The Administration Finds a Pair
By streiff Posted in The White House — Comments (35) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
If Winston Churchill was right in observing "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on" one used to wonder how far a lie could travel when truth can’t be bothered to get its butt out of bed. Thanks to the Bush Administration’s abysmal communications effort that question has been answered for us.
But after a somnolent six years maybe the Administration has finally concluded that letting attacks go unanswered in the name of a “new tone” do nothing to foster civility. All it does is let the lies underpinning the attacks garner an aura of truthfulness and those churlish enough to make the attacks are not likely to be shamed or cajoled into modifying their behavior.
Dick Cheney’s fun-o-meter apparently pegged itself in the red zone during his visit to Japan and repaid the Nation’s Crazy Aunt™ in her own coin. She isn’t happy.
Read on.
While in Japan, Cheney criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Rep. John Murtha over their plan to restrict President Bush's request for additional funds for the Iraq war to make it difficult or impossible to send 21,500 extra troops.
"I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the al-Qaida strategy," the vice president told ABC. [link to al Jazeerah chosen for the sake of irony]
Needless to say the CEO of Air Pelosi retreated to the last refuge of the scoundrel, claiming her patriotism, such as it is, had been unfairly impugned:
"You cannot say as the president of the United States, 'I welcome disagreement in a time of war,' and then have the vice president of the United States go out of the country and mischaracterize a position of the speaker of the House and in a manner that says that person ... is acting against the national security of our country,'' Pelosi said in a news conference at the San Francisco Labor Council offices.
Pelosi was unable to reach the president, who was traveling in Tennessee, but said that Josh Bolten, his chief of staff, assured her that he was "absolutely certain'' the vice president wasn't questioning her patriotism.
"I said to him perhaps when he saw what the vice president said, he might have a different comment,'' Pelosi added.
In a statement the speaker released later in the day, she called on Bush to "repudiate and distance himself from the vice president's remarks.''
Cheney's attack "is beneath the office of the vice president, especially in a time of war,'' Pelosi added.
In an interview in Sydney with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, the vice president held firm:
Karl: Well, let me ask you about something you said when we last spoke, you said that the course that Nancy Pelosi has proposed on Iraq would validate al Qaeda's strategy. She has come out with a pretty strong response saying that those remarks were "beneath the dignity of the debate, a disservice to our men and women in uniform." She's even said that she's going to call the president to express her disapproval. What's your reaction?
Cheney: She did call him. She got Josh Bolten. The president wasn't in right then. But I'm not sure what part of it is that Nancy disagreed with. She accused me of questioning her patriotism. I didn't question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment. If you're going to advocate a course of action that basically is withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, then you don't get to just do the fun part of that, that says, we'll we're going to get out and appeal to your constituents on that basis.
You also have to be accountable for the results. What are the consequences of that? What happens if we withdraw from Iraq? And the point I made and I'll make it again is that al Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That's their fundamental underlying strategy, that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we'll quit and go home. And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al Qaeda. I said it and I meant it.
Karl: And you're not backing down?Cheney: I'm not backing down.
Time is long overdue that Pelosi, Murtha, Levin, and their fellow travelers were called out on the consequences of their actions. They are acting against the best interests of the US and her allies in the region and they are acting in concordance with the wishes of our enemies. You are left with only two choices for their actions, they are either knaves or poltroons. We must make sure they own the consequences of their words as well as owning the consequences of their actions.
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The Administration Finds a Pair 35 Comments (0 topical, 35 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Edwards resorting to a single word, without benefit of a complete sentence, "Halliburton!"
We all know Cheney's service with Halliburton and the company's involvement in reconstruction is nothing to be ashamed of, but Edwards knew he wasn't winning with factual persuasion. Sort of like all those times when you lay out a clear explanation to somebody, and they come back with a defiant curse.
"Best Comments Ever" book. This may beat it out for first place.
I can't wait for him to get back to the US so Miss Nancy can personally confront the Vice President. I'll pay good money to see that.
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Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged. — J. Michael Waller
doesn't pull the rug out from under the VP by trying to play nice with the Speaker-In-Law™.
