Your tax dollars at work.

"I think Condi is going to go pretty soon."

Bush wasn't talking about Lebanon, he was still talking sh*te.

He was looking at a photo of Condi, who was looking condi-spated, as usual.

brilliant!! if only someone had figured that out years ago...stop doing this shit. this is really eye opening. think of the possibilities how history might have been different had previous world leaders had this kind of insight. if only neville had said that to adolf or lbj to ho....

A angry little, thug cramming his mouth full and delivering a profanity-laced rant? As the White House said the President's words and action speak for themselves. If anyone proves character doesn't count, it's Bush. Blair of course played the poodle again. Standing at Bush's side like his man-servant through all of this instead of walking off and leaving the miserable little fellow to himself. The English must be mortified.

"I think Condi is going to go pretty soon."

He's pretty sure she said that at the last cabinet meeting. But it was hard to hear anything over the bag of Funyuns he was munching on.

Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?

What a bunch of bullshit Kevin. Bush is just saying Condi and Bush have not DECIDED together if she's going to Lebanon. I wish you would stop making up shit about Bush and starting telling the truth.

"I think Condi is going to go pretty soon."

He might be the "decider" but he does have to get permission from Dead Eye Dick before committing Condi to engaging in any act of diplomacy. He was telling the truth. He thinks she is going, but until he hears from the boss, he doesn't know for sure.

If you watch the video of the exchange, you'll see that Bush is chewing something quite vigorously with his mouth open while he talks to Blair, who maintains a discreet distance . . our Preznit multi-tasking, one would guess . . .

I wish you would stop making up shit about Bush and starting telling the truth.

You mean, that's he's a mean, foulmouthed hick?

Who do McCain and Bush think they are, blog commenters?

Or are they appealing to the majority lowest common denominator of Git-R-Done Americans?

Git-R-Done, nuke 'em.

The "I think" comment...

Bush clearly has no respect for Blair (sitting while talking with him, interrupting, impatiently pretending to listen, blowing bread crumbs in his face, and indulging in language that was out of place in the context), just as he has no respect for diplomacy. I see the "I think" comment as yet another example of Bush just not appreciating the potential of subtle diplomacy as a tool in the resolution of crises. He plans to send Rice, but the way in which he tells Blair (offhand, no details, no confidences) completely undermines the potential of that comment to do any diplomatic good (to cement relationships, reassure other nations, whatever).

All of which leads me to conclude that if and when he does send Rice, it will be as part of a calculated posture, a way to be seen to be doing something - it will have no diplomatic value at all.

Kevin Drum: "I think"? Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?

Cheney hasn't passed out next week's assignments yet.

If only Bill Clinton were in office, we'd have peace in the Middle East by now. Oh, wait. He's still walking funny from what Arafat did to him after eight years of negotiations.

Maybe Gore or Kerry would have figured out a way to make delicate and complex nuances and decades of negotiations work. This time for sure, Rocky!

Kevin is stretching for very superficial criticism in military/foreign affairs areas where he is very weak. Couldn't "I think" mean he has not decided yet? Does Kevin really think Rice would go to the middle east without Bush deciding it was appropriate.

McCain is the person most likely to be the next President of the United States. I'm afraid at some level Kevin recognizes that.

In a nation full of morons, it isn't hard to accept the fact that its' "leaders" will also be morons. Stop searching for intelligent politicians. The last one was destroyed for having a harmless affair.

The elevator in my office building has one of those little screens with the day's headlines on it, and the blurb about Miss Manners here was something to the effect of "Bush caught talking tough about the Middle East and using an expletive." It actually makes him sound like he's doing something. I wouldnt' be a bit surprised if the whole "open mike" thing was deliberate.

"Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?"

Obviously, his gut was still deliberating over the decision. That buttered roll he was eating might just have made the difference.

Glenn >"...I wouldnt' be a bit surprised if the whole "open mike" thing was deliberate."

