FITZ!

Oh Yeah Fitz me!

tird?

Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt– he probably meant to be referring to pre-9/11 Afghanistan.

Not that it would be a wholly inaccurate description of today’s Afghanistan.

Does anyone else remember the Tom Toles cartoon, with all the king’s horses & men having hastily patched up Humpty Dumpty Afghanistan, sprinting off to Iraq?

Tom Tomberg — that’s one of my all time favorite Toles cartoons. Thanks for the reminder — perfect image for how things are going.

Christy, it was a great interview. Stewart at some of what he does best. I also thought for a minute that Mehlman made a slip of the tongue re: Afghanistan. But, on reflection, I believe Mehlman was referring to Afghanistan before we went in there, not after. Of course, it applies just as well now.
—

Republicans = Perfumed Turds

the third ‘person’ in that interview was the audience — they totally despised the Preznit and his toadies !

polishing turds is what abu gonzales does too — we can’t blame fitz for not indicting rove when behind fitz stands abu holding a shiv — rove’s too close to bush & is the type who’d quiver like jello if he got indicted: it’s abu’s job to keep bush out of war crimes court — that’s why i don’t buy the tale about any plot to take cheney down: cheney & bush insisted on testifying together to the 9/11 commission because neither one trusts the other — they both had a hand in 9/11 & they’re tied together till the end

Tom and City Girl — I thought it might have been a reference to Afghanistan before as well. But I’d like to see follow-up on it just the same, because it was ambiguous and, in the context of the discussion, was oddly placed in terms of tense. At best, there ought to be some clarification from Mehlman on just what was intended — because it sure sounded like he was speaking in current terms to me in the course of that portion of the discussion. If he intended it as the former status of Afghanistan, someone ought to follow-up and ask him just to be sure.

Chanel would be apropos since the perfume designer Coco Chanel was the overly-collaborationist mistress of a German general during the Occupation of Paris …

*ilson46201 (5:53am) — but if the aim is to truly cover the stench, Mehlman better be working with Procter & Gamble to develop an industrial-strength Febreeze that can be applied with a 3000 psi power washer.

Or start handing out the gas masks.

I personally can’t stand Chanel, although it is nominally better than the reek of this administration.

Hey I am no fan of Mehlman, but you were a little unfair. i saw that show and it was clear to me that he wasn’t talking about Afghanistan in the present tense, but he was refering to Afghanistan under the Taliban.

As i was reading your piece i expected you to highlight Mehlman’s comments about greed and cynicism which I thought was far more revealing. Apparently Stewart did to… he asked “Do we have that on tape??”

Well, th eambiguity comes from the fact that the current Afganistan IS a failed state. Completely failed — like Somalia. Only Somalia seems to be a bit better than Afganistan right now.

Also, Slightly OT, but is it really?

Joe Conason (I know, I know) makes a great point about Lieberman’s (and McCain’s) cowardly silence in the wake of Coulter’s widow slanders:

http://www.observer.com/200606…..onason.asp

This seems like a great line of attack against Joe Lieberman: “Why didn’t you stand up against Ann Coulter — and stand up for the victims of the 9/11 attack?”

OT- How do we know when CIA leak investigation is over?

*ilson,

Are you saying that Chanel in the morning smells like, failure?

Rayne at 12 — Chanel doesn’t work well for me, either. *g* Which was why I suggested it for Mehlman and the GOP. (Not to mention that it’s French…)

The interview was quite hilarious, indeed.

TIf he’s talking about the present, it’s an odd emphasis. Kabul is not exactly wracked by daily bombings or Afghan-on-Afghan abductions and murders, so if Iraq and Afghanistan were competing for the title of “Current Failed State” Iraq seems the more likely candidate. I have to go with the interpretation that he’s referring to the days of Taliban rule, because the Administration argument is that if Iraq becomes a failed state, it will become a safe haven and training ground for terrorists.

(Because of course it’s not a training ground and petri dish for terrorist skillcraft right now. *cough, cough*)

Afghanistan was a failed state until the Taliban came along, propped up by Pakistan, and the US. Then the US decided to bomb the crap out of them and replace the Talibs with a figurehead president and now it is a failed state again.

