Madeleine Albright: Bush Talks 'Victory' Too Much

NewsMax.com ^ | Dec. 31, 2005 | Carl Limbacher

[Carl/NewsMax]

In an interview posted on the Democratic National Committee's web site, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says she doesn't like the way President Bush "repeatedly" talks about achieving victory in the Iraq war.

"I was very troubled recently, particularly by [Bush's] first speech to the Naval Academy," the former top Clinton diplomat complains in a DNC audio webcast.

"They clearly had some kind of a new pollster in the White House tell them that the word 'victory' had to be repeated endlessly," Albright griped. "Plus, [there was] the backdrop that said 'victory' and then there was 'victory' on the podium. I don't know how many times he used the word 'victory.'"

Still, despite her discomfort over President Bush's victory talk, Albright insisted that she and other Democrats really do want the U.S. to prevail in Iraq.

"There's not a Democrat who doesn't want this to work," Albright said. "I think that Democrats are united in not wanting this to fail."

Still, she credited her party with forcing a debate over the question of how President Bush managed to take the country to war without "really having a very good discussion of it."

And Albright complained that it isn't fair for Democrats "to be called unpatriotic simply for asking questions and having a debate."

She also took some pot shots at her successor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, suggesting that her performance during a recent trip to Europe was a diplomatic embarrassment.

Noting that Rice was repeatedly pressed by reporters to clarify U.S. "torture" policy, Albright said, "I don't think it was a trip that was particularly the one that she had in mind."

"Given the fact that it's being written that she has a great deal of influence with the president, she may have come back and said, 'You know, this was not a great trip - we've got to do something.'"

The former top Clinton diplomat suggested that Dr. Rice may be in over her head, telling the DNC: "I think that you would have had to have been really asleep at the switch not to know what a very hard trip she had and one presumes that others in the White House read the newspapers and could see she had a very hard trip."

[wildwood]

the problem is the dems now associate victory in iraq with their own defeat. it's TOO BAD they can't see that victory for the US means we are these UNITED states, not just a Republican run administration.

[Roscoe Karns]

Ewwww!

[TomGuy]

And Albright's key phrase she has repeated numerous times during and after her stint as SoS was "we didn't have enough intelligence..."


Maybe she meant intelligence as in collected information. Maybe she meant intelligence as in brain sense.

Either way, she and the Clinton administration came up short.

[righttackle44]

It depends on what the meaning of VICTORY is.

[pabianice]

Why not? Albright talks defeat too much. Loser!

[norwaypinesavage]

"The former top Clinton diplomat"

Diplomat? I thought she was the cleaning lady.

[WV Mountain Mama]

Madie, it's like in sports, you look where you want to go. Keep your eye on the basket, prize, etc. In mountain biking, if you look at the tree, you hit the tree. We look at victory, expect it and achieve it. I guess that explains the dems' view and their achievements lately.

[Mo1]

From the old maid who gave North Korea the nuclear bomb...

And pushed for the UN's Oil For Food program

[TomGuy]

And Albright complained that it isn't fair for Democrats "to be called unpatriotic simply for asking questions and having a debate."

Democrats having a debate? Is that what Kennedy's "Quagmire, quagmire, quagmire, quagmire. Iraq is George Bush's VietNam" is?


Albright and the whole Clinton team are more suited for a stint on Comedy Central than in making policy for the US.

[television is just wrong]

how true. They would accept nothing less than our defeat in Iraq. There was a time, that would be considered treasonous.

[DariusBane]

The speech that Notsobright would have given if she where President:

Excerpt:

"I am really glad to be here at the Naval academy today, thanks for having me. To all you young cadets out there in the audience study hard, on both your academic and your military classes, and develop yourselves into our future officer corp. I want you to go out into the battlefield and try hard, but not to hard because we probably cannot win against the religion of peace. We just can't get our hands around such a complex organism. It's just to subtle an idea. We, the government will soon be sending you into harms way, and we just hope we can win. But then again, we don't fully understand the complexities of the Muslim, so we can't be sure if you will win or not...."

[festus]

Boy even the maid has an opinion on things.

[TomGuy]

She also took some pot shots at her successor, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, suggesting that her performance during a recent trip to Europe was a diplomatic embarrassment.

Maddie, more towels, please.

[A diplomatic embarrassment? This from Maddie the Maid.]

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Notalbright doesn't understand "winning" like Jimmah Cahtah didn't.

[jdm]

"I bet it smells really strange under her clothes."

Probably like tator tots and cat food.

[bannedfromdu]

I'm just thankfull no one has poster a pic of this nasty old lady.

[Logophile]

And Albright complained that it isn't fair for Democrats "to be called unpatriotic simply for asking questions and having a debate."

Democrats are considered unpatriotic not because they are asking questions or debating, but because they don't like the idea of an American victory—and they are doing what they can to prevent it.

[Dane]

Victory for you, great one kim.

[Liberty Valance]

I can see how the word "Victory" could upset Bill Clinton's chief appeaser. She played some fine fiddle while Rome burned.

[You Dirty Rats]

"There's not a Democrat who doesn't want this to work," Albright said. "I think that Democrats are united in not wanting this to fail."

Methinks thou doth protest too much.