I had exactly the same thought; another chance to show his disrespect for common courtesy

A really good example of Texas mentality

"...Open-mindedness is not a virtue of people who don’t believe anything. It is a virtue of people who know that their beliefs are not absolutely true….” - Reinhold Niebuhr

This little event captures Bush in full flower: talking with his mouth full; expressing simple-minded thoughts in crude words; showing ignorance of world geography and disengagement from his own administration's policy; treating equals with barely concealed contempt. There's so much else going on, you barely bother to note that he clearly has no idea what the word "irony" means.

It would take great inner blindness to conclude anything other than, this guy is a dangerous buffoon. An awful lot for the cultists to block out -- but they've always proven up to the task before.

Pechorin: every nation is full of morons. Do you have empirical evidence that establishes that Americans are stupider than other people? I really doubt it.

As to the tape: My favorite moment is when Bush interrupts Blair by saying, "Right, it's about process..." and Blair has to rework what he had just been saying to fit this odd reading of the conversation.

After a plea from Blair that the United States get involved in the Lebanon situation, he replied, "I think Condi is going to go pretty soon."

"I think"? Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?

Yes, Bush is an idiot, advised by a narrow-minded group of counselors, and I personally think that BushCo's "disengagement" from the Israel/Palestinian question early in office dropped whatever restraints middle east satrapies may have placed upon Al Qaida before 9/11, as well as the current havoc.

But one can construe this statement, as quoted above, in a far more positive sense. That is, "I think Condi is going to go pretty soon." may have had an imperative sense of reassurance.

If that is not how Bush said it, please demonstrate that this construction is incorrect.

If only Bill Clinton were in office, we'd have peace in the Middle East by now.

Hm. Possible. Interesting thesis, now you've suggested it, "elvin".

Are you serious? All of you? Really? The way people throw profanity around at this forum it takes much gall to criticize someone else for dropping the s-bomb in what he thinks is a casual conversation with another person. Dude! He's a real person -- people swear. That's the way it is. He's not a priest, he's the president.

And then Kevin minces more words, referring to Bush's comments on Condi. Think, for a second, before you type next time. He doesn't owe it to anyone to know EXACTLY when he plans on sending someone to a war-torn region. The situation over there is currently so fluid that it is entirely unfair to assume Bush knows exactly when to send someone over there to begin talking.

This is representative of the larger problem with many liberals. So eager to try to screw with your opponent that you never spend any time thinking for yourselves coming up with better solutions. Full of criticism, short on ideas. Good luck in 2008. You'll need it.

Do you have empirical evidence that establishes that Americans are stupider than other people?

Well, there are the math scores.

Others have reported that Bush started this sentence with "See the irony is...."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/17/bush.tape/index.html

The real crime to thinking people everywhere is not Bush's failing Middle East policy, his use of profanity, or his beginner's mistake of forgetting than any mike is potentially an open mike. No, it's not understanding what irony is. The man is a disgrace.

(Hmmm, it seems DemTom made the same point.)

No, it's not understanding what irony is.

He must've learned the word by listening to Alanis Morissette.

I'm no Bush fan...but in this instance I find his lack of "nuance" refreshing and necessary.

"'I think'? Doesn't he know?"

Oh, for God's sake, Kevin. He knows. The details are still being worked out, so he spoke tentatively.

Come on, man, you're smarter than this. Please stick to legitimate grievances with Bush.

brian: Kevin is stretching for very superficial criticism in military/foreign affairs areas where he is very weak.

What a hoot!

Bush and his supporters have been telling us for years, if we just show those Arabs and other Middle Eastern fundies that we mean business by talking tough and killing a lot of them, then they will simply fade away and peace will reign.

Now after three full years of doing just that and failing miserably, brian argues that it's Kevin who knows nothing about military/foreign affairs.

Too, too funny.

He doesn't owe it to anyone to know EXACTLY when he plans on sending someone to a war-torn region.

What a preposterous and stupid construction. "He doesn't owe it to anyone"? How childish. "Tony Blair's not the boss of me!"

Dude! He's a real person -- people swear.

If they're dull-minded, faux-macho hicks who have no appreciation for the gravity of the office they hold, and who think a foul mouth is a sign of manliness, then yeah, they do.

minces more words

Learn what this phrase means before employing it again.

