BUSH AND THE ART OF ROPE-A-DOPE

nationalpost.com ^ | 2/8/03 | Matt Welch

[Dog Gone]

My only complaint is that a few people in the media are starting to notice how Bush does it.

But I imagine the strategery will continue to work, because otherwise the opposition would have to recognize that Bush is outsmarting them every time, and that goes against their core belief.

[edwin hubble]

great post

[amom]

This really does describe the technique, doesnt it?

A true work of art. :-)

[Dan(9698)]

>>>...that Dick Cheney is an ex-military man.

He was Defense Secretary for #1

He did not serve in military before that.

[Irene Adler]

Bush throws out whatever action(s) he intends to take for public discussion. The left (rats and lamestream press) hysterically piss and moan and wet their collective pants while Bush waits patiently and sagely for them to get their hissy fit out of their system and for the public to grow tired of their whining, as well.

At the same time, the administration also marshals its supporters in Congress and the media to confront the rats and work on changing the terms of the debate in Bush's favor. Eventually, even many rats and lamestreams are practically BEGGING Bush to do what he intended to do all along, or very nearly what he intended to do, and he proceeds to take action.

I expect this tactic to work again and again for Bush because it's nearly impossible for rats and media people to resist the dynamic he sets up. Bush is really good at holding his fire, and his administration doesn't go all wobbly in the face of initial rat and media bitching. It's genius, really and very satisfying to watch it run its course.

[Verginius Rufus]

Not only did the Liberals claim that Bush was not smart enough for the job, but they have never let up pounding away at that theme. Today's New York Times had an article by Dinitia Smith, "A Lesson on Iraq from a Classicist," about a retired Princeton professor named Elaine Fantham, who apparently is a regular commentator on NPR (I wouldn't know). The piece reeks with contempt of Bush and his advisers, and concludes with this bit of wisdom from the English-born Fantham:

"Why the Founding Fathers were dumb enough to have a president, I don't know. It worked while they were highly educated people, but they are getting worse all the time."

I suppose she wishes she could reword that so as to exclude Clinton.

[wakingtime]

ON THE MATTER OF "COWBOY" TACTICS:

http://www.gulfwarvets.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002827.html

RIDE ON, SHERIFF!

OR WAS THAT SHARIF?

[wakingtime]

WELL, it might not be PRUDENT...amongst all this acclaim..

But let me say this:

I for one am GLAD he's turned out NOT to be "the Father's Son...!"

And, making Colon Bowel to in front of the SAME U.N. he was so ANXIOUS to appease after 9-11 [anybody recall his wimp tactics at THAT time?]and to put the WORD on them that GW is NOT joking around was fitting and ample punishment.

I just wish Alan Keyes had gotten in there somewhere.

Contrary to popular belief, the argument at the end of the last Gulf War was NOT about "going all the way to Baghdad", but was about having had the Republican Guard [ironic, no?] surrounded and whether or NOT to ERADICATE them.

Colin came in on the side to make Stormin' Norman quit while he was ahead. Hopefully he won't have THAT kind of influence with Tommy Franks.

Am I a FAN of War?

Especially BIO-CHEMICAL WAR???

Hardly.

http://iwvpa.net/stonejb/index.htm

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for the great analysis! They always seem to misunderestimate his stratergery! LOL!

[DB]

Having served as Secretary of Defense I think that qualifies as some form of military service…

[Brian Allen]

<< British newspapers, German politicians and Northern Californians dutifully recoil in horror. >>

Screw British newspapers, German politicians, Northern Californians, Chirac, Herr Schroeder and his Neo-Axis mate, Turd-Way-Tony" Blair -- and the entire cave full of murderously-moronic bloody thugs and savages on the East River!

It's America's REAL Enemies, the Psychopathological-Projection-Syndrome-constrained and dumber-than-Sonny-Liston-AND-planks "DemocRATS" Our Beloved FRaternal Republic's President and Armed Forces Commander In Chief, George Walker Bush, REALLY cares about.

And has by the balls!

