[mercy]

I don't think it's smart at all. I think it looks weak and equivocal. I think it IS weak and equivocal. I think Bush does not have control of his State Dept. and he needs to kick some ass, long and hard.

[vbmoneyspender]

bump

[PhiKapMom]

You really don't understand this President at all. Pres Bush has complete control of the situation. The poster that put up good cop/bad cop is right on the money IMO! Only way to keep everything together and the Israeli's know it! Just the same way Sharon is offering a deal to Arafat -- one he can't refuse but one Arafat won't be able to keep! Then Sharon gets free reign to go in and wipe out the terrorists.

[veryconernedamerican]

words, lol. actions are the only thing that matters now. we can tell anyone to do anything in public, but we are giving them 2 billion/year in military aid. this is our way of giving the finger to all muslim states that are doing the same to us. looks don't mean sh#t, again action is the key. this is classic, no, no, yes, yes.

[Pat Fish]

I don't think it's smart at all. I think it looks weak and equivocal. I think it IS weak and equivocal. I think Bush does not have control of his State Dept. and he needs to kick some ass, long and hard.

I think you are correct in the first part but wrong on the second. Like Safire states, Bush is knee-deep in the deception too. Also like Safire states, it's all for the coalition and image.

All of this is typical government-speak. Like Bush getting up and saying in front of the whole world that the CDC acted promptly and swiftly...yada yada, when two postal workers up and died over the weekend while congress critters were full of Cipro and in their Maine cabins.

Was a time when we all nodded and winked at this sort of thing but the time is not now. Every other week they're putting out serious alerts, lying about Israel, saying one thing and doing another. Goodness knows the Clinton administration made spinning into a major art form.

But the American public is sick of this especially at this time. Everyone ought to take a page from Dick Cheney and tell the truth.

We can handle it.