Me Confused

Posted on April 10, 2004 by Gene

The Bush White House confuses me. I can’t figure out if they are evil Machivellian strategizers, power-mad conspirators, complete morons, or just a bunch of people who are skilled at shaping an image but nothing else. My perception of them changes day to day.
Now it’s swinging back toward the “moron” arena as I — and many, many others — puzzle out just what the hell they’re doing in Iraq. Now, there has been a large segment of the population who have complained since this all started that Bush has no plan for peace, no plan for withdrawl, no plan for anything other than making a big splash and “avenging” his father. (I think there are some major family issues there.) I don’t think they’re happy that their predictions have become so much more true than they even expected.
Now that things are getting so much worse, Bush has evidently decided that he’ll continue his practice of letting the buck stop anywhere but with him.

Explosive violence in Iraq and persistent questions about the administration’s handling of terrorist threats before Sept. 11, 2001, have plunged President Bush into one of the most difficult moments of his presidency, as he seeks to maintain public confidence in his leadership while facing what experts say are mostly unattractive options to put U.S. policy on track.

In the face of these challenges, Bush has yielded the stage, remaining largely out of sight at his Texas ranch as others in his administration explain his policies. Bush’s silence in the face of mounting U.S. casualties in Iraq and concerns about the administration’s timetable for transferring power to the Iraqis has brought criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike.

… Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Bush is “absolutely” losing the public at a quickening pace. He said people are flooding him with pleas “to get us out of there.”

“It’s a disquieting feeling people have. They think the president does not have a plan, and he doesn’t. . . . We are on the verge of losing control of Iraq.”

… Only a third of those surveyed by CBS said the war has been worth the cost, down from 4 in 10 a week earlier. Just 50 percent said going to war was the right decision, the lowest figure since the initial combat ended a year ago, with 46 percent saying the United States should have stayed out. The Time-CNN poll found 44 percent saying they approve of Bush’s handling of Iraq, compared with 51 percent in late March.

How does this jibe with his campaign’s portrayal of Bush the great war leader?