[Mudboy Slim]

"As Jonah Goldberg of the UN-hating National Review put it, "Somehow, Bush managed, once again, to do exactly what his critics wanted him to and defeat them entirely in the process." This tactic has come to be known, by critics and admirers alike, as the "rope-a-dope" strategy, in honour of the novel way boxer Muhammad Ali defeated heavyweight champion George Foreman in Zaire 28 years ago. Faced with a much more powerful opponent, Ali taunted him before the fight ("You have heard of me before you were young. You've been following me since you were a little boy. Now, you must meet me, your master!" according to Norman Mailer's The Fight), surprised everyone by aggressively attacking Foreman in the first round, then spent the rest of the night leaning defensively against the ropes, deflecting and absorbing punishment, and successfully counter-punching with precision and surprise when the big man wore himself out."

Interesting article indeed, my FRiend...still, I totally disagree with any implication that the Pro-Liberation of Iraq folks were EVER "...faced with a much more powerful opponent..."!! America's held the high ground on the Iraqi Issue from the git-go, and it will be interesting to learn--in the decades that follow--how much of this perceived discord from within the Bush cabinet is fluff and smoke and mirrors, and how much was genuine disagreement between the Powell-led doves and the Rummy/Wolfowitz-led so-called Hawks.

FReegards...MUD

[Mudboy Slim]

"Gephardt was forced to resign as party leader after getting thumped at the polls..."

D'A$$hole's next in November '04...within two years, li'l Tommie will be PERMANENTLY OUSTED from elected politics!! I will not be surprised if he decides not to run fer Senate reelection at all!!

Go Thune Go...MUD

[JohnHuang2]

Thanks for the ping, friend =^)

[JohnHuang2]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Allies? No, just two dopes endangering the world by aiding and abetting a known agressor and tyrant.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder(R) and French President Jacques Chirac pose in front of the Reichstag parliamentary building in Berlin on January 23, 2003. Washington's key allies France and Germany said they would do all they could to prevent a war in Iraq as Middle East nations met on Thursday to discuss ways of avoiding a potentially destabilizing conflict. (Reuters)

[maica]

But I imagine the strategery will continue to work, because otherwise the opposition would have to recognize that Bush is outsmarting them every time, and that goes against their core belief.

Oh, those core beliefs! They will be the downfall of the democrats. LOL!! They are still clinging to the beliefs that Clinton was an asset to America, that Algore would have been a better president, etc.

All of this denial takes tremendous concentration and does not leave very much thinking time available for observing the real world around them.

[Grampa Dave]

Those of us who know our president and his cabinet know that there two realities about any situation that is being discussed and managed by this administration:

#1. Those in the administration never talk to the media nor do they link stories about what is happening until they have fully wrapped up their policy of how to handle each situation.

#2. Those not in the adminstration with no connections to anyone in the administration, will lie, slander and create Fairy tales about what this administration is planning to do. This includes left wing whackos, mediot maggots and the so called old conservatives in the beltway.

We have seen their Bravo Sierra since days after the Supreme Court declared GW the winner in Florida. They remind me of Charlie Brown trying to kick the ball held by Lucy. Of course Lucy pulls the ball away at the last moment, and they fall on their petards and faces looking like total Rope a Dopes.

The administration and GW take fulll advantage of the liars and fairy tale spinners. The same liars/spinners, lie and spin which gets the Da$$hole, the Pello$i and the screaming TV heads screaming the same lies. Then, we see the repeating spectacle of the Rope a Dopers making fools out of themselves mouthing the lies and spins in the media and by the mediots.

Then reality comes out when the administration decides to make public what it is doing. Their rope a dope opponents smell and look like they stood for days under flocks of pigeons and seagulls after the birds gorged themselves with food. Or they look like Charlie Brown when Lucy takes away the football as they try to kick it, again, again, over and over.

We have same deluded Jackals here on Free Republic who become our local Rope a Dopes when they repeat the lies and spin from the other side trying to discredit GW and his administration.

[JohnHuang2]

A hardy G'morning to you, Grampa!

[Jim Noble]

>>It is my understanding that VP Cheney did not serve in the military<<

I think referring to a former SecDef as "having a military background" is more or less correct.