Bush Shrugs Responsibility, Again (what a bitch)

[MasterOfPuppets]

Troop pullout to be decided by future presidents, Bush says
BY G. ROBERT HILLMAN
The Dallas Morning News

WASHINGTON - Struggling to turn the tide of rising public opposition to the war in Iraq and burnish his own tarnished credibility, President Bush sought Tuesday to ease the "sense of uncertainty" he acknowledged lingers in the country but offered no end-game timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces.

"I'm optimistic we'll succeed," he said during a White House news conference, his second foray in as many days into a field of pointed questions. "If not, I'd pull our troops out."

That prospect, he said, would undoubtedly fall to a future administration - suggesting that at least some troops will remain in Iraq through 2008.

For the president, who acknowledged being bombarded with a steady stream of unsolicited advice these days, Tuesday's news conference was the latest forum in which to try to quell critics with what he called an optimistic but realistic assessment of the war.

Bush said withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq "of course, is an objective, and that'll be decided by future presidents and the future governments of Iraq." But he carefully avoided setting any deadlines, which he has declared would only help the enemy.

"I'm going to say it again," Bush repeated. "If I didn't believe we could succeed, I wouldn't be there. I wouldn't put those kids there."

"I meet with too many families who's lost a loved one to not be able to look them in the eye and say we're doing the right thing," he said.

On Monday, the president took questions from the audience after a speech on Iraq to the City Club of Cleveland. And on Wednesday, he's giving another speech on the war against terrorism - all part of his latest public relations offense around the third anniversary of the war in Iraq, which so far has claimed more than 2,300 U.S. troops.

"I don't think he has any alternative, given the (low) approval ratings for him and for the war," said Shawn Parry-Giles, director of the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership at the University of Maryland. "They're trying to change the image of what's happening there (in Iraq) away from the night-after-night civil war notion."

It's the president's second sustained communications drive on Iraq in four months, the first ending a week before Christmas in a primetime address to the nation. Well aware that the fate of his presidency is tied to the war, Bush said he's spending his remaining political capital to rally public support for it.

Mindful, too, of polls showing the public's trust in him is shaken, Bush was also quick to make clear: "That's why I'm having this press conference."

"I'm telling you what's on my mind," he told another reporter who pressed him on the trustworthiness factor. "And what's on my mind is winning the war on terror."

It remains a hard sell, though.

Bush's bid to temper the volatile situation in Iraq by acknowledging missteps and emphasizing lessons learned is countered by a steady barrage of bombings and executions in Iraq, which some observers warn teeters on the brink of civil war.

"What will help President Bush on the war in Iraq is for things to improve on the ground," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Center for the People and the Press. "But barring that, I think he's probably well served to appear to be hearing about the critics and not appear to be out of touch and in a bubble."

Nonetheless, Bush's job approval rating is hovering at a low point in polls, with percentages in the mid-to-high 30s - and public opinion on his handling of Iraq has plummeted, too, as well as earlier high marks for leadership, trustworthiness and competence.

"His strong points are no longer his strong points," said Kohut, who oversees Pew polls on the presidency.

And it's not only the war that has drawn Bush down, Kohut said, citing as well the administration's much-criticized handling of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and the more recent flap over foreign management of some key U.S. port facilities.

Also recently, there have been increasingly vocal calls for a staff shakeup, including from some Republicans concerned that the White House has lost its political edge. But Bush said he had confidence in his staff.

Nonetheless, he gets plenty of outside advice from friends and others, he allowed, and "appreciates the spirit in which it is delivered - most of the time."

"Look," he said, "I'm satisfied with the people I've surrounded myself with. We've been a remarkably stable administration, and I think that's good for the country."

Specifically, Bush rejected renewed calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign, praising him for his handling of the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the ongoing transformation of the military into a more agile, mobile force.

"Listen, every war plan looks good on paper until you meet the enemy," Bush said. "In other words, the enemy changes tactics, and we've got to change tactics, too. And no question that we've had to adjust our tactics on the ground."

In Illinois, Vice President Dick Cheney, who has been on his own drive to shore up support for the war, took on the administration's critics more bluntly.

"Some have suggested that the war is not winnable; a few seem almost eager to conclude that the whole struggle is already lost," he said in speech at Scott Air Force Base near St. Louis. "But they are wrong. The only way to lose this fight is to quit - and that is not an option."

In a pointed exchange with Helen Thomas, the Hearst columnist who is dean of the White House press corps, Bush defended his decision to go to war with Iraq.

"No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true," Bush said.

"My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th ... when we got attacked," he said. "I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people."

[Ry]

ha ah Bush is having his hissy fits again. Temper temper George. This guy is a dry drunk.

[Gyps]

he's a fucking idiot.

like we don't already know that he's leaving it to the next president to handle his mess and that 3 or 4 future generations will have to try to pay off his debt and pay for his war while he "retires" and lives the cushy life.

and to try to blame the media too? only about 80 of them have died there trying to bring us the truth. makes you wonder why so many died, doesn't it. also explains why there's a "story" going around that media have been ordered to stay in their hotels because "it's too dangerous."

and STILL they don't see....

this makes me physically ill.

[A]

!TS not a matter of !T we can suceed !T !S a matter of "what are
!NTEnT!Ons?" fOLLOw the money our !NTENT!ONs aren't gwood
why the fuck has bush not been !MPEACHED yet

[Dissent]

!TS not a matter of !T we can suceed !T !S a matter of "what are
!NTEnT!Ons?" fOLLOw the money our !NTENT!ONs aren't gwood
why the fuck has bush not been !MPEACHED yet

i dont think theres anything you can impeach Bush on. if anything the ILLEGAL NSA watch would be the only issue he could be impeached for. hes lied to us so much especially about the war but all presidents and politicians lie do or did the same, thats nothing new.
my question is, would it be a smart move to impeach him now than to wait it out till 08? what do you guys think?

[A]

! TH!NK !f we are to !MPEach H!M !T !S more pos!VE !N the statement sense. but after h!M !Ts Luc!FER cHENey, and then TED "torture em stevens" so ! TH!NK !t wouLd be post!VE !N the sense that we are tAKEN back our GovERNMENt so overaLL mos def!N!TE post!VE

LOve

[MasterOfPuppets]

If we impeach him, we're sending a message to the neocons that we're sick of tolerating their crap. They've pushed us too far, and it's time we pushed back.

[Ry]

he does need to be impeached and he will be if the democrats gain seats in Novemebr.

but i hope they are not stupid enough to throw on us another neocon like Hilary.

[A]

come on ry some people like chix with dix i thought you were open : - )

[Gyps]

i still vote for the war crime route. save us americans all a lot of time and money.