Let her try to say that Al Qaeda knows she means well, in her heart.
The Academy: researching the Illiberal Arts
Everyday people complain that the administration isn't defending itself strongly enough and here we have a post about the VP, Bush's VP, his pit bull, showing some teeth finally and you just have to take a shot at the president.
It's very tiresome, for once we should all try to remember that this is the president the entire media has been trying to sink for over six years, remember the NYT's??? The wimp you are talking about has done more to protect our country than any of us can ever know, despite the efforts of the Times to out programs like terrorist surveillance.
This is not a Clinton presidency where he needs a press conference and surveys to pick a direction.
We all laugh at the democrats and how sad and pathetic they are, I once again suggest we look at ourselves and the things we write here about the man we chose to lead our country. I for one still believe in him, two of my children who recently re-enlisted still believe in him and the son I had dinner with last night that informed me of his intention to enlist believes in him.
Bush may not be perfect but he is MY president and I for one have had enough of him being belittled here at Redstate.
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
some of us feel more than a little betrayed by the man, and are tired of carrying water for a lack luster administration.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
is that we got what we bought, he spoke long and hard about "compassionate conservatism". For my understanding he has not backtracked on what he spoke to. While so many here deride it for well spoken reasons, NCLB is a perfect example of that "compassionate conservatism". I've defended NCLB for my own reasons and I'm not going to do it here but it's pure Bush.
I don't feel "betrayed", I'm disappointed at his not using the bully pulpit more and better, I was horrified by our so called republican free spending congress. But that's not Bush, he doesn't spend a dime, congress does.
My point is that we here spend far too much time tearing him down when the left is a much better target and worthy of our scorn.
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
yes i do lay blame for overspending at least partially on him. He could have used the veto and did not.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
and wasn't partially paralyzed but the fact of the matter is that that's how it is.
Part of those bills that didn't get vetoed did good things for America and without a line item veto it's an all or nothing thing. There have to my knowledge not ever been any stand alone spending packages that came without critical items tucked into them written by a republican congress and filled with pork barrel spending that took months to dig out.
Had a Bush budget ever made it through congress without fluff? No, the pork barrel spenders have now paid their price and they paid with their majority, but lets not forget who it was that traveled the country to help them get and then keep the majority while they had it. Even after they defected on him last year he still did the work of trying to keep them in office although many of them had stabbed him in the back and not just on immigration.
I respect that you have views concerning his governance, my reamarks are to those that are just not seemly and out of place.
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
streiff is spot-on. The Bush 43 administration acts as if it cares nothing for motivating public opinion, or inspiring the GOP faithful who are expected to push GOP/conservative causes throughout the country. You get the sense that this WH crew won't fight because it thinks that fighting is beneath it. So, WE (i.e., aforementioned GOP faithful) are left to do battle, without the rhetorical/PR fire support we deserve.
The buck for that stops on the WH desk.
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)
that wasn't actually what was being kicked around. It was the "compromiser in chief" comment.
I have yet to see where the Pres/VP have taken different paths, that could be my memory and correct me if I'm wrong.
My entire point was, "WE (i.e., aforementioned GOP faithful)", have wanted this type of reaction, this type of strong language and clarity, we got it, so why take a shot?
I agree it's an easy thing to do, take a shot at the president, just read through the comments section here at Redstate, no need to go to the progressive sites.
I've been saying it for months, since the election, our side has done far too much of eating one's own.
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
Is that the President demonstrate the fortitude that your children do.
To hell with hearts and minds in Iraq - he needs to win them here. I am sorry to say this, but for President Bush to not engage with the enemy here at home is unforgivable, in my view.
Yes the public relations war matters but if my kids are any indication of where America's youth stand then this country is in far better shape than many here believe.
I also contend that the loony left may be out to lunch but many on our side are snacking on the same foodstuff and we need to change our diet. Bush is not the problem.
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
THANK YOU. I am tired of this garbage too. Its bad enough dealing with fools with BDS when those fools aren't on our side.
I don't question his leadership in the GWOT. In fact, the President is a better man than I am, in every way that matters.
