Completely Out of Order
Update: Not surprisingly, one of the members of McCain's most devoted constituency -- the MSM -- finds a McCain adviser to insist that the remark is McCain simply "telling it like it is."
----------------------
Shame on John McCain. He's arguing that the President led the American people to believe the Iraq war would be a "day at the beach."
Really? When?
In his address to Congress on September 19, 2001?
This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.
Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen.
On the eve of the invasion of Iraq, when he warned of the possibility of terrorist attacks?
Should enemies strike our country, they would be attempting to shift our attention with panic and weaken our morale with fear. In this, they would fail. No act of theirs can alter the course or shake the resolve of this country. We are a peaceful people -- yet we're not a fragile people, and we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers. If our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them, will face fearful consequences.
In November of 2003, when he admitted that
Securing democracy in Iraq is the work of many hands. American and coalition forces are sacrificing for the peace of Iraq and for the security of free nations. Aid workers from many countries are facing danger to help the Iraqi people. . . . This is a massive and a difficult underaking.
On May 24, 2004?
As the Iraqi people move closer to governing themselves, the terrorists are likely to become more active and more brutal. There are difficult days ahead, and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic.
On Veterans Day 2005?
The work ahead involves great risk for Iraqis and for American and coalition forces. . .
The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we've ever faced, unconstrained by any notion of our common humanity or by the rules of warfare. No one should underestimate the difficulties ahead . . .
As the piece linked at the top of this entry points out, John McCain is attempting to engage in a little foreign policy triangulation. But he needs to recognize that, by doing so, he's deliberately and wilfully playing on the dishonest meme that "Bush lied" -- all for his own political benefit.
Whatever Republicans' many frustrations with George W. Bush, McCain had better recognize that they won't appreciate his attempts to make common cause with liberals by trashing the President. He'd better realize that he still has some Republican primaries to worry about before adopting a general election strategy -- and that this type of strategy isn't going to do much to lower his relatively high negatives among the party faithful.
And unless he can unearth some of his own quotes from pre-March '03 to warn that Iraq was going to be infinitely more difficult than anyone was predicting, he'd best tone down the sanctimonious finger-pointing.
----------------------
Shame on John McCain. He's arguing that the President led the American people to believe the Iraq war would be a "day at the beach."
Really? When?
In his address to Congress on September 19, 2001?
This war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.
Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen.
On the eve of the invasion of Iraq, when he warned of the possibility of terrorist attacks?
Should enemies strike our country, they would be attempting to shift our attention with panic and weaken our morale with fear. In this, they would fail. No act of theirs can alter the course or shake the resolve of this country. We are a peaceful people -- yet we're not a fragile people, and we will not be intimidated by thugs and killers. If our enemies dare to strike us, they and all who have aided them, will face fearful consequences.
In November of 2003, when he admitted that
Securing democracy in Iraq is the work of many hands. American and coalition forces are sacrificing for the peace of Iraq and for the security of free nations. Aid workers from many countries are facing danger to help the Iraqi people. . . . This is a massive and a difficult underaking.
On May 24, 2004?
As the Iraqi people move closer to governing themselves, the terrorists are likely to become more active and more brutal. There are difficult days ahead, and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic.
On Veterans Day 2005?
The work ahead involves great risk for Iraqis and for American and coalition forces. . .
The terrorists are as brutal an enemy as we've ever faced, unconstrained by any notion of our common humanity or by the rules of warfare. No one should underestimate the difficulties ahead . . .
As the piece linked at the top of this entry points out, John McCain is attempting to engage in a little foreign policy triangulation. But he needs to recognize that, by doing so, he's deliberately and wilfully playing on the dishonest meme that "Bush lied" -- all for his own political benefit.
Whatever Republicans' many frustrations with George W. Bush, McCain had better recognize that they won't appreciate his attempts to make common cause with liberals by trashing the President. He'd better realize that he still has some Republican primaries to worry about before adopting a general election strategy -- and that this type of strategy isn't going to do much to lower his relatively high negatives among the party faithful.
And unless he can unearth some of his own quotes from pre-March '03 to warn that Iraq was going to be infinitely more difficult than anyone was predicting, he'd best tone down the sanctimonious finger-pointing.
posted by LadybugUSA at 8:07 AM
1 Comments:
eddy said,
"Someone needs to put a sock in it."
That would be you, nimrod. Of those quotes you listed, which one is POTUS? Bush has been consistent in his assessments since day one. He's never spoken of the war being anything more than it has been. As Prez, he's entitled to run his admin as he sees fit. If he chooses to let his top people speak their minds, particularly when their minds see our country in such glowing terms, where's the problem? Your a loser, eddy, backing a losing side.
All the best to ya.
Post a Comment
<< Home