Why would Bush cite 'The Quiet American'?

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/08/bushs_quiet_american_reference.html

Why would Bush cite 'The Quiet American'?


by Frank James

In his speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City today, President Bush summoned up the Alden Pyle CIA agent character of Graham Greene's classic Vietnam novel "The Quiet American" which is essentially a contemplation on the road to hell being paved with good intentions.

I'm not sure he really wanted to go there or why his speechwriters would take him there.

As Bush said:



Bush seemed to be seizing on Greene's idea of U.S. naivete on entering the war and trying to turn it around and apply it to those now calling for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

But Greene wrote his book about the way American bumbled into Vietnam, not how it left it.

By reminding people of Greene's book, Bush was inviting listeners to recall the mistakes his administration made in entering and prosecuting the Iraq War. Did he really want to do that?

Even more astonishing is that Bush's speechwriters included in the president's speech a mention of the very fictional character some of the president's critics have used for years to lambaste him for what they consider a major strategic blunder.

The thinking goes, Bush may have been well-intentioned like Pyle but, also like the Greene character, Bush's efforts are ultimately doomed.

more...

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/08/bushs_quiet_american_reference.html

Perception and image is the sine qua non of this administration. She knows it as well as anybody.

(on edit) I still think she came up with the 'compassionate conservative' scam.

Fuck him and his wordplay.

the latest in the Bush Propaganda Machine. They suckered people from the time they stole the Presidency from Al Gore and they've never quit. Karl Rove probably had that all set up so Bushies would be cozy when he cut out (probably with a big payoff from one of their Think Tanks).

From what a friend of mine heard of his speech today he was a raving crazy and it was so bad he had to put earplugs in while sitting at the airport to get work done. CNN was blaring the BIG BROTHER BUSH RAVINGS to the Vets of Foreign Wars for about an hour today and CNN called it "Breaking News." :eyes:

you know who wrote that horrid, pathetic piece of junk aired today?

I mistakenly posted Freedom Foundation.

---------

Democrats Refocus Message on Iraq After Military Gains
Criticism Shifts to Factional Unrest

By Jonathan Weisman and Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 22, 2007; A04

Democratic leaders in Congress had planned to use August recess to raise the heat on Republicans to break with President Bush on the Iraq war. Instead, Democrats have been forced to recalibrate their own message in the face of recent positive signs on the security front, increasingly focusing their criticisms on what those military gains have not achieved: reconciliation among Iraq's diverse political factions.

And now the Democrats, along with wavering Republicans, will face an advertising blitz from Bush supporters determined to remain on offense. A new pressure group, Freedom's Watch, will unveil a month-long, $15 million television, radio and grass-roots campaign today designed to shore up support for Bush's policies before the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, lays out a White House assessment of the war's progress. The first installment of Petraeus's testimony is scheduled to be delivered before the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees on the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a fact both the administration and congressional Democrats say is simply a scheduling coincidence.

The leading Democratic candidates for the White House have fallen into line with the campaign to praise military progress while excoriating Iraqi leaders for their unwillingness to reach political accommodations that could end the sectarian warfare.

"We've begun to change tactics in Iraq, and in some areas, particularly in Anbar province, it's working," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Monday.

"My assessment is that if we put an additional 30,000 of our troops into Baghdad, that's going to quell some of the violence in the short term," Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) echoed in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "I don't think there's any doubt that as long as U.S. troops are present that they are going to be doing outstanding work."

Advisers to both said theirs were political as well as substantive statements, part of a broader Democratic effort to frame Petraeus's report before it is released next month by preemptively acknowledging some military success in the region. Aides to several Senate Democrats said they expect that to be a recurring theme in the coming weeks, as lawmakers return to hear Petraeus's testimony and to possibly take up a defense authorization bill and related amendments on the war.

For Democratic congressional leaders, the dog days of August are looking anything but quiet. Having failed twice to crack GOP opposition and force a major change in war policy, Democrats risk further alienating their restive supporters if the September showdown again ends in stalemate. House Democratic leaders held an early morning conference call yesterday with House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), honing a new message: Of course an influx of U.S. troops has improved security in Iraq, but without any progress on political reconciliation, the sweat and blood of American forces has been for naught.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) made a round of calls yesterday to freshman Democrats, some of whom recently returned from trips to Iraq and made news with their positive comments on military progress. "I'm not finding any wobbliness on the war -- at all," Emanuel said.

The burst of effort has been striking, if only because Democrats left for their August recess confident that Republicans would be on the defensive by now. Instead, the GOP has gone on the attack. The new privately funded ad campaign, to run in 20 states, features a gut-level appeal from Iraq war veterans and the families of fallen soldiers, pleading: "It's no time to quit. It's no time for politics."

"For people who believe in peace through strength, the cavalry is coming," said Ari Fleischer, a former Bush White House press secretary who is helping to head Freedom's Watch.

GOP leaders have latched on to positive comments from Democrats -- often out of context -- to portray the congressional majority as splintering. Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.), an Armed Services Committee member who is close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said many of her colleagues learned a hard lesson from the Republican campaign.

