Bush Fights Back !! [William Kristol]

The Weekly Standard ^ | Nov 12, 2005 | William Kristol

[The Raven]

ON VETERANS' DAY, the president fought back. In a major speech Friday at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, President Bush defended the war in Iraq. Most notably, he defended the probity and honesty with which his administration made the case for the war to remove Saddam. At last, the president confronted the slander that he "lied us into war"--a slander propagated by his opponents with amazing success.

Here is the key passage in Bush's speech:

While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began. Some Democrats and antiwar critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs. They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein. They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction. And many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: 'When I vote to give the president of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his

hands is a threat and a grave threat to our security.' That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power.

[DoctorMichael]

This Administration's PR has been abysmal. Instead of making sure the Public understands the meaning of our fight the Administration spends its time arranging for popcorn and a movie with Teddy.

Oh yea! That paid some real dividends in good will and cooperation.

[misharu]

Calling someone who has literally thousands of people helping him do his job "overburdened" is farfetched.

But as Harry Truman said: The Buck Stops Here.

Also I would like to ask this: He goes to bed, but does he go to sleep? Those two things are not mutually inclusive.

[raybbr]

He goes to bed, but does he go to sleep?

By all accounts I have read he sleeps without any worries.

[Zack Nguyen]

At last, the president confronted the slander that he "lied us into war"--a slander propagated by his opponents with amazing success.

This is good, but it may be too late. Many people now take it as gospel that Bush lied fantastically just to see Americans died. It is stupid and against the facts, but the lie has gone unchalleneged now for 18 months.

[Loud Mime]

winfall oil profits from Saddam's OFF corruption...I love it!

[G.Mason]

"Oh I give him no more than a couple of days, and he will be back on Rummy's back. I wonder if he was the one who told McCain that not even Israel allows "torture" via their Supremes. I really resent the idea that these two promote the idea that we promote "torture", and we need to give ourselves the US credibility via McCain's "anit-torture" amendment."

There seems no doubt that Kristol has hitched his wagon to the McCain trainwreck, since the late '90's, in hopes of landing a position in a possible McCain Whitehouse.

McCain, with his obvious ties to Soros, the MSM, together with the McLame & Feingold debacle, his smoozing with Kerry and the VietCong, his on again-off again relationship with the Whitehouse administration (namely the President), his acts of defiance with the gang of forteen and other unappetizing parts of his resume, make him a person I personally despise.

Better all Republicans in Arizona cross over and vote for any Democrat for Senator, than to keep this wretched soul a day longer.

[alnick]

that's a ridiculous argument.

[t2buckeye]

True...but I believe he HAD to address it because the attacks have been so personal against HIM. He should have answered it before, however, a Veterans' Day speech WILL get more attention than some other venue. NOw the Republicans..not just the alternative media...have got to get out on ALL media shows and attack. A great example of this is PEter King. I have seen him out there attacking little Chrissy Matthews with GREAT success because he has the facts on his side. The most articulate among the Republicans had better get out on the offensive and defend the President OR the Dems will define them for 2006.

[LibLieSlayer]

Having a new born is not tantamount to being the leader of the world's only SUPERPOWER. I am tired of people like you piling on one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had.

We are at war, and your sniping aids and abets the enemy... you know... those that want to cut your head off, kill your baby, and establish sharia law in our land.

The only difference between dims and islamofacists (both enemies) are that the dims would kill your baby in the womb, and the muzzie-facists would to it on al jazeera!

Farfetched is your outlook on our current environment!

LLS

[LibLieSlayer]

After what is happening in our country today, and even here on Free Republic... you are darn right I take it personally!

LLS

[RGSpincich]

How can he be overburdened when he goes to sleep early every night?

This statement says more about you than him.

[raybbr]

Having a new born is not tantamount to being the leader of the world's only SUPERPOWER. I am tired of people like you piling on one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had.

What makes him 'great'? Seriously.

[raybbr]

We are at war, and your sniping aids and abets the enemy... you know... those that want to cut your head off, kill your baby, and establish sharia law in our land.

I am not sniping. I am coming right out and saying that Bush, while he's a good president, is not "one of the greatest". He was elected by the thinnest margins in history. He does not stand up for conservative values in general. He nominates Miers for the Supreme Court calling her the best choice available. He allows the dems to run roughshod over him. He can't speak extemporaneously.

Yes, he's a president that mirrors a lot of my values but he is not a leader. A leader would have inspired more than 51% of the electorate to vote for him in his secon term. A leader would be out in public, day after day, if needed to push his agenda.

While I despise the dems I certainly don't see Bush inspiring even his own party. He doesn't inspire me. I wish he were more declarative in conservative goals. I wish he would fight back more often. He doesn't that's his way. He chooses to lead with passivism. In that he must also realize that passivism doesn't make a great leader. Patton was not a passivistic leader. Neither was Reagan.

[Cboldt]

McCain, with his obvious ties to Soros ...

Does that sort of observation qualify as "GOP bashing"?

I'm looking for the "obvious ties" and so far, except for a $1,000 contribution in 1999, all of the ties are tangential, e.g., to the Reform Institute for Campaign and Election Issues, etc.

In his testimony to the Senate Committee on Rules on March 8, 2005, Senator McCain indicates a desire to limit individual contribution to 527's, and names Soros as an individual who would be limeted by his (McCain's) proposed reforms to campaign finance laws.

[carton253]

I think you a case of sleep envy...

What an odd thing to judge a man on...

[petercooper]

bttt

[G.Mason]

" ... Senator John McCain is allied even more closely with Soros. In 1994, Soros and a cabal of leftwing foundations undertook a $140-million crusade to pressure Congress into passing what is now known as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) or, more popularly, the McCain-Feingold Act.(7)

McCain rode Soros’ coattails to media celebrity. Campaign finance reform made him the darling of Washington’s press corps. Carrying Soros’ water also brought financial benefits. Soros’ Open Society Institute has donated generously to McCain’s Reform Institute for Campaign and Election Issues. (8) ... "

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19783

Read it and weep.

[ez]

I was explaining to my non-political girlfriend yesterday about this speech and about sloganeering.

I told her that "Bush Lied us into war" was a slogan that used to be only uttered by the wackiest of moonbats. That they repeated the lie over and over until the Democrat Party was forced to articulate it to keep their political base together. That during the election, wise Dems ran away from the charge, while fruitcakes like Dean and Kucinich embraced the lie just to establish a block of voters. Then I explained how the media votes Democrat and how anything the DNC says is taken as truth by the evening news and eventually the rank and file Dems, then the moderates, etc.

One has to marvel at how obviously untrue charges only believed by the fringe kook left find their way into the "zeitgeist."

[WOSG]

"How can he be overburdened when he goes to sleep early every night?"

It's a sign of a good, organized, hard-working individual.
He gets himself ready for the next day and gets the needed sleep to be effective.

If he just was there for the perqs, he'd be up late partying, like his predecessor would do.

[GOPPachyderm]

Love Alan Keyes, but he is dismissed by a lot of people. I think the President and our senators need to be communicating that same message - quit distorting the facts for political posturing in a method that hurts our troops and efforts to win the war.