Yardstick

Yardstick

Good for measuring when...


Making the same mistake twice
20051214

It is amazing the twists and turns George Bush has gone to in an effort to rationalize the invasion of Iraq and explain away the conditions on the ground. It is getting to the point that he will say anything to win back the approval of the public. In the past week the president has made the final two speeches of four leading up to the December 15th election in Iraq.

A milestone is what Bush called it. And as every one knows, nobody pays attention to milestones because it is the final destination that is truly important. And when it comes to Iraq’s final destination we are not there yet. But I digress.

The excuses have evolved since the push to invade began. And on the eve of the Iraq elections Bush spoke to an overwhelmingly partisan audience at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. What makes this speech a little different from all the rest is Bush actually admitted that the intelligence gathered and used to justify his invasion of Iraq was faulty.

I suppose it is better late than never that he finally spoke truth to what a vast majority of the public already knew to be true. And after this bit of “news” he tried explaining that the intelligence was not improperly used by his administration in the run up to the war. (Of course, there has yet to be a formal investigation in the use of the intelligence leading up to his invasion of Iraq. Maybe there will actually be such an investigation. But don’t hold your breath.)

Of course, what makes the admission so intriguing is that not 3 days ago, Bush gave his third speech of four in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was on Monday that Bush said, “Knowing what I know today, I’d make the decision again” in response to a question about the invasion of Iraq. Is it possible that Bush learned that the intelligence he used to invade Iraq was faulty between his third and fourth speeches? Do you doubt it? I doubt it.

So, that got me to wondering if on the day of the third speech he actually read the text of the fourth speech? Who in their right mind says, “Knowing what I know now, I’d do the same thing” the day before admitting the intelligence you used to invade another country was faulty? Maybe the answer is found in the wording of the previous question. After all he is in his “right” (and by no means correct) mind.

Do his speechwriters and his handlers fail to see the inherent contradiction? Worse still, do they not see that Bush admitted that he would make the same mistakes again without thought or consequence to the lives of those serving in the military? Surely this is not evidence that Bush supports the troops.

Did the men and women serving in the military notice? It was pretty clear that Bush didn’t seem to notice. His supporters in the audience didn’t seem to notice. I believe that if members of his party did notice it, they don’t care.

Of course, I don’t really expect member of his party to notice or speak out of turn. And I don’t expect it from the Democrats either. They spend far too much time responding to charges leveled by the Republicans and forwarded by the MSM they can’t even come together to create a speakers list to do Bush any harm.

Tomorrow is a new day, and the mistakes in judgment that led to the current situation in Iraq will continue. It is a sad day when the commander and chief believes it is better to make the same mistake twice rather than admitting to having made a mistake in the first place.