I Hate What You Just Said

As W (finally) prepares to leave us over the coming weeks, there will undoubtedly be any number of shills, power-worshippers, and assorted other loons who will remind us of all of the “good” things that he accomplished during the past 8 years.  We’ll  see plenty of these kinds of statements:  “Whatever you think of Bush’s (fill in the blank), you have to give him credit for (fill in the blank).”  Matthew Yglesias tips us off to one such statement - a particularly moronic one from Aaron Friedberg at Foreign Policy’s “Shadow Government” blog.  Long story short:  Friedberg congratulates Bush for realizing that it would be, er, a bad thing if terrorists got their hands on nuclear or biological weapons.  As is often the case, Yglesias is the voice of reason, and deftly (and somewhat humorously) points out the idiocy of Friedberg’s assertion:

That’s a pretty said claim if you ask me. Yes, it’s true that George W. Bush was correct to say that terrorists armed with nuclear weapons would be dangerous. But this is like congratulating him for knowing how to tie his shoes. Nobody disputes this point. The novel idea Bush brought to the table about this subject was his decision to prevent al-Qaeda from getting a nuclear weapon by invading a country that had neither a nuclear weapons program nor operational ties to al-Qaeda. This is like saying that whatever you think of Herbert Hoover’s economic policies, at least he correctly ascertained that a return to prosperity would be desirable.

It has come to this.  Our president is so ridiculous, so inept, so intellectually barren that we have to congratulate him for realizing something that everyone over eight years old also realizes.

George W. Bush is all about “freedom,” and “democracy,” right?

Also - he’s all about this:

He’ll invade your country and destroy it under false pretenses.  He will show little if any concern whatsoever for the civilian dead and wounded in your country.  In fact, his forces will use cluster bombs - considered barbaric by much of the world - which will ensure heavier civilian casualties in your country.  He and his administration will authorize the use of torture in your country.  Then, when he comes to visit your country, and you throw your shoes at him in disgust, he’ll crack jokes while he listens to you being beaten nearby.  Audibly beaten.

From the NYT:

The Iraqi journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, 28, a correspondent for Al Baghdadia, an independent Iraqi television station, stood up about 12 feet from Mr. Bush and shouted in Arabic: “This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!” He then threw a shoe at Mr. Bush, who ducked and narrowly avoided it

As stunned security agents and guards, officials and journalists watched, Mr. Zaidi then threw his other shoe, shouting in Arabic, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” That shoe also narrowly missed Mr. Bush as Prime Minister Maliki stuck a hand in front of the president’s face to help shield him.

Mr. Maliki’s security agents jumped on the man, wrestled him to the floor and hustled him out of the room. They kicked him and beat him until “he was crying like a woman,” said Mohammed Taher, a reporter for Afaq, a television station owned by the Dawa Party, which is led by Mr. Maliki. Mr. Zaidi was then detained on unspecified charges.

Other Iraqi journalists in the front row apologized to Mr. Bush, who was uninjured and tried to brush off the incident by making a joke. “All I can report is it is a size 10,” he said, continuing to take questions and noting the apologies. He also called the incident a sign of democracy, saying, “That’s what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves,” as the man’s screaming could be heard outside [bold added].

Compared to the brutality of the Iraq War itself, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and extraordinary rendition, this incident is of course relatively minor (unless you happen to be the guy being beaten - then it is quite major). 

But it is also a perfectly fitting way for George W. Bush to end his disgraceful presidency. 

WHILE A MAN WAS BEING BEATEN IN HIS PRESENCE, BUSH WAS CRACKING JOKES AND EXPLAINING DEMOCRACY TO EVERYONE.

George W. Bush knows no shame.

Welcome to Baghdad, W.

The George giveth, and the George taketh away.  He has given us plenty:  phony war, illegal wiretapping, torture, a politicized justice department, more water pollution, a terrible reputation in the world, a gulag in Guantanamo, more severe class stratification, a lifetime worth of embarrassing linguistic blunders, unimaginably ballooning deficits and debts, and so much more.

Now, on his way out the door, his expert management of the economy taketh away.  Your job.

Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.

The new figures, released by the Labor Department Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays.

As companies throttled back hiring, the unemployment rate bolted from 6.5 percent in October to 6.7 percent last month, a 15-year high  [bold added].

Hm - 15 years ago.  Right.  That’s when we were still trying to recover from that other recession.  The one that happened under that guy named “George Bush,” I think.

Charlie Gibson’s interview with W is a stomach-turning tribute to the ineptitude of his presidency, and his lack of self-examination and reflection.  As a handy service to our readers here at IHWYJS, I’ll translate.

Exhibit A:

Mr. Gibson: What were you most unprepared for?

Mr. Bush: Well, I think I was unprepared for war. In other words, I didn’t campaign and say, “Please vote for me, I’ll be able to handle an attack.” In other words, I didn’t anticipate war. Presidents — one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen [italics added].

Translation:

Hey - I never said I could handle an attack or a war!  I mean it isn’t like I was running for President or something!  (Oh, wait…)

Well, anyway, the United States is like never involved in wars, so how could I have possibly anticipated one?  I mean, we had the Barbary Wars, and a bunch of Indian Wars and such, and the War of 1812, and the Mexican-American War, and the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War, and the Two World Wars, and Korea,  and Vietnam, and the Gulf War, and we’ve been involved in lots of other armed conflicts in the Philippines, and Grenada, and Panama, and during the Russian Revolution, and in Somalia, and Yugoslavia, etc., etc.

But how could I have seen it coming?  I never said I could handle an attack, and I didn’t anticipate war!

Exhibit B:

Mr. Gibson: You’ve always said there’s no do-overs as President. If you had one?

