I’ll have the transcript up as soon as CNN posts it, but George W. Bush appeared on “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” this afternoon and made one of those stunning remarks that could — or rather, should — become a political problem for the White House.
Blitzer asked the president to respond to the nightmare that Iraq has become, but Bush wouldn’t hear of it. He dismissed the ongoing crisis as “just a comma.”
Update: Here’s the transcript:
BLITZER: Let’s move on and talk a little bit about Iraq. Because this is a huge, huge issue, as you know, for the American public, a lot of concern that perhaps they are on the verge of a civil war, if not already a civil war…. We see these horrible bodies showing up, tortured, mutilation. The Shia and the Sunni, the Iranians apparently having a negative role. Of course, al Qaeda in Iraq is still operating.
BUSH: Yes, you see — you see it on TV, and that’s the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there’s also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people…. Admittedly, it seems like a decade ago. I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is — my point is, there’s a strong will for democracy. (emphasis added)
Even by Bush’s already-low standards, it was a stunning comment. We’re talking about a war that has claimed 2,700 American lives and seriously injured 20,000 more. It’s a crisis that has, by any reasonable measure, made the threat of terrorism against Americans considerably worse. It’s a misadventure that has cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, to fight a war sold under false pretenses, and mismanaged with almost child-like incompetence.
Asked to explain himself, the president is unconcerned. Everything we’re seeing is “just a comma.” I’m sure that will bring comfort to the families of those who have sacrificed so much for Bush’s mistakes.
Now, I think I know what the president means. As he sees it, history takes a long view, so three and a half years of mistakes, violence, poor judgment, and corruption are minor details that will be easily overlooked by a long-term triumph. Or so Bush says. Of course, by this logic, everything is “just a comma.” Every life, every conflict, and every generation can be dismissed and made to appear trivial by backing up enough degrees.
It is, in other words, the ultimate cop out. Conditions in Iraq are getting worse, not better. The attacks are growing, not shrinking. The casualty rate is going up, not down. More than ever, we’re looking to the president for leadership, sound judgment, and clear answers.
Instead, we get, “just a comma.” Amazing.
Second Update: C&L has the video.