Never-ending list of what the Bush Administration was/is wrong about in Iraq:

“Mission Accomplished”

Mis-use of intelligence, disregarding evidence against your claims

telling Americans Saddam was linked to 9/11

not having an actual plan for the peace

disbanding their army,

not anticipating an insurgency

saying that the Oil in Iraq would pay for the war

claiming that we would be greated with candy and flowers as liberators

how much the war would cost,

the Iraqi’s would pay for their own reconstruction,

to knowing nothing about Iraqi customs

how we ‘found the Weapons of Mass Destruction’

how many troops would be necessary

Oil would increase enormously as a result of your invasion

to how long the War would last

to the insurgency being “in it’s last throes”

Not finding an occupation necessary

Saddam’s ousting would result in a safer, happier Iraq

Gross under-estimation of how many US Troops would be killed

to how elections would make everything better

thinking troops would not end up with PTSD

to thinking the wawr would stabilize the Middle East

to how Saddam’s trial would rally American support of the War

to having to use at least 7 rationales for the invasion/the War after the WMD weren’t there

to how electricity would be restored to pre-war levels (they only get 5-8 hours a day now)

Iraqi Security Forces would react to being told on their graduation day that they would NOT be working near their home and family as they were told would be the case

not equipping troops with the proper amount of armor

to saying people weren’t being tortured in Iraq

to saying US Troops wouldn’t have be on 2,3 and 4 tours in Iraq

failing to convince the NATO alliance that an immediate invasion was necessary

failing to build a global alliance

saying employment would rise substantially in Iraq

to putting inexperienced troops in charge of Prisons

thinking the troops want to stay in Iraq as long as it takes
(72% want out now or a year from when the survey was taken a few months ago)

thinking that Americans would see Zarqawi and al Qaeda as the main reasons for violence/bombings/attacks/executions/torture (82% of Americans say violence is the result of a civil war between sunnis and shiites)

not anticipating that Iraqis would vote for Islamic Extremists in the elections

not thinking ahead that the the US humvees would need additional armor

not bothering to understanding Iraq’s infrastructure before the invasion

to having a plastic Thanksgiving in Iraq and thinking that would rally Americans/Iraqis behind him

to thinking Karen Hughes could change hearts and minds in Iraq

to thinking the Republicans would stay behind them in strong support throughout the war

Trusting Ahmed Chalabi

Trusting ‘Curveball’

thinking the National Guard wouldn’t be necessary in Iraq

to grossly miss the reconstrution deadlines (which we set) for the Iraq people

to thinking their No Bid Contractor friends would be honest and non-corrupt

thinking the war would pump up your Neo-Con friends to invade other countries and create democracies by force

to thinking most Americans would agree with them that the media is exaggerating the violence

to thinking hammering war critics and labeling them as ‘traitors’ in A VETERAN’S DAY Speech would stop people from speaking out against the war

thinking that dropping in on a ’surprise’ visit to Iraq for 5 hours would change anything on the ground

Failures of Bush Admin. on Afghanistan:

thinking that leaving Afghanistan to focus on Iraq would not result in the Taliban and Al Qaeda re-grouping

drafting a Constitution for Afghanistan that was ‘based on our own democracy’ but had no Rights for Afghani’s to be free to practice any religion

saying women would be free after the war in Afghanistan

thinking US Troops wouldn’t be engaged in similar warfare now as they were when the war begain in 2001

TANK at 15, when the trials are over at the Hague.

There’s a diary up at Kos talking about his comment that being on Stewart’s show (compared to real news shows) is “harder than most”. Doesn’t say much for the “real” news shows, does it?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/14/63547/0132

way OT: I was a little kid right after WW2 and I had a favoritest stuffed monkey toy. It had gotten tattered and ’stinky’. My mother had been given a tiny, precious bottle of very rare Chanel #5. Being overly-bright, I sprinkled the entire contents on my monkey – made it smell real good! Needless to say, the parental units did not share my happiness…

OT – Think I’ve read all of the comments on Rove. Is it possible he’s designated an
unindicted co-conspiritor by the prosecutor?

It’s going to take a whole lot for anything else to replace my favorite Paige of the day. *g*

anniewho — emminently possible. It is exactly the type of question the MSM should be asking.

*ilson46201- Chanel #5 reminds me of my childhood too…when my Mom would tuck me in before she and my Dad went out to parties and then when she checked on me after they came home.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com…..rrer=email

Saw this this morning and just had to share:

From WaPo’s “The Fix”:

Jim Webb won the Democratic primary in Virginia last night, defeating former technology lobbyist Harris Miller to earn the right to challenge Sen. George Allen (R) in the fall.

Here’s a look at who benefits most from Webb’s victory:

(snip)

Netroots: It’s always hard to gauge just how much influence the blog world has on an election, but there is little question that Internet activists helped propel Webb in this race. Lowell Feld, who runs the “Raising Kaine” blog, was one of the originators of the “Draft Webb” movement. At a rally for Webb on Monday, Feld said the race was essential to the future of the Democratic Party, as a Webb win “would bring back a lot of Reagan Democrats.”

(snip)

LOSERS:

(snip)

Traditional Campaign Tactics: Miller ran a picture-perfect primary campaign. Two weeks of statewide television and radio focused on his Democratic credentials while calling Webb’s into question. Nine direct-mail pieces and nine automated phone calls drove that message home to targeted primary voters. And yet Miller lost the race — largely in the northern Virginia suburbs where he was expected to run strongest.

Now that’s what I call gate crashing!!

Go Team Netroots!!

Christy (6:04am) — heh. Then we’re on the same page, old lady perfume only somewhat better than the putridity of Bushwah.

Yeah, that bit about the “cynicism and greed” is choice; I can see it on a banner right now, at the next protest rally.

The Republican Party = Cynical and Greedy

Cripe, the cartoon almost drafts itself; Cheney as Cynical and Bush as Greedy.

Nice backpedaling by Mehlman, too, backing away for Repub candidates from C&G. And extremely nervous in spite of all his experience with being up against disapproval and public speaking. The tell? The coffee cup – big gulp, like he suddenly got dry throat.

One of the great satisfactions was watching Jon Stewart confidently rebut the flow of Repub spin. Oh that the Dems would learn some witty quick replies to the spin for the Sunday talk shows. shows. The spin remains the same, but the Dems seem incapable of coherent rebuttal.

I missed TDS unfortunately, but can’t wait to see the rerun hehe. Jon’s been smokin’ lately. Watching him grill Bennett was definitely a treat.

If the Dem leadership was smart, they’d do something polarising to further demonstrate to voters just how extreme the goopers are. Like trying to get a constitutional amendment passed that protects a woman’s right to an abortion. Would it pass? Of course not. But it would force Republicans in tight races to come out and be either for or against it. If they come out for it, the gooper fundy base goes bonkers. If they come out against it, the Dem challenger immediately gains more streetcred as being less deranged.

Would the Dems do it? I doubt it, Pelosi doesn’t seem willing to take any political risks, even against a president with Nixonian levels of support.

jan (6:19am) — wouldn’t you LOVE to see Stewart get a Sunday morning gig? Now THAT would be Must-See TV!!!

looseheadprop @ 28

Sounds like a blueprint…

~

The “greed and cynicism” comment was not as “transparent” as Mehlman would like us to think it is. It’s an attempt inoculate any republicans not ensnared in a corruption scheme against infection from those who are. We are supposed to fawn over how humble and honest he is after saying something unequivocal like that. Puhleeze. They are in full damage control mode, and everybody is trying to save their own hide. And get those poll numbers up.

Karl Rove is the antichrist. Only explanation for what is happening.

Good Morning Firepups,

Welcome Home Christy. Caught the Mehlman gaffe immediately as well, and although it would be easy to spin as meaning pre-911, I replayed it over and over b/c it was bizarro world to see him state something truthful .

egregious,
Congratulations to you and all the good people of Virginia. The sooner Allen can start on his 08 campaign, the better

Rather than busting their buttons over the secret trip, shouldn’t the administration be deeply ashamed that the trip had to be secret?
In my opinion it is a tacit admission that this war has been a horrible failure.

I especially enjoyed the exchange between Jon Stewart and Mehlman (paraphrased) re: Mehlman’s insistence of “They’re starting to like me” (speaking of the audience), and Stewart’s immediate response: “No, they’re not.”

Jon Stewart and Keith Olbermann justify the DISH Network bill at our house every month.

-S

House Accepts $3,300 Raise

I love the suggestion by Boxer I think, to tie all congressional wage increases to minimum wage increases. Fat chance though.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponlin…..ref=slogin

Just watched the clip. I think Mehlman thought it would come off as over the top snark (greed and cynicism), but instead, the audience saw it as truth telling.

I give him a lot of credit for not bursting into tears on the spot.

We’re the ones who are living in a failed state.

