Your Sacrifice Is Worth Anything to Me

How can a speech that major papers agree "offered no new strategies" (both the New York Times and The Washington Post) be so rich in ridiculousness that it is every blogger's obligation to take a whack at it with the mighty truth stick that can bust open Bush's B.S. piñata?

Here are a few quick observations. First, you almost have to marvel at Bush's blind arrogance. Repeatedly he stressed, "There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home." That Bush never seems to realize we aren't playing war on some neutral site or moving pieces on a Risk gameboard is completely disgusting. Did anyone bother to ask the Iraqis how happy they are that we chose their country as the place to have our fight with terrorism? Of course, we don't really even know how many Iraqis have died since March of 2003, so maybe it's all ok.

Second, if the best Bush can do is suggest the world is with us in a sentence like this one--"Whatever our differences in the past, the world understands that success in Iraq is critical to the security of our nations"--the U.S. is in a sorry state. After all, such a sentence could be rephrased, "Even though everyone told me not to careen on my motorcycle helmet-less at 100 mph on the icy road, they still were willing to visit me in the hospital."

Third, will he ever stop giving his speeches in front of the folks who already agree with him? Sure it makes a better photo-op, and in this case even insulates him, for if you do question him he can suggest you question all the good men and women of Fort Bragg, but still. Either he has no sense of what it takes to make and win an argument or he simply doesn't give a Halliburton what anyone who doesn't see the world his way thinks.

I'm not sure which is worse. Oh, sure I do--you can at least feel sorry for the stupid.