George Bush, Whirling Dervish
Sid Blumenthal's new book provides a great benchmark for evaluating what I believe is a new phase in the Bush Presidency. Sid's collection of essays certainly documents the devious, nasty tactics Bush and his boys have employed during their tenure in the White House to date. However, several events this week suggest the act is wearing thin and may be over. Let's start with the hunt/non hunt for Bin Laden. According to Fred Barnes, Fox News Commentator, Bush has downgraded finding Bin Laden:
HOST: Alright Fred, you and a few other journalists were in the Oval Office with the President, right? And he says catching Osama bin Laden is not job number one?
BARNES: Well, he said, look, you can send 100,000 special forces, that’s the figure he used, to the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan and hunt him down, but he just said that’s not a top priority use of American resources. His vision of a war on terror is one that involves intelligence to find out from people, to get tips, to follow them up and break up plots to kill Americans before they occur. That’s what happened recently in that case of the planes that were to be blown up by terrorists, we think coming from England, and that’s the top priority. He says, you know, getting Osama bin Laden is a low priority compared to that. I can't help.
What in the hell? Bush has been on so many sides of this issue that he is giving new meaning to flip flop. First it was dead or alive, followed by "Bin Laden, I don't think much about him". Then, a couple of weeks ago, we heard Bin Laden/Saddam/9-11 repeated ad nauseam. And now, he's a low priority. Plus, note that Bush, who vowed to fight terrorism as a military threat instead of relying on that silly Clinton policy of law enforcement and intelligence now believes, based on what Freddie Barnes reports, that Clinton's vision of catching terrorists based on intelligence is spot on.
Then there was today's smackdown on Capitol Hill. Senators McCain, Warner, Graham, and Collins--Republicans all--delivered a major league bitch slapping to Bush. The President trotted up to the Hill with political master Rove in tow, fully expecting to bully the Senators into signing off on a legal theory for secret tribunals more appropriate to Stalin's Soviet Union. NYET. Buttressed by tough letters from former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Vessey, the Senate Armed Services Committee stiffed the President. This was akin to that moment during the Watergate Hearings that Senator Howard Baker went after President Nixon. At least some Republicans have found their conscience and declined to surrender their honor for political expediency. Now, that's the Republican Pary I joined.
This is something new. The Bush/Rove playbook on display in Sid's excellent work is not working well right now. Bush wants Republicans to run as tough terrorist fighters. Yet, it is tough to run on combating terrorism when your President says it is not a priority to find the man responsible for 9-11 but it is important to flout the law and leave loopholes for torture. Let's hope this marks a watershed moment.
Let's make the November Congressional elections a watershed election.
Many elections officials apparently do not realize or will not admit that electronic voting machines can be programmed to record a vote for one candidate and give a paper receipt showing a vote for the other candidate. That can be done with one minute of access anywhere from the elections officials' offices to the machine at any voting location. We must insist on paper ballots and hand counting.
We must confront this reality -- that past elections were fixed, and the 2006 elections are just as vulnerable. These findings deserve front-page treatment and they are not getting it. Electronic voting machine failure must have prominent and continual coverage. The people must address the serious ... catastrophic... issue of unreliable, unsecure and unverifiable voting machines. Two presidential elections have been stolen. If this trend continues America will be an empire not a democracy.
For an in-depth analysis of voter fraud via electronic voting machines, see:Brennan Center for Justice-Press Release
Or search “voter fraud “ for numerous articles esp. Princeton/ electronic voting test. Or read the book: “The Best Democracy That Money Can Buy” by Greg Pallast.
As Stalin famously said, it is not the votes that count, it is the vote counters. Let’s turn that around and make that work FOR democracy. If we vote in droves, watch the process, watch the exit polls, and demand accuracy, we will win a true revitalization of democracy in America.
September 15, 2006 4:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush and Rove and the rest of the cabal are only looking for a bounce in the overall job performance numbers, so as to prop up the base of the base. Since Friday there has been a momentary 6% spike in the job approval at Rasmussen Reports :
It might take a few days for the kool-aid to wear off on the telephone knee-jerk survey crowd that Rasmussen employs ...
And note: WSJ/NBC Sept 14 Approve: 42%, Disapprove: 53% and and over at the friendlier confines of Fox News Sept 14: Approve 40%, Disapprove 49%
~OGD~
September 15, 2006 5:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
You know, use of the term "Whirling Dervish" might be construed as offensive to the followers of certain Sufi Muslim religious groups.
See the Wiki Entry.
If someone compared my observances to GW Bush, I'd be offended.
I'm just sayin'
-- It could be worse. I could still be living in Texas
September 15, 2006 8:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Past performance tells us that this is just the "mavericks" working on their "maverick" credentials for 2008. But when the time comes to doing anything, they'll quietly fold.
Look at McCain's quiescence with Bush's gutting of his anti-torture bill.
September 15, 2006 8:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
It may be worth mentioning that Sufi Islam is more widely spread than many realize. In particular, the Mahdist Wars that defined the area of modern Sudan, in the 19th century, were led by a religious leader called the Mahdi, who was a Sufist. Sudan is sometimes harder to understand than other countries of the region not only because of its ethnic mix of Arabs and Africans, but in having signficant Sufi influence among its Islamic scholars.
--
Howard
*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*
September 15, 2006 8:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
If met with a Diebold machine or a facsimile on election day, I intend to demand a paper ballot and a pencil and if I'm denied, I intend to scream bloody murder, try to rally my fellow voters to also scream bloody murder and then call the LATimes.