So, not only does the GOP have to have someone to clean up behind the elephants, but there is perfume involved…Chanel No. 5 smells like old ladies to me, but my daughter wears Chanel “Chance,” which is quite nice.

What I thought most telling was the lack of Mehlman’s usual come-out-swinging-fight; he seemed at a loss for any substantive and credible response to anything Stewart brought up, and, I thought, was painfully aware of it (the booing of the audience might have helped with that).

Now, maybe Mehlman figured the Daily Show audience wasn’t going to be buying anything he was offering for sale, so he might as well save his energy – I don’t know. Kenny’s usually pretty good at workin’ the angles, so for him to be so passive was a little disconcerting. Maybe he figured the less ammo he gave Stewart and the blogs, the better.

I have to go back and listen again, but Kenny’s comments on Rove were a little interesting, too. Saying that Rove wasn’t indicted because the prosecutor didn’t have a case is not the same as saying that Rove wasn’t guilty.
===============
Slightly OT: spoke to my duaghter’s friend last night – the one who’s interning in Hillary’s office this summer. The assignment I gave him was to ask around the office about CTG and find out who’s read it and what the response has been. Told him he should make a beeline for whoever is overseeing the ‘net. Will let you all know what he finds out.

From my EPUed post downthread…

Spoofing aside, did anyone find Cox’s missing notebook? Any trace?

Stewart, following up to Ken’s attempted and failed wiseass slam on Comedy Central’s “lower ethical standards”:

“Do we really have lower ethical standards?”

Heh. Like TDS could have lower standards than the folks who spin about their rampant cynicism and greed…

Anne-
It’s so neat that you have a connection to Hillary’s office. It feels like we are peaking into her underwear drawer without her knowing.

Lowell sent an e-mail out late in the campaign to all the “draft Webb” signees calling for their commitment. It was very effective. I’d already given a few times, but he was right.

It was a ghost town at my polling place when I voted, and also when my wife voted around 6:00pm.

I voted for Webb, and my wife voted for Miller. Miller’s campaign was effective. He seeded doubt about Webb’s Democrat bonafide’s – in particular his commitment to pro-choice. We asked all the local candidates about their position on reproductive rights. Miller responded to our inquiry quite passionately in support of reproductive rights. We didn’t get a response from Webb, and I gave them an earful about it late in the race. He is pro-choice, but the delay in the message, and the fact I had to call seeded doubt in my wife’s mind. My wife wasn’t going for the “He’s the one that can beat Allen” argument — that was the argument for Kerry.

My one goal this year is to help Webb unseat Allen.

Lastly, when we were aggregating candidates positions for some voter education, I stumbled across Mark Ellmore’s position on his website.

“I am anti-abortion unless you have the expressed written consent of the individual being aborted. Lets not mince words here, a living organism must not be terminated without its permission.”

It actually goes on and on… So as I watched the results come in, I always scrolled down to see what happened to Mark. He got lapped in the GOP primary. I do take comfort that he lost and lost big.

NTTIAWWT

Too bad Stewart didn’t ask Ken to be more open about Ws admin and it’s gay bashing.

The TDS Mehlman piece was priceless! The cynical, greedy line was the money quote out of that interview in my mind–it summed up everything that is the Republicans. Mehlman seemed downright precious to me, grinning, happy…he believes the worst is over and the Rethugs are on the way back to the top.

Certainly they’re already pounding the campaign issues…like “cut and run”…which is really interesting coming from “duck and hide” Republicans who never met a deferment they didn’t love…or a Guard unit they couldn’t hide out from in Alabama.

ecoast at 42 — I asked about that late on Saturday, and no one had turned it in at that point that anyone knew. But that doesn’t take into account the possibility that someone gave it directly to her at some point. So I don’t know, but I did try to get someone to get it back to her, if indeed anyone picked it up (since it fell out of her bag, most likely…). Arianna made an announcement as well at her panel.

After having listened to that TDS clip three times, I think Mehlman basically said that Afghanistan is a throw-away, that it’s a failed state, period, whether before or after 9/11.

Probably a reflection of the RNC’s attitude towards any third-world country in conflict, let’s be candid here. Like Sudan and Somalia, just throw-aways.

But Iraq can’t be a throw-away because it borders Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and is too damned close to Israel and Russia for the comfort of a few political groups.

