Brian Williams and Tim Russert looked as if they'd seen

[janx]

a ghost, and Tweety was admittedly "scared."

Brian and Tim could not quote the president directly, but they were trying to tell us something. I've never seen anything quite like it.

[Connie_Corleone]

1. One word. IRAN

[Bucky]

32. That's about as effective (and fact free) as any other one word argument

Sorry, but the Iran thing is getting more delusional by the day. You faith in the power that Bush holds rivals his own personal delusions about what he can and can't do. There will almost certainly be some covert ops going on there, but an actual attack by land or air is simply not going to happen.

We don't have a credible deterent to Iran hitting us back if we do start bombing them. And Bushes never, ever, pick fights with opponents that can fight back. Why do you think Bush is still scared of bin Laden? Cowards never fight fellow bullies.

[calimary]

All the more reason to push like crazy for IMPEACHMENT.

If we do NOT stop this madman, he WILL drag us into a second war - in Iran this time. No, excuse me. That would actually be a THIRD war. We can't handle ONE!

[Judi Lynn]

117. Reserve a bit of room in there for what he did to Haiti! That was goddawful. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

116. Really hope you're right, Bucky. The world can't take much more. n/t

[Buzz Clik]

122. Your argument is correct, but Iran is exactly what is on Bush's mind.

Russert and Tweety made that perfectly clear. Bush is kicking sand in Iran's face (and Syria) and trying to move this regional conflict further down the road. Bush flatly refuses to engage Iran and Syria diplomatically; couple that with last night's speech and his briefing to select members of the media, and you have Iran burning a hole in Shrub's tiny mind.

[greenbriar]

2. post that on my comment that I made about 10 minutes ago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x3089927

[The Count]

3. Even Gibson, on ABC looked utterly disgusted while reading

[mucifer]

4. pretty much all the commentators but 1 repub senator on PBS were against

bush's plan. This includes both retired generals on the panel. Even david brooks was pretty shaky.

[babylonsister]

5. Two words: Iran and Syria. The mention of incorporating those countries

into his war plan has everyone 'scared', myself included.

[mucifer]

6. ummm there are No troops to invade another country

[babylonsister]

10. That's not the point. The fact that he brought that up in this speech is

a reason to be concerned. We 'do' have major weapons that could take lots of people out, and anger more people than we already have. The guy is unbalanced, and that's the real reason.

[janx]

22. Did you see them and come to the same conclusion that

I did?

[babylonsister]

29. Oh yes. They were shocked that * went that far. No one is happy. nt

[frogcycle]

95. no question about it

even without nukes, we could do the "shock and awe" thing all over Iran with impunity if we chose to. air superiority is something we do damned well. and dropping bombs and firing missiles is like driving a delivery truck. we could keep bomb factories on three shifts, just run a "shuttle" from Missouri, 12 hrs out, drop the ordnance, 12 hrs back. wouldn't have to worry about all those ied's, all those inconvenient dead americans troops http://www.dbc3.com/Fallen">Please visit and pay your respects

before i get flamed all to hell, i am NOT promoting this. I am saying what I think bush is thinking.

[roguevalley]

100. tweety looked sick to death, like he truly understood how unhinged

and delusional bush is. very, very scared.

[Skidmore]

118. Yes, I noticed that too and am even more scared by the

contributions these talking heads have made to the rise of *. They probably never will own their responsibility in this--their willingness to play footsy with power and to coddle a personality without asking questions with content. People like Tweety and Russert are just as frightening.

[Mister Ed]

26. That's for sure. You couldn't invade Iran just by adding 20,000 more US troops. BUT...

...I've been wondering lately if the reason for the additional troops might be to help provide a bulwark against a ground counterattack by Iran following US airstrikes? Or to control Iraqi Shia who are sympthetic to Iran?

[mmonk]

28. Force protection is definitely a possible cause for the move.

[neverforget]

64. When I think of Bush attacking Iran, I think of the Chosen Reservoir

Campaign in Korea in 1950: Retreat Hell! We're just fighting in the other direction! War with Iran is coming and Hell is coming with it.

[frogcycle]

90. my dad spent that winter in the "frozen chosin"

ironically, a couple of years later, when we moved to Pendleton, our quarters were on Chosin Circle. i was too young to really make the connection. Must have been wierd for him.

