Murdoch: Press too harsh on Bush.

Criminy, they ARE moving.

They just passed a huge funding bill for an Iraq war that, frankly, they do not support and would just love to pull the plug on.

That's compromise.

That bill also contained massive funding for medical care for troops and veterans.

They only asked a couple of things of our president: A goal (NOT a requirement) of pulling out all combat troops by April 1, 2008 and a requirement that SOME troop withdrawal begin July 1 IF IF IF IF certain benchmarks were not met.

In short, they asked him to follow the recommendation of the Iraq Study Group.

They asked him to compromise.

His response?

The bill is dead on arrival.

 

The White House negotiating position.

 

But can't you make a case that the main reason they're advocating increased funding is so when Bush inevitably vetoes the bill because of the withdrawl date -- something everyone knew was going to happen -- that they can then turn around and say "Bush won't even support funding for his own stupid war?"

I'm not fussing at them for it; heck, it's a savvy political move, like a reverse pork bill legislation. Bush either has to flip on an issue that he's held firm on for some time, or he has to oppose additional funding for his cause.

But I don't think it's much of a compromise once you get past the surface.

 

The Democrats don't get the immediate withdrawal they want. They don't get to use the $90 billion toward things they support. They don't get any guarantee that any troops will ever be withdrawn (meeting benchmarks can be argued till the cows come home).

Bush doesn't get his indefinite blank check.

When neither side gets exactly what they want, it's about as close to a compromise as you're going to get.

 

Assuming that's the reason they upped the funding on the proposed bill.

If it was a strategic move to force Bush to veto something that, in other circumstances, he would enthusiastically sign, then it's a great political move but not a compromise in the traditional sense.

In theory, they could pass a bill that said "kittens shouldn't be eaten and the troops need to withdraw from Iraq by Nov. 1, 2007" and if Bush vetoes it, he can be called a kitten-eater by his opponents.

Again, savvy politics, but is it a real move towards compromise? I've my doubts.

 

National image? Since when did Bush ever give a flying fuck about what the rest of the world thinks? He's all about doing what's best for our interests. Right? So Bush didn't give a shit about the rest of the world when we invaded Iraq, but now Bush is fucking real sensitive about the rest of the world's opinion as we get the fuck out of there???Fuck that.

 

Maybe we are too hard on W.

I don't blame him for not wanting to do what other people say. He has a track record of some real idiots working for him. Maybe it's self defense.

 

I think you need to re-think the word "we" in regards to the decision of the Bush administration. There were plenty of Americans like myself who worried about the precedent invading Iraq would send throughout the world.

 

Replace with Bush. My bad.

 

Never. Well, unless they have nukes:

 

Something that has pissed me off for years is that the left-of-center media drank the "Bush is a Cowboy" kool-aid just as enthusiastically as the mainstream media. I read the phrase "cowboy diplomacy" used as an epithet a lot during the run-up to the war. Then there's the countless cartoons of Bush in cowboy gear. The authenticity of his painfully fake faux-cowboy accent and diction was rarely questioned. Even now, the current "Mother Jones" has a cover featuring Bush speaking in some sort of cowboy idiom.

DAMN IT! He is not a fucking cowboy! His family are ruling-class bluebloods from New England. Yes, he was born in Texas, but he went to Andover and Yale. He has a ranch: a former turkey and hog farm...that he bought in 1999. HE THOUGHT A CATTLE GUARD WAS A PERSON.

The "Bush is a Cowboy" bit helped him win both elections. The media didn't have to buy this bit of (seemingly) obvious bullshit, but they did...including the left media. Nice fucking job...this did indeed rally the simpleton vote and fit in perfectly with the "Republican warriors of common America against the bi-coastal elite" nonsense as detailed by Thomas Frank and others.

 

Yep. And this was the same bullshit George Allen was trying to use. Thank God for Macaca.