Bush Tries to Ride Post-Speech Momentum (Jennifer Loven/AP Barf Alert!)

AP on TriCities.com ^ | 2/1/06 | Jennifer Loven - ap

[NormsRevenge]

WASHINGTON - After kicking off the fall campaign season, President Bush took to the road Wednesday to capitalize on the attention surrounding his State of the Union speech last night.

The President will recap his top initiatives in a speech Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn., at the Grand Ole Opry.

Last night, Bush painted Democrats as defeatist for criticizing his march to war in Iraq and protectionist for questioning new trade deals and tax-cut extensions.

Encumbered by some of the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, Bush hoped to take charge of the agenda at the start of a year that will see races for most of Congress and 36 governorships.

But grumbling Democrats looking for advantage in Bush's weak poll numbers and burgeoning scandals in GOP congressional ranks refused to cede center stage.

Bush has been beset by criticism that his optimistic messages of recent years haven't squared with the worries many Americans feel over high energy and health care costs, the costly and deadly Iraq war and continuing terrorist threats. He acknowledged the anxieties of "a period of consequence," while still expressing confidence in the future.

"Sometimes it can seem that history is turning a wide arc, toward an unknown shore," he told a joint session of Congress and a national prime-time television audience. "We will finish well."

In Tuesday's speech, the president, hampered by big budget deficits, offered a modest program. He declared that America must break its long dependence on Mideast oil and rebuked critics of his stay-the-course strategy for the unpopular war in Iraq.

"America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world," Bush said.

Rejecting calls for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq, he said, "There is no peace in retreat." He also slapped at those who complain he took the country to war on the erroneous grounds that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

"Hindsight alone is not wisdom," Bush said. "And second-guessing is not a strategy."

He pledged to maintain "a civil tone" in disputes with those in Congress who oppose his policies, like the nation's involvement in Iraq. But Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., complained Wednesday that "he says that all the time, and then his administration, through the vice president and the secretary of defense and others, says that anyone who criticizes the war, they imply they're not patriotic."

"I hope we're beyond that," Biden said on CBS's "The Early Show." "I think the president is in enough trouble politically and understands that it's time to really reach out."

Bush declared "the state of our union is strong and together we will make it stronger." But Democrats said Bush was living in a fantasyland.

"It just wasn't credible to hear him talk about making America more secure and honoring our troops or making America energy independent or making health care more affordable without hearing him explain why he's done just the opposite for the last five years," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

"Our country is ready for change and a new direction," Democratic Party head Howard Dean said.

Three-fourths of the people who watched the speech said they approve of the proposals made by Bush, according to a CBS News poll Tuesday night of 734 viewers. Those who watched the speech were more likely to be Republican, but only a third who saw the speech thought the president will be able to achieve the goals he mentioned.

Figures on the sidelines gave a look at the nation's sharp divide over Iraq. Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a fallen soldier whose summertime vigil near Bush's Texas ranch reinvigorated the anti-war movement, was arrested and escorted from the visitors section of the House gallery after causing a disruption just before the president spoke.

First lady Laura Bush, meanwhile, had among the guests in her box the relatives of a Marine killed in Iraq.

The partisan mood in the packed House chamber was evident as Bush turned, over halfway through his remarks, to Social Security, the subject of his signature initiative from last year's address that was indefinitely cast aside after even Republicans balked.

Democrats stood in unison to cheer the president's acknowledgment of congressional inaction on his proposal to add private investment accounts to the government retirement program — an idea nearly universally opposed by Democrats.

Republicans then took their turn, delighting with loud applause in Bush's finger-wagging rejoinder that "the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away."

Bipartisanship erupted briefly as the president went on to make his modest call for the creation of a commission, made up of members from both parties, to examine the impact of the retirement of the baby boomer generation on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

He invited Democrats as well as Republicans to provide "good advice" on the mission in Iraq and praised "honorable people in both parties" who are proposing to strengthen ethical standards amid the influence-peddling scandal surrounding disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

But even as the president steered away from directly targeting Democrats, he left no doubt he was drawing clear distinctions with the other party, and will continue to do so as the campaign progresses.