[cui bono]

89. I've heard that mentioned during the past week. nt

[roguevalley]

101. besides, one of the commentors says its only adding about

5K troops because some will be sleeping, etc.

[bmbmd]

125. You need to stop worrying

and learn to love The Bomb.

[janx]

7. I think they think he's crazy.

They couldn't say it, but...

[mucifer]

9. OH well there's no denying that.

lets just hope he doesnt invade Poland too while he's at it.

[janx]

17. Right, but this is the first time I've seen media talking heads

so openly concerned, and it wasn't just about Iran and Syria (if those weren't enough). These guys were visibly upset about some things the president said today, but they couldn't provide quotes. They were clearly trying to get a message across.

[rebel with a cause]

25. Poland is our ally.

Don't you remember them on his list of countries that went to war in Iraq with us. :crazy:

[boston bean]

11. I think you may have hit the jackpot. nt

[babylonsister]

14. ABSOLUTELY! He's certifiable, but they couldn't talk about it-yet.

Their brains were exuding the word 'impeach' to me!

[Octafish]

41. The crazy monkey's lost his mind.

The reason Corporate McPravda doesn't say so is that they would lose their positions of power,
were the truth were to come out about these nutty NAZI bastards.



The members of the press corpse know the also are guilty of treason.

[janx]

44. They weren't allowed to so much as quote him.

Does anyone here know anything about these rules?

[Connie_Corleone]

48. It had to do with what's said on background or something.

Williams said that they can't say specifically what Bush said because it was on background. I thought background meant the source was anonymous.

[janx]

Yeah, he didn't explain that very well. n/t

[Octafish]

60. Yes, I do. In a free country, reporters are allowed to report what they want.

In a fascistic authoritarian kakistocracy, reporters are allowed to report what they're told.

The nation's Founders thought a Free Press was so important, The Press became the only business mentioned by name in the Constitution of the United States:

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The nation's Founders put that into the Constitution because what a journalists does is the lifeblood in a democracy. They spread the Truth. It's how We the People know WTF is going on.

Therefore, there should be ZERO limits on what they say, observe, pontificate, print, publish, broadcast, mail or whatever.

At least, it was that way until November 22, 1963. Since then, we only get what the owners of the Press want us to get.

[frogcycle]

61. they are "gentlemen's agreements"

what an oxymoron - between pols and press
there are no such "rules" officially anywhere. But pols lay down whatever "groundrules" they want saying "this is not for attribution" or "don't quote me but". It is the main way leaks get disseminated. However, the description of today's session sounds really bizarre. Did you notice Williams was like consulting his notes as he described the rules, then just sort of gave up and said "I'll let Tim tell you what was said". I think he was so puzzled he was not sure WHAT to say. I think maybe shrub went an a full-blown rant.

[janx]

73. Right, and then Russert didn't tell us what was said.

They were both trying to paraphrase, but they couldn't even manage to do that.

[cui bono]

91. Yeah, they kept saying things like this is what he's thinking

and this is the way he's looking at it, something like that. Had a very odd tone to it.

[az chela]

18. Start emailing the dems and tell them to get rid of him

No more money for the war and no more soldiers

[joe green]

109. God has told W to wreak armageddon

.

[tom_paine]

120. Once, I would have laughed at such a concept, too ridiculous even for Little Boots

But now, the evdience rises everywhere.

We have placed a madman on the throne; it was he himself who made it a quasi-throne through sheer force of will (another similarity to Hitler).

We have not even yet begun to pay the price, socially, economically, in lives, of our having knuckled under to this criminal tyrant.

[montanacowboy]

8. One day we will wake up to the news that

we have hit Iran - it will happen

We are ready with our ships in the area and have a new naval commander - we don't need a roadmap to tell us where this madman is going

[kitty1]

35. More likely it will be Israel with Bush's blessing...n/t

[spanone]

84. We were put on notice tonight.

[roguevalley]

102. our flotilla is there to create a provocation. so easy to happen in

such a small space.

[JohnnyLib2]

12. Schaefer, too.

"putting it all on the line"

something to the effect of "if this doesn't work, where does he go?"
WHOP

[tridim]

13. Wonder how O'Rielly is taking all this?

:rofl:

There's a reason MSNBC is gaining market share. It has nothing to do with being 'Liberal', it has to do with accepting reality and telling the truth.

[Gatchaman]

15. I'm not afraid

if anything, I'm filled with a great sense of relief. bush clearly is in his own little world, and even his most staunch supporters must be realizing that the man has no clue what's going on. bush, holy joe, and saint mccain stand well and truly alone.

A performance like tonight's can only embolden the anti-war movement.

[babylonsister]

19. Great points, and puts tonight in context. nt

[heavylynn]

16. This is the IMPORTANT thing to take away from Russert

He said they (journalists) had to be careful about how they report on the comments about Iran from the Bush special meeting with journalists today.

That means that the MSM will be touting the administration line instead of doing real journalism on Iran. Why the hell do they have to be careful? They need to do their damn job and keep the American people informed about what their government is doing. This is the same shit that happened with Iraq and now we have the same "code-speak" coming from Russert tonight about Iran. Rest assured, we are getting ready to make some confrontational move in Iran. The neocons are still in charge!

[rebel with a cause]

31. Yeah, when did the press become bush's

private PR firm? Oh, when they became ran by a few corporations who are making money off bushie's madness.

[ToolTex]

34. This is why I've said Cheney will nuke Iran, then there will be demand for him to resign.

Condo Rice will be moved up to VP and confirmed by the Senate. Then Bush will be impeached and flee to Paraguay. Rice will become (a weak) president and Robert Gates will move in as VP, and will run a shadow government for CIA. Mark it, CIA is on an ascendancy.

[Stephanie]

38. Welcome to DU!

One neocon is still in charge, anyway. Dick!

[frogcycle]

63. could be...

but then again, it COULD be they know they have information of such import that they are trying to figure out what to do with it. That is, they collectively are "deep throat" and need to figure out whther reporting the facts openly or taking them to ??? (congress?) is the right move. They truly were shaken.

[calimary]

71. It was good that Olbermann picked up on that, the Iran part of the

speech, and ran with it. The others on the air with him took it up as well. Hey, look. This jackass WANTS to be a "war president." Now that he sees his beloved little hard-on being slowly but surely pulled away from him (Iraq), he's thrashing about for another place to play war: Iran. Proves he doesn't get it, that he's isolated in a cess pool of his own delusions.

[Neurotica]

20. Their honesty scared me to death

I ran to tell my husband all about it. I've never seen anchors/reporters behave like this before.

The part where Tweety was advising the American people to pay attention got to me too.

I would love to hear their private discussions about this tonight!

[janx]

39. They were visibly upset. n/t

[Hailtothechimp]

81. The last time I saw that look on Russert's face was...

the day he testified in the Plame leak case. He doesn't hide being spooked very well. And he clearly was spooked tonight.

[MN ChimpH8R]

52. If Tweety is now repeating what Thom Hartmann

and Ed Schultz tell us every day - "just pay attention" - something is definitely up.

[Harper_is_Bush]

21. Nice job not telling us squat about what you're referring to.

[janx]

27. Sorry--these guys were talking about some meeting they

had with the president and his top advisors. They were not allowed to quote the president for some reason, but tried to give the viewers the gist of what happened. They were scared to death.

Maybe someone else can describe it better.

[tblue37]

45. Yeah--these overexcited mysterioso threads make me nuts, too. (eom)

[JohnnyLib2]

Bring back Walter Cronkite!!

oops, senior moment. But we got a little reminder tonight of the good old days of t.v.

[ObaMania]

23. C'mon.. None of you saw the coverage on FAUX?

Heck, Britt, Mort, Wm. Kristol, Fred, and some Bimbo were disappointed that he didn't deliver the "oomph" that it needed to excite the Murkins and Irakees.

Yeah, they looked like they were having a good ol' time, showing bits of the speech here and there to show how forceful and preznitdenshul he looked.

Seen a ghost? Scared? Nooo.. FAUX is here to assure us that everything is gonna be allright..

[janx]

30. Forceful?

The guy had that same deer-in-the-headlights look, only crazier, and he stumbled when he read the teleprompter!

[ObaMania]

33. Hey.. don't shoot the messenger!

LOL. I had to take one for the team and have FAUX/MSNBC on my TV's PIP. One side looked grim, disappointed and skeptical, while the other looked like they were ready to break out the champagne and party!

[janx]

47. I didn't mean to. It was a rhetorical statement.

;-)

Seriously, the guy looked like a zombie.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

24. I have been thinking that this is all a ploy to get more troops in to face Iran.

My guess is that Israel is going to carry out an airstrike on nuclear facilities and our troops are being deployed to back that up.

