Why would you diss the Republican members of Congress by sending Bush to Capitol Hill to tell them nothing they don't already know--i.e., give them his stump speech--and then whisk him away without letting the members ask questions? I mean, surely it's much better to stay home, isn't it?
Daniel Froomkin writes:
washingtonpost.com – White House Briefing: Here is a summary of what today's news stories say did not happen during President Bush's hastily-arranged visit with Republicans on Capitol Hill yesterday: • He didn't provide any new details about the June 30 transition of sovereignty in Iraq. • He didn't persuade a handful of balking Senate Republicans to go along with his tax plans. • He didn't dissuade House Republicans from approving provisions in the defense bill he has threatened to veto. • He didn't talk about embattled Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld or Iraqi National Congress leader Ahmed Chalabi. • He didn't comment on the prison-abuse scandal. • He didn't come up with a new speech. • He didn't take any questions. • He didn't say anything new.
Oh, and of course: • He didn't meet with Democrats at all. and • He didn't talk to reporters.
Dana Milbank and Charles Babington write in The Washington Post: "President Bush ascended Capitol Hill yesterday for what Republican lawmakers called a 'pep rally' to restore the spirits of a GOP caucus worried about chaos in Iraq and Bush's declining poll numbers. "Behind closed doors, Bush gave a 35-minute version of his stump speech covering Iraq, the economy and energy policy. When he finished, the participants filed past a bank of microphones to announce that they were unified in support of Bush and that there had been no dissent expressed at the meeting." Bush did apparently reiterate the firmness of the June 30 handover of sovereignty to Iraqis and likened it to riding a bicycle. "He talked about 'time to take the training wheels off,' " Rep. Deborah Pryce (Ohio) said. "The Iraqi people have been in training, and now it's time for them to take the bike and go forward."
Elisabeth Bumiller and Carl Hulse write in the New York Times: "After the session, Republicans generally praised Mr. Bush for making the effort to come to Capitol Hill, and for paying attention to them. 'I thought he really looked good this morning,' said Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi, who has a difficult relationship with the White House." Edmund L. Andrews writes for the New York Times that Bush's "high-profile plea" for approval of the federal budget didn't persuade "a handful of centrist Republicans to abandon their insistence that any new tax cuts be paid for with either spending cuts or tax increases." So, in a "major setback" for the White House, Senate Republican leaders were forced to postpone the vote, rather than lose it.
Richard Simon and Elizabeth Shogren note in the Los Angeles Times that the pep talk also didn't prevent the Republican-controlled House from "provoking a fight with the president, approving a defense bill that Bush had threatened to veto."
John Roberts of CBS News reports: "Privately . . . some lawmakers described the meeting as 'little more than a cheerleading session,' 'the usual trite phrases,' and saying 'the president wasn't very effective.' "
The Bumiller line "Republicans generally praised" presumably means that some unidentified Republicans (privately) did not praise...
Posted by DeLong at May 21, 2004 05:25 PM | TrackBack | | Other weblogs commenting on this postThere's also some great snark under the Timken heading in that Froomkin article. I loved his corrections!
Posted by: Carrow on May 21, 2004 06:10 PMAccording to David Brooks on tonight's Jim Lehrer broadcast the Bush face-to-face was to give Republican congressman an opportunity to be calmed by his steady voice. Yeah, really, he meant Bush's. I'm not making this up. Nice try David. How mightily he struggles to dig up a rationale for continuing to support the GOP.
I'm sure they wanted to smell the flop sweat and gauge how bad it will be for them this coming November. They must've got a nose-full.
Posted by: dennisS on May 21, 2004 06:30 PM"I thought he looked good", said Trent.
And the others, saying that they're behind the President, they support him, etc....talk about damning with faint praise.
I suspect that there's a severe reality disconnect at the WH (as Brad has said so many times) and on the Hill they're just in a state of resignation. The GOP is great at papering over faultlines, but they've given it away this time.
Posted by: Hypocrisy Fumigator on May 21, 2004 06:56 PMShorter GWB to Republican Congress, "You are mine, bitches."
Posted by: Dick Durata on May 21, 2004 11:31 PMIs GWB non compos mentis? This is a serious question I'm asking? Is the President mentally fit to continue in office? He's being treated as if he can't take the shock of standard give and take politics with partisans in his own party!!! What gives here? Everyone including me has had fun with the joke about Cheney running the country. This is serious though. Is the reason why they're hiding Bush like this is that he's no longer mentally competent to continue even leading partisan veteran GOP hacks through an interactive session?!?!?!