Good luck in 2008. You'll need it.

Good luck right now, jerk. You don't have it.

AP/Ipsos, June 14
"Who should control Congress?
Republicans: 36%
Democrats: 53%"

smitty writes:
> This is representative of the larger problem with many liberals. So eager to try to screw with
> your opponent that you never spend any time thinking for yourselves coming up with better
> solutions.

Liberals (and most of us moderates, for that matter) know perfectly well what the solution to these problems are: get Bush and his administration out of office. But you're right that the problem is not his profanity - it's his incompetence, dishonesty, and mendacity.

Kerkira

Think of the children.

Oh the horror.

How will the young parents convince their children not to talk with their mouths full?

At least Clinton had someone else's mouth full.

it ain't the words smitty. it's the deeds. what is it that we're doing to stop the killing? the most incompetent administration in modern u.s. history has us doing exactly nothing to this point. i'll take a charitable view of bush's "i think Condi is going" statement but in any case she's late. oh and as far as screwing with your opponents, that's what this administration and the modern republican party does best. governing? that's for suckers.

How long before we get calls from the Right to hang the journalist that left the mic on? Or maybe just the media outlets that carried the conversation.

I mean, they did give away Condi's travel plans. I'm sure Al-Qaeda will be waiting to pick her up at the airport.

Or maybe Bush is just a genius. He used the words "I think", because he knows that the traitors at the NY Times are plotting against him.

"I'm no Bush fan...but in this instance I find his lack of "nuance" refreshing and necessary."

Right, because if there's one thing America needs right now, it's for the world to be reminded what a buffoon our President is.

smitty wrote: This is representative of the larger problem with many liberals. So eager to try to screw with your opponent that you never spend any time thinking for yourselves coming up with better solutions.

The sad truth is that smitty's comment is representative of the larger problem with many right wingers: they are stupid.

You'd think President Cheney would rein in his loose cannon vice-president. You can't have the second in command using foul language like that.

After all, the Big Dick would never use language like that, for example, telling a respected Democratic senator to go fuck himself...

Never mind.

nut,

thanks for your extremely relevant and penetrating insight, which leads me to query: why are the Cheney women all lesbians? Is it genetic, or something about Dick?

Curious to hear your response,

Kevin: ""I think"? Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?"

Nah, he's just trying to remember what he was told. His staff and cabinet tell him lots of stuff and he's hard-pressed to recall any of it. You can see him struggle in press conferences: "Now what in the hell did they tell me to say about this issue?" But he has no problem remembering that he's been promised roast pig for dinner! Scary, isn't it?

Ordinarily I'd say that this kind of bullshit "just plain folks" banter is for domestic consumption and doesn't signal anything serious in foreign (or any other) policy. But Bush's comments were apparently private.

The lack of meaningful leadership really is that bad.
.

brian: Couldn't "I think" mean he has not decided yet?

No, "I haven't decided yet" would mean he has not decided yet.

"I think" means he's waiting for someone else to tell him what to do or something was decided but he just can't remember what was decided.

Of course, he could have just said "we're reviewing possible responses to the situation" or "sending Ms. Rice is one of many options we are evaluating"?

But who would say "I think" in such circumstances except a complete idiot?

Is that how a labor lawyer talks, brian?

"I think we are going to call the defendant corporation's CEO as a witness. I'm not really sure. I can't recall what was discussed during our litigation strategy sessions, even though I was there and supposedly in charge, since I'm the lead attorney. Nevertheless, I don't know what the real attorney handling this case is going to tell me to do. But I'm pretty sure we're going to call the defendant as a witness. Unless we don't. Let me get back to you on that when I find out for sure. Meanwhile, don't forget to spell my name correctly and note that I'm the lead attorney for this litigation, even though I have no clue as to how we are going to proceed."

No wonder labor lawyers have such a bad name.

So I'm to gather that saying the word "shit" amounts to unspeakable disrespect to the office of the presidency but getting a hummer from an intern in the oval office is really no big deal?