I am wary of his instinct to try to find common ground with people who have a reconstructed worldview, centered around the very BDS you mention.
And I won't back down :-).
The Academy: researching the Illiberal Arts
there are natural ones and ones that are contrived, learned, nurtured, learned, ect...
This particular one you refer to is I hope a setup to lull nasty nan along until the left coast slides into the ocean one day as she lands her broomstick.
Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
polipundit-like Bush bashing is the course of action for site populated with the "losing will be a good thing for us" crowd. Never mind that sitting out helped the terrorists and emboldened our enemies. But I guess trumped up outrage over "earmarks" or some other wonky stuff (while stabbing the military in the back) is OK.
Nov 7, 2006 was a day of shame for those who sat out. You let KOS win.
You keep posting this crap about republicans/conservatives who "stayed home". Provide documentation or go post someplace else.
From Pew Research on November 8, 2006...
The political center forcefully asserted itself in Tuesday's midterms. The national exit poll showed that political independents, who divided their votes evenly between George Bush and John Kerry in 2004, swung decisively in favor of the Democrats. With roughly nine-in-ten Republicans and Democrats casting ballots for representatives of their parties, just as they did two years ago, the Democrats' 57%-39% advantage among independents proved crucial.
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Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged. — J. Michael Waller
I've really been unhappy all these years with the communication. I really wish Tony Snow has signed on in 2001.
I've been especially frustrated with the really big miscommunication; for example, there was plenty of evidence of WMD activity in Iraq, even if it wasn't a neon centrifuge. There have been other facts that have been completely countered with what passes for "conventional wisdom" in the media. The whole thing is, "those who have ears to hear," as the Bible puts it, are too few and this administration really hasn't made the extra effort to insist on its findings.
Bush could certainly use the bully pulpit more. but in fairness, when he does defend himself and his policies, the media just ignores it and/or repeats the same lies. I think part of it is he's just grown tired of having to repeat himself and defend himself against the nonsense, and you can't blame him, he shouldn't have to. I think the bigger part, and the bigger flaw is he has too much faith in the intelligence of the American people.
He should start sending Cheney out to be the pitbull more often though. (also, Snow didn't need to come on in 2001. after Ari Fleischer left would have been nice though, to spare us Scott McClellan)
there will be such a thing as an objective historian who will vindicate the administration's positions.
I rejoice that someone has put my own feelings on the matter into words. While I liked Reagan, and mostly tolerated Bush Sr., our current CinC is the only President in my 45 years to actually DO SOMETHING about international terrorism. This translates into my ability to make certain allowances for this administration.
All praise to the vice president. May his boss, and the Administration's so-called communications operation, take notice. Apparently they have, but in the event they have not...
We need more of the above for the next 22 months.
That is all.
"You cannot say as the president of the United States, 'I welcome disagreement in a time of war,' and then have the vice president of the United States go out of the country and mischaracterize a position of the speaker of the House and in a manner that says that person ... is acting against the national security of our country,''
that going out of the country and criticizing. poor dhimmis don't wike it, awww. well if that ain't just the pot calling the other foot black (but maybe not black enough).
offer up criticisms? Is there any difference between the VP doing it?
Not to mention the VP is dead on center correct in his assessment.
really do vary from an informed sense of foreign policy to isolationism, and some folks just won't get certain views.
Still, anyone who reads the words can see what Cheney said and did not say.
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So libs, how's that Congressional Resolution to end The War™ coming along?
he is eloquent, and he knows what he wants to say.
Having him go out to fight in the trenches is a good thing-for one thing-unlike others-he isn't running for anything, neither is Bush, but I think one mistake this administration has made over time, is they haven't been diligent about responding to criticism.
I sometimes wonder if part of the reason was that criticizers in chief were in the minority.
Well now they have a stake in the decision making, and Cheney is right on target when he says you can't create a policy that "feels good" and escape the consequences of what that policy might create.
I just love the "I'm not questioning her patriotism, I am questioning her judgement" line-he hit the nail on the head with the whiney mantra of the left, when criticized for their positions.
Dear Bush 43 crowd.
