BushWatch-2004

[BFrank]

Caroline Kennedy tells Bush to stop invoking JFK
Wed Oct 27, 4:55 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of the late Democratic president John Kennedy, urged Republican President George W. Bush (news - web sites) not to invoke her father's name in his campaigning against Democratic rival John Kerry (news - web sites).

"It's hard for me to listen to President Bush (news - web sites) invoking my fathers memory to attack John Kerry. Senator Kerry has demonstrated his courage and commitment to a stronger America throughout his entire career," she said.

"President Kennedy inspired and united the country and so will John Kerry.

"President Bush is doing just the opposite. All of us who revere the strength and resolve of President Kennedy will be supporting John Kerry on Election Day," Kennedy Schlossberg said in a statement.

In Wisconsin Tuesday, Bush attacked Kerry saying: "His record not only stands in opposition to me, but in opposition to the great tradition of the Democrat Party of America.

"The party of Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman, and John Kennedy is rightly remembered for confidence and resolve in times of crisis. Senator Kerry has turned his back on 'pay any price,' and 'bear any burden,' and he has replaced those commitments with 'wait and see,' and 'cut and run,'" Bush said.

[lynn]

How ironic it is that those phrases would be used by someone who used any means possible to shirk his own call to duty.

[Chris D]

Anyone appealing to members of the "Democrat Party" isn't going to sway many members of the DemocratIC Party.

[Root Doctor]

Originally Posted by Chris D

Anyone appealing to members of the "Democrat Party" isn't going to sway many members of the DemocratIC Party.

I think Bush didn't want to embarrass Zell Miller, who's often stymied by words of more than one syllable.

[BFrank]

Kerry Uses Bush's Own Words to Call Him Unfit
2 hours, 28 minutes ago
By Patricia Wilson

TOLEDO, Ohio (Reuters) - Democratic challenger John Kerry turned President Bush's own words into a weapon on Thursday and said it was the Republican incumbent who had jumped to conclusions in Iraq, disqualifying him from being commander in chief

The Massachusetts senator, energized by his beloved Boston Red Sox's long-awaited win in baseball's World Series and a joint appearance with rocker Bruce Springsteen, launched a withering attack on Bush over 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq and chided his rival for invoking the memory of President John Kennedy.

Kerry said the weapons were not "where they were supposed to be, you were warned to guard them, you didn't guard them. They're not secure, and, guess what, according to George Bush's own words, he shouldn't be our commander in chief and I couldn't agree more."

With Tuesday's election deadlocked, Kerry took aim at the president's perceived strength -- national security -- and hammered him for a fourth consecutive day on the missing explosives.

Bush on Wednesday accused Kerry of opportunism, saying: "A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as commander in chief ... that is part of a pattern of a candidate who will say anything to get elected."

Kerry threw the words back at the president 24 hours later, announcing he was going "to apply the Bush standard" and declaring: "Mr. President, I agree with you."

"George Bush jumped to conclusions about 9/11 and Saddam Hussein," he said. "George Bush jumped to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction and he rushed to war without a plan for the peace. George Bush jumped to conclusions about how the Iraqi people would receive our troops. He not only jumped to conclusions, he ignored the facts he was given."


KENNEDY INVOKED

Almost drowned out by a thunderous wave of foot stomping from thousands of supporters packed into a University of Toledo arena, Kerry added: "I hope George Bush can hear that. That is the rumble of change coming at him."

Kerry recalled how President John Kennedy took the blame for the bungled Bay of Pigs operation in Cuba in 1961.

"Can you imagine President Kennedy ... standing up and telling the American people he couldn't think of a single mistake that he had made? When the Bay of Pigs went sour, John Kennedy had the courage to look America in the eye and say to America 'I take responsibility, it is my fault."'

Challenging Bush, Kerry said: "Mr. President, it is long since time for you to start taking responsibility for the mistakes that you've made."