I'm a republican, and as a republican I can't support what Bush has done on hardly any front during this second term. But I don't care if he gets caught swearing to Tony Blair. That just ain't news and it's hardly a decent reason to get on his case. Many of the moderates I know talk about how detrimental censorship of speech is to our society that to hear them complain about Bush's uncensored moment as a serious mistake is laughably inconsistent.

Criticize Bush all you want, but his statement was exactly right.

Are you serious? All of you? Really? The way people throw profanity around at this forum it takes much gall to criticize someone else for dropping the s-bomb in what he thinks is a casual conversation with another person. Dude! He's a real person -- people swear. That's the way it is. He's not a priest, he's the president.

Yeah, but we're liberals - you already know we're a bunch of godless heathen. Bush's base believes him to be a man of "family values." How do they feel about him saying "shit"? (Don't answer: I know they will excuse it.) And it's pretty evident they elect politicians with the expectation that they will be priests, as preposterous as that idea is.

This is representative of the larger problem with many liberals. So eager to try to screw with your opponent that you never spend any time thinking for yourselves coming up with better solutions. Full of criticism, short on ideas.

I assume this is, um, irony? Can a conservative really say this with a straight face?

Many of the moderates I know talk about how detrimental censorship of speech is to our society

No thinking human being has ever equated cussing a blue streak in public with "freedom of expression". It would also have been inappropriate for the President to pull out a copy of "Big Black Ass" magazine for Mr. Blair's enjoyment. That is not to say that this fine magazine should be banned, only that it is not appropriate reading material for a summit of the leaders of the G8.

Simple point: the President shouldn't cuss in public. When he does, it's embarrassing. That's all.

In a nation full of morons, it isn't hard to accept the fact that its' "leaders" will also be morons. Stop searching for intelligent politicians. The last one was destroyed for having a harmless affair.

The great H.L. Mencken foresaw this in 1920 when he wrote:

"The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most easily adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

"I think"? Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?

C'mon, Kevin, no sensible man tells his wife what to do.

Pechorin: every nation is full of morons. Do you have empirical evidence that establishes that Americans are stupider than other people? I really doubt it.

Empirical evidence? Bush's (re)-election in 2004. While Americans may not be stupider than other people, the 2004 election proved at least that they are certainly no smarter.

(I say "re" election of course because he was never actually elected in 2000.)

So I'm to gather that saying the word "shit" amounts to unspeakable disrespect to the office of the presidency but getting a hummer from an intern in the oval office is really no big deal?

How many strawmen can you fit on the end of a single paragraph?

Look, we all know presidents use profanity. It's just mildly amusing (not a sign of "unspeakable disrespect") when someone like Bush, who's supposed to be a Fine Christian Man, uses it. We are merely noting the irony of it.

And then, the "But Clinton!" defense. Ah, it will never die! What he did was stupid. Okay? Stupid; not impeachable.

I'm a republican,

Yeah, no kidding.

Sorry, actually, I misspoke. That's not all. The content of the President's cussing was also stupid. Hezbollah, however objectionable a political movement it may be, is not made up of small children or unruly adolescents. They are not going to change their policies because the President of the US tells them to "cut that shit out". Similarly, the serious and vicious life-and-death struggle between Shia and Sunni in Iraq is not some kind of high-school clique clash; they're not going to sheepishly start behaving themselves because John McCain tells them to "cut it out". The leaders of major Arab political movements, whatever else they may be, are not children, and anyone who thinks it will be productive to treat them like children is a fool.

Agreed, brooksfoe. What's most frightening about this is how it reveals that Bush has no plan, simply no plan at all, for how to handle the escalating Israel-Lebanon crisis. He simply hasn't a clue in the world as to what to do and is simply closing his eyes, hoping that things will have worked out by the time he opens them again.

Criticize Bush all you want,

Thank you, I will.

...but his statement was exactly right.

