July 20, 2007
A COMEDIAN, NOT A TRAGEDIAN (via mc):
Bush's Cognitive Dissonance (Eugene Robinson, July 20, 2007, Washington Post)
Last week, George W. Bush invited nine conservative pundits to the White House for what amounted to a pep talk, with the president providing the pep. Somehow I was left off the list -- must have been an oversight. But some columnists who attended have been writing about the meeting or describing it to colleagues, and their accounts are downright scary.National Review's Kate O'Beirne, who joined the presidential chat in the Roosevelt Room, told me that the most striking thing was the president's incongruously sunny demeanor. Bush's approval ratings are well below freezing, the nation is sooooo finished with his foolish and tragic war, many of his remaining allies in Congress have given notice that come September they plan to leave the Decider alone in his private Alamo -- and the president remains optimistic and upbeat.
Bush was "not at all weary or anguished" and in fact was "very energized," wrote Michael Barone of U.S. News & World Report. He was "as confident and upbeat as ever," observed Rich Lowry of National Review. "Far from being beleaguered, Bush was assertive and good-humored," according to David Brooks of the New York Times.
Excuse me? [...]
One of the more unnerving reports out of the president's seminar with the pundits came from Brooks, who quoted Bush as saying: "It's more of a theological perspective. I do believe there is an Almighty, and I believe a gift of that Almighty to all is freedom. And I will tell you that is a principle that no one can convince me that doesn't exist."
The confusion is pretty fundamental. Mr. Bush believes that such gifts impose responsibilities and can be lost when they aren't accepted and the gift defended. Mr. Robinson thinks every gift ought to be a free lunch. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 20, 2007 10:26 AM
It's as though they (meaning Eugene Robinson and his ilk) know they are playing into W's hands, and are just content to call him crazy anyway.
Posted by: Brad S at July 20, 2007 10:48 AMWhen I read stuff like "the nation is sooooo finished with his foolish and tragic war", I begin to wonder how long it'll be before they claim that 9/11 was a justifiable reaction to Bush's attack on Iraq.
It's funny to me, given their love of all things leftist, that they don't remember this quote from Trotsky: "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you."
Posted by: ray at July 20, 2007 11:08 AMHas Mr. Robinson really never read the Declaration of Independence? Or anything at all about American history?
Posted by: b at July 20, 2007 11:10 AMDavid Brooks sold his soul for a NYT by-line. Read his account with the appropriate grains of salt.
Posted by: erp at July 20, 2007 12:14 PMerp: What about that quote via Brooks makes you think it's not legit? It's a perfectly reasonable statement completely in line with things Pres. Bush has always stated quite openly.
Posted by: b at July 20, 2007 1:11 PMb. Have you ever read his columns?
Posted by: erp at July 20, 2007 1:45 PMSure. Not recently, of course. He seems to be a consummate Beltway insider, which means he knows nothing about real America, which makes him quite uninteresting. But again, nothing about this quote (given 3rd hand in the article posted above) rings false in any way.
Posted by: b at July 20, 2007 2:39 PMAgreed. I was thinking globally.
Posted by: erp at July 20, 2007 3:12 PM"Somehow I was left off the list..." A case of missing invitation induced BDS.
"Bush's approval ratings are well below freezing, the nation is sooooo finished with his foolish and tragic war..." => Congrss's approval ratings are half of Bush's, the nation is sooooo finished with the Dems' foolish and comical defeatism.
"Far from being beleaguered, Bush was assertive and good-humored," because he is twice as popular as the Defeaticrats.
"It's more of a theological perspective...." Bush did not say he prosecute the War from a theological perspective. His theological perspective was on "freedom" as a divine gift.
Robinson must be very faint hearted to get scared so easily.
Posted by: ic at July 20, 2007 6:24 PMSo telling is that "Excuse Me??"
WE are so VERY "weary and anguished", Mr Bush. Let us take a year or so to explain to you just how weary and anguished we are. See? We FEEL!! Aren't we just the feelin'-est? We just aren't the least happy if we can't be weary and anguished about something that a Republican / Christian / White-Euro person is doing. Don't seem to get that W & A over, say, North Koreans or Darfur, but by GOSH we can be weary and anguished about you Mr. Bush.
Hey, Brooksie, you be weary and anguished all you want. Just leave the rest of us out of it. (Oops, not possible, that's the whole point. I forgot.)