That Dubya, he just can’t keep his lies straight. Did you catch Pres. Bush’s statement on February 3 when he spoke to Democrats: “There’s no doubt in my mind that you want to secure this homeland as much as I do.” You’ve got to give credit to Dubya; as much as he tries to present this image of a down-home average guy who speaks like a semi-illiterate and chops his own kindling, he’s 100% politician. Recognizing that he now must deal with Democrats, he’s changed his tune. Now he’s out saying he has never questioned their patriotism. Hmm…let’s look at the facts, shall we?
A little over a year ago, in January of 2006, Pres. Bush-the man who now claims to have never questioned the patriotism of Democratic lawmakers-said this about the American people: “They know the difference between honest critics who question the way the war is being prosecuted and partisan critics who claim that we acted in Iraq because of oil, or because of Israel, or because we misled the American people. And they know the difference between a loyal opposition that points out what is wrong, and defeatists who refuse to see that anything is right.” In other words, if you agree with my policies you are patriotic and for doing what’s right; if you think any other way you are disloyal and committed to helping the enemy.
Way back in late 2002 when it was first becoming clear that Bush policies put in place after 9/11 had more to do with giving him power than protecting the nation’s security, Bush said this: “I asked Congress to give me the flexibility necessary to be able to deal with the true threats of the 21st century by being able to move the right people to the right place at the right time so we can better assure America we’re doing everything possible. The House responded, but the Senate is more interested in special interests in Washington and not interested in the security of the American people.” In other words, the Democrats in control of the Senate at that point weren’t being patriotic in helping the President protect the country, they were engaging in politics above patriotism. It is also quite fascinating that Bush consistently confuses patriotism with allegiance to the President, rather than allegiance to the ideals of democracy.
The real problem isn’t in the words that Bush speaks, but the policy of his administration. From Tony Snow on up to people with real jobs like Dick Cheney, at every point since 9/11 the word has gone out to denigrate and call into the question anyone who disagrees with their policies. Pres. Bush stood by without saying a word as his Swiftboat buddies tried to turn John Kerry into the unpatriotic candidate in the 2004 election. Admittedly, part of the reason for their success is because Kerry is a wuss, but how ironic can you get? An alcoholic who ran screaming like a two year old girl from the prospect of fighting for his beliefs winds up looking more patriotic than a guy who volunteered; a guy with enough connections to have bought his way out like George W. Bush did if he’d wanted to.
The Bush League stood by and did nothing while war hero John Murtha was attacked by other Congressmen who never came closer to combat than masturbating to John Wayne movies. Bush lamely passed another buck-how many is that now, a million?-by saying that Murtha was a fine man and he would never attack his patriotism. Maybe not, but he excuses himself whenever any of GOP lemmings do.
Bush is fond of calling himself The Decider. I find that incredibly paradoxical. How can you take on the role of The Decider when your history is one of letting a seemingly never ending series of fall guys accept all the blame? From Colin Powell to George Tenet to Michael Brown, Bush has in actuality adopted the flip side of Truman’s “The Buck Stops Here” mandate. Thus far, there has been no buck that has stopped inside the Oval Office. Bush has blamed the lack of WMDs on intelligence failure; he’s blamed Katrina on FEMA; he’s blamed the Iraq quagmire on generals not asking for enough troops; he’s blamed the Iraq quagmire on generals asking for too many troops; he’s blamed the generals for not asking anything at all while firing one after another for asking questions; he even allowed Mary Matalin to blame the victim for letting the Vice President of the United States shoot him in the face. You want to know what Pres. Bush really means when he calls himself The Decider? It means he decides who is going to take the blame for his next failure.
It must surely be nice to be Pres. Bush. The only patriot left in America.