It must be nice to live in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and muse learnedly about the tone of debate we should have. It's another to watch your party and your ideology's position in our society erode because you couldn't be bothered to defend them properly.
I have sat in numbed disbelief as, over the past few years, the incessant waves of illogic, pique and sheer stupidity emanating from Democrats, media and elite liberals have neverthless weakened our nation's resolve and sapped its spirit. Since 9/11 the United States has removed two thuggish dictatorships, weakened others (e.g., Libya), brought a nascent democracy to Iraq at an arguably astonishingly low cost of our own lives, kept the world shipping and oil supply lines open, enjoyed a booming economy and suffered no other major terrorist attacks. And yet, we are gripped in a national funk.
Democrats now know they can say the most foolish and do the most mean things, and escape unscathed. So, why not keep saying them?!! It feels good, makes the Kossacks happy and the Bush Adminstration will keep finding fresh cheeks to turn so the Democrats can smack them again. Oh, you need examples?:
- Steve Kagan insults Laura Bush, and the WH saves him from the PR firestorm Kagan himself started by calling Kagan's own hometown newspaper's criticism of his boorish behavior "ridiculous."
- When Air Pelosi starts to singe the Speaker's office, the WH rides to rhetorical rescue again.
- And, last but most damaging, we see Senator after Senator after Senator who spoke out FOR the Iraq War and AGAINST Saddam Hussein in 2003 now simply walk away from what they said. Their MSM allies won't skewer them on the hypocrisy of their own past words, and our la-di-da White House chooses not to. So, sensing that, the Dems keep doing it! Wouldn't you?
And, our troops in the field and their supporters back home hear Biden, Clinton, Levin, et.al spinning hypocritical with the greatest of ease, and ask to themselves in embarassment and disbelief: How can they get away with saying that? Why do I have to face up to the responsibilities and challenges of this world situation we're in, while these politicians simply get to walk away?
They get to walk away because the Bush 43 White House hasn't held them to account. Many, many of these critics would have muted themselves or stayed silent altogether if they knew that, lurking next to the MSM microphones at the White House, was an Administration spokesman primed and ready to make them look silly. But, when they look up to this WH, too often they don't see a clenched fist circling threateningly out of the window. Instead they see a fresh cheek to smack.
We could be in such a better rhetorical position on this war, if the White House had simply felt inclined to use the key terrain of its bully pulpit to fight.
Maybe things are changing. If so, it's way, way overdue. We all deserved better.
"Who will stand/On either hand/And guard this bridge with me?" (Macaulay)
Perhaps it would have been more judicious to tout the wonderful economic growth and other aspects which put his administration in a stronger backdrop than preaching hellfire and brimstone on Iraq.
And sadly, GWB inherited his father's tongue-twisted syntax and knack for flubs and brainlock episodes. Jeb has his mother's straightforward high-end vocab and ability to project charisma rather than folksy charm. Too bad his political career is in a hiatus because his brother simply did not rise to confront the Iraq-war detractors in any coherent fashion.
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Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged. — J. Michael Waller
But he is better on taxes, so far.
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Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged. — J. Michael Waller
it usually happens once a year. One thing that has changed over the last decade plus, a President must continuously sell his policies to the American people, even more so for an R president. Over and over and over and over. It should be never-ending. Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) get this, Clinton was the master of it. Bush is gawd-awful at it - not that he can't do it, but seemingly will only do it here and there, when finally backed into a corner [side note: I think this explains the yearning a lot of people have for Romney, he is the anti-Bush when it comes to communicatoryshiping (my new made up word)]
This administration peaks its timid head out and barks a whole bunch for a few days every year. We get all excited about it, saying "it's about time" and "right on" and "keep it up," only to have them drop it after a few days. I've fallen for it before, I think I'll wait and see it this one lasts past the end of the month, or if it's back to the "new tone" cr@p yet again.
Two thirds of the world is covered by water, the other third is covered by Champ Bailey
Cheney wiped the floor with Edwards and if he persists in this he will wipe the floor with Pelosi-Murtha. Even if they were up to the VP's skills they have an impossible position to argue.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777