Sigh...

Do you remember back in 2001 when "President" Bush vowed to get Osama Bin Laden "dead or alive"?

Well, turns out he was bloviating;

President George W. Bush said he was unaware if, during his eight-year tenure, Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was ever close to being captured. [...] Asked if the September 11 mastermind ever came close to being captured since US forces went into Afghanistan looking for him in 2002, Bush said: "I don't know. I can't answer that." [...] Pressed by King, Bush replied candidly: "I really don't know. I'm not trying to hide anything."

Only six days left... only six days left... only six days left...

Even more proof that he just doesn’t get it*

*as if we needed anymore…

Since the site IS named after him after all, how about a post dealing with everyone's favorite recovering alcoholic & drug addict/born-again/boy-president…

“President” Bush held a presser this morning on the South Lawn of the White House and announced that the economic stimulus checks will start being sent out this Monday… with approximately 130 million households in line for $600-per-individual, $1,200-per-couple and $300-per-eligible-child rebates

Said Bush; “If you've already filed your income tax return, your rebate is on the way. […] We want to make sure everyone who is eligible for a check gets one. […] This money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we are seeing at the gas pump and the grocery store... and will also give the economy a boost to help us out of this slowdown.”

Let's ignore 2 other things for a moment; the fact that all the economists that AREN'T joining the lemmings in going over the cliff say the checks will have only a modest impact on the economy (and that's only if people spend the money) and the fact that this president refuses to accept reality that the US is in a recession and would rather desperately (or idiotically?) cling to the concept that we're in a “slowdown” instead.

Instead, let's concentrate on what he said this morning; “This money is going to help Americans offset the high prices we are seeing at the gas pump and the grocery store...”

Um… correct me if I'm wrong, but when the economic stimulus package was first announced, Bush said that the rebate would be a 'shot in the arm' for the US economy… but now, weeks after the aforementioned statement, he's changing gears and is saying the money will help people pay their rising bills for gas and food.

Granted, he added “... and will also give the economy a boost to help us out of this slowdown”, but; will it? Can these checks actually do both things that Bush says they can?

If people use the rebates to buy groceries and gas, isn't that more akin to paying down debt than it is to buying items such as cars, high-price electronics and the like?

Bush's economic rebate does absolutely nothing but cover a smidge of the extra cost of record high fuel, food, & healthcare costs for this year alone… and likely won't stimulate anything (except Bush's ego).

The man just doesn't get it…

…and he never will.

(And a question from Scott; once this paltry amount is spent, what's next to help Americans pay for the rising costs of gas and food for the rest of this year AND the years to come? Nothing, we’ll be back to square one.)

Lame-duck fever, catch it!

It’s poll time here at TBWA, and a handful of new polls were released in the last few days that measured “President” Bush’s approval rating.

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Sorry, had to regain my composure after laughing so hard at the numbers…

A new Zogby poll shows Bush's approval rating at 26%, down dramatically from 34% in February.

A recent CNN/Opinion Research poll shows a scant 31% of respondents approve of Bush’s job performance, a new low for a CNN poll that is a staggering 40 points lower than his rating at the start of the Iraq war five years ago.

A new Reuters/Zogby poll pegs his approval rating at 32%, a 2-point drop from February.

When you consider that 19% of Americans believe the country is headed in the right direction and 40% feel very secure about their jobs, you start to understand that the country has had it up to here with the Bush(whacked) Administration and their overwhelming incompetence.

Wow… nothing like following in Daddy’s footsteps, as Bush 43’s numbers are comparable to Bush 41’s numbers near the end of his term… and the numbers and the humongous drop is equivalent to those of President Lyndon Johnson during the Vietnam War.

And when you consider that Dubya’s approval numbers haven’t topped 40 since mid-2006, is it any wonder this country is ready for a change?

All together now; January 20, 2009 can NOT come soon enough…

More inanity from the man who made it an art form

Just when you think the Bush(whacked) Administration has learned something from past mistakes and has taken intelligence at face value, you realize who you’re thinking about and you’re snapped so-hard back into reality that you almost get whiplash…

A few weeks ago, when the NIE concluded that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program WAY BACK in 2003, White House Tool Press Secretary Dana Perino said that the President “accepted the results of the NIE”, even saying this week that Bush had never expressed “anything but support” for the NIE’s findings.

Yet in an interview with Fox “News” earlier this week, the President made it crystal clear that he doesn’t share the NIE’s conclusions…

Uh-huh…

Sure, he admitted that the intelligence officials were probably “sincere” in what they wrote, but he refuses to say whether he believed them or not…

And while on his latest legacy-saving trip®, Bush tried so hard to distance himself from the NIE, that he not only hurt himself, he probably got a burnt tongue his mouth was open so much… though that could also have been because he was kissing everyone’s ass on the trip…

For instance, while in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Bush “made it clear” that the intelligence services that created the NIE are an “independent agency” and “come to conclusions separate from what I may or may not want.” He also, per an article in Newsweek, told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that the NIE’s “conclusions don’t reflect his own views.”

(Excuse me??? His own views?? He is not supposed to have his own views of these things… he’s supposed to rely on, wait for it, his intelligence agencies.

That’s the problem with this man… he ignores his counselors and thinks what HE thinks is the law… with these statements, Bush has positioned himself farther to the right than Vice President Cheney (and that ain’t easy) since Cheney told the Politico last month that he doesn’t have “any reason to question” the NIE.

Bush is indeed in a world of his own, and January 20, 2009 can NOT come soon enough…)

More Delusions of Grandeur

Just when you think this administration has stretched reality to its limit, they say something that makes you realize they haven’t even gotten close.

Currently, “President” Bush’s job approval numbers are mired in the low 30s, and rightfully so. But a post in U.S. News’ Washington Whispers reports that Bush aides predict a ‘remarkable shift’ that will give the president a 45% approval