The Workday Liberal

Yesterday the President met with his advisors and then spoke with reporters. The key word of the day for this event was "important". The White house transcript of the event covers five paragraphs, and the word "important" can be found in that transcript six times.

Here is the important part of this important briefing by this important President as far as I'm (who is not very important) concerned:

I fully understand it's important to have both Republicans and Democrats understanding the importance of this mission. It's important for the American people to understand success in Iraq is vital for our own security. If we were to not succeed in Iraq, the enemy -- the extremists, the radicals -- would have safe haven from which to launch further attacks, they would be emboldened; they would be in a position to threaten the United States of America. This is an important part of the war on terror.

Let us dissect this particular statement by Bush. He says "I fully understand it's important to have both Republicans and Democrats understanding the importancce of this mission". What he really means is he thinks it's important that Democrats knuckle under to his view on the matter. He wants the Democratic majority just elected to Congress based in large part on the dissatisfaction of the American voter with the Presidents conduct of the war, to understand that Democrats now need to follow his lead. It goes without saying from the Presidents perspective, that Republicans must also reach this understanding.

Regarding this particular sentiment by the President, let me as a voter who expressed my opinion on the Presidents Iraq policy with my vote in November, affirm my understanding on that policy. My view on this has not changed since the November elections, mind you. The President has mishandled each and every important issue he has considered in this entire sorry war. He misunderstood the intelligence in the leadup to the war, and the parts he did understand he misrepresented to Congress and the American people in an effort to influence opinion into favoring the invasion. This is important! This administration mishandled the very basic security on the streets in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the victory, which lead to widespread lawlessness. Again, this is very important. The administration erred in dismantling the Iraqi military at the behest of Rumsfeld and Bremer. Important stuff here.

You can go up and down the line on important decisions made by this administration in respect to this war, and find near unanimity on wrong headed decisions. The accumulation of wrong headedness has led to the disastrous state of affairs this nation faces in Iraq right now. Indeed, this administration has seemed to revel in it's own ignorance, with the President belligerently refusing to face reality. How can anything be more important to the process of decision making than for the decider to have a grasp on the reality of the matter on which they are deciding?

Knowing then that the President has made decisions based upon a stubborn determination to avoid reality, and that these decisions have time and again proven disastrously wrong, exactly why is it that we ought to all wait in eager anticipation for the Presidents decision. If history is our guide the President will make the wrong decision. If anyone can justify expecting a different outcome I think we could make a case for that persons insanity. To continuously do the same thing expecting a different outcome is crazy. Those who continuously support the President expecting him to get it right one of these times follow that pattern.

Let us consider the rest of the Presidents statement: "If we were to not succeed in Iraq, the enemy -- the extremists, the radicals -- would have safe haven from which to launch further attacks, they would be emboldened; they would be in a position to threaten the United States of America. This is an important part of the war on terror. "

It is precisely because of my concern (remember, I'm one of those voters who sent that message in November) with our position in the war on terror (for lack of better terminology, let me use that admittedly imperfect term) that the Presidents blundering in Iraq is so objectionable. I honestly and deeply understand we face a lethal enemy. The Presidents actions in Iraq have strengthened our enemy. This again is very important. It seems clear to me, being a voter who sent a message in November, that when we fight against an enemy our actions ought to weaken, not strengthen them. That truism just makes sense to me... The war in Iraq has manifestly strengthened our enemies and trying to preach that we are fighting this war to defeat them is just another example of this administration bull headedly refusing to acknowledge reality.

There is one final question I would consider in all this deciding being done from Crawford Texas. In drawing up his plans, has the President actually consulted with the Democrats he is so intent on reaching across the aisle too? I understand he was on a listening tour, and I've seen the pictures of him sitting in a room surrounded by the media with Pelosi and Reid. However will the President actually take the time to hold talks with these important people about this important issue in particular? Or will he just announce his decision and expect the rest of Washington to play along? I see a crisis coming... a very important crisis between a President with 12% approval on his handling of the Iraq war, and a newly installed Democratic majority in Congress who must stop yet another mistaken policy decision by Bush.