"I don't know of anybody who isn't desperately supportive of the military," she said. "People want to say positive things. But it's difficult to say positive things in this environment and not have some snarky apologist for the White House turn it into some clipped phraseology that looks like support for the president's policies."

Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), who made waves when he returned from Iraq by saying he was willing to be more flexible on troop withdrawal timelines, issued a statement to constituents "setting the record straight."

"I am firmly in favor of withdrawing troops on a timeline that includes both a definite start date and a definite end date," he wrote on his Web site.

But in an interview yesterday, McNerney made clear his views have shifted since returning from Iraq. He said Democrats should be willing to negotiate with the generals in Iraq over just how much more time they might need. And, he said, Democrats should move beyond their confrontational approach, away from tough-minded, partisan withdrawal resolutions, to be more conciliatory with Republicans who might also be looking for a way out of the war.

"We should sit down with Republicans, see what would be acceptable to them to end the war and present it to the president, start negotiating from the beginning," he said, adding, "I don't know what the leadership is thinking. Sometimes they've done things that are beyond me."

In the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, former senator John Edwards issued a scathing attack on Clinton's remark. But he said there has been "progress in Al-Anbar province."

"Senator Clinton's view that the President's Iraq policy is 'working' is another instance of a Washington politician trying to have it both ways," Edwards campaign manager David Bonior said in a statement. "You cannot be for the President's strategy in Iraq but against the war. The American people deserve straight talk and real answers on Iraq, not double-speak, triangulation, or political positioning."

the speech.

Related:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1642603&mesg_id=1642603

(Googling "Freedom Watch" came up with several organizations...this one was down the page and it's new). Either they or AIE or AIPAC wrote that speech. Although it was filled with so many distortions maybe Chimpy has found some new idiot to put on his payroll. Maybe an 18 year old "Young Republican" from Regent University. :eyes: BTW: the PDF of their Press Release has Ari Fleisher as a Founder...)




ABOUT US
Freedom’s Watch is organized as a nonprofit corporation and operated in a manner consistent with section 501 (c) (4) of the federal income tax laws. Freedom’s Watch is dedicated to educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families. Through outreach and education, communications to key members of Congress, and bold public awareness initiatives, Freedom’s Watch is fighting for the ideals and policies that keep America strong and prosperous. We welcome all those who share our values to join our efforts.


Press Release

August 22, 2007 – New Group, Freedom’s Watch, to launch Major Advertising Campaign in Support of Victory in Iraq ''''''


http://www.freedomswatch.org/default.aspx


Their First PRESS RELEASE:

==========


New Group, Freedom’s Watch, to launch Major Advertising Campaign in Support
of Victory in Iraq

August 22, 2007, (Washington, D.C.)—Today a new organization named Freedom’s
Watch announced it is launching a nationwide grassroots campaign aimed at ensuring
Congress continues to fully fund the troops with the ultimate goal of victory in the War
on Terror. Freedom’s Watch will spend approximately $15 million on radio and
television ads as well as grassroots activities from now thru mid-September and has
partnered with a host of veteran’s organizations in an effort to ensure terrorism is
confronted all over the world. The ads begin running today
“The mission of Freedom’s Watch is to ensure a strong national defense and a powerful
effort to confront and defeat global terror, especially in Iraq,” said Bradley A. Blakeman,
President of Freedom’s Watch. “Those who want to quit while victory is possible have
dominated the public debate about terror and Iraq since the 2004 election. Freedom’s
Watch is going to change that.”
In more than 20 states and dozens of congressional districts, Freedom’s Watch
advertisements will run and feature an 800-number for the public to call their
representatives and urge them not to surrender to terror.
“When it comes to protecting our country,” continued Blakeman, “we’ll spare no effort.
Our goal is to make clear that when America goes to war, victory is the only outcome.
That’s what the troops are saying in these advertisements and what Freedom’s Watch
believes. We do not agree with those groups pressuring our lawmakers to abandon
victory.” Supporters of Freedom’s Watch include Former U.S. Ambassador Anthony
Gioia, Former U.S. Ambassador Kevin Moley, Former U.S. Ambassador Mel Sembler
and Former U.S. Ambassador Howard Leach; Dr. John Templeton, Edward Snider,
Sheldon Adelson, Richard Fox, Ari Fleischer, Gary Erlbaum, and Matt Brooks.
Freedom’s Watch is 501(c)4 and based in Washington, D.C.
For more information about Freedom’s Watch and to watch the ads please visit
www.freedomswatch.org
Contact: Jerry Mullins
202.355.6312

Is he the founder?

See my post above where I linked the PDF Press Release from the new group.

But seriously, I do think, like the poster above, that he is taking a page from Nixon.

That worked real well for Dick, dinnit, Monkey?

To create the impression that he knows how to read?

:7

but that he didn't understand it.

On the other hand, he may have just watched the movie and not even know it was a book first. Though he apparently didn't understand the movie either.

Getting out of useless wars is usually done with well learned lessons.

The Quiet Man