[jayfish]

36. I Have A Pretty Good Idea Of What Russert Was Trying To Say:

"I like the smell of GWB's ass".

Jay

[lonestarnot]

77. Agree.

Ass licker maximus.

[jayfish]

80. The Only Thing I Noticed Out Of The Ordinary...

was that the fumes are taking a toll on his complexion.

Jay

[tedzbear]

37. We'll be lucky if we can protect the Green Zone...

let alone Iraq. Of course if we can prod the Iranians into committing a no-no then we can reinstate the draft and have WWWIII. The Pentagon, Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, and General Dynamics will love that.

[WiseButAngrySara]

40. Russert shocked me the most. He looked ghastly. ....n/t

[janx]

42. Williams worried me more.

He held up that notebook and tried to explain that he couldn't quote but could only try to explain...and then he didn't explain very well. Russert tried a calmer approach, but you're right--he looked terrible.

[WiseButAngrySara]

54. I guess it's because I saw Williams covering Katrina, and I've

already seen that aspect of him ...shock, disbelief, horror that this is happening in our beloved country. The only time I can remember Russert being so befuddled is when Powell abruptly ended the interview on air. Remember? DU was even then way ahead of the game (as usual, thank God!)

[janx]

59. I missed that one, but there was no mistaking both of

these guys tonight.

[hatrack]

43. How's that "sunny nobility" thing working out for you, Tweety?

You lying chicken-shit cocksucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

46. If they're afraid, it's because they know that Bush has jumped into Nixonian waters.

[janx]

50. He's into deeper waters than that.

Nixon was paranoid; this guy is NUTS.

[The Backlash Cometh]

53. For the Republicans, this must be the moment in the movie

when you realize that the doctor who has been giving you the tour of the insane asylum for the last four hours, is actually one of the patients.

[windy252]

79. Wow, that's a good phrase.

Was there actually a movie like that?

[The Backlash Cometh]

82. Oh, it was worse than that, from what I remember.

Each patient case had its own spooky tale. Can't remember the name of the movie and possibly confusing two of the same kind of movies. But they all have the same effect as tonight: They instilled horror.

[janx]

83. Apt analogy! n/t

[frogcycle]

65. waaaaayyyyy deeper nt

[blm]

49. Russert looked worse than I'd ever seen him before. And he seemed UNSURE and

UNSTEADY.

[janx]

55. Exactly! He tried to smooth things over in his conventional

way, but his face looked like a freaked-out hangover victim who had drunk too much coffee.

[blm]

56. I saw the exact same thing - that's why I clicked on your thread.

.

[janx]

76. I'm relieved that you and others saw what I saw, blm. n/t

[DireStrike]

57. I dont get it, why?

What is this thing that they cant quote, but can allude to? Something not in the speech? Are they not newsmen? Can't tell us?

Well of course they're not newsmen, but I mean... gotta keep up appearances.

[janx]

75. They were in some meeting with the Chimp and some of his

advisors. Apparently, things were said in the meeting that they could/would not quote. They tried and failed to paraphrase. They were upset.

[ObaMania]

66. Yeah, especially when Brian said I'll let my friend answer that..

..and turned it over to Tim. Tim was like, "thanks alot, pal!"

[The Backlash Cometh]

87. Maybe he's thinking that those thirty pieces of silver weren't worth it?

[blm]

121. That's what I would guess, too. Mediawhores are well wined and dined at the expense

of this country's treasure, it's military, and the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians, because THEY supplied the push for Bush to become president, turned him into a heroic figure, and worked to destroy all opposition against him.

[Ilsa]

51. I wonder if they saw DimSon talking to the portraits of

past presidents while they saw him wandering the halls of the EH at all hours.

W looks like chicken fried shit lately.

[janx]

67. He looks BAD, drugged. n/t

[frogcycle]

68. i think they saw him go into a tirade

about how he wasn't going to take no shit from nobody - then when they heard the softened version of it in the speech it hit them that whatever they heard and saw this afternoon was for real

[janx]

70. They saw something upsetting or heard something

weird, no doubt.

[Bobbie Jo]

94. Brian Williams used the word "chilling"

As * described his vision of the world "80 years from now."

