W'S DRIFT TO IMPOTENCE

N Y Post ^ | December 6, 2006 | JOHN O'SULLIVAN

[Sabramerican]

JOHN Bolton's resignation as the American ambassador to the United Nations makes it official: The Bush administration is now drifting idly toward a mixture of centrism and impotence.

In less than a month, two of President Bush's stronger and more independent aides - Donald Rumsfeld and Bolton - have been dispatched. Rumsfeld's designated successor, former CIA head Robert Gates, is a leading member of the Beltway's permanent bureaucracy.

The administration seems to be waiting for the Baker-Hamilton commission of old Washington hands to dictate U.S. policy on Iraq. Leaks from the commission suggest it will recommend a gradual U.S. withdrawal camouflaged by negotiations with Iran and Syria over a new Mideast grand bargain.

All of this feeds an exaggerated defeatism in the United States over Iraq.

.....

Rumsfeld's abrupt firing was an act of flagrant disloyalty to a loyal subordinate. The defense secretary had made his share of mistakes - notably, his failure to crush looting immediately after the fall of Baghdad - but he had followed the president's policy faithfully.

.......

We don't know for certain the reasons for Bolton's departure: Either the White House wasn't prepared to fight for him, or he was no longer prepared to lend his voice to the diplomatic charade over Iran and North Korea. Either way, his departure demonstrates timidity on the administration's part. The net result will be that Bush has one less loyal subordinate in the shrinking ranks of his own administration.

[Mo1]

I'm this close to going postal on them

[Cyclopean Squid]

You are disillusioned by comments posted on FR lately; I am disillusioned by Bush lately. I signed on in 2004 amidst the height of election fever. The MemoGate story is what brought my attention here. I believed in Bush, and bought into the public image he projected--a strong, decisive leader with the will to do what's right.

That veil is torn. Bush has no idea what he's doing, and is controlled by other politicians and events. He has been coasting for a while, and now after the elections he finds himself in a free-fall. People wanted to support him after 9-11 and for a time that helped mask his flaws. The 9-11 Patriotism Effect is gone, and his bungling on delivering anything he promised in the Campaign 2004 has shown him to be weak.

You say I don't know how government works. Maybe not, but neither does Bush. He just repeats the same tired slogans while he becomes more and more isolated and irrelevant.

I had been posting mostly on general/sports threads for a while now, after I had seen the real Bush. I didn't want to go on political threads and play pretend, saying the usual lines of "rope-a-dope," "don't play Poker with W!," etc. I don't believe it and I'm sure a lot of others don't anymore either. After the elections exposed what Bush had done to the GOP, I felt I could stop pretending and start posting what I believed to be true. Others have come to the same conclusion.

You and others still fervently support Bush. That's fine, I hope he is equal to the abilities you attribute to him. I hope he can still make his Presidency a success. Right now I have to say the chances of that are pretty slim, but you never know.

However, calling everyone a Troll who does not suscribe to your rosy worldview is not a good idea. If everyone who doesn't think Bush is a Top 5 President were to be banned, this place would be quite lame. There's only so many times one can read threads about how "Bush is sandbagging the Demoncrats, he's tricking the Treasonous Media and Iraq will be a great Ally in the WOT."

[johnny7]

We'd hoped for - and deserved - so much more.

Deserving ain't got nothing to do with it.

[Indy Pendance]

Did I ever say I supported Bush? My comments are directed at the MSM and their reporting of this administration. If this would be a dem president, it would be different, and all peaches and cream, and you'd be falling in line with that public opinion. Just let yourself be free, and learn facts, once you are unencumbered by media bias, you'll see the real picture.

[Gator113]

THAT my FRiend... is clearly their plan and has been all along.

[Indy Pendance]

Once you see their 'objective' it's all plain as day.

[Cyclopean Squid]

You specifically called many FReepers trolls, singling out the 2004 and later crowd. I am a 2004 signer-on. You said you wouldn't ignore this type of poster anymore, because we are the enemy. Earlier in the thread you called me a newbie. You were responding to my post in which I expressed dissatisfaction with Bush. The implication is clear. Because I am not a devotee of Bush, I am an enemy at loggerheads with your ideal FR.

[Arizona Carolyn]

You're painting with a mighty broad brush here....