Wearing a Red Sox cap and reveling in the team's World Series championship after an 86-year drought, Kerry saw a metaphor for his own White House bid.

"About a year ago, when things weren't going so well in my campaign, somebody called a radio talk show and they said, thinking they were just cutting me right to the quick, they said 'John Kerry won't be the president until the Red Sox win.' Well, we're on our way."

[lynn]

"WHO'S YOUR DADDY?"

[BFrank]

Originally Posted by lynn

"WHO'S YOUR DADDY?"

[Ron Thorne]

Here's a beauty, uncovered today by CNN. The latest Bush tv ad features the photograph below, which has obviously been "doctored". It's a little difficult to see at this scale, but through the use of Photo Shop or similar program, clusters of military personnel have been repeatedly used in this image. No one seems to be certain of the intended purpose behind superimposing selected groups of individuals multiple times, however. The Bush-Cheney camp is embarassed, but deflected the snafu by placing all of the blame on an editor who authorized this change without their knowledge. I copied this from the GeorgeWBush.com website moments ago.

Focus on one person and see how many times he reappears. CNN determined that one cluster was used at least four times, another twice.

It's kind of like Where's Waldo?, but a bit more serious in its implications.

[lynn]

I saw this today on CNN and they said that in the original picture Bush is standing with the military men behind him. They edited Bush out by photoshopping the same grouping in a multiple of times.

I think it's a shame that he holds what is basically a general staff meeting and uses the image for political purposes. PHOTO OP of Commander and Chief anyone.

[Ron Thorne]

Happy Halloween, kids. No surprises, but it's still kinda scary.





October 29, 2004

Bush Ghost Writer Shows Truth About Father and Son


Mickey Herskowitz - a ghost writer for both George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush - has revealed startling information about both men, which he learned from extensive candid conversations with the 41st and the 43rd presidents. Herskowitz revealed the information in a series of interviews with investigative reporter Russ Baker, which Baker tape recorded.1

Baker's article reveals that "in 2003, Bush's father indicated to [Herskowitz] that he disagreed with his son's invasion of Iraq."2

George W. Bush was reluctant to talk to Herskowitz about his National Guard service. But Bush did tell him "that after transferring from his Texas Guard unit two-thirds through his six-year military obligation to work on an Alabama political campaign, he did not attend any Alabama National Guard drills at all, because he was 'excused.'"3 Bush's comments to Herskowitz "directly contradicts his public statements that he participated in obligatory training with the Alabama National Guard."4

According to Herskowitz, "two years before the September 11 attacks, presidential candidate George W. Bush was already talking privately about attacking Iraq."5 In 1999, Bush said to Herskowitz, "My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it. If I have a chance to invade…. if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency."6

Sources:

1. "Bush Wanted To Invade Iraq If Elected in 2000," Russ Baker, 10/27/04.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.

[BFrank]

washingtonpost.com


Miscue


Mike Allen wrote for washingtonpost.com: "President Bush, who is prickly when anything about his events does not occur as planned, received an unwanted October surprise when he came to a tearful moment in his speech at a campaign event in Manchester, N.H.

"'God bless you, Arlene,' Bush said, saluting Arlene Howard, the mother of George Howard, a Port Authority officer killed at the World Trade Center.

"But 'God bless,' which is how Bush ends his speeches with a rousing wave, also was the cue for a local vendor to release confetti, which went off prematurely as Bush, bits of paper hanging from his suit, finished the serious part of his speech."

[BFrank]

It's interesting that Bush prefers visiting with the King rather than the democratically elected head of state.

+++

At Ranch, Bush Plays Host to Spanish King
Thu Nov 25, 3:24 AM ET
By Mike Allen, Washington Post Staff Writer

CRAWFORD, Tex., Nov. 24 -- President Bush (news - web sites) has never returned a congratulatory call on his reelection from Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a Socialist who withdrew Spain's troops from the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq (news - web sites) after winning an upset victory over a crucial White House ally in March.

