September 27, 2007

WELL, HE IS TANNED, RESTED & READY:

Learning From Bush's Mistakes: How a prewar conversation can help us pick the next president. (Fred Kaplan, Sept. 27, 2007, Slate)

The crucial exchange, in this respect, comes toward the end of the conversation, when the two leaders are discussing the magnitude of changing Saddam Hussein's regime by force.

AZNAR: The only thing that worries me about you is your optimism.

BUSH: I'm an optimist because I believe that I'm right. I'm a person at peace with myself. It was our turn to face a serious threat to peace.

Here, in three sentences, is the first lesson on how to assess the current crop of presidential candidates: Don't pick anyone who utters, or seems capable of believing, those three sentences.


Hardly surprising that Mr. Kaplan's perfect president--a pessimist who doesn't believe in what he's doing; is at odds with himself; and wants to dodge responsibility for dealing decisively with the evil of his age--is Richard Nixon.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 27, 2007 8:11 PM
Comments

Change only the first back to optimist, and you get the future First Lady, aka Slick Willy. Change it to pessimist who does believe in what (s)he's doing, and you get St.Hillary!

Posted by: Raoul Ortega at September 27, 2007 11:45 PM

Mark my words. Bush Derangement Syndrome is going to be carried forward as a religious test for capacity to hold office.

Posted by: Lou Gots at September 28, 2007 1:58 AM

Following Lou, if a Democrat is elected in 2008, and anything bad happens between January 2009 and January 2013, the media will suddenly transform Bush into the new Calvin Coolidge.

BDS, however, is going to sink the donkey. All their screeching about the war, the economy, etc. will fall flat. Fred, Rudy, and yes, even McCain seem to have no compunctions about calling the losers exactly what they are. Let's hope they double down. Just start mentioning (by name, district, and affiliation) every House and Senate Democrat who voted to support the ad defaming Petraeus. And then attack the press as well - after all, if the media is going to be as anti-American as Katie Couric and David Shuster have shown this week, then let the public know exactly where they stand. No GOP candidate ever lost a vote by pointing out the bias and stupidity of the media.

Posted by: jim hamlen at September 28, 2007 7:29 AM
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