Friday, May 16, 2008

Bush Officially Kicks Off GOP's Sleaze Campaign


President Bush has made so many utterly dumb statements during his eight years in office that K-Tel could compile a best-selling greatest-hits album. But nothing the Moron-in-Chief has said in the past is more idiotic, more outrageous, more offensive and more patently dishonest than his comments Thursday before the Israeli Knesset during his trip there to commemorate the country's 60th anniversary of independence.

Without any concern for historical accuracy or accusations of political pandering, Bush firmly injected himself and the White House squarely into the 2008 presidential campaign by attempting to further the myth that Democratic front runner Sen. Barack Obama would be weak on national security:

"Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have an obligation to call this what it is: the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

Shame on him. This sort of incendiary rhetoric coming from the President of the United States is dangerous and infuriating. It not only underscores just how despicably dirty the Repugs intend to play between now and November 4th, but it highlights the irony of the past eight years as well. The truth is, Bush/Cheney's foreign policy has done more harm to America and has weakened the U.S's national security more than anything. The invasion of Iraq has greatly invigorated and strengthened Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and Al Qeada in their collective hatred and militancy towards the U.S. and Israel. And during Bush/Cheney, Osama bin Laden, the murderous beast who killed 4000 of our innocent civilians, has be allowed to roam the mountains of Pakistan, releasing more videos during this time than P.Diddy.

Bush's invoking of the Nazis and the Holocaust--just as he and the Rovians have conflated Iraq and al Qeada since the 9/11 attacks--is an insult to every Jew, Israeli and American. To stand before the Israeli Knesset on this most celebrated occasion to draw parallels between then-British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Adolph Hitler and Obama is nothing short of disgusting. To use the Israeli Parliamentary pulpit to spew this highly politicized partisan crap is a stain on the Oval Office and, to put it bluntly, a real cheap fucking shot.

Adding insult to injury, the GOP's presumptive nominee and Bush's fellow fear-monger Sen. John McCain hopped on the bandwagon just a couple of weeks after making his own highly inflammatory and irresponsible remarks about Obama and Hamas: "Yes, there have been appeasers in the past, and the president is exactly right, and one of them is Neville Chamberlain," McCain said. Asked if he thought Obama was an appeaser for statements he supposedly made (but did not) about opening a dialogue directly with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, McCain danced around the question with: "I think that Barack Obama needs to explain why he wants to sit down and talk with a man who is the head of a government that is a state sponsor of terrorism, that is responsible for the killing of brave young Americans, that wants to wipe Israel off the map, who denies the Holocaust. That’s what I think Senator Obama ought to explain to the American people."

The hypocrisy in Bush's remarks is incredible, as he seems to be forgetting his own covert peace negotiations with Libya's brutal dictator and avowed terrorist Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the man admittedly responsible for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Or what about President Richard M. Nixon’s cold-war reaching out to China, or President Ronald Reagan’s dealings with the Soviet Union? As President John F. Kennedy famously said, "Never negotiate out of fear, but never fear negotiation." Only a reckless, foolish cowboy swings first and talks second. But that's our Bush....brought to you by a 71% disapproval rating, the lowest in modern history.

Even if Obama said (which he didn't) that a U.S president should dialogue directly with the leaders of America's enemy countries, what's wrong with that? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? There's a really big difference between talking and appeasement. Chamberlain greatly miscalculated during the period 1937-1939 when he pursued a policy of appeasement in an effort to contain Adolf Hitler by foolishly allowing the Nazi murderer to waltz through and occupy Czechoslovakia as part of the Munich Agreement. But merely talking with your enemy is not appeasement. Bush knows this, of course, but his appetite for pandering to America's Jews during a critical election year is just too insatiable. But will Jews in Broward Country , Florida and elsewhere buy this fear-mongering bullshit yet again? Who knows. But the impact on Obama, already under intense scrutiny by Jewish voters and evangelicals over Israel, could be significant, and is clearly becoming the Repugs' trump card in their effort to win in November. With 82% of Americans believing the economy's in recession, this is all the GOP has to run on. And it's a very familiar strategy, right out of the Rovian playbook: fear, fear and more fear.