Emptywheel was looking for a good name for the Republican apologists. I think that gladlythecrosseyedbear nr.9 is on to something. We can call them *turd polishers*.

Bush on live — long opening statement, Q&A to follow.

Will anyone ask about Rove’s employment status?

Chimpy on TV now doing his braggadocio routine. His head-bobbing duck and weave jutting for emphasis blow hard yada yada. Is is just me or is his Texas accent extra thick this morning? Now moving into lecturing us mode and taking extra care with certain syllables. Slicing the baloney real thin.

“Operation Together Forward”? Who in the world makes up shit?

I got your cut n run right here -

Kerry Aide (via raw story)

“The closest Karl Rove ever came to combat,” said Kerry spokesman David Wade, “was these last months spent worrying his cellmates might rough him up in prison. This porcine political operative can’t cut and run from the truth any longer.”

Wade continued: “When it came to Iraq, this Administration chose to cut and run from sound intelligence and good diplomacy, cut and run from the best military advice, cut and run from their responsibility to give our troops body armor, and in November Americans will cut and run from this Republican Congress.”

Fantastic post, Christy, and great question about letting that Afghanistan question hang in the air. I find it bizarre.

Never did like that Chanel.

Bush now talking about Iraqi oil. This guy has no freakin’ shame.

clb – wowie, sizzle! David Wade for Prez?

it is so hard to watch chimpy “speak.”

omigawd — what Bush said about rules of warfare are out the window!!!! you will see it on TV muchly today… his statement is so flabbergasting…

Is that the president speaking? I thought it was Planet of the Apes.

Stand up, stand down. Can’t quantify success, so not specific goals for coming home. He’d like to close Gitmo, said with a GYNORMOUS sneer. God, this man is an embarassment to human nature.

meta says 52

Yes!
I think w’s accent comes & goes, depending on attempts to play to his audience.
But, he’s such a totally out-of-control personality that his own mood often rules the day & overrides the default setting.
The eyes have a near-panic look to them these days, no matter what the rest of him is doing.
And listen for the whine. (Heck. Even rummy whines sometimes. But deadeyedick: never yet that I’ve heard – cold as ice.)
The obnoxious swagger is annoying, but probably pretty useful as a turnoff, ‘cept for his true fans, don’t-cha think? oogh.
The continuing jaw-jutting & -wagging problems are priceless. my hubby can’t stand to watch.

not planet of the apes, it’s Lancelot Link – Secret Chimp

Election in Fargo

Here’s a microcosm of the national mood from the heartland. In the mayoral race, 4 major contenders. The “Hillary,” the traditional fiscal conservative Republican, the new Repub funded by big bucks from East Coast conservatives, and the just retired lifelong city employee who’d spearheaded successful fights against major Red River flooding, esp. in 1997. Spending was bigtime, slick campaigns from the Hillary and the 2 Republicans, much more modest by the recently retired city employee. Huge turnout compared to previous races.

And the winner was–yup, the grey-haired, bearded, blue collar, rough around the edges Denny Walaker. No political ties, no special interests, no fancy-schmancy arts crowd…just plainspoken and competent. A common man.

Works for me–in every nuance of that phrase. Lesson taken: there’s a restive crowd of voters out there, and the right candidates can shine thru and beat the so-called experts.

David E! I also smell failed state right here. I feel ill about the last few days.

OMG – chimpy is such a jackass

Too bad Kerry could not have made those remarks himself…

Mehlman: “I think greed, cynicism, all those things caused us to do it.”

Caused — as if greed and cynicism held a gun to their heads and forced them into submission. As if the Republicans’ total lack of ethics and inability to be responsible for their actions were not a part of this debacle.

Stewart: “Clearly, credibility may be the biggest issue the public has with [this administration].”

Damn, if only this guy and his writers could generate political speeches for the DLC, we might have to worry about them squashing the reform movement inside the party.

This is a key point we need to hammer on, credibility. It worked with the Nixon adminstration, hammering on the “credibility gap”; the frame’s an old one, easy to pick up and rejuvenate because it hasn’t changed. We need to ask more swing voters Who you gonna’ trust? The guys spying on you and refusing to talk about it? Or the folks who want your privacy protected?

Who are you gonna’ trust? The guys who refuse to investigate the loss of $9 BILLION in Iraq? Or the folks who asked for the investigation in the first place?