He warned against the danger to the nation's future economic vitality of choosing to "shut ourselves off from trade and opportunity," a reference to overwhelming Democratic opposition last year to the new Central American Free Trade Agreement.

He termed it irresponsible to allow "a massive tax increase" if previously passed cuts, set to expire, are not permanently extended.

Many of the solutions Bush offered were repackaged versions of ideas he has sounded from the beginning of his presidency.

He announced a competitiveness agenda that is the focus of travel later in the week to Minnesota, New Mexico and Texas. The initiative, a total of $136 billion over 10 years, includes training for 100,000 math and science school instructors and greater public spending on basic science research.

Bush proposed greater tax benefits for health saving accounts, in which people who purchase high-deductible coverage can contribute money tax-free to 401(k)-like savings plans.

___

On the Net:

White House: http://whitehouse.gov

Democratic Party: http://www.democrats.org

[NormsRevenge]

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush wave as they depart the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, for a day trip to Nashville, Tenn., to make remarks on his 2006 agenda. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

[NormsRevenge]

First lady Laura Bush, left, watches as President Bush signs a proclamation in honor of American Heart Month, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2006, in the Oval Office at the White House. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

[MNJohnnie]

Notice. Jenifer Loven is married to a DNC big wig and Democrat Activist. The AP has been repeatedly contacted about her clear conflict of intrest yet refuses to reassign her to other reporting duties. Her assignment as AP's primary Washington DC Political reporter is proof of the AP's basic political corruption and complete lack of crediblity as a source of "news".

[Grampa Dave]

This left wing POS operative of the DNC poses as an AP writer to get the DNC lies printed. She has a long history of this bs:

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/007959.php

September 25, 2004
Jennifer Loven, Democratic Operative

Jennifer Loven, the AP reporter who wrote the absurd "President Bush Twists Kerry's Words on Iraq" story dissected below, has a history of writing hit pieces on behalf of the Democratic National Committee. Such as this July 2003 outrage, a "news story" titled "White House can't make the questions go away". Here is how Ms. Loven begins her "news story" on the famous "sixteen words" controversy:

The White House defense of President Bush's now-disavowed claim that Iraq was seeking uranium in Africa has evolved over the last two weeks: blame others, stonewall, bury questions in irrelevant information and, above all, hope it will go away.
So far, none has worked.


Now, that's not a bad beginning for a DNC press release. But for a wire service news report, it's ridiculous. Ms. Loven continues:

The flap started on July 6, when an envoy sent by the CIA to Africa last year to investigate the uranium claim contended that the Bush administration ignored his findings. In a New York Times op-ed article, Joseph Wilson, former U.S. ambassador to Gabon, said it was highly doubtful that any transaction took place.
We know now, because of the Senate Intelligence Committee report, that Joe Wilson lied about what happened in Niger. Wilson was assigned to the Niger investigation at the urging of his wife, Valerie Plame. The Committee's report says that Wilson went to Niger and was told by that country's former Prime Minister that Iraq had, indeed, tried to buy yellowcake uranium there. Note the Wilson lie that Loven repeats in her AP article: "it was highly doubtful that any transaction took place." Right. But, of course, that wasn't what Bush said in his State of the Union address. He said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." And Wilson's report to the CIA confirmed that Saddam had "sought," but not obtained, uranium in Africa, specifically Niger.

Such nuance, needless to say, is completely beyond Ms. Loven. Her interest is in slandering Republicans, period. She continues:

That changed with Wilson's statements. Democrats in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail demanded an investigation into whether Bush purposedly exaggerated intelligence.
With its press staff unable to quell the controversy, the White House brought in Secretary of State Colin Powell, Rice, the president himself and even, later, British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But, after two weeks, a White House usually adept at controlling stories by dismissing questions and waiting them out has had no luck.

The key questions -- asked over and over -- were not changing:

-Who knew what when -- especially the president?

-Why was it so important to include the statement in the speech?

-Who was responsible for putting it in?

-Why has the president refused to take responsibility for uttering it?

Only the White House's explanations shifted -- often contradicting itself in the process.