[helderheid]

58. They all but said * was certifiable "That's how he sees the world!" - HE'S NUTS

and can do ANYTHING.

[janx]

62. I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw it that way,

and I'm glad DU is here. At first I thought *I* was going nuts, because I've never seen anything like it.

[Lugnut]

78. That was a first for me

I don't recall being quite as frightened by the looks on both their faces. Something really shook them.

[helderheid]

128. Their reactions shook me. We HAVE to stop * - we cannot simply "consider" impeachment -

we need to start investigations now and stop these madmen (and woman)!

[toddaa]

69. Sorry, but this whole thread is ridiculous

Both Williams and Russert look like a couple of stiffs. Same as usual. Psychoanalyzing two dimensional talking heads on television is a waste of time. I watched both of them and they looked like two stuffed shirts. Same as always.

[Liberal OIF Vet]

72. I disagree....

They were on edge about something and Tweety definitely picked up on it. Rissert in particular was serious agitated while giving his commentary.

[jayfish]

74. Williams Being The Slightly More Effected of The Two.

Spot-on analysis.

Jay

[mzmolly]

86. Oh I beg to differ greatly.

Russert especially, lost some of his usual animation tonight, he looked defeated.

[mzmolly]

85. Do you think they've finally realized our President is insane?

It seems they are now feeling what "we've" felt for years?

[janx]

88. Yes, I do.

It's on again now--the speech and the follow-up.

[Alamom]

92. I agree with you ...n/t

[Duer 157099]

93. I had a couple impressions:

1) they (Williams especially) was disturbed at not being about to use his notebook quotes -- maybe they were heavily threatened about using "exact quotes" and so didn't know how to communicate the message without perhaps accidentally quoting him? (that's my weak explanation)

2) they were disturbed by Bush's "world view" -- they said he "went all around the world" (Williams did -- Russert said it was more focused on the Middle East) -- this could either be because Bush revealed things they had not known (hah!), OR, Bush revealed a very psychotic perception and willingness to blow the whole world to Kingdom Come.

[frogcycle]

96. i expect it was the latter

may have even gone off on the rapture thing

[janx]

99. I expect the latter too, although not necessarily the rapture thing...

;-)

I believe the term Williams used was that Bush gave them a "world tour"...

[roguevalley]

104. bush probably rambled around and gave his impressions and

opinions and probable actions regarding a number of places around the world and the low quality of it coupled with his delusional bs probably scared them. they were trying to say something but couldn't.

[Strelnikov_]

97. Maybe they witnessed a scene similar to those from the Fuhrerbunker

in spring of '45.

[roguevalley]

105. bingo. they are both WWII buffs and probably know that is what

they were looking at: Hitler deep sixing as he moved non-existent divisions around a table.

[frogcycle]

98. just re-watched it and this is much ado about nothing

funny how your mind can play tricks on you

they clearly think he's an idealogue, but thats about the extent of it

[frogcycle]

108. the way williams

described the session - saying "about 8 minutes in to it, here comes the president of the united States" did make it sound like the whole thing was surreal - then the "world tour" remark -

might one interpret that to mean 'boy, he was on a roll!' as in on a drunken tear? I doubt it, more likely just a tear - although he looked like pure hell tonight, the demeanor was like a drunk driving real slow to keep from getting pulled over...


i'm not one normally to engage in vicious gossip and speculation, but in this asshole's case I gladly make an exception

[Duer 157099]

129. Remember the saying about first impressions?

Or, like when you're taking a test, that if you don't know the answer, your first instinct is usually the correct one?

Same applies here.

Just sayin'

[daleo]

103. Maybe someone caught a glimpse of religious insanity.

Or maybe they know for sure that Bush is back on the booze big-time.

[StrictlyRockers]

106. Bush looked remarkably inept tonight.

Like a chimp emperor with no clothes. He kind of seems like he doesn't know what he's doing. It's not working. And he knows it.

SR

[joe green]

110. I just watched the re-run

The part where Williams and Russert indicated a real concern was when Bush told them that if we left Iraq the whole area would "blow up." I assumed this was the time when Bush gave them his world tour of what the world would look like when "we were 80 - 90 years old," that is if we just picked up and left Iraq. Williams and Russert mentioned all the things we've heard brfore, that The Saudis, Turks, Syrians, and Iranians would all get involved. So this world scenario that Bush laid out for them seemed to bother them a lot. Williams and Russert did not bring up the subject of attacking Iran and Syria -- Keith Olberman and Tweety brought it up in follow-up questions. Williams and Russert didn't offer much in way of a response, so that didn't seem to be the thing that concerned them.