Who are you gonna’ trust? The guys who f*cked up Katrina response even though they had plenty of warning? Or the folks who’ve always brought you better social protections?

FYI – chimpster says the economy is doing so well because of the tax cuts. I didn’t realize the economy was doing well, judging by the DOW.

Paige 20 – you forgot

Allowed the treasures, artifacts and archaeological sites of the cradle of civilization, to be looted and destroyed forever, with barely a shrug

So glad you’re finally kickin back at the homestead, Christy – I’ve been exhausted for you!

Wise fiscal policy includes voting themselves a raise. Thanks for the link, cathy. The unfathomable rip-off continues.

Christie, you should see this NY Observer article. Luskin’s pissed at the blogosphere for speculating about his innocent client. Feh.

I cannot stand listening to this chimp…..
He just said reconcile an ugly past…HOW are we going to reconcile the past REALLY UGLY years with IT as Preznit?

I love the smell of chanelpalm in the morning.

LindyH…Gold bars can kiss our asses!

anotherpawn at 45: Hi from another 8th District firepup!

so glad I listened to my inner blogger this morning and did not turn on the teevee

Anne at 65 — Kerry said something very close to that yesterday at the Take Back America conference. (I missed the speech because I was blogging on the Rove news, but Taylor Marsh and I had lunch and she said Kerry’s speech was amazing and frank and pretty blunt. She thinks he’s tossed the consultants and I say about damn time…)

you don’t think he might have been refering to the post soviet conflict? I don’t know….

bush’s message to the enemy: “Don’t count on us leaving before we succeed.”

can change meaning with a little punctuation:
“Don’t count on us. Leaving before we succeed.”

meta at 59: Can’t quantify success

Well, that would certainly explain why all Bush’s business ventures failed…

Anne and Lindy, you’re priceless. Thank you!

They didn’t do the job in Afghanistan right because they only sent 20,000 — mostly or all special forces — and held back for Iraq. (Remember the night-vision footage coming out of Afghanistan in 2001?)

In James Risen’s State of War, there’s some great background on how that went down, and how they have managed to screw that planning up as well.

I’d like to reconcile our ugly past with a hopeful future too, dubya. Impeach and off to the Hague!

YOU wrecked Iraq’s infrastructure, you and your father and Clinton.

twolf1 at 78: Oooh! That’s worthy of the Oracle of Delphi!

(”You will live, not die in the war”/”You will live not. Die in the war.”)

Lindy at 70 — Sounds to me like Truthout is off the Luskin holiday card list. *g*

The decider is now being the Explainer. Telling us peons who can’t understand anything that Iraq is part of the war on terra.

We are part of the Global Theater. I think we’re still in rehearsal.

Here is a quote from Gold Bars……………..
“The scariest thing in the world is to be the lawyer for an innocent client, because all you can do is screw it up,” he said. “So from my personal perspective%u2014and particularly because I like and respect my client so much%u2014it’s a huge sense of relief that I didn’t manage to screw it up.”

——————————————
This is it in a nutshell……Luskin RESPECTS his his client, which means he RESPECTS the fact that he outed a CIA agent that was undercover and LIED…..THIS is what is wrong with so-called Dems and with people like Jeralyn congratulatying fools like Luskin for their heinous work and ethics…HOW PATHETIC….The chimp wouldn’t answer a question about Rover(an on going trial)

I’m the Decider… I make decidings

I’m glad some of you are reporting on Bush this morning – I have to be having a really, really good day to be able to tolerate his voice and his mannerisms; he even walks like he’s wearing a gun belt, and is ready to draw.

The disconnect apparently continues apace, with all the same tired old talking points; does he not realize that a large majority of the country hears “blah-blah-blah” when he speaks (or however “blah” with a fake Texas accent is written)?

Mehlman says there are over 240,000 trained Iraqis – we have over 130,000 of our own troops; when is someone going to ask why almost 400,000 troops cannot bring meaningful security to Iraq? And if 400,000 can’t do it, will there ever be a time when it takes fewer troops than it does now? When does someone ask Bush if he realizes that all the turning points in Iraq seem to have resulted in a “circling the drain” motion?

It would be one thing if Bush were a brilliant strategist with impeccable military instincts, who just happened to be a doofus now and again, but he is certainly not brilliant, his military instincts are always wrong, and the doofus thing is a 24/7 lifestyle.

