Bush blasts Congress

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Wow, I think this covered more than a few threads in the two Alleys

From CNN

 

I see spin, spin, and more spin. That's not exactly unusual for political speeches.

 

I'll tell you what it "covers" - his lame ass. This is called deflection: The act of blaming others in hopes that his own incomptence, and overall poor performance as prez, will go less noticed. It's an old trick and I guess some still fall for it. The fool needs to start getting his own rotten house in order, as his presidency "winds down;" the stink of it is making the rest of us sick.

 

The one thing that I agree with Bush is that the resolution condemning the Ottoman Turks for genocide of Armenians 90+ years ago is pointless. The only thing that it does is piss off the Turks. Just because I don't agree with our troops being in Iraq doesn't mean I want things to get worse by having the Turks enter the picture. Similarly, I don't agree with GWB's "War on Terror", but again, that doesn't mean I want to see it undermined - and I think that's exactly what the resolution does. It's almost as if the Democrats want to see things get worse so that there will be additional public pressure put on the White House to pull out of Iraq. If that is the case, it's a very ham-fisted way to go about doing it.

Having said that - Congress has tried to get things done. Unfortunately, "compromise" seems to be a word that is not in the vocabularly of the Democratic-led Congress or George Bush's vocabulary (granted in the case of the latter that is a small pool). The Dems know that Bush will veto most of what they want to pass, and further know that they don't have the votes to override the veto. Bush knows he won't get anything he wants done (except for unlimited funding of the War in Iraq apparently) and neither side is willing to find some middle ground.

Yeah, I don't like Bush - but I expected much, much more from a Democratic Congress this year, and I haven't seen a damn thing. Every time there was an opportunity for Congress to stand up to Bush, or to make a deal to get some legislation through (funding the Iraq War was a perfect time to strike a deal - if you want this, then we want this...), but instead they laid down like dogs.

 

Face it, he's right in this case (and I know that really chafes a lot of people). I agree with Aldeth that partisan politics is partially to blame, but none of the promises of the Democratic party have been fulfilled.

Granted, government is much less efficient when the Congress and the White House are of opposite parties.

 

Who's he? GWB? If that's the case, then what "chafes" me, is that anyone would believe the pile of boloney that GTS is all gushing over. What you need to "face" is that not everyone falls for this brand of rhetoric. The Democratic Congress has been w-a-y too chicken in dealing with GWB. They have not stood up to him nearly enough, especially on Iraq. They should be giving him a lot more to complain about, like impeaching him would be a good start.

 

The government governs best that governs least...

NOBODY in Washington is getting much done, except perhaps the media. While they're not accomplishing anything for the good, at least they're not adding to the screw-ups, either.

 

Rallymama's right. Gridlock is usually a good thing.

 

Come on, Chandos -- don't hold back now. Tell us how you really feel....

As far as the rhetoric that Bush is saying: he's right. And I agree he is attempting to avoid bad press for his own actions (and inactions). This type of press conference has been done by every president I've ever seen in office -- it's certainly not surprising. Yes, I feel he needs to clean house but I also realize that is not going to happen. That said, I believe this type of press conference is more for the Republican Party and not Bush -- the lack of progress by Congress is on the backburner in the voter's minds right now. This type of campaign (from someone with nothing to lose) can be quite damaging to the Democrats.

I was trying to phrase it a little more neutrally than you did. I feel Pelosi (among others) has failed the Democratic Party and this country. This is a time when leadership counts and the Democratic Congress has shown very little leadership (as you pointed out).

 

I have to say I agree. Pelosi has been a consistent disappointment to me. I realize how tough it is to get anything substantive done in such a partisan environment, but come on. She should have a lot more to show by this point in her stewardship of the house, and all the Dems continue to buckle on key issues for which they pledged to voters they'd stand up to in last year's elections. Hence, their approval ratings are lower than Bush's. And THAT'S something.

As to what Bush said - I'm not sure anyone really cares at this point. He's demonstrated time and time again that he really doesn't care enough about what's going on in congress to properly educate himself on the ins and outs of the various issues they face. His rhetoric here, particularly on the S-CHIP issue, shows that he's still the partisan slogan machine we've all come to know and love, and has no intention of actually gaining an understanding of what he's talking about. All he does is throw out blanket statements and responds to questions with vague platitudes and things he either has no idea are factually inaccurate, or knows perfectly well that they are and counts on the public being too dumb or disengaged to notice. Just like every other public appearance of the last 6 years.

So I wouldn't exactly say he "blasted" congress. It's just another Thursday.

[ October 18, 2007, 19:47: Message edited by: Death Rabbit ]

 

According to FactCheck, Bush has never received an appropriations bill before October during his entire term in office. Keep in mind that before this year, the Senate and House were in Republican hands. Apparently, this heel-dragging in getting appropriation bills out has little to do with which political party is in the majority.

 

Bush is no different than other presidents and political leaders -- try to focus the blame elsewhere!

That said, while I agree with Rallymama in theory, the fact is that there are some issues that need decision and action, and gridlock in those cases is not a good thing at all. Government actions that REDUCE the amount of government interference in our lives would also be very welcome.

 

T2 - The rap on the Democrats has been, at least in recent years, that they are weak-kneed, spineless wusses. And they always seem to prove that criticsm in one way or another. I'm not saying that they need to go over and bomb Iran just to prove how macho they can be, but the least they can do is make a decent attempt to stare down one of the most unpopular presidents in recent memory.

I mean really, the whole Blackwater fiasco should be a cakewalk for the Dems. Even the idiot himself can barely put up much of a defense of his out-sourcing of the military to a greedy pork-barrel hogger like Boss Prince. The military thinks they are trouble and the government in Iraq despises them. All the Dems have to do is pull Prince's face out of the government feeding trough long enough for him to get some air, and the American people might be able to save enough money - enough to fund the economy of a small nation - and get a little decent healthcare in the process.