Posted by: Oldman on May 22, 2004 01:44 AM"He talked about 'time to take the training wheels off,' " Rep. Deborah Pryce (Ohio) said. "The Iraqi people have been in training, and now it's time for them to take the bike and go forward."
Anybody else find this analogy highly disturbing?
Im sure it provides alot of relief to know that the president of the Iraqi Governing Council was murdered Monday training wheels attached.
Posted by: Clayton Ullerich on May 22, 2004 02:58 AMOldman, Dick Durata summed it up perfectly:
"Shorter GWB to Republican Congress, "You are mine, bitches.""
Heck, even now Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, Myers et all can go to the Hill and feed them a fresh, hot, steaming plate of BS, and the Congresscritters just whine.
Posted by: Barry on May 22, 2004 04:25 AMBarry,
"Heck, even now Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, Myers et all can go to the Hill and feed them a fresh, hot, steaming plate of BS, and the Congresscritters just whine."
Whine ? No, they are claiming this is fabulous cuisine and asking for another serving.
Posted by: ch2 on May 22, 2004 10:02 AMI'd love to hang out where they get drunk, and listen to what they say when it's just them, and they're relaxed. They've got to be sh*tting bricks.
Posted by: Barry on May 22, 2004 12:19 PMSpeaking of training wheels...
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush suffered cuts and bruises early Saturday afternoon when he fell while mountain biking on his ranch, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.
Bush was on the 16th mile of a 17-mile ride when he fell, Duffy said. He was riding with a military aide, members of the Secret Service and his personal physician, Dr. Richard Tubb.
"He had minor abrasions and scratches on his chin, upper lip, nose, right hand and both knees," Duffy said. "Dr. Tubb, who was with him, cleaned his scratches, said he was fine. The Secret Service offered to drive him back to the house. He declined and finished his ride."
Bush was wearing his bike helmet and a mouth guard when the mishap occurred. Duffy said he didn't know exactly how the accident happened.
Wearing a mouthguard?
Posted by: r.t. on May 22, 2004 10:16 PMSilly me who thought Bush has no clue about Iraq. Gosh, he's a got such a vision thing about it: it's like a bike. Let's just hope Iraq does fall off its bike like Bush did. This time it could cause more than a few bruises...
Posted by: Jean-Philippe Stijns on May 22, 2004 11:01 PMA Republican friend of mine is complaining that Kerry when told Bush fell off his bike asked if the training wheels fell off.
Supposedly at the GOP meeting Mr. Bush made some insulting remarks about Iraqis and bikes with training wheels.
Judging from the scrapes on his nose and jaw, it is clear that the helmet Mr Bush was using did not protrude far enough forward on the forhead to keep his nose off the ground. He should get a better helmet.
Posted by: bakho on May 23, 2004 10:51 AMPresident was wearing a mouth guard when he took his spill off the bike? I thought Cheney was the mouthguard as evidenced by the President's inability to appear before the public or Congress without Cheney's presence.
Posted by: ENT LORD on May 23, 2004 02:07 PMHello:
I just heard an interview on National Public Radio today in which the interviewer said the CPA, or CTA(whatever) in Iraq- you know that provisional goverment in Iraq that is doing such a great job...that they were mostly hired by the Heritage Society, who had locked in these people and never checked their backgrounds, or anything, or had any criterion for hiring, like having a I.Q. over 57. It did not matter if they spoke only English or did not have any pan -Arab lanquage skills,
You see, now, this whole Bush operation is such pure incompetence from top to bottom
and how much has Halliburton and its subsidiary's accomplished- I bet they have not left the green zone in months...and the Heritage Foundation employees who have zero organizational skills are playing board games in the green zone with halliburton employees, (they have a gymnasium, et cetera)
Thank goodness for NPR, Bravo, how come we never hear the truth or read it on TV or newspaper. Are the only investigative journalists working for NPR, will NPR get its funding shut-off when Bush fixes the next election?
What is the Heritage Foundation...now I am curious...man, is this a great country or what. Heritage!!!!!!!!!!!
also, check Bush's speech tonight for slurred words...that will be the mark that he is drinking himself to bed everynight...remember the "I choked on pretzel and passed out and bumbed my head on table while watching sports on TV"
I do not care, no bike accident can top that lie!!!!
Or does he still have a big drinking problem that leads him to have deficient mental state?
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