Politics: A new beginning

[sgtclub]

"Former US president Bill Clinton said in October during a visit to Portugal that he was convinced Iraq had weapons of mass destruction up until the fall of Saddam Hussein, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said."

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/040109/1/3h5er.html

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by sgtclub
"Former US president Bill Clinton said in October during a visit to Portugal that he was convinced Iraq had weapons of mass destruction up until the fall of Saddam Hussein, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso said."

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/040109/1/3h5er.html

geez bilmore. Even i don't get ignored this badly.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
geez bilmore. Even i don't get ignored this badly.

"Badly"?

I thought he did it quite well.

(In fairness to SC, the lack of a need to do a ketchup before posting probably indicates a high degree of personal confidence.)

[Tyrone Slothrop]

According the General Secretary of the Country of Portugal, Snr. Jose Manuel Durao Balboa Quintana Taqueria Barrose, "former US president Bill Clinton said in October during a visit to Portugal that he was convinced Iraq had weapons of mass destruction up until the fall of Saddam Hussein.

linky

What do I win?

[Tyrone Slothrop]

• President Bush was so disengaged in cabinet meetings that he "was like a blind man in a roomful of deaf people," says former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill in his first interview about his time as a White House insider.... "It's revealing," said Stahl on The Early Show Friday. "I would say it's an unflattering portrait of the White House and of the president -- and specifically, about how they make decisions."

linky

Suggested spin for conservatives:
O'Neill is nothing but a disgruntled former employee.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop
President Bush was so disengaged in cabinet meetings that he "was like a blind man in a roomful of deaf people," says former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill in his first interview about his time as a White House insider.... "It's revealing," said Stahl on The Early Show Friday. "I would say it's an unflattering portrait of the White House and of the president -- and specifically, about how they make decisions."

O'Neill is nothing but a disgruntled former employee.

(Okay, I'll edit and add that I don't get the simile - he was disengaged, and so "like a blind man in a roomfull of deaf people"? Huh? Or is it just that O'Neil is so word-challenged that he's like a donkey without a canoe?)

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Bush to back manned expeditions to Mars, the Moon
President insists "those WMD will be found"

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by bilmore
(Okay, I'll edit and add that I don't get the simile - he was disengaged, and so "like a blind man in a roomfull of deaf people"? Huh? Or is it just that O'Neil is so word-challenged that he's like a donkey without a canoe?)

I think O'Neill was trying to say that the President couldn't follow what was being said. The deaf people are communicating with sign language, etc. But maybe that's not it.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop

Suggested spin for conservatives:
O'Neill is nothing but a disgruntled former employee.

Why is this even surprising? It was obvious from before when Bush was elected that one was electing not the governor of Texas but a group of potential cabinetmembers who followed the Reagan-Bush policies of the 80s, and would continue to do so, and would likely control the sub-domains over which they were granted authority. And the policies that have emanated from the various agencies have reflected such an expectation. In other words, Bush was himself just the marketing face, the pitch man. Dan Quayle had a worse Q-rating, so he didnt' work out.

What's the point? 56% of american likes it this way. Or at least more than having a president that's not blind, but still uses a pole to make his way around.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Why is this even surprising?

I share your view to some extent -- and think this is what Bush was getting at when he said he wanted to govern like a CEO -- but think that some of the conservatives here will disagree. This administration is so tight-lipped about how decisions are made that it's often difficult to explain who's making decisions.

But it's surprising for an ex-cabinet official (Treasury, no less) to rip the President like this, no?

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Tyrone_Slothrop
This administration is so tight-lipped about how decisions are made that it's often difficult to explain who's making decisions.

Seriously? C'mon, it's fairly obvious just from his public style and what we DO explicitly know about his decision-making process.

He listens, and sometimes (but not often) they change his mind.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by bilmore
Seriously? C'mon, it's fairly obvious just from his public style and what we DO explicitly know about his decision-making process.

He listens, and sometimes (but not often) they change his mind.

I was thinking of Rove when I said that. It's hard to tell what to attribute to Rove, as opposed to Bush, and I think they both like it that way. This is much less true with foreign policy, because the different camps are engaged in open warfare through leaks, etc.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by bilmore
"Badly"?

I thought he did it quite well.

(In fairness to SC, the lack of a need to do a ketchup before posting probably indicates a high degree of personal confidence.)

Maybe I'm dense, but I don't get what you or Hank mean?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by sgtclub
Maybe I'm dense, but I don't get what you or Hank mean?

the post right before your's, about an hour earleir, bilmore posted the same article, same quote.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
the post right before your's, about an hour earleir, bilmore posted the same article, same quote.

Yea, I figured that out. The sad thing is that I actually to check to see if I've been scooped, just missed it. It's been a really shitty day.