Blergh, blech and gack.

you should see this NY Observer article. Luskin’s pissed at the blogosphere for speculating about his innocent client.

yeah, who didn’t see that coming. i knew the minute the leopold ’scoop’ hit, it was a disinfo attempt, just with that aim in mind — to thoroughly discredit the blogosphere. good thing the major ones didn’t fall for it.

In Iraq, you can’t quantify success . . .

Maybe not, but you can sure as hell quantify failure — and the Bush Administration has failed miserably.

twolf1

Something that bothers me so much is that they egregiously keep pushing Iraq as part of the “War on Terror.”

Iraq was not a terrorist state until after Saddam was toppled. On my site, I don’t have Iraq listed in the “War on Terrorism.” This was a misadventure of choice independent from our national security concerns in 2001.

Christy, one of the things I learned watching the YearlyKos coverage is that you pronounce “Abramoff” differently from everyone else. :)

Welcome home.

i’m not turning on the television. any time i see the chimp i reach for my remote……..

Matt O. – It’s not about the facts, it’s about what they can get people to believe. Perception is reality.

Did he just say he was raised in the desert???

Bush is seeing a tide turn. Even though he lives in a desert.

No truer words were spoken.

twolf1 -

Well, we know they can’t opt for the facts because reality has a well-known liberal bias.

chimpy taking back his words when he said “the tides will turn” in iraq (presumably after zaqwari’s death). now saying we will be able to “measure progress.” Hmmmmmm, haven’t they been touting all the progress there already?

angie – yes, he did.

He has no knowledge of tides from his vacationing in Kennebunkport? What a fraud, thru and thru.

Matt O. – thanks for the Colbert moment!

God can’t someone shut him up? It’s motifying! I mean, does any sane or rational human being look to GWBush for wisdom?

When he says he trusts Karl Rove’s judgment, why won’t someone ask: Then why should The American People trust your judgment?

But then, Bush would never put himself in a position to answer real questions.

Sorry, I’m rambling. This pathetic excuse for a human being makes me crazy.

Angie, I think when Chimpy said “tides turning”, he meant he remembers when his mommy switched from using All with fabric softener to Tide with bleach.

Christy @84, yes, but I think Luskin’s trying to paint us all with the same brush.

LindaR…the press is TOO whimpy to ask a follow-up about Rover……They are afraid of Rover now more than ever…….I wish I was there to look Rover right in his face and ask the chimp WHY are you not firing Karl Rove for lying to the American people who pay his salary about outing a CIA agent.

I second twolf1 – you need only look at how many believed Saddam and 9/11 were linked as a result of how the administration talked about these two things to understand that truthiness often triumphs over truth.

Some of that is reinforced by the media, which dutifully perpetuates the problem. This morning, the co-anchor on my local NBC affiliate said, “Karl Rove cleared in the CIA leak investigation, coming up next.” Cleared? Really? I know better, but I’m guessing that the majority of the viewing audience believes that to be an accurate description of what has transpired.

Has any administration ever benefited from sloppy and lazy journalism/reporting to the extent this one has?

Chimpy – “saddam did a really good job of milking society to keep himself in power”

Gee, Who else has done that? now let me think a moment…. Hmmmmmm….

Now he’s talking about the fact that he could be killed while travelling in Iraq because Iraq is a dangerous place. NO shit. He got to fly in a hellycopter and was rellllly thrilllllled. And he made a big ol’ secret.

You know, I always have the same reaction as others here. I will walk across town to avoid hearing or seeing the Chimp. But for some reason, I’m looking at him this morning and almost feeling a sense of absolute detachment from this whole charade. Like I live in some other country. He has become a caricature of his own clown self. I can’t watch him for more than a minute at a time, but he’s just become a fantastically pathetic jerk revelling in his own idiocy, and today he’s really full of himself, and the press isn’t doing anything to disabuse him of that. He’s so misguided and lost in his bubble, I guess I am just checking in on that barometer. I’m definitely getting the creeps.

He divided society and pitted people against each other in order to justify his own presence.

More projection. (Bush on Saddam Hussein)

twolf1– heh! I am gripped by utter disbelief in what we are witnessing. He shure lies reel good and then he looks and sounds positively messianic.

No mention of poor, ravaged Afghanistan yet. ;(

Good to have you back, Christy!

Redshift — Hey Ho from Mount Vernon district.
comment #83 — Oracle? Sounds like Yoda to me.