In response to the overwhelming negative reaction to Bush's comments, the White House has issued a statement saying the president was not speaking about Obama. Yeah, right. Who the hell was he speaking about then? Just when you think Bush cannot possibly insult our intelligence with any more lies and deception, he opens his mouth and out pops another beaut.

Get ready, Democrats. The Repugs' sleaze campaign is solidly underway. You could almost hear and see Karl "The Wizard" Rove's butt peaking out from behind the curtain. And it's only going to get worse. Assuming Obama's the likely nominee, his fully gassed-up Swiftboat has just left shore. Rough, icy waters are ahead.


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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

anyone who didn't think the sleaze and swift-boating of the dem wasn't being cooled(not done) intill the dems had their man.It's all been kept on the back burner. It never went away,it was kept on ice.Now the michelle comments,the reverand Wright mess and Rezko racketeering mess will hit the air wave's in commercials.Hillary was able to stand up against this slime machine for 16 years,In the recent polls she still beats Mccain by 3 points, Obama is tied with Mccain in the same polls. Just think the swift-boating of Obama will be using actual facts that have accured,with actual film to back it up.One is being run in kentucky right now. The problem isn't that she said it to someone in private,she(michelle) used it in a stump speach for OBAMA.You can believe the sleaze has just started

Anonymous said...

Big Surprise !!!!! The Republicans are getting tought/rough and mean. Who would have thought.

Just those like Anon 12:31, me and thousands of others who have said that Obama is too damaged by Wright, Rezko, "bitter", Michelle, and possible gay/drug charges made by the accuser in the trash mags Enquirer and Globe, to win against the Repug attacks.

I want to point out, too, that Hillary came out of the corner fighting over Bush's comments yesterday, whereas Obama started of by saying

"It's SAD that Bush ... "

Boy is that a "give 'em hell" starter.

We're in deep trouble.

Anonymous said...

Just wait and see what ads they come up with regarding Obama.

All the racists aren't dead yet!!!

Prius said...

I'm really getting tired of saying this and I'm sure many of my friends are tired of me saying it, but the right wing Republicans will stop at NOTHING to gain and now keep the power in the White House. If we all think that McBush is going to be a push over we will be surprised again and in January the Bush doctrine will continue for four more years. Then once more the DNC will be scratching their heads wondering what the hell happened.

If Obama is going to try and be a passive candidate, trying to be a mister nice guy, we'll get beat like a rented mule. For this reason I'm still hoping Hillary gets the nod and Obama gets the VP slot. We need an experienced fighter running and so far Barack has not shown that he has the "stuff". If he can't fight this what is he going to do when they really get warmed up. We all know the right wing media will be all over the air waves and print going after Obama and once again "they" will prevail.

Anonymous said...

Prius,

"We all know the right wing media will be all over the air waves and print going after Obama and once again "they" will prevail."

Obama will lose to McCain only, and I repeat ONLY, if Hillary Clinton's supporters stay home or defect to McSame. The GOP slime tricks have not worked even in districts where Bush got 65% of the vote in 2004.

When, and I do mean WHEN, Barack and Hillary hug and make up and set both their sights on the defeat of McSame, I pray you and others like Andy who support Hillary's nomination work as hard as I will to keep the Clinton Army in the righteous fold.

You, I, your children, my children and this country simply cannot afford another 4 years of this madness...

Anonymous said...

If Obama and Hillary run together, they will win. If not, we will lose.

Anonymous said...

1:43

Obama and Clinton must run together or it's over.

Get it?

Anonymous said...

2:03,

No, I don't get it.

Are you saying if Obama offers the VP spot to Clinton and she declines that McSame will clearly win?

What if Hillary drops out of the race and declares that she does not want to be considered for the VP spot, but will campaign vigorously for Obama and the goal of all Democrats and Americans is the end of the Bush style of governing? Will you follow your candidate's call?

