Al Hunt takes on Bush
As I browsed through the fusty conservative pages of the Wall St. Journal, I found two columns by Al Hunt that just tore into Bush. The links for those of you who have subscriptions.
The Real Flip-Flopper, March 18, 2004 A17
“The president depicts himself as a straight-shooting Texan -- a guy who means what he says and says what he means -- agree with him or not. The reality: More than any president in memory he puts his finger to the wind to test the political currents and, if necessary, adjusts. This is not about misstatements or faulty staff work or flawed policies; it's the gap between promise and performance on big issues.”
Hunt goes on to document the gap between promise and performance on trade, nation-building, gay marriage, and federal spending, before concluding:
“These issues aren't isolated. Other flip-flops include the creation of the Homeland Security Department, the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation, negotiating with North Korea, the Sarbanes-Oxley business reform measure, and an independent commission to investigate September 11. Agree or disagree with either Bush position, there's a pattern: He always flops to the side of popular opinion.”
Bush’s Credibility Canyon, April 1, 2004 A15
“‘Credibility gap,’ the dictionary defines in political terms as ‘perceived discrepancy between statements and actual performance.’ The Bush White House qualifies.
What non-Bush partisan believes the administration's current contention that counterterrorism was a big priority prior to 9/11? Or that the White House straightforwardly evaluated intelligence before going to war in Iraq? Or that the administration didn't deceive Congress on the true cost of a Medicare bill in order to ensure the measure's passage?”
Later – same article:
“The misinformation on Iraq has been well documented. The Bush administration still refuses to admit there was no significant Saddam-al Qaeda connection and that they -- and many others -- were simply wrong on weapons of mass destruction. It wasn't too long ago that the president, well after Saddam had been toppled, unequivocally declared, ‘We've found the weapons of mass destruction,’ alluding to the supposedly infamous mobile units to produce biological weapons. Now the president says he doesn't like to read newspapers, but it'd be good to make an exception and look at last Sunday's Los Angeles Times front page. He'd find a brilliantly reported story that these much-ballyhooed mobile units were based on a discredited Iraqi defector with the appropriate code name of Curveball. His story was totally bogus, the former Bush weapons inspector David Kay told the Times, as Curveball ‘was an out-and-out fabricator.’
“All politicians, including presidents, spin or frame matters to their benefit, and sometimes out-and-out lie on personal matters, as Bill Clinton did about Monica Lewinsky. But terrorism, the Iraqi war and Medicare are big items, and this president hasn't leveled with the American people.”
Ouch!
The Real Flip-Flopper, March 18, 2004 A17
“The president depicts himself as a straight-shooting Texan -- a guy who means what he says and says what he means -- agree with him or not. The reality: More than any president in memory he puts his finger to the wind to test the political currents and, if necessary, adjusts. This is not about misstatements or faulty staff work or flawed policies; it's the gap between promise and performance on big issues.”
Hunt goes on to document the gap between promise and performance on trade, nation-building, gay marriage, and federal spending, before concluding:
“These issues aren't isolated. Other flip-flops include the creation of the Homeland Security Department, the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation, negotiating with North Korea, the Sarbanes-Oxley business reform measure, and an independent commission to investigate September 11. Agree or disagree with either Bush position, there's a pattern: He always flops to the side of popular opinion.”
Bush’s Credibility Canyon, April 1, 2004 A15
“‘Credibility gap,’ the dictionary defines in political terms as ‘perceived discrepancy between statements and actual performance.’ The Bush White House qualifies.
What non-Bush partisan believes the administration's current contention that counterterrorism was a big priority prior to 9/11? Or that the White House straightforwardly evaluated intelligence before going to war in Iraq? Or that the administration didn't deceive Congress on the true cost of a Medicare bill in order to ensure the measure's passage?”
Later – same article:
“The misinformation on Iraq has been well documented. The Bush administration still refuses to admit there was no significant Saddam-al Qaeda connection and that they -- and many others -- were simply wrong on weapons of mass destruction. It wasn't too long ago that the president, well after Saddam had been toppled, unequivocally declared, ‘We've found the weapons of mass destruction,’ alluding to the supposedly infamous mobile units to produce biological weapons. Now the president says he doesn't like to read newspapers, but it'd be good to make an exception and look at last Sunday's Los Angeles Times front page. He'd find a brilliantly reported story that these much-ballyhooed mobile units were based on a discredited Iraqi defector with the appropriate code name of Curveball. His story was totally bogus, the former Bush weapons inspector David Kay told the Times, as Curveball ‘was an out-and-out fabricator.’
“All politicians, including presidents, spin or frame matters to their benefit, and sometimes out-and-out lie on personal matters, as Bill Clinton did about Monica Lewinsky. But terrorism, the Iraqi war and Medicare are big items, and this president hasn't leveled with the American people.”
Ouch!
posted by JFH @ 3:31 PM
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