Ms. Loven's animus against the Bush administration helps to explain why a complete non-story, Bush's sixteen words, which, as we have argued, were almost certainly true, turned into a mini-"scandal" that ended only when Joe Wilson was exposed as a liar.

But the facts don't matter to Ms. Loven and the Associated Press. What matters, to them, is electing a Democrat as President.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks!

[Grampa Dave]

More bs from this DNC Operative POS posing as a reporter/journalist:

http://www.thesakeofargument.com/archives/000066.html

July 22, 2003
AP: We Report, We Decide, II
REPORT:
The AP’s Jennifer Loven reports on the Bush administration’s attempt to defend against claims President Bush used misleading tactics to garner support for war against Iraq.

The White House defense of President Bush's now-disavowed claim that Iraq was seeking uranium in Africa has evolved over the last two weeks: blame others, stonewall, bury questions in irrelevant information and, above all, hope it will go away.

So far, none has worked.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT:
This is yet another editorial being passed off as a news report.

For Loven to assert that “so far, none has worked,” would seemingly imply that she has evidence that none of it has worked. And, at the risk of sounding Clintonian, what exactly do you mean by “work?”

Do you mean “work” as in "providing a reasonable explanation for the series of events leading up to and after the SOTU Address?"

If that’s the case, frankly, it has “worked.”

Now, if you mean “work” as in "stopping the Democrats (and liberal AP reporters) from continuing their attack on Bush" then, I guess you’re right, it hasn’t worked. But, to that end, nothing short of Bush’s resignation or failure to be reelected will ever "work."

The AP’s Loven continues to spin her liberal story:

At issue: the credibility of the president's allegation that Saddam was rebuilding a nuclear weapons program. The assertion that Iraq was trying to buy uranium was a key component of that claim - and a key piece of Bush's justification for war.

A key piece of Bush’s justification for war? According to whom?

I seem to recall President Bush orchestrating a deliberate and lengthy pitch to sell this war to the world and this particular claim was only mentioned a couple of times. In the entire body of work, the uranium-Niger issue was miniscule, not a “key piece of justification.”

Frankly, Bush largely has himself to blame for the festering of this issue. If President Bush had simply taken the lead when this story broke and stood by his comments I think he wouldn’t be facing the criticism (by liberals in Congress and the AP) that he is today.

”The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.”

That comment was accurate when President Bush said it and it remains accurate to this day. There’s no reason to apologize or play word games with the press

[jazusamo]

Loven is not the only AP writer that should be writing for oped pages. And the print media wonder why they're tanking, pathetic.

[ex-snook]

President Bush should set forth how the SOTU today compares to when he took office.

[Grampa Dave]

Below is a reply in which yours truly documented over a year ago the long history of this vile DNC operative POS posing as a journalist. Her opeds/articles are either pushing the gay agenda or lying about our president.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1226687/posts?page=72

The writer of this article like most of the AP Rathers re GW has written a lot of pro gay articles or articles pushing the gay agenda. This seems to be a current profile of the bash GS hit writers from AP and the MSM. If they rather about GW in an appearance of really bash him, often they have written a lot of articles pushing the gay agenda.

Here is the search on Jennifer Loven, gay via Yahoo:

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=JENNIFER%20LOVEN%20Gay






72 posted on 09/25/2004 10:16:52 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (When will the ABCNNBC BS lunatic libs stop Rathering to Americans? Answer: NEVER!)

[jmaroneps37]

Hey Jennifer! Suck a lemon! We're in charge and the rats aint! *"Ha Ha"

* The great Nelson Mundt!

[LS]

The truth worms its way out: the Republicans and Bush have "momentum."

I thought the GOP was collapsing and that the Dems were about to re-take the Senate.

[Ouderkirk]

He pledged to maintain "a civil tone" in disputes with those in Congress who oppose his policies, like the nation's involvement in Iraq. But Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., complained Wednesday that "he says that all the time, and then his administration, through the vice president and the secretary of defense and others, says that anyone who criticizes the war, they imply they're not patriotic."

It is because you ARE NOT PATRIOTIC you are IDIOTIC