No, his statement was exactly meaningless. You miss the point entirely Smitty. I don't give TWO shits whether Bush mutters "shit" into a microphone. But saying that someone ought to tell Hezbollah to "cut this shit out" is not a foreign policy. Bush has no foreign policy, never has and appears to have no interest in acquiring one. And it shows, God it shows. Globally.

"Russia is big and so is China." Who knew?

My favorite bit is when Bush seems amazed, when he discovers that it will take some participants eight hours to fly home, to learn that the earth is a large round globe:

"You eight hours? Me, too. Russia's a big country and you're a big country," Bush said, at one point telling a waiter he wanted Diet Coke. "Takes him eight hours to fly home. Russia's big and so is China. Yeah Blair, what're you doing? Are you leaving."

My God, the syntax, diction, and grasp of world geography is that of a ten year old. "Russia's a big country and you're a big country....Russia's big and so is China." Yes, sonny, and Australia is very big too! What a smart little boy you are! Do you want a cookie?

brooksfoe, I'll concede to you that the President shouldn't cuss in public, but I would hardly equate what he did to "cussing a blue streak." I'll cuss you a blue streak, if you want me to. You'll probably be able to tell the difference ;)

I will not entertain the notion that , "No thinking human being has ever equated cussing a blue streak in public with "freedom of expression"." The FCC's restriction of what can and can't be said on TV and radio does a more than adequate job of fueling this fire. Having a job now where I deal with people in both areas I am all too aware of their passion behind this debate. But we're spiraling way off topic now.

ckelly, I don't think that Bush is trying to pass "cut this shit out" as foreign policy, but I will agree with you that his foreign policy needs an awful lot of work.

Let me reiterate the fact that I am not particularly a Bush supporter anymore, I just think that making a big deal of this is really really stupid.

Bush has no plan, simply no plan at all, for how to handle the escalating Israel-Lebanon crisis.

Israel-Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, North Korea... Hmmmm. I'm starting to sense a pattern here...

"I think"? Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?

It's hard to differentiate between pillowtalk and official policy these days, especially for GWB.

I agree with smitty, but would like to point out:

. . . saying that someone ought to tell Hezbollah to "cut this shit out" is not a foreign policy.

Isn't that about all that United Nation resolutions can accomplish?

NSA Mole:

"I think" reflects the security situation on the ground.

But saying that someone ought to tell Hezbollah to "cut this shit out" is not a foreign policy.

Actually, addressing the puppetmasters for whom Hezbollah does their bidding (or at least spends their dinars) makes sense. Want Hezbollah to stop? Talk to someone = Syria.

Latest theory on "Al":

College Republican and/or RNC intern with a bunch of canned cut-and-paste answers based on what they think liberals might be talking about that day. Probably posting to a bunch of blogs.

Anybody notice how "shit" appears to be the word of the day? Al got the tacit OK from The Masticater and used it twice in his post.

"Russia is big and so is China."
Not as big as Texas, I'll reckon.

Red State Mike:

Syria AND Iran.

"I think Condi is going to go pretty soon." - g.w.b

that's better than the usual...

"I don't think anybody anticipated the level of violence that we've encountered.." - VP Dick Cheney 6/19/06

"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees..." - President GWB 9/1/05

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and...use an airplane as a missile." - National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice 5/16/02

Syria and Iran, huh, Janice and RedState Mike? Interesting. I wonder why, then, the Israelis are bombing Beirut, rather than Damascus?

Could it be that the IDF officer interviewed in the Jerusalem Post two days ago, who says that Syria no longer calls the shots for Hezbollah in Lebanon and that such thinking is several years out of date, actually knows more than a couple of airhead trolls?

By the way, did you notice something else Bush said in his little open-mike chat with Tony Blair? After a plea from Blair that the United States get involved in the Lebanon situation, he replied, "I think Condi is going to go pretty soon."

No, no, Kevin. His mouth was full, so you had trouble interpreting that comment. What he actually said was, "I think Condi is going to let me go pretty soon."

Could it be that the IDF officer interviewed in the Jerusalem Post two days ago, who says that Syria no longer calls the shots for Hezbollah in Lebanon and that such thinking is several years out of date, actually knows more than a couple of airhead trolls?