Getting back on this president's friends-and-family list can take awhile, as German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder learned after he ran an anti-American reelection campaign in 2002 and was frozen out by Bush for 17 months.

But Bush has suggested he wants to make up with Europe in his second term, and he tried to reach out to the people of Spain on Wednesday by receiving King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia for a two-hour lunch at his ranch, where he and first lady Laura Bush are spending Thanksgiving week.

Journalists were invited to record the arrival so it could be seen throughout Europe, and work space was set up for Spanish reporters at Crawford Middle School, where the White House press corps is based when the president is in residence.

"The signal we're sending?" Bush replied to a reporter's shouted question. "Spain's a great country -- and a good friend."

In keeping with custom for visits by world leaders to Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch, the king and queen arrived in a Marine Corps helicopter bearing the presidential seal, and Bush drove to the landing pad in his white Ford F-250 pickup truck.

"Hola," he said as he stepped out of the cab. Bush left his white cowboy hat on the dashboard -- and walked over to greet the royal couple with his father, former president George H.W. Bush, and Laura Bush.

The king and queen posed for photos, with the blustery day tousling everyone's hair.

A radio reporter who had been left behind when Bush took a surprise trip to Baghdad last Thanksgiving boomed, "No secret trip this year?"

Bush got in the cab and rolled up the window, then rolled it down again. "Who yelled out there?" Bush asked with a mischievous grin, then rolled it back up without waiting for an answer.

He opened his window one last time. "Adios," he said as he drove away to give the royal couple a tour of the 1,600-acre ranch. He added, "That means 'goodbye.' "

Aides promised reporters that Bush will not go to Kabul, Afghanistan (news - web sites), or Damascus, Syria, or Pyongyang, North Korea (news - web sites), or anyplace else.

The menu for their majesties included free-range turkey, Prairie Chapel bass and mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup and chipotle. Leftovers will be served for Thanksgiving dinner with Bush's parents and his twin daughters.

In a slight to the Spanish prime minister, Bush welcomed his predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar, to the White House for a 40-minute visit on Nov. 9, after Zapatero's courtesy telephone call. Bush has replied with a note, the White House said.

Bush has long talked about how highly he values personal diplomacy, and the Spanish visit is the latest example of several ways he is using the run-up to his second term to mend and strengthen relationships. He is scheduled to go to Canada at the end of this month to make up for a trip that was canceled when the two governments disagreed over Iraq.

Bush has said the first foreign trip of his term will be to unspecified destinations in Europe. Aides said the trip will probably take place in February and will include stops in Brussels and probably Britain.

During a joint appearance over the weekend at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (news - web sites) forum in Chile, Bush said he had invited Chinese President Hu Jintao to visit the United States "as soon as he can." He suggested he would make a reciprocal visit to China -- likely, according to Bush aides, in conjunction with stops in Japan, South Korea (news - web sites) and perhaps Russia.

After Bush met Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) at APEC (news - web sites), Russian officials said they expect the two to have a summit early next year. The biggest surprise of Bush's trip was his decision to tell Putin for the first time that the United States is worried that his proposed changes to the political system would over-centralize the Russian government and remove checks and balances necessary for democracy. Administration officials said Bush may meet with Putin in Europe during the February trip.

[BFrank]

Big Winners

Al Kamen writes in his Washington Post column: "President Bush announced yesterday he'll be awarding the presidential Medal of Freedom to the Tres Amigos of Iraq: former CIA chief George J. "Slam Dunk" Tenet, who gave him bad information; retired Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, who didn't have enough troops for the postwar occupation; and former Iraq viceroy L. Paul Bremer, who complained about the troop levels too late."

[BFrank]

Cargo plane ditches in Miami suburb lake
Two pilots rescued by boat from decades-old aircraft
The Associated Press
Updated: 12:21 p.m. ET Dec. 4, 2004


AVENTURA, Fla. - A decades-old cargo plane went down in a lake in a Miami suburb Saturday, but the pilot and co-pilot climbed onto the fuselage and were plucked to safety by rescuers.