Mr. Bush: I don’t know — the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq. A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein. It wasn’t just people in my administration; a lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence. And, you know, that’s not a do-over, but I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess.

Translation:

Everything is just fine!  Oh, but I guess I wish the Iraq intelligence had been better.  But hey - lots of people thought Saddam had WMD!  You know - because we told ‘em he did!  Dick Cheney and I kept saying that Saddam had WMD, and lots of people listened and believed us, so it’s their fault, too!

Exhibit C:

Mr. Gibson: If the intelligence had been right, would there have been an Iraq war?

Mr. Bush: Yes, because Saddam Hussein was unwilling to let the inspectors go in to determine whether or not the U.N. resolutions were being upheld. In other words, if he had had weapons of mass destruction, would there have been a war? Absolutely.

Mr. Gibson: No, if you had known he didn’t.

Mr. Bush: Oh, I see what you’re saying. You know, that’s an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can’t do. It’s hard for me to speculate.

Translation:

Umm…duh…duh…duh…der… I don’t understand your question, Chuck!

Oh, right.  I see.  Well, hey, you know, it is what it is!  There’s no use crying over spilled milk.  I mean, dude - you’re asking me to be reflective and to think about the consequences of my actions and decisions.  That’s nuts!  Sure, as a result of my colossal blunders, exaggerations, and lies, thousands are dead and wounded.  But I can’t be thinking about stuff like that.  I stick to my guns.  No do-vers!  No take-backs!  Jinx - owe me a Coke!

(I hate what he just said).

As our sadly miscast President sees his eight-year mistaken misadventure in misconduct, misfeasance, misanthropy, mismanagement,  and misgovernment of our misused country draw to a close, George W. has begun reflecting on his legacy:

In an interview conducted earlier this month by his sister, Doro Bush Koch, Mr. Bush said he wanted to be remembered “as a person who, first and foremost, did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process.”

“I came to Washington with a set of values, and I’m leaving with the same set of values,” Mr. Bush said. “And I darn sure wasn’t going to sacrifice those values; that I was a President that had to make tough choices and was willing to make them. I surrounded myself with good people. I carefully considered the advice of smart, capable people and made tough decisions.”

Matthew Yglesias takes the President to task, and calls him on his immoral, inept governance:

Unlike many things that come out of his mouth, this is basically true. Bush considered the advice of smart, capable people such as Colin Powell, Richard Clarke, Rand Beers, Paul O’Neal, Christie Todd Whitman, etc. and he chose to regret it. These were tough choices. The destinies of billions of people around the world were in one way or another effected. Hundreds of thousands of lives lay directly in the balance. And rather taking the advice of smart, capable people Bush decided to take the advice of dumb, inept people. And he did it, as he says, because he was following his values — immoral values that he shared with the people on whose counsel he preferred to rely. The results have been disastrous and are plain to see.

Bush further discusses the role that faith plays in his life as President:

[In the interview Bush] also covered more personal topics — the influence of his parents and the role that faith has played in his life over the last eight years:

“I’ve been in the Bible every day since I’ve been the President, and I have been affected by people’s prayers a lot. I have found that faith is comforting, faith is strengthening, faith has been important.

And herein lies the key to the (now severely limited) appeal that Bush has had to some Americans.  There exists a segment of the electorate who is comforted simply by the profession of Christian faith.  So it matters not, for instance, that he ignored the advice of some of his most capable advisers, and that the “results have been disastrous,” as Yglesias puts it.  He says he believes in god, and he reads the Bible.  And he still seems to think that when it comes to being President, being a man of faith is the most important thing.  And as a result of his “faith” - in scoundrels like Dick Cheney, in incompetents like Donald Rumsfeld, and in his own immoral worldview - George W. Bush will be rewarded.  He will be remembered as a truly shameful and calamitous President.

In today’s Boston Globe, foreign affairs columnist H.D.S. Greenway provides a brief retrospective on the calamitous reign of Bush the Younger.  Greenway mentions a number of Bush’s greatest hits, including “mission accomplished,” the botched job in Afghanistan, torture, and the current financial crisis.  But the money shot is Greenway’s comparison between the shame of Bill Clinton and the shame of W:

IT IS HARD to believe how far this republic has fallen since President George W. Bush took office. Eight years ago, the United States had a budget surplus, peace and prosperity reigned, and America was universally respected. True, Bill Clinton had besmirched the office of the presidency by his self-indulgence. In his memoir, he would put down his dalliance with a White House intern to the worst of all possible motives. He did it because he could. But that pales in comparison to what Bush has done to the country.

…

When all the various reasons for a preemptive war against Iraq are examined - the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction, spreading democracy, helping Israel, etc., etc. - it all boiled down to the worst of all possible reasons: Bush invaded Iraq because he could  [Italics added].

I’ll say it again: draft George W. Bush.

Just when it seemed that Gordon Brown’s troubles couldn’t get much worse, he received the ultimate kiss of death.

From the Guardian:

George Bush yesterday heaped praise on Gordon Brown as the prime minister announced that Britain would intensify sanctions against Iranian banks, dispatch 230 extra troops to southern Afghanistan and keep British troops in southern Iraq until the build-up of Iraqi security forces justified a withdrawal.

Big cuts in British troop levels in Iraq were not expected until next year, military sources said as the US president insisted there was no difference between British and American policy in Iraq.

Bush said he appreciated the prime minister being “tough on terror”, saying that Brown understood that the spread of freedom was transformative, and it was wrong to think that “only white guy Methodists” wanted self-government. He branded such thinking as the ultimate form of political elitism.

The last thing a guy with these poll numbers needs is an endorsement from, er, this guy.