During the joint Bush-Allawi press conference last week, the president struck a — what else? — confident tone about the growing size of Iraqi security forces. “Iraq must be able to defend itself. And Iraqi security forces are taking increasing responsibility for their country’s security. Nearly 100,000 fully trained and equipped Iraqi soldiers, police officers, […]
Richard Cohen relied on his college psychology lessons today to raise one of my favorite points about Bush’s style. In the faraway past, I was a psych major in college, and it was then that I discovered the useful word “projection.” It was, as I recall, the tendency to assign to others the attributes or […]
Karl Rove and the Bush campaign are big believers in the idea of “if you say you’re going to win, you’re going to win.” The aura of inevitability is, in their minds, self-fulfilling. It empowers your supporters and disheartens your opponents. And in Bush’s case, it almost cost him the presidency. In 2000, late-October polls […]
When Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi spoke to a joint session of Congress last week, the rhetoric sounded awfully familiar. Indeed, since the address was a de facto campaign event for Bush, it was hardly surprising that Allawi would use GOP talking points in talking about the war and insurgency. But leave it to the […]
A week after Sen. Linc Chafee (R-R.I.) indicated he won’t vote for Bush on Election Day, the Republicans apparently aren’t sure what to do with him. Now that he has announced that he doesn’t plan to vote for President Bush in November, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said, the White House has a blunt message for him: […]
Last week, we got a hint that the Bush campaign was getting a little nervous about defending the disaster in Iraq, especially as John Kerry became more aggressive and assertive in his criticisms. “[Bush officials] are clearly worried that this could take a nasty turn,” said one senior Republican strategist who joined a conference call […]
I’m still working on a good name for this week’s presidential debate. The “Meeting in Miami”? A little dry. “Fun in the Sun?” It may not be fun — and it’s at night. The Note is going with “The Clash in Coral Gables,” but do enough people outside Florida know where Coral Gables is? I’ll […]
If you thought it was embarrassing that Republicans are offering $4,000 to health care consultants who can find senior citizens who are willing to speak out in favor of Bush’s new Medicare scheme, it was just the start of genuine (and amusing) desperation on the issue. A Carpetbagger regular named Katie alerted me to an […]
The conventional wisdom is that John Kerry picked a popular, telegenic, and charming running mate, only to keep him well hidden. What’s worse, we’re told, John Edwards is too nice to deliver the tough blows against Bush and Cheney. The truth is, John Edwards isn’t hiding and he’s hardly holding back. In recent weeks the […]
Before 2001, only three presidents in American history have served a full term and not vetoed anything (Adams I, Jefferson, and Adams II). With the ink on his veto pen having gone dry, George W. Bush is not only prepared to join a pretty select group, he’s about to become the first president in 176 […]