Your President Speaks!
OK, you knew this was coming.
From today's presser.
There Is Are Is
There is -- people are -- there is a war fatigue in America.
A Man Of Many Names
And David asked for a certain number of troops -- David Petraeus asked for a certain number -- General Petraeus asked for a certain number of troops, and he just got them a couple of weeks ago.
Military!
Military -- it takes a while to move our troops, as the experts know.
Clumsy Other Words
In other words, so there's some measurable progress.
With Insisting
I will repeat, as the Commander-in-Chief of a great military who has supported this military and will continue to support this military, not only with my -- with insisting that we get resources to them, but with -- by respecting the command structure, I'm going to wait for David to come back -- David Petraeus to come back and give us the report on what he sees.
What Congress Has Got
Congress has got all the right to appropriate money.
Congress = An ATM
Congress has all the right in the world to fund. That's their main involvement in this war, which is to provide funds for our troops.
The Tomb Of The Unknown Expert
Anbar province is a place where the experts had -- an expert had said that it was impossible for us to achieve our objective.
Yea Me!
So it was a realistic appraisal by me.
What They Have Got
They have got an ideology that they believe that the world ought to live under, and that one way to help spread that ideology is to harm the American people, harm American interests.
Mohamed Atta Rose On The Third Day
The same folks that are bombing innocent people in Iraq were the ones who attacked us in America on September the 11th, and that's why what happens in Iraq matters to the security here at home.
I Blame TeeVee
And one of the reasons it is hard work is because on our TV screens are these violent killings, perpetuated by people who have done us harm in the past.
OK, So Maybe Mohamed Atta Did Not Rise On The Third Day
And the guys who had perpetuated the attacks on America -- obviously, the guys on the airplane are dead, and the commanders, many of those are either dead or in captivity, like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The Global War On Plurals Continues
I believe that he understands that there needs to be serious reconciliation, a need to get law passed; firmly believe that.
...And Continues...
It's not easy to get law passed through certain legislatures, like theirs.
...And Continues
It's hard work for them to get law passed. And sometimes it's hard work for people to get law passed here.
Takes A Dig At Bush 41
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir.
Q Thank you, Mr. President --
THE PRESIDENT: No, not you. Michael.
Q Oh.
THE PRESIDENT: Okay, was that harsh?
Q Yes.
THE PRESIDENT: Like the new hall, I should have been more gentle? Do we ever use "kinder and gentler"? No.
Yea Fox! Boo Fitz!
Michael, I -- first of all, the Scooter Libby decision was, I thought, a fair and balanced decision. Secondly, I haven't spent a lot of time talking about the testimony that people throughout my administration were forced to give as a result of the special prosecutor.
A Possession Deal
You got the mic -- a possession deal, you know what I'm saying?
Blame It On Tommy
I mean, one of the questions is, should we have sent more in the beginning? Well, I asked that question, do you need more, to General Tommy Franks. In the first phase of this operation, General Franks was obviously in charge, and during our discussions in the run up to the decision to remove Saddam Hussein after he ignored the Security Council resolutions. My primary question to General Franks was, do you have what it takes to succeed? And do you have what it takes to succeed after you succeed in removing Saddam Hussein? And his answer was, yes. Now, history is going to look back to determine whether or not there might have been a different decision made. But at the time, the only thing I can tell you, Wendell, is that I relied upon our military commander to make the proper decision about troop strength.
Freedom Is Just Another Word For Methodist
As you've heard me say before, I believe -- strongly believe -- that freedom is a universal value; that freedom isn't just for Americans, or Methodists, that freedom is universal in its application.
Whatever Poll There Are
And one of the things I talked about in the opening comments was, do we do it now, or basically pull back, let the Gallup poll or whatever poll there are decide the fate of the country?
Consider The Troops Dispirited
In other words, if our troops said, well, here we are in combat, and we've got a Commander-in-Chief who is running a focus group -- in other words, politics is more important to him than our safety and/or our strategy -- that would dispirit our troops.
There Is A Lot Of Constituencies
And there's a lot of constituencies in this fight -- clearly the American people, who are paying for this, is the major constituency.
There Is A Lot Of People
There's a lot of people in Congress who don't think we can win, as well, and therefore their attitude is, get out.
The Enemy Who Are Wondering
And, finally, another constituency is the enemy, who are wondering whether or not America has got the resolve and the determination to stay after them.
The Old Tired Me
And so when it's all said and done, Ed, if you ever come down and visit the old, tired, me down there in Crawford, I will be able to say I looked in the mirror and made decisions based upon principle, not based upon politics.
Which Because? That Because!
Secondly, that because of the actions we have taken, al Qaeda is weaker today than they would have been.
Hope Floats
That's why we need terrorist surveillance programs. That's why it's important for us to keep -- you know, would hope Congress would modernize that bill.
What Al Qaeda Has Got
The societies that don't provide hope will become the societies where al Qaeda has got the capacity to convince a youngster to go blow himself up.
Can't Finish The Thought
They'll use hopelessness to be able to recruit. And so it's -- thank you for asking that question.
He seemed especially intoxicated this morning.
Posted by: cosmosis | July 12, 2007 at 13:55
It would be hard to find a soul with drearier architecture than the chimperors.
Posted by: razorboy | July 12, 2007 at 14:29
If either of us spoke that way as the EMT's rolled up after a road accident, we'd be talking to neurologists within the half hour. (Provided we were insured, of course.)
Posted by: Davis X. Machina | July 12, 2007 at 14:35
Holden, do you have to reboot your brain after reading his daily, uh, droppings?
Very funny.
Posted by: | July 12, 2007 at 15:39
There's so much in this one that deserves highlighting, but I think my favorite, in terms of sheer denial of reality, is this one:
In other words, if our troops said, well, here we are in combat, and we've got a Commander-in-Chief who is running a focus group -- in other words, politics is more important to him than our safety and/or our strategy -- that would dispirit our troops.
If he thinks anyone -- in or out of the military -- believes that the safety of the troops is more important to him and to his bosses than politics, then he's really delusional. There is nothing that trumps politics for him. Nothing at all.
Posted by: Nora | July 12, 2007 at 17:13
War fatigue? Fuck that, try incompetence fatigue.
Posted by: j swift | July 12, 2007 at 17:54
What's up with his repeated reference to General Petraeus as David? And this line, "I'm going to wait for David to come back". Has he replaced Jeffy with a real military stud?
Posted by: montag | July 12, 2007 at 18:19
Does anybody get the feeling that he'd love to be wearing one of those dictator uniforms with all the gold and shiny medals every time he refers to Himself the commander-in-chief?
Posted by: Dana | July 12, 2007 at 20:26
I wish someone would ask him about peak oil.
Posted by: Mike | July 17, 2007 at 13:43