Submitted without comment.
OK, I LIED. There is one point I'm going to make, regarding this part (emphasis added):
But to answer criticism from both parties that Iraq cannot be fixed with another good-news speech, Mr. Bush will also try to confront the realities of the war. "Amid the daily news of car bombs and kidnappings and brutal killings, I can understand why many of our fellow citizens are now wondering if the entire mission is worth it," Mr. Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address, foreshadowing one of the themes of his Monday speech.
Make sure you understand what just happened here: Bush just legitimized the entire notion of dissent. In admitting that he "understands" why people are wondering if this entire mission is "worth it," Bush has effectively put a sock in the flapping jaws of every right-wing, neo-con hack who has, until now, equated dissent with a lack of patriotism.
These dingbats can't use that putdown anymore since, quite simply, Bush has just pulled the rug out from under them.
3 comments:
"Amid the daily news of car bombs and kidnappings and brutal killings, I can understand why many of our fellow citizens are now wondering if the entire mission is worth it," Mr. Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address, foreshadowing one of the themes of his Monday speech.
Imagine if the media actually reported the full extent of civilian casualties at the brunt of the U.S. bombing missions. Thank goodness they remain silent on the matter, safely tucked away in the Green Zone relying on military news releases for their information!
"Bush just legitimized the entire notion of dissent."
I disagree - I think that Bush (or his speechwriter) simply established a new limit to acceptable debate. It's pretty clever, really. The old "you're with us or against us" parameter was proving to be outdated and increasingly ineffective, so they set a new one that still gives them wiggle room.
In other words, dissent is now acceptable to the White House as long as you merely question whether the cost of the endeavor was worth it. You remain forbidden to question the motivations of the leadership in attacking Iraq. You remain forbidden to objectively analyze the true "cost" of the war (including a realistic accounting of the civilian dead).
That rug that he yanked......
Would that be the bright yellow one in the oval office that he loves to show everybody?
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