Thursday, September 23, 2004
Miscalculations.
Jody points out in the comments that my last post quotes a Bush flack as saying that the President hasn't made a mistake in Iraq, and that this doesn't square with Kerry's "constant harping on Bush saying that even Bush has admitted to making miscalculations."
First, you've misunderstood and misunderestimated Kerry. I think the quote you're referring to is this:
"The President now admits to 'miscalculations' in Iraq.
That is one of the greatest understatements in recent American history. His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment--and judgment is what we look for in a president."
Kerry isn't saying, "Look! Even Bush says he screwed up!" In context, Kerry's saying, "Bush will not speak frankly about his mistakes, instead using euphemism and understatement. This lack of candor and blinkered perception makes him a bad leader."
I couldn't agree more.
And adding to this--Jeremy also posted a comment; he seems to imply that staying the course "if facts change" is a good thing, or at the very least, that changing one's mind "if facts change" is a luxury that presidents can't afford, because their decisions have such weighty consequences. I'd much rather have a president who at least admits "if facts change" and reasseses the situation. But Bush has never let facts get in his way.
Recently, the president implied that because the CIA offered him more than one possible scenario for Iraq's future, he could blithely dismiss their entire analysis and say, "The Iraqi citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions." Well, guess what. They're also defying the American armed forces. And to quote one of the few things the administration has said that I think is accurate, "Hope is not a plan."
Comments(0) |
First, you've misunderstood and misunderestimated Kerry. I think the quote you're referring to is this:
"The President now admits to 'miscalculations' in Iraq.
That is one of the greatest understatements in recent American history. His were not the equivalent of accounting errors. They were colossal failures of judgment--and judgment is what we look for in a president."
Kerry isn't saying, "Look! Even Bush says he screwed up!" In context, Kerry's saying, "Bush will not speak frankly about his mistakes, instead using euphemism and understatement. This lack of candor and blinkered perception makes him a bad leader."
I couldn't agree more.
And adding to this--Jeremy also posted a comment; he seems to imply that staying the course "if facts change" is a good thing, or at the very least, that changing one's mind "if facts change" is a luxury that presidents can't afford, because their decisions have such weighty consequences. I'd much rather have a president who at least admits "if facts change" and reasseses the situation. But Bush has never let facts get in his way.
Recently, the president implied that because the CIA offered him more than one possible scenario for Iraq's future, he could blithely dismiss their entire analysis and say, "The Iraqi citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions." Well, guess what. They're also defying the American armed forces. And to quote one of the few things the administration has said that I think is accurate, "Hope is not a plan."
Comments(0) |
