The lights were on, but…

June 5, 2006

House [tag]Speaker[/tag] [tag]Dennis Hastert[/tag], at the request of the president, made a surprise visit to [tag]Baghdad[/tag] over the weekend. Arriving at 4 am, Hastert said he was impressed with the number of lights he saw.

The speaker and his party saw it as a sign of progress, of how much power had been restored in a city known for frequent blackouts, according to Hastert’s spokesman, Ron Bonjean, who accompanied the speaker.

“It was one of our first impressions, so many [tag]lights[/tag] shining brightly,” Bonjean said.

Now, the easy response is that some [tag]electricity[/tag] in Baghdad is hardly indicative of “progress” in Iraq. Indeed, considering that Hastert’s visit coincided with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki lashing out at American forces in Iraq, it’s probably best if the House Speaker doesn’t dwell too much on light bulbs.

That said, the Center for American Progress noted a Brookings Institution Iraq Index (.pdf), published the day before Hastert landed, that highlighted a different conclusion.

In Apr. 2006, residents in Baghdad received an average of four hours of electricity per day, compared to pre-war levels of 16-24 hours per day.

Maybe Hastert caught Baghdad on a good day?

Maybe Dennis was just looking for something positive to say?

Really, really pathetic. Republican’ts, able to keep electricity up 4 hours a day.

Imagine what it will be like when they are running America 😉

  • “Maybe Hastert caught Baghdad on a good day?” – Carpetbagger

    Or maybe Baghdad was lit by the shots of gunfire?

  • How long until we find out that hundreds of Special Ops troops were pulled off patrol to locate generators throughout the city to make it look like lights are on so Hastert can talk about how great we are doing?

    Seriously, we are super excited about the fact that we are able to bring electricity to a city. Three years and this is all we can do? WOW!

  • See what happens when you put Motel 6 in charge of electricity in Iraq? 😉

  • Hastert is an idiot. I wasn’t surprised to see it confirmed, but I was a little distracted as I read the post wondering if they made body armour in his size. Given his level of fitness, it must have been a strain moving with the additional weight.

  • Given his level of fitness, it must have been a strain moving with the additional weight.

    Nahhh…he’s stocked up on Pat Robertson’s protein shake and is now rip-roaring to go!

  • I had the same reaction to a photograph I saw in the Seattle P-I of Hastert entering the prime ministers office. Hard to believe that mountain of flesh could make it up the few stairs without a sedan chair born by twenty overworked Iraqis. The two thugs standing just inside the door – looking just like Mafioso bodyguards – were also touching.

  • MNProgressive,
    they did it when Bush went to NOLA, so it wouldn’t suprise me

  • did anyone ever listen to the wrestling coach back in high school with any thought there was any Thought present in anything the otherwise-unemployable moron ever said?

    Well, Hastert is the jumped-up high school wrestling coach, and every time he opens his mouth, I am reminded of Mr. Johnson, laughing stock of South High.

  • The soft bigotry of low expectations at work again. Hastert was probably amazed that any lights were on at all. But then again, I’m sure the Green Zone is lit up like a Christmas tree to keep the real residents of Baghdad out, or maybe it was one of the U.S. super-bases that made such an amazing show of light.

  • So, Hastert is with Mama Bush on this. All those lights! Man, it is really working out well for those Iraqis. Next thing you know, those greedy fucks will want running water and a viable army. Bah.

  • “…wondering if they made body armour in his size”

    Yes, sparrow; they DO indeed make body armor in Hastert’s size. Most of us, however, refer to it as an armored troop-carrier….

  • Those weren’t light but rather the continuous stoccato of muzzle flashes.

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