Anne – it was not just on your local NBC affiliate – Every headline I saw on the web or heard on TV said the same thing. As if it were an absolute. Now, it has been made a “fact”

I’d love to see John Stewert get ahold of Chimpy. THAT would be hilarious. Have to admit it would be like shooting fish in the desert though.

New thread upstairs, don’t show the children the photo…

Wow great question about crdibility to the chimp…about Rover…NO ANSWER of course…

Dubya is on proving that he is in a persistent vegetative state. No offense to vegetables.

President on nation’s TV screens is just saying that the terrorists have one advantage in Iraq that they can get on our nation’s TV screens.
Random thoughts:

Economically, everything fine. Keep tax cuts for the rich because they’re working (keeping the rich, well errr, rich. Oh yes, and those Democrats they’ll raise your your your your taxes ’cause that’s what they do.

Bush responds to the people’s needs (because elections give you a feel for that kind of thing) but not to polls that measure those needs.

Our forces are providing stability in Iraq. Who knew?

Bush also had another looked in his eyes and saw his soul moment in Iraq with al-Maliki. Does anyone besides me find this creepy?

Bush wants to strong arm foreign governments to honor their aid pledges of about $10 billion. I’m sure he’ll have a lot of luck encouraging to throw their money down the same rathole we are.

Bottomline new policy: As the Iraqis stand up, we’ll stand down.

Well, let me say, how proud it makes me as an American that after a mere 3 years, thousands of American deaths, tens of thousands of Iraqi deaths, and hundreds of billions of dollars that we don’t have we have a new winning policy in Iraq. And if it doesn’t work, well now we can proudly point to the Iraqis and say it’s their fault.

For me, the worst part of entering the hurricane season is the threat of being without electricity for a couple of hours to a couple of days. Leaving work on Monday evening, I passed a convoy of power company trucks no doubt heading up to Clearwater. I fret because frankly, I am not the type of girl to be without power…I don’t handle it very well at all.

How do the Iraqi’s handle having no power for this long?

Bustednuckles – it would be like shooting nile perch in a texas pond

new thread

Thanks for the link to the New york Observer article. Eveyone should read it. There are lots of interesting hint in there about possible backstory.

It needs some Christy/Jane parsing. just a thought.

OK, now he’s talking about 9-11. I’m maxed out. Done.

Chimpy makes me wanna set myself on fire in right front of the ranch….it’s just down the road a piece…Hmmm maybe after lunch. I wish every day that goes by that I wasn’t in Texas. Hard to be the partner of an Active Duty Military Member. We just got our next assignment: Biloxi, Miss. Geez things ARE looking up…Gonna change my screen name to “MyLIfeIsAMisery” Thank God for FDL.

Talk about Rove getting a pass! The stock market has lost about 1,000 points in the past several weeks, and you hear nothing about it in the MSM. Bush is going up in the polls instead? Where are all these people who are depending their 401Ks for retirement because traditional pensions do not exist? And inflation? I simply can’t believe that the Rethugs can spin this successfully in the fall. But where are all the Dems with “It’s the economy, stupid”? Are they afraid of being called economic terrorists or cowards?

Did anyone hear Mike Malloy last night? I was working and listening.
He had Shelly Drobny, the founder of Air America on and hes worked with Fitz in Chicago. He painted quite a different picture than the hero we have all looked to for salvation.
He had nothing nice to say and his take on the Rove thing was that Fitz does what he is asked.
Seder was horrified and tried to paint Fitz in the golden light but was shot down quite convincingly.

Did anyone else hear this?

Snowbird…I heard it too. Tom In Chicago was saying something about it as well a couple days ago.

I caught that Afghanistan blooper as well. I’m surprised Stewart didn’t do one of those head shake things with the wide eyes.

Afghanistan Coalition Military Fatalities By Year:

Period US Other Total
2006 43 17 60
2005 99 30 129
2004 52 6 58
2003 48 9 57
2002 48 20 68
2001 12 0 12
Total 302 82 384
http://www.icasualties.org/oef/

Heckuva job, Bushie.

“Being back home in my normal routine, and being able to play with the peanut while doing so – priceless.”

You may go blind, Christy… but thanks for sharing :-)

The amazing thing about Mehlman is that he’s been operating on the same battery pack since the 80s. The wonders of technology

Steve at 129 — HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I meant my three year old child. But that was a much needed giggle, I must say. *g*