[Indy Pendance]

If the shoe fits.

[Indy Pendance]

Prove me wrong.

[Lancey Howard]

Yeah, nice speech. I remember it.
Kindly point me to the "bragging" part, Bunky. That part I missed.
Thanks.

[what's up]

It would have cost the President no political capital whatsoever to offer public support for his Secretary of Defense

Oh, for Heaven's sake...Pres. Bush did this literally hundreds of times over the last 6 years...where have you been?

There has been no President more loyal toward a Defense secy...and remember that Rummy was the longest serving in US history, due in no small part to Bush's steadily standing for him thru attack after attack.

[what's up]

I'm in a flinging mood

Well, goodie for you.

Have fun with your tantrums.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]

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[Arizona Carolyn]

Read all my posts, you won't find me trashing the President. I am neither a Troll a Bott or a Basher and you are being quite arrogant with your higher-than-mighty comments. I don't know what or who crawled under your skin today, but it's not pretty.

[votelife]

Bush's capital did get Alito and Roberts on the court

[capitalist229]

What a bunch of defeatists !

Bush is distracting the world's attention from Iraq to Washington while he ramps up the second stage of the Roach Motel.

Imagine a carefully staged repeat of the Iran-Iraq war that decimated both countries for eight years.

Only this time throw in a Saudi Arabia scared to death of Iranian nukes, plus millions of Iranian child suicide bombers.

BUMP

[Indy Pendance]

Have you even LOOKED or READ the posts on FR lately? If you are a conservative, you'd be disturbed at the liberal slant that's been the main stream posts on this forum. But, you go ahead with your 'faux' conservative comments, obviously, you're better than me.

[FlipWilson]

Quote: "So, you believe the msm and the polls, or do you believe reports from the "reliable sources" such as the generals and military from the front lines? You fair weather democrats need to get a clue. Another class of 2004 reporting opinion as fact."

I said nothing about Iraq. My post was in regard to the status of W's administration. When I hear him talk about their being a bright side to a dem congress because, gee golly, now he can get his immigration bill passed, I worry, don't you?

As for Iraq, I believe that the situation in Iraq is much better than is being reported. I always have.

I also believe that there are forces inside our own country that HATE this country. In general, these forces believe that the true destiny of the US is to be a socialist country where they run the show and are the elites (you know, nobility, hmmm that system sounds familiar). All else that stands in the way of that goal is but a needless distraction. When they are not in charge and things aren't going their way, this group believes the country is not worth saving and should be destroyed. Thus, these forces will do anything and everything to undermine any war we are in as a means to get back to the real goal.

The democrat party and the MSM almost wholly comprise the forces I just described. Like it or not, the longer a war goes on, the longer these bastards can work for defeat from within our country. It allows them to barrage the public with nothing but bad news on a daily basis. It allows them to claim that we were mislead into war and that we are losing and can only lose. It allows them to embolden our external enemies who kill our soldiers which in turn further emboldens our internal enemies who stand on the body count and proclaim defeat again and again and again. Ultimately, it has an effect. It wasn't the main reason the dems won the last election, but it certainly helped and now has them claiming Americans support their defeatist attitudes.

Bush was so anxious to set a new tone, he missed the fact that if the U.S. is going to use force, the MSM and dems are part of the challenge and must be regarded that way. They are forces working counter to U.S. victory. In 2004 after Bush won, Bush thought this battle (against the MSM and dems) was over. He leaned on a podium, pronounced he had won political capital and intended to spend it on reforming social security. Great, I wanted soc. security reform, but meanwhile, the war on terror raged, especially in the Iraq theater, and the war against the war on terror was waged even more ferociously by the MSM and dems. W barnstormed for Soc. Sec. reform and didn't wake up to reality about the continued campaign against Iraq waged by the MSM/dem coalition until after almost a year of unanswered dem and MSM attacks on the home front. By then, it was too late. Public opinion turned.

It is horrible for this country that we are facing one of the greatest threats to our way of life and are going to lose the battle against it right here at home.

[SJackson]

Mr DailyKOS is saying that according to his sources, the nomination is now Barack Hussein Obama's to lose. He says Hillary cannot win, as things stand now.

VP, they're probably right. Hillary has the donors and mainstream support.