The Retrogrouch writes:
Posted by DeLong at April 13, 2004 06:34 AM | TrackBack | | Other weblogs commenting on this postBarefoot And Naked: Who The F&@% Is In Charge Here?: I've got some friends, my neighbor "D" for one, who I like to call Tinfoil Hat Democrats. D is a lot of fun to talk to because he has an endless supply of conspiracy theories concerning Bush and Cheney. Most of these I tend to discount, but it is increasingly hard to dismiss the assertion that Bush is the figure head while Cheney is the seat of government when I read things like this:
(From the Wall Street Journal 4/12/04 p.16 - WSJ is subscription only, so no link) Japan's Pacifism Tested by Iraq Role: The increasingly unsettled situation prompted Mr. Cheney to hunker down at the ambassador's residence here [in Tokyo], only briefly appearing in public while closely monitoring the situation in Iraq, as U.S. officials across the globe worked to secure the release of the Japanese [hostages].
Contrast how the VP spent this weekend with how the President spent his weekend:
The New York Times > International >From NY Times: Also on Thursday, American forces in Iraq pushed south to retake control of several Shiite towns held by insurgents, and three Japanese civilians taken as hostages appeared in a video broadcast blindfolded, while their captors threatened them with guns, knives and swords. Mr. Bush spent that afternoon leading representatives of 22 hunting, fishing and wildlife organizations on a tour of his 1,600-acre ranch. Among his guests were leaders of the National Rifle Association, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation. He also gave an interview to Ladies' Home Journal. On Friday, as Americans worked to put a cease-fire in place in Iraq, Mr. Bush fished in the bass pond on his ranch with Roland Martin, host of the Outdoor Life Network cable show "Fishing with Roland Martin." Mr. Bush "took the biggest one of the day" - a four-pound bass, Mr. Martin told The Associated Press.
To be fair, Bush cancelled a second fishing trip on Saturday to meet with advisors about Iraq, but still...
Who The F&@% Is In Charge Here?
My Republican mom, who defends Dan Quayle and thinks he got a raw deal from the media, says quite often when Bush speaks in public, "Oh, he's awful, he's such an idiot!"
Posted by: bcinaz on April 13, 2004 12:00 PMSo, who the F&@!& elected Chaney?? Oh, um, .. heh,... right...
Posted by: Matt on April 13, 2004 12:00 PMThis is indeed a weird juxtaposition. But does it reveal that Cheney is actually in charge, or that he thinks he's in charge? Brad has floated the possibility of senility before.
Posted by: P O'Neill on April 13, 2004 02:33 PMLook, I don't like these guys either, and I think Bush was at the outset so unprepared to think about any major issue that getting control of his agenda was a cake walk for Cheney and Rumsfeld and thier ilk. Even so, Cheney was in Japan, dealing with the Japanese government, while the Japanese government was dealing with a hostage situation that resulted from saddling up with us in Iraq. Only an idiot would have done anything other than look busy working on the problem. Bush was in Crawford, doing what was on his schedule. Being in Crawford, having the schedule he had, ain't exactly my idea of doing a goog job at this particular juncture, but there was never ay doubt about what he would be doing.
The contrast offered by the two news reports is not evidence against Bush being a clueless puppet, but it isn't evidence for it either.
Posted by: K Harris on April 13, 2004 02:58 PMThat's a rhetorical question, right?
Posted by: Dave L on April 13, 2004 03:34 PMPerhaps we should start referring to GWB as "The First Lady". As in, The First Lady was once again vacationing on the ranch today having taken a much needed break from fund raising.
Posted by: Dubblblind on April 13, 2004 03:46 PMBush is the unprepared, superficial king, and Cheney is the royal favorite. Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu.
Posted by: Frolic on April 13, 2004 04:24 PM"This is indeed a weird juxtaposition. But does it reveal that Cheney is actually in charge, or that he thinks he's in charge? Brad has floated the possibility of senility before."
How can we exclude the possibility that Cheney is senile AND in charge?
Posted by: Jean-Philippe Stijns on April 13, 2004 05:27 PMI hope everyone noticed the way Bush, at his press conference tonight, totally dodged an explicit question as to why he and Cheney are insisting on being interviewed together rather than separately by the 9-11 Commission. On the other hand, I think his stuttering performance pretty much answered that question by itself.
Posted by: Bruce Moomaw on April 14, 2004 12:15 AMNo, it just showed that he's a normal, down-to-earth American. We'll eat it up, as usual.
Posted by: Press on April 14, 2004 12:17 AM "We'll eat it up, as usual."
We? I'm not so sure Press. I kind of like Bruce's take on it: not exactly "stuttering" but it sure sounded like the return of the 'wooden' speaker. The clinging to the script to an extent that made me wonder if he understands what he's reading.
This is not 'normal' nor 'down-to-earth' and a piss poor example of 'American'.
What I noticed was -- if not stuttering -- at least continual stammering: the behavior of a man who has no convincing answers, knows he doesn't, and is scared out of his wits in consequence. There were times when I thought I was listening to Porky Pig; I half expected the PC to end with "Th-th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!"
I also kept noticing his furtive, frightened expression; what Gail Collins calls the "possum cornered in your garage" mannerisms that Bush gets when he's under verbal pressure. I personally compare it more to a character in one of Jonathan Kellerman's mysteries who wore "the scared expression of someone trying to remember exactly what the phrasing of his last lie had been." If Bush's State of the Union speech did him no good in the polls, I find it impossible to believe that his performance last night did -- although Joe Average has surprised me before. (I do notice that William Kristol has now become the latest rat to head in the direction of the lifeboats, describing the PC this morning as combining "a lot of expressed goals with very few expressed means by which they might be reached".)
Posted by: Bruce Moomaw on April 14, 2004 08:11 PMOnline Casino Directory
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