The Miami Air Lease plane — with the words “Eelect (sic) George W. Bush” running the length of the fuselage — had trouble with one of its two engines shortly after takeoff, said company office manager Alina Nodarse.

The pilots tried to return the Convair CV-340 to the Opa-locka airport about seven miles away but couldn’t make it and splashed down in Maule Lake, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Chris White. The lake is surrounded by condominium towers.

“They landed there like that to avoid the buildings,” Nodarse said after the rescued pilots checked in by phone.

Pilot Alejandro Bristol and co-pilot Dennis Villavicencio climbed onto the fuselage, and one of them walked the length of the plane before being rescued by boat. The Coast Guard responded along with local police and fire crews.

Nodarse said both pilots are experienced and have been with the 35-year-old, family-owned cargo carrier for many years. Nodarse said the family is Republican and the pro-Bush message was painted on shortly before the election.

Half of the fuselage and the tips of the propellers were sticking out of the water minutes after the crash landing and pleasure boaters began to gather around.

Boat crews planned to surround the plane with an inflatable dike to contain any leaking oil. Trapped air was keeping the plane afloat, and emergency crews hoped to keep it from sinking by propping it up with air bags.
Nodarse believed the plane was carrying a load of luggage to Nassau, Bahamas. Convairs began flying in the 1940s.

© 2004 The Associated Press.

[BFrank]

12.06.04


BUSH DIGS UP IRONY'S CORPSE AND KILLS IT AGAIN: Reader R. L. in Washington, D.C. e-mails with an excerpt from Bush's Oval Office meeting with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday:

Here's Bush talking about Palestinian democracy with noted democrat Gen. Pervez Musharraf:

PRESIDENT BUSH: I think the long-term vision is one that is a relationship which is very mature in this sense: that there is a commercial relationship which is fair and balanced, mutually beneficial to both people; a defense relationship which is one in which there is close collaboration and complementary efforts based upon the true threats of the 21st century. And thirdly, there's a relationship in which I can call upon my friend to help deal with international issues, such as the development of a Palestinian state, one in which the aspirations of the Palestinian people are met and listened to, because democracy has taken hold.

One of the interesting lessons that the world can look at is Pakistan. You see, there are some in the world who do not believe that a Muslim society can self-govern. Some believe that the only solution for government in parts of the world is for there to be tyranny or despotism. I don't believe that. The Pakistan people have proven that those cynics are wrong. And where President Musharraf can help in world peace is to help remind people what is possible. And the solution in the Middle East is for there to be a world effort to help the Palestinians develop a state that is truly free--one that's got an independent judiciary, one that's got a civil society, one that's got the capacity to fight off the terrorists, one that allows for dissent, one in which people can vote. And President Musharraf can play a big role in helping achieve that objective.

Irony is officially dead.

Agreed.

posted 10:49 a.m.

[BFrank]

From Eschaton (a/k/a Atrios):

Family Values

Yesterday:

Bush introduced Mike and Sharla Hintz, a couple from Clive, whom he said benefited from his tax plan.

Last year, because of the enhanced the child tax credit, they received an extra $1,600 in their tax refund, Bush said. With other tax cuts in the bill, they saved $2,800 on their income taxes.

They used the money to buy a wood-burning stove to more efficiently heat their home, made some home improvements and went on a vacation to Minnesota, the president said.

"Next year, maybe they'll want to come to Texas," Bush quipped.

Mike Hintz, a First Assembly of God youth pastor, said the tax cuts also gave him additional money to use for health care.

He said he supports Bush's values.

"The American people are starting to see what kind of leader President Bush is. People know where he stands," he said.

"Where we are in this world, with not just the war on terror, but with the war with our culture that's going on, I think we need a man that is going to be in the White House like President Bush, that's going to stand by what he believes.

and today...

