A Confederacy of Dunces (The country cries out for an alternative to Bush)

[ProSense]

12/19/05
By Gloria Borger
A Confederacy of Dunces

The administration of George W. Bush--never known for its humility--did something completely out of character last week: It acknowledged mistakes. The reconstruction of Iraq, the president said, has "been uneven" and "has not always gone as well as we had hoped." That's a far cry from the rosy scenarios previously painted by the administration, and there's a reason for the change: The president's poll numbers show a public wary of both his truthfulness and his strategy on Iraq. What's more, a full 61 percent believe that the administration has not clearly explained its Iraq policy. Ipso facto , the president speaks out--and will continue to do so. Call it George Bush's wartime charm offensive.

Snip...

Sure, the Democrats are conflicted on Iraq, because most of them voted for the war. But here's the thing: The public is conflicted in the same way because most of us also supported the war. So what does the public want? Reasoned guidance, not Family Feud . No one expects the Democrats--who have disagreed over defense and foreign policy since the George McGovern campaign--to resolve all their big issues right now. But they could certainly heed former Clinton adviser William Galston's First Rule of Politics: First, do no harm.

Calling the bluff. Granted, there is no council of elders to bring discipline into the sandbox right now. But at least the Senate's leaders--and some of its presidential wannabes--have been trying to find a coherent strategy to talk about the war in a way that doesn't make the party appear terminally dysfunctional. For one thing, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution in November that called 2006 "a period of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty." The wording was vague enough to unite Democrats and lure Republicans--and is one of the reasons the president is now out stumping for (and explaining) the war. Rather than playing into the hands of the president, Democrats led by Sen. Harry Reid instead decided to call his bluff--and it worked.


Snip...


Biden has proposed his own--including a system to accelerate the training of Iraqi forces. John Kerry, who may decide to run for the White House again, has a plan to remove 20,000 American troops after the Iraqi elections this week. The plans are not identical, but they focus on something Americans can coalesce around: an exit strategy. After all, the president is reaching out by admitting that all has not gone well in Iraq. Americans just might warm to his new humility, particularly if the alternative is a divided Democratic Party in search of its second act.


http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051219/19glo.htm

[Mass]

1. What is her point?

It seems like a lot of Republican talking points, followed by a couple of sentences that may look nice to the Dems, followed by a nice sentence of Bush.

If Gloria Burger wants to think that Bush is getting humble and not faking it, she is free to do so, but I really dont think so.

[ProSense]

2. If there is one, it seems to me

that despite the perceived bickering the Democrats are doing a lot right: forcing Bush's hand by keeping the pressure on and by offering up multiple plans. She seems to point that out as if it's by accident.

When the Bush facade is expose, what will the media do? Well, probably the same thing Bush is doing, except the media helped to create the facade so its going to go to any length to avert blame.

[Mass]

3. I am not that sure -

I dont like articles saying that Bush is coming around, because I dont believe he is.

There is no doubt he will be perfectly happy with only 50,000 troops in Iraq, in permanent bases, and American companies controlling the Iraqi economy (at least for oil). This was their main goal when they came in.

So he can make some moves in this direction with no problems. The media will feel that he has moved and some Democrats will too, but, as long as he has not said he did not want permanent bases in Iraq, we will have solved nothing.

[ProSense]

4. I agree.

The reality is Bush's pandering is based on his low approval numbers. Except for alluding to the Warner Amendment, she gives the impression that all this is happening despite the Democrats, which is not the case.

Then at the end she tell us something that the Democrats already know, but instead of saying that they are plans the Democrats can coalesce around, she puts it this way:

Biden has proposed his own--including a system to accelerate the training of Iraqi forces. John Kerry, who may decide to run for the White House again, has a plan to remove 20,000 American troops after the Iraqi elections this week. The plans are not identical, but they focus on something Americans can coalesce around: an exit strategy. After all, the president is reaching out by admitting that all has not gone well in Iraq. Americans just might warm to his new humility, particularly if the alternative is a divided Democratic Party in search of its second act.




In other words, the bickering part is her point, when it should be the Democrats effectively countering Bush.