Hezbollah has outgrown its former sponsors. In years past, it was true, it was fairly dependent on tactical and logistical support from Iran and Syria, but it's since developed to the point where it can -- and does -- act fairly independently.

The scary thing about Hezbollah is that it's a return to something the world hasn't seen much of for hundreds of years, a non-state actor that is able to fund and field its own fairly developed military, a military that is capable of going into combat with a First World nation and holding its own. It's a frightening development in that the traditional tools that used to work against nation-states, such as economic and political pressure, will have little effect on an organization such as Hezbollah, an organization that is organized around ideological and religious ties more than around national ones.

Looks like Charlie got a sex-change operation over the weekend. Now he's "Janice."

His new "e-mail address" indicates his last name is Joplin. Janice Joplin. I suppose his next guise will be, what, "Jimmy" Hendrix?

"I think"? Doesn't he know? Or is he just taking a wild guess about what his Secretary of State might feel like doing at some point in the unknowable future?
-Kevin

Sounds like she's going, but she may not know it yet.

Syria and Iran, huh, Janice and RedState Mike? Interesting. I wonder why, then, the Israelis are bombing Beirut, rather than Damascus?
-brooksfoe

Good question. They probably ought to start soon.

brooksfoe and Stefan:

"FORMER" sponsors?! So, you are sure no money or logistical support has come from either Syria or Iran? Could it be that BOTH Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice are wrong then? Did you miss Dr. Rice on CBS's "Face the Nation"?

"I absolutely see that Syria and Iran are playing a part in this. They're not even trying to hide their hand . . ."

My favorite part about his open-mike chat was the "Yo, Blair".

I don't think I've ever met any 60-year-old who uses the word "yo".

"FORMER" sponsors?! So, you are sure no money or logistical support has come from either Syria or Iran?

I was imprecise. While both Syria and Iran still support Hezbollah, Hezbollah is no longer as dependent on that support as it once used to be, and Hezbollah is now willing and able to work in defiance of both of those states to achieve its goals.

Stefan >"...What's most frightening about this is how it reveals that Bush has no plan, simply no plan at all..."

Not to pick on you because several other folks posted the same rant but I think you are really, really missing it

There IS a plan and you are seeing it being implemented now & for the last decade or so (I will admit it certainly isn`t George Bush`s plan since he is just an actor ala President Ronnie NoMind); the folks behind the curtain (commonly noted as Puppet Masters) believe in chaos as a method to shift balances & those pulling their strings (one might label them something like Masters of the Puppeteers) want to make sure the Old Group (G-8 or however many) lose credibility as the New Group (The Perfect Caliphate & their sponsor(s) such as the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization)) move on to the global stage and rearrange the deck chairs in preparation of the Reign of Ignorance & Selfishness soon to follow

The link between the people & their leadership must be severed before any real change can be forced (Mao said this as have others such as John Boyd etc)

Gotta break the hold on the Chrome Dildo of Power before new hands can stroke it and begin their strut across the stage of human managed misery errr, ah history

Never underestimate the power of the ignorance & insecurity of high primates

"For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill" - Sun Tzu

"What they need to do is to get America, to get Israel to stop doing this shit and it's over."

"What they need to do is to get China, to get North Korea to stop doing this shit and it's over."

Kevin, if you see a trackback from my site linking to this delete it, I put it in the trackback line by accident.

"He must've learned the word by listening to Alanis Morissette."

IT'S LIKE RAAAAA-YEEEEE-AIIIIIIIIIN, ON YOUR WEDDING... DAY, IT'S A FREE RIIIIIII-YEEEEE-AAAIIIDE, THAT YOU ALREADY PAID!!!!

I think...means maybe soon, maybe later. Saying the "s" word almost makes me proud of this wanta-be cowboy. But before Al and AH start getting their panties wet, I will say that this sorry ass excuse of a world leader and American president makes me ashamed to say I am a Texan.

What if the microphone was on intentionally? Good way to get people's attention on Syria ... fun hook, even CNN can get excited that Bush said shit with his mouth full. Now what's this about Syria? They misbehavin?