A Des Moines youth pastor is charged with the sexual exploitation of a child.

KCCI learned that the married father of four recently turned himself in to Johnston police.

Rev. Mike Hintz was fired from the First Assembly of God Church, located at 2725 Merle Hay Road, on Oct. 30. Hintz was the youth pastor there for three years.

Police said he started an affair with a 17-year-old in the church youth group this spring.

-Atrios 9:29 AM

[BFrank]

washingtonpost.com
'Full Confidence'? Uh-Oh.
By Dana Milbank
Tuesday, December 14, 2004

"We have full confidence in his integrity," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said of would-be homeland security secretary Bernard B. Kerik on Friday afternoon -- mere hours before the nomination was doomed by reports of unpaid taxes to an undocumented nanny, unreported gifts from an unsavory company and an unpleasant lawsuit linked to an unseemly assignation.

The White House's rapid distancing from and disparaging of Kerik suggest that McClellan and his colleagues had something less than "full confidence" in Kerik from the start. But that logic implies that when White House officials say "full confidence," they mean "full confidence." In fact, the phrase has become a Bush euphemism, a warning to the person in question that this might be a good time to circulate the résumé.

Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer had President Bush's "full confidence" -- but his incautious admission that more U.S. troops were needed in Iraq later cost him a top job in the second term. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft enjoyed the "full confidence" of the president before a series of tussles with the White House made many Bush aides eager for him to depart. George J. Tenet, too, had the "full confidence" of Bush when he quit as the embattled director of central intelligence. And Bush was "fully confident" in American relations with Spain -- before the pro-U.S. Spanish government fell.

Clearly, "full confidence" does not inspire confidence. So it should be seen as good news for Alberto R. Gonzales, Bush's choice to replace Ashcroft and the man responsible for vetting Kerik's nomination, that the president has not yet lavished "full confidence" on him.

The phrase is one of several creative euphemisms the White House has adopted to get it through awkward moments. Death in Iraq is gently described by the "folded flag" given to parents and spouses. Federal borrowing for Social Security is called "upfront transition financing." The absence of forbidden weapons in Iraq has become the presence of "weapons of mass destruction program related activities."

Tort reform is now "reducing lawsuit abuse." Abortion melts into "a culture of life." Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is softened as part of "a comprehensive energy plan." And just as surely as a "frank exchange" has always been used to describe a testy meeting, woe to the person described, as U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan was recently by McClellan, as "someone we will continue to work closely with."

At times, Bush inadvertently drops the euphemism, as he did in 2002 when he declared, accurately but prematurely: "The policy of my government is the removal of Saddam." Moments later, he amended: "Maybe I should be a little less direct and be a little more nuanced, and say we support regime change."

At the moment, the most favored euphemism is "We never speculate." Of course, Bush and his aides speculate all the time, about democracy in Iraq, improvement in the economy and victory at the polls. But when McClellan declines to speculate -- as he did an impressive 13 times in Monday's afternoon briefing -- he's merely stating, "I will not answer."

Was the White House aware of Kerik's trouble? "There's certainly some speculation going on, but that's all it is. It's speculation." Was the nanny problem just a cover for the bigger problems? "I'm not going to try to speculate from this podium. . . . There's speculation out there, but I'm not going to try to speculate." Was McClellan dismissive of the charges against Kerik? "I've seen speculation in the media. Like I said, I don't think it serves anyone to get into the speculation from this podium."

Of course, for much of this "frank exchange," McClellan was not being asked to "speculate," only to discuss events that had already occurred. But it would be unproductive to complain about McClellan's retreat to euphemism, because he is "someone we will continue to work closely with."

After all, nobody expects "regime change" in the White House press office -- unless, that is, Bush was trying to send McClellan a hint when he said in June 2003: "I've got the full confidence in my new press secretary."