[bluewave]

107. Anyone have video?

I was half paying attention. I looked up and thought it strange I didn't absorb a thing they said. I just dismissed it.

[unc70]

111. I have watched it several times -- Bush, MSNBC and others

I spent about three hours contacting Congressmen and others warning them not to be distracted by troop levels, resolutions, funding or anything else and to only focus on stopping Bush from bombing Iran. I am more scared than anytime since the Cuban missle crisis.

I am convinced that the MSNBC reporters are scared, too. I hope enough people in power are urgently meeting tonight to find and implement bi-partisan measures to restrain Bush, Cheney, and probably the Israelis.

While typing this, I just saw the replay of the end of Larry King. John Warner and Lindsay Graham looked and sounded really grim, although they were being very careful what they said. Feinstein didn't seem properly clued in; her talking points seemed only to address the "surge".

One other disturbing bit of info was Craig Crawford's comment about Bush telling law makers today that he was concerned that Saudia Arabia might feel insecure and look for protection from other sources. This is being replayed at this moment on MSNBC.

[redacted]

112. Agreed. Video please?

[Garbo 2004]

113. At the very least, they all looked somber. Tweety positively grim. Russert looked

bizarre, his hair looking like it was styled by James Traficant.

Usually these guys (except KO) do these post-speech programs like they're doing a post-game show. Not this time. For a change they behaved like this is not just some political sport where they do the play by play, but that this is real deadly serious shit.

[bridgit]

114. that's because everyone knows now they've been giving a madman a free ride now...

for waaaaayyyyyy too fucking long and that all the fucking chickens are coming home to roost along with the dead cows oh well

[joe green]

115. Here's a transcript

Might be off by word or two but here it is:

***********************************
Brian Williams: It was a security briefing in advance of the speech with the President’s National Security staff and a few minutes into it, there were 8 to 10 people in the Roosevelt Room, in walks the President of the United States and Chris the ground rules were this, and people have already been asking about this, this is the mother’s milk of Washington at political briefings, you know I’ve been to them under Democrats and Republicans not for quotation but for background, we can express the President’s views but cannot quote him directly, so we can express the notions and ideas he expressed. I have a notebook I’m sitting here going through (holds up notebook) full of quotations on what was a tour of the world letting us know kind of where his head is going into tonight, and (smiling) that I’ll leave up to my colleague in Washington, Tim Russert.

Russert: (Laughing) Thank you Brian. It was actually quite revealing. It was for me, to watch a President who was willing to acknowledge now for the first time a profound misjudgment in strategy. We heard a year ago, two years ago, that the primary rationale for the war, the WMD, in fact didn’t exist. Tonight an acknowledgement that the troop levels and the overall strategy hasn’t worked. Secondly, I think there’s an acknowledgment that his neck is on the line, that no more are we going to hear “We’re going to stay until victory” or “We’re going to achieve this mission,” “We’re not going to leave until we achieve that result.” It’s “This is not an open-ended commitment,” “The Iraqis have to do their bit, have to be willing to take on the Shia death squads.” The President hears the clock ticking, he knows the people have lost patience with the war and with him. And Chris 4 years ago I said that the President had bet his presidency on the war in Iraq. Well, I think it’s pretty clear tonight that he just went double-or-nothing. This is it, this is the last chance, as you hear Senator Obama suggest. And talking to the President and his advisors, my takeaway is they get it this time. Unless there is significant progress in a relatively short period of time, you’ll significant numbers of Republicans cross over and join the Democrats and challenge the President’s Iraq policy. We saw`\ some erosion today. Watch these 2008 Republicans who are up for re-election to the Senate, watch Sam Brownback who is running for President in 2008. This is a period where if the President gets it right, they’ll take credit and say “This is the advice I gave him.” But if it doesn’t get right and does go wrong, look out.

Olberman: In your briefing with the President today, did the subject of Iran and Syria which sort of sprung out in the middle of that speech, was that a surprise to you?