What if this is all a setup for an excuse to go after Syria and Iran - i.e., ultimately becomes a "reason" to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities? The troll comments here are certainly starting to lay the groundwork for that talking point, it seems.

During his presidency, Clinton while attending Ron Brown’s funeral was filmed at a candid moment smiling, then switching to an expression of sorrow as he came into public view.

The right wing used that to extrapolate all manner of horrid personal insights about our 42 president.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29516

What’s good for the goose …, baby!

It's all just the latest partisan BS that everyone is guilty of. This particularly banal example of "gotcha" is a type that either side can pull out endless examples of over the decades. It's boring. It's asinine. It's pointless. It's dimwittedness passing for clever political commentary.

Congratulations, morons.

No one who posts on this site could be less of a Bush fan than I am, but I really have a hard time getting excited because he said shit. All in all it was probably one of the most intelligent things to come out of his mouth all week.

I agree with Sparky, Bush spews shit whenever he talks.

ckelly:

Just so I'm clear, in your opinion, any United Nations Security Council Resolution directing Iran and Syria to tell Hezbollah to "cut this shit out" (slightly cleaned up of course) would NOT be acceptable foreign policy? Be prepared, then, for the alternative in this October's Surprise.

Stefan:

Thank you for the clarification.

Isn't that about all that United Nation resolutions can accomplish?

That's all UN resolutions not backed by the substantive will of the member-states can accomplish.

For examples of what UN resolutions that actually represent the member-states being resolute, and with effective leadership, see the response to North Korea's invasion of South Korea in 1950. (Or the response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.)

Of course, the UN is not a government with its own independent military forces; what it is capable of doing is precisely whatever the member-states are willing to do. If members (including the US) are only willing to talk the talk, but not back words with actions, then, sure, any UN resolution will be just words.

I don't think that was as candid a moment as it is being plied as...but maybe I'm just getting overly paranoid in my old age. Never the less, as far as the Condi schedule is concerned...of course he doesn't have a clue as to what her plans are, or for that matter any of the issues she shall be debating. At some point I am sure Bush will be tied back into the loop.

I'm anything but a Bush supporter, but given some of the words I've seen at this site, we should be the last to castigate him for using them (although I can understand the perils of such language in a delicate environment like the G-8).

However, I really have no objection to straight, blunt talk in the right public context; it's at least better than mealy-mouthed phrases like "the American people." Believe me, whenever I hear that coming out of a politician's mouth, I turn on my bull---- detector, and wish I could figuratively slap him or her in the face.

brian: Couldn't "I think" mean he has not decided yet?

No, "I haven't decided yet" would mean he has not decided yet.

"I think" means he's waiting for someone else to tell him what to do or something was decided but he just can't remember what was decided.

Of course, he could have just said "we're reviewing possible responses to the situation" or "sending Ms. Rice is one of many options we are evaluating"?

But who would say "I think" in such circumstances except a complete idiot?

Is that how a labor lawyer talks, brian?

"I think we are going to call the defendant corporation's CEO as a witness. I'm not really sure. I can't recall what was discussed during our litigation strategy sessions, even though I was there and supposedly in charge, since I'm the lead attorney. Nevertheless, I don't know what the real attorney handling this case is going to tell me to do. But I'm pretty sure we're going to call the defendant as a witness. Unless we don't. Let me get back to you on that when I find out for sure. Meanwhile, don't forget to spell my name correctly and note that I'm the lead attorney for this litigation, even though I have no clue as to how we are going to proceed."

No wonder labor lawyers have such a bad name.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Ah yes, The Onion, July 17 1963:

SINATRA WARNS RUSSKIES TO KNOCK IT OFF
Singer Gives Krushchev 24 hours to "Drop This Commie Bunk or It's Ring-a-Ding-Ding for You Bozos"

Never underestimate the power of the ignorance & insecurity of high primates!
Good!!

tampa bay massage - http://www.yetnegative.info/tampa-bay-massage.html