[patricia]

To be praised for doing "a superb job", like George Tenet was, seems to be the kiss of death to one's continued employment. Tenet may have gotten a pop-metal medal, but............................. he's unemployed.
There are bodies on the domestic battlefield too. The only ones who will be sure to be still standin' at the end, if there is an end to this obscenity, will be George W Bush and Dick Cheney. Everyone else is expendible. No matter how far up the food chain they are. They are merely insulation.

[BFrank]

December 15, 2004
MISSILE DEFENSE UPDATE....Another test of missile defense, another failure. Ho hum. But I liked this part:

[The Missile Defense Agency] said the ground-based interceptor "experienced an anomaly shortly before it was to be launched" from the Ronald Reagan Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean 16 minutes after the target missile left Alaska.

How appropriate for a missile defense "anomaly" to happen at the Ronald Reagan Test Site. Maybe there is a God after all.

And for the record, they've already had several failures this month. In fact, this was the first time they were even able to conduct the test at all. Too bad the interceptor failed to launch, let alone shoot anything down.

—Kevin Drum 1:19 PM

[hearsay]

Originally Posted by BFrank

Big Winners

Al Kamen writes in his Washington Post column: "President Bush announced yesterday he'll be awarding the presidential Medal of Freedom to the Tres Amigos of Iraq: former CIA chief George J. "Slam Dunk" Tenet, who gave him bad information; retired Army Gen. Tommy R. Franks, who didn't have enough troops for the postwar occupation; and former Iraq viceroy L. Paul Bremer, who complained about the troop levels too late."

As Jon Stewart said last night, maybe the president is taking the special olympics approach.

This is from Andrew Sullivan's blog-

"George Tenet was CIA chief when the worst intelligence failure since the Bay of Pigs led to the deaths of thousands of people at the hands of Jihadist murderers. He followed up by assuring the president that the case for Saddam's existing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction was a "slam dunk." Not only is this man not fired; he is given the highest civilian medal possible."

[BFrank]

[lynn]

Sometimes this whole business reminds me of a John Waters movie.

[graypencil]

Originally Posted by lynn

Sometimes this whole business reminds me of a John Waters movie.

agreed ..most of the time I feel like the steak that Divine "smuggled" out of the butcher shop in Pink Flamingos ....

[BFrank]

'Challenges' Prove Too Much for White House
Thu Dec 16, 4:17 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House went all out to showcase the advantages of President Bush (news - web sites)'s ambitious financial agenda this week, but in the end the "challenges" proved too much.

The word "challenges" -- a main theme of a two-day White House economic conference that ended on Thursday -- was misspelled on a large television monitor that stood in front of Bush during a panel discussion.

"Financial Challanges for Today and Tomorrow," the message proclaimed in dark blue capital letters against a bright yellow background.

The conference, which critics derided as a public relations event devoid of serious discussion, spotlighted a second-term Bush agenda that would reform Social Security (news - web sites) and the tax code while making tax cuts permanent and cutting the deficit in half.

The White House had no immediate comment on the misspelling.

[BFrank]

President Bush Named Time's Person of 2004

[Monte Smith]

What a revoltin' developmink this is!



Hah yuh yuh yuh!

[BFrank]

Today's appropriate side-by-side headlines:

- 60 Killed, 120 Wounded in Iraq Car Blasts
- Time Selects Bush As Person of the Year

[Gentle Giant]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

What a revoltin' developmink this is!



Hah yuh yuh yuh!

Pretty impressive. Hitler only won it once.

[patricia]

Not surprising. A liar, leading liars resulting in catastrophe.
Has anyone averaged out the deaths per day which resulted from his decision to take the world into the war in Iraq?? That alone sets George W Bush apart from any other world leader today.
Does this honour come with a plaque suitable for hanging in the TV room and a baseball cap with a "Person Of The Year, 2004 on the beak??

[Root Doctor]

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

What a revoltin' developmink this is!



Hah yuh yuh yuh!

Another nail in the coffin of the mainstream media.