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Has Hell Frozen Over?
posted Friday, 26 May 2006
Okay, so the Shrub meets with Blair and they give a press conference. One member of the British press lobs a question to Bush, asking again abou whether he made any mistakes in Iraq or has any regrets. (You may remember how he was utterly stumped the last time the question was raised.) Surprisingly, this exchange occurred toward the end of the conference:
Q Mr. President, you spoke about missteps and mistakes in Iraq. Could I ask both of you which missteps and mistakes of your own you most regret?PRESIDENT BUSH: Sounds like kind of a familiar refrain here -- saying "bring it on," kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner -- you know, "wanted dead or alive," that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted, and so I learned from that. And I think the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq is Abu Ghraib. We've been paying for that for a long period of time. And it's -- unlike Iraq, however, under Saddam, the people who committed those acts were brought to justice. They've been given a fair trial and tried and convicted.
Golly Gee Whillikers! It seems as though Bush might have learned something! No, sorry to report that hell hasnt' frozen over--still pretty warm down here. Rather, the Shrub is making a calculated and Rovian play to have Bush play penitent and thereby bring the faithful back into the fold.
The smirk really says it all, though, doesn't it?
The photo above was taken immediately after his statement. Sort of reminds me of the old blooper reel where Chuckles the Clown finishes his kiddie show and, believing that he's off the air and can't be heard, exclaims "That oughta hold the little bastards!"
So, in Bush's opinion, Abu Ghraib was all Lynndie Englund's fault. Right. Tell me another.
Oh, that's right: somehow his "tough talk" was "misinterpreted" in certain parts of the world. Come again? Far from being misinterpreted, the problems occurred because Bush was taken at his word. After all, doesn't he try to come off as the plainspeaking man of the people? When he utters the challenge "Bring it on!" what exactly would be the misinterpretation? Hard to find a nuance there... Was he engaging in confrontational tough talk because he wanted to convey the message, "Let's talk through these issues and come to a compromise?" He claims that this talk sent the "wrong signal". What, exactly, then was the signal he was trying to send?
Tell me another one...