Anonymous said...

Some of you people don't get it.

Hillary won't make Obama's baggage go away, Why would he be more appealing to those who dislike/fear his connections to Wright/Black Liberation/Michelle/Rizdo with Hillary as v.p. It's not just resentment from Hillary supporters that will lose him the election. It's his perceived flaws that have already changed the minds of some supporters according to some exit polls. This Damn America issue is as serious to some Democrats and Independents as the abortion issue is to some Republicans. Wearing a flag pin doesn't cut it.

And the fear as it relates to this discussion on this blog is the Republican smear could convince or sscare others who are now not affected.

Anonymous said...

I cannot see hillary taking the VP spot,but I can't see her vigorously campaining for Obama.Obama let all his great defenders and supporters sleaze her and her husband and barely said a word.She should set this election out a long with her supporters. Let Obama and all his supporters, who have claimed the whole time they didn't need hillary or would they ever need her or her supporters to win in the general.Give them what they ask for.Now when the repuks start the real sleaze campain,they'll wake up to the fact,that hillary was only using kid gloves.She doesn't need to be on a losing ticket in 2008 because the dems bury their losers,once they hit the general and lose. there's always 2012

Anonymous said...

Great point 2:45. If she's vp on the ticket she'll be a loser like Edwards and unable to make a comeback in 2012. But a great chance if she keeps a low profile and runs again. And you're right -- she should not help Obama because the reasons you give. They've done nothing but hate and demean her. She should keep her dignity and wait it out. Then when it's her turn she should forget Edwards, Ricahrdon, Kennedy(s), Dowd, and all the others who were no help at all. She has a lot of wonderful supporters to choose from.

I couldn't agree with you more.

Anonymous said...

Although no one is admitting it it looks like Obama fared badly in his exchange with McCain. One, he had to read his speech which dilutes his power and makes one think they're not his words. Two, several pundits suggested he should have fired back at Bush that the reason we're having this trouble in Iran is Bush's fault; and, McCain's implied the appeasement would be that a President of the USA met unconditionally with the enemy thereby giving the enemy prestige elevation in the world view and pschological advantage. It was also pointed out by another, that when Reagan had his famous meeting there were nukes backing him up.

Round one goes to McCain.

Huckabee has shown the value of extensive observation of a candidate and thorough vetting. Who would have thought a sweet man like Huckabee, and a PREACHER, would make a joke about Obama being shot.

Anonymous said...

There has been a lot of talk today on TV about sexism since there's a movement by women to refuse to support Obama because of the sexism during this race. I went to Google to check it out and I was stunned at the extent of sexism that I had not been aware of. I knew about Matthews, Olbermann and the gang at MSNBC. But I had no idea others some of whom are Randi Rhodes, Penn Jilette, Ken Rudin, Andrew Sullivan, Mike Barnicle, Jack Cafferty, William Kristol to name a few. All made sexist remarks about Hillary that are far worse that the remarks that got Imus fired from MSNBC. No one has defended Hillary as did Sharpton the basketball team.

But what shocked and hurt the most were the T-shirts that are on sale on the Internet which read:

"Bros before Hos" -- Obama before Hillary. They are calling Hillary a "ho" just like Imus was accused of calling the girls "hos". No national complaint has been made in HIllary's behalf. I guess the black community is not so much racist as sexist - or perhaps both. Then there's the Hillary Nutcracker being sold at airport concessions.

I have really had an eye-opener during this campaign, I was shocked black people hated me because I'm white and even more shocked that most men hate me because I'm a woman. I learned this in an article in the Wash. Post called MISOGYNY I WON'T MISS.

Shocking. But I tell you if the women stick to their word Obama will not win.

Anonymous said...

Andy, if you still think after 7 years that Bin Laden carried out 9-11 and that the tapes of him are actually real, youre nuttier than Bush is! The FBI doesnt even claim theres enough evidence Bin Laden carried out 9-11. Just look on Bin Ladens profile on www.fbi.gov.....no mention of 9-11 there.