September 15, 2006 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Republican party you joined is also the party all the racists flocked to during the Civil Rights movement.
I wouldn't get too excited about this show of opposition from a few Republicans. I'm certain Rove, and possibly Bush, saw this coming. Bush is a lame duck and either these Senators are posturing for this election or the next one.
September 15, 2006 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
What I'd like to see is some sort of Law Firm or organization combine all the existing evidence (particularly the Maryland stuff from this week) and go into Federal Court and ask for an injunction against their use in any Federal Election this November.
Just complaining is not going to get change with regard to this issue. The charges of what's wrong are too diffuse, too spread out over the country, they haven't been properly organized as a legal brief against the major flaws.
September 15, 2006 1:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Am I the only person who believes that the big gas hikes this summer were part of a plan to make people really really mad, so that, presto-chango -- as the election looms, prices go down and the anger toward Bush goes away?
I think it is the reason for his rising polls. There can be no other possible reason for dimwits to think he is doing better now than he was 2 months ago.
Jan Knaus
September 15, 2006 4:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
NPR News today linked Bush's rising polls with falling gas prices, and predicted that it would enable Repubs to hold on to majorities in both the House and the Senate. People just can't be that dumb.
September 15, 2006 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
The price of gasoline is certainly first and paramount in the hierarchy of Christian values of the citizens of this nation.
September 15, 2006 6:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bush wants to do what seems to be the most politically expedient at the moment. He has no serious plan to combat terrorism, never had and never will. Osama does matter because he stands as a symbol that you can attack America and live to tell about it. Our war in Afghanistan has taken a turn for the worse in great part because Osama is still alive and free. And our war in Iraq has been FUBAR since day #1. If I was trying to defend that record I would want to change the subject too...but saying fighting terrorism hinges on being able to torture more people, more severely, is nothing more than a symptom of a sadistic mind in denial.
September 15, 2006 7:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes they can be that dumb. There has been one constant throughout Bush's presidency and that is the stupidity of the American people. We are astonishingly stupid. And the sad truth is that a majority of Americans appear to relish their ignorance and stupidity, with Bush as their leader. It's pretty scary, especially when you look to the future for this nation of dimwits.
September 16, 2006 9:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Dem Party head in this low population county is mailing out to everyone applications -- all made out and ready for signture -- for mail-in votes. Laws are different in different states as to who can use these and when, but I think it's an interesting way around the problem. And it's one option to fight for. It's perhaps worth getting out of town on election day and voting absentee for those who can do it.
September 17, 2006 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
it remains to be seen whether this reflects lasting change or is nothing more than statistical noise
I would not call it "noise" in the sense of random fluctuations of the sample since the samples show a non-random pattern of increased approval ratings. Just a minor point
September 17, 2006 8:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
An Update:
As I had commented here directly above:
It now appears that the spike WAS nothing more than the knee jerk reaction I had mentioned.
Well... that was quick!
I'll say one thing, Bush's numbers here fell faster that the gasoline prices...
Hmmmm....
~OGD~
September 18, 2006 11:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Poll Update....
Well the gas prices are still going down but so are the numbers I first reported from Rasmussen... Here's the new update.
~OGD~
September 18, 2006 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Poll Update....
Well the gas prices are still going down but so are the numbers I first reported from Rasmussen... Here's the new update.
Apparently Bush didn't get the word from the pulpit that it's "More than gasoline Stoopid!"
~OGD~
September 18, 2006 11:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Poll Update....
Well the gas prices are still going down but so are the numbers I first reported from Rasmussen... Here's the new update.
So some of the non-knee-jerk crowd, the one's with a clue (and aren't that dumb) apparently have been polled at Rasmussen.
~OGD~
September 18, 2006 11:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Poll Update....
Dear Halfbaked: I clearly understand your overall point... But please allow me the exit from that "We..." you mentioned.
Oh and the gas prices are still going down but so are the numbers I first reported from Rasmussen... Here's the new update.
So apparently there are additional Americans that do not fit into that "We are astonishingly stupid...." catagory...
Thank are lucky stars...
~OGD~
September 18, 2006 11:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
Bush Poll Update....
Thanks for the point about the "noise" that Rasmussen mentioned--but whatever it was, the numbers have settled back down to 41% ... Here's the new update.
~OGD~
September 18, 2006 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
That is good news.
I just worry about the huge class of Americans that appear to revel in their collective ignorance. And as sad as it is to say, we don't get the option of exiting from that "We" that is America.
We as a nation are represented by our government which is for the people and of the people. What our government does, represents us as Americans. When America goes to war in Iraq, we are at war, not them, but us.
We elected George Bush twice (well sort of, but you know what I mean). I didn't vote him, but we Americans did. Thusly, if you look at America wholistically, we do not appear to be a society that embraces critical thinking or reason.
Having said that I do feel the pendulum will swing back toward embracing enlightenment, science and critical thinking - it just may take a decade or two.
September 18, 2006 2:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Halfbaked ... Don't fret as to my "we..." statement. After being on this dirtball referred to as a planet for six decades now and observing the collective of all humanity .... I've witnessed the pendulum swing, as you say, in it's wide arc. I've just never been one to allow myself to ride the pendulum. For me, it's not so much embracing enlightenment, science and critical thinking, as it is living it.
~OGD~
September 19, 2006 11:26 AM | Reply | Permalink
And that's we all must do, live our lives the best way we can and let the chips fall where they may.
September 19, 2006 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink