"The Worst Speech of Bush's Presidency" & "How Bush Defiled Veterans Day"

[GreenPartyVoter]

For speechwriters drafting a presidential address for a patriotic holiday such as Independence Day, Memorial Day, or Veterans Day, there are three rules: Don't be wordy; don't be wonky; and, most important, don't be partisan. In his Veterans Day remarks today at the Tobyhanna Army Depot near Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, President Bush and his staff broke all three rules, producing a strident speech that went on for almost 50 minutes, included a lengthy comparison of "Islamic radicalism" and "the ideology of communism," and concluded by attacking "some Democrats," while taking an implicit shot at "my opponent during the last election." It may have been the worst speech of his presidency.

At a time when Bush would benefit from sounding cheerful, forward looking, and above partisan politics, just as Ronald Reagan did during his second term even in the midst of the Iran-Contra scandal, Bush instead sounded like Richard Nixon or Lyndon Johnson during the worst days of the Vietnam War, although neither is remembered for flubbing a speech on a national holiday. It's as if Bush was reading from a cue-card that proclaimed, "Message: I'm embattled and embittered."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1113-21.htm

"How Bush Defiled Veterans Day"

President Bush on Veterans Day reminded me of Brazil in the 1980s.

Brazil’s foreign debt by 1980 had become staggering: $54 billion ($140 billion in today’s dollars), fully one-third the equivalent of Brazil’s GDP. That’s as if the United States were running a $4 trillion trade deficit in a $12 trillion economy. (We’re not that far behind: Our annual trade deficit will break the $700 billion mark this year, and as of June, foreigners held $2 trillion of the nation’s $7.83 trillion debt). So what did Brazil do? Adopt the pile-it-on philosophy, familiar to any American with a credit card (the average credit card debt per household these days is $8,650): Spend more, as Brazil indeed did (the 1980s were called her "lost decade"), as Americans indeed do every day, reveling under the self-delusion that more of the same makes no difference. The gusher of self-deception has become as American as gas-guzzling, war-worship and public professions of faith, now that Republican have so successfully recast the national religion as a loyalty oath to gas, guns, God and guillibility.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1113-28.htm

[bryant69]

1. See that might be the plan

Bush might believe that a fight with the Democrats will raise his standing; certainly his recent moves seem to be going in that direction.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[cliss]

3. The "fighting" President.

Isn't that hilarious? I just read an article about Bush in Time magazine. It said, "when there's a campaign going on , they are at their very best; the machinery is just humming along. But they don't govern very well".

Bush is truly the One-Trick pony at the county fair. He only knows how to do one thing: campaign. Too funny.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Exactly what I thought!

[WI_DEM]

4. it's true that speech did nothing to help him

[KansDem]

5. "comparison of 'Islamic radicalism' and 'the ideology of communism,'"

So there it is, the Neo-Con fascist doctrine: equate "terrorism" with "communism" to perpetuate the "boogieman." When communism came to a halt in 1989 (fall of the Berlin Wall), neo-con fascists who make their wealth from continued fear, hastily looked around and found (tah-dah!) terrorists. Note that the first WTC bombing occurred just 4 short years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Both occurred during Bush Sr's administration (planning for the WTC bombing began in 1992 and with the help of the FBI). No doubt Bush Sr. and his pals were desperate to find some kind of boogieman to justify their continued raiding of the US Treasury.

[applegrove]

6. Fact is - Bush could not make a speech about SACRIFICE because

that would show him to be a complete hypocrite. Perhaps it is a new meme - War is not sacrifice. Whatever the case - it was disgusting1