Williams: No and it came up on more than one occasion. And this tour of the world was centered mostly in this one region. Perhaps the most chilling thing the President said, he indicated that those who are asking for wholesale withdrawal from Iraq would, when we all got to our 80’s or 90’s, look back and say President Bush, you know, he was right. And the President’s inference was this: that an entire region would blow up, from the inside, the core being Iraq, from the inside out, and this was kind of a rare reassessment
of his position. There was every indication given to us that the was no insulation, no delusional thinking going on, again I’m repeating their position. The President went into tonight’s speech clearly aware that when he looks around for friends and allies he sees very few individuals. He expressed to us at one point his frustration that those expressing no position on Iraq don’t get called out for it. He expressed his frustration that others are free to say whatever they wish and he repeated the constraints he’s under as the head of the free world. That part of the world came up several times and in several different contexts.

Russert: Can I add something on that. In the discussion with his senior advisors, something I took away is it’s the President’s thinking that he can’t talk to the people he refers to as “tyrants” until he has “leverage.” Suggesting he has to win the war in Iraq , he has to secure Iraq, and then he doesn’t have to go to Syria and Iran and ask for anything. That’s the way he looks at this. Secondly, there’s a strong sense in the upper echelons of the White House that Iran is going to surface relatively quickly as a major issue in the world, in a very acute way, and a prediction that in 2008 candidates of both parties will have as a fundamental campaign promise a policy to deal with Iran and not let it go nuclear. That’s how significant Iran was today.

Olberman: But as you pointed out, there was a finiteness put to the open-ended policy this government has propagated for the last 4 or 5 years. But did we see that it is now open-ended in the region, in Iran, that we may be closing down this shop but moving it next door.

Russert: Tremendous question, because if in fact Maliki is not able to secure and stabilize his country and it erupts into wholesale civil war and spills over into Turkey and Iran and it becomes a regional conflict, what then is the U.S. position. Does that then become a new front on the war on terror? That is something the President will not discuss, he said I’m not going to plan B because if I go to plan B I’ll have suggested plan A hasn’t worked. But it is something that must be on the minds of everyone tonight listening carefully to the Presidentt.

[bridgit]

119. welcome to du, joe green...

:kick:

[Az_lefty]

123. I want to know what plan B is...all out nuclear war?

the man is totally insane and would probably think it a good thing just to hurry up the second coming.

[bmbmd]

127. Bingo!

He is just messianic enough to try this.

[janx]

124. Thank you! n/t

[OneGrassRoot]

126. Pls help me get up to speed with this Iran situation....

No time to read through every reply here...been skimming through other threads.

I saw the interaction between KO, Tweety, Williams and Russert last night. I saw they were all visibly disturbed, to say the least. Here's the first possibly stupid question: wasn't his speech released yesterday prior to the airing? Why was the mention of Iran (and Syrica? I couldn't bring myself to watch B*ush) such a surprise if they read the speech beforehand? Do you think it was thrown in at the last minute?

Also, what on Earth happened at an Iranian embassy overnight? I've been trying to find quickly, but no luck.

So, we have B*ush being a cowboy again in his speech last night; I think I heard we have ship(s) positioned as a warning to Iran/Syria; there's the weirdness of Williams and Russert following their Oval Office gathering; and there's this Iranian embassy issue.

Did I miss anything? Sounds like Dipshit & Co are doing what they do best, but this time they're positioning things way ahead of the game because they know a fight is coming at home. I pray a fight is coming at home, not just words.

[Duer 157099]

130. Here's the Williams quote that got my attention:

"Perhaps the most chilling thing the President said, he indicated that those who are asking for wholesale withdrawal from Iraq would, when we all got to our 80’s or 90’s, look back and say President Bush, you know, he was right. And the President’s inference was this: that an entire region would blow up, from the inside, the core being Iraq, from the inside out, and this was kind of a rare reassessment
of his position."

And here's my interpretation of it:

Bush presented a picture that the a hand grenade has had the pin pulled, and lobbed into the Middle East, and that unless somebody jumps on top of that grenade, it's going to set off a chain reaction of global devestating proporation.

What he doesn't explicitly mention, though, is that it was HE who pulled the pin and lobbed the grenade. He *tries" to blame it on the Sunnis, by saying they had attacked the Shiite mosque and started all the insurgency trouble.

He fucked up, made a HUGE mess, and is shocked that everybody won't continue to rally around and help him clean up his mess (which, afterall, isn't *really* HIS mess, it's OUR mess)