Friendly fire drowns out Bush's election message

[cal04]

GEORGE Bush tried to talk to American voters yesterday about the economy, an issue about which his Administration has a positive story to tell. But even if an angry electorate was ready to listen, few people will have heard him.

Instead, with just two weeks to go before elections for control of Congress, the President’s message was drowned out by ever grimmer news from Iraq. October has already become the US military’s deadliest month this year, with 83 servicemen killed. Civilian deaths are running at a rate of 43 a day.

Back at home yesterday, errant spokesmen and even Mr Bush’s father were digging him into a deeper hole. The White House was forced to deny reports that Mr Bush had set the Iraqi Government deadlines for taking over responsibility for security from the American military.

(snip)
One man unlikely to be apologising for his remarks is Kevin Tillman, the brother of Pat Tillman, a US Army Ranger who was shot dead by friendly fire in 2004. His scathing verdict on the Bush Administration was circulated around websites. “Somehow, the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country,” he said.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2418520,00.html

[tblue]

1. I want this article published stateside!

[Demit]

2. They give a shout out to liberal websites wrt "stay the course"—

"...The Iraq Study Group led by James Baker, the former Secretary of State, is believed to be charting a new direction for the war that will differ from the Administration’s “stay the course” strategy. Mr Bartlett said that tactics and strategy were always being reassessed but added that Mr Bush had never advocated “stay the course”. This was undermined by liberal websites, which reproduced half a dozen quotations from the President using the phrase. ..."