1115.org

(1) Redeploy And Contain. Stability First.

Suddenly, on the verge of a midterm election that’s rapidly spinning out of Republican control, Bush is betting he can convince voters that he has always stood ready to make whatever changes are necessary in his bankrupt Iraq “policy”. That “Stay the Course” has always been a stupidly inaccurate description of his carefully nuanced, perfectly flexible approach to Iraq.

“Stay the course means keep doing what you’re doing. My attitude is, don’t do what you’re doing if it’s not working — change,” Bush said.

In a clear recognition that only pretty dumb people are likely to buy the whole package – which includes St. James, that trusted family retainer, trusted hopefully both by the family and by the American public, riding to the rescue – it is being packaged in easily digestible phrases. Redeploy and Contain. Stability First.

Here are some that might be more helpful, if the intention is to actually try and reach those who have painfully come to see through (and can no longer buy into) the facile illusions that have always constituted the Bush Iraq “policy”. Admit and Atone. Accountability First.

As we come closer to election day, look for the pre-packaged phrases to be incarnated as easily remembered nursery rhymes, all the better to penetrate the target market segment.

(2) If Bushes Were Horses

We should, of course, be grateful that Bush has declared himself to be willing to make changes in his Iraq “policy”, if it’s not working. “Late” beats the heck out of “never”, even if it would have been far better to make changes several hundred thousand unnecessary deaths ago.

I’ll admit, though, that being grateful wasn’t exactly my first reaction. That was more along the lines of:
If? If? What the bleeping heck does he mean by if? He still has no idea whether it’s working or not? Or is this his way of saying that he’s almost ready to begin to possibly start coming clean about the fact that maybe it’s not quite working, you know, one hundred percent?

But now that I have taken several deep breaths and arrived at “grateful”, I can’t help wondering what other conditional statements of a similar nature our dearly beloved President might be prepared to make, as he embraces a brand-new election-eve persona.

Is he willing to consider a prime time mea culpa if he has managed to viciously divide the country instead of uniting it?

Is he willing to dial 911 if his pants are on fire?

Is he willing to consider turning a few cabinet members into former cabinet members if any of them have consistently botched up the key initiatives under their charge?

Is he willing to set the public record straight if he has inaccurately misquoted himself from time to time on the subject of how the war against Iraq is going?

Is he willing to apologize if he has inadvertently accused those who question, criticize or disagree with his pet “policies” of being traitors?

Is he willing to consider confessing if he has told a direct bald-faced lie in a recent speech on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks?

Is he willing to consider resigning if he has consistently, deliberately, and with politics aforethought lied to the American people about Iraq, and TWAT, and the connection between them?

(3) The Ultimate if?

Bush is determined not to cut and run. Bush is patient, but not forever.

Has nobody sat him down yet and explained to him in words of two syllables or less that he doesn’t have forever, he has only two years and change? Or could he actually be planning to escalate his unprecedented power grab into the ultimate test of the limits of American democracy? Are Yoo-like creatures in the Justice Department even now at work on memos explaining how in the age of TWAT the President’s constitutional obligation to protect the American people trumps the quaint ritual of turning over power to a newly elected President, if in the President’s judgment, whatever namby-pamby is elected to replace him is really not equal to the task of prosecuting TWAT?

Nah, probably not. Those memos must have been written a long time ago.

So we may not stay the course forever, but we could continue to pursue our policy of Stand and be Decimated for a good long time.