statements quickly came to reinforce his image around the world as a [tag]cowboy[/tag] commander in chief. “Kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people,” Mr. Bush said. “I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more [tag]sophisticated[/tag] manner.”
The complaint was never that the [tag]president[/tag]’s remarks weren’t “sophisticated” enough, but rather that the rhetoric was irresponsible and encouraged violence against American troops. Is Bush now conceding that his critics were right about how dangerous it was to taunt those who were trying to kill Americans?
What’s more, it’s relatively encouraging to hear Bush admit that his comments “sent the wrong signal,” but what most of the news accounts didn’t mention was that the president immediately followed up the concession by saying his “bring it on” talk was “[tag]misinterpreted[/tag]… in certain parts of the world.” In other words, Bush’s absurd [tag]rhetoric[/tag] wasn’t the problem — the problem was those who didn’t understand what the president’s cowboy talk really meant. It’s not his fault; it’s theirs. Typical.
There are a couple other angles to consider here. First, most outlets seem to have missed this, but Bush’s “regret” over his choice of words isn’t exactly new. The president said his cowboy talk can have “unintended consequences,” adding, “I don’t know if you’d call that a confession, a regret, something.” This admission came in January 2005 — almost 16 months ago. To treat yesterday’s concession as new would be a mistake.
Second, for Bush to acknowledge that the cowboy talk was at least inappropriate does undercut years of arguments to the contrary from his most loyal supporters, all of whom insisted that the president’s “tough talk” was not only right, but absolutely necessary.
And, finally, it’s not the most important factor, but to hear media personalities swoon over the president’s concession is deeply disturbing. MSNBC [tag]Chris Matthews[/tag], after hearing Bush say that his “bring it on” talk was “misinterpreted,” suggested that Bush was like Abraham Lincoln. It was a helpful reminder of why I need to keep a bottle of Maalox by my desk.