But he will get NO credit for this statement today. This will only increase the fire coming from the left (and right it seems). One side will say he didn't "apologize strongly enough". The other side will say "He shouldn't have apologized for anything".
bingo. And since the kooks on both sides of the fence are yelling about it, President Bush obviously did the right thing.
Which is why this President acts on his conscience and not on which way the political wind is blowing.
That really is the bottom line. In terms of the election results, it changes nothing. In terms of how much the "Arab street" hates us, it changes nothing. In terms of how the media will report the actions of our president and our troops, it changes nothing.
I believe the president knows that whatever he says about the Iraqi prisoners doesn't affect the elections, the media, or the WOT. That only leaves one reason to apologize or not...a matter of conscience. The president may as well do only what is morally right to him, because nothing else will be impacted by his decision.
And Wolfstar will say "eff 'em all!" Seriously, we have a genuine leader in the White House. He doesn't sit around sticking a wet finger into the political winds before acting. He does what he thinks is right and moves on. All the small-minded dolts who run around saying he should do this, or he should do that, or he didn't do it just right, should stop flapping their gums and take a stand.
Four easy choices: Stand with him, or follow him, or come up with legitimate alternatives, or get the "eff" out of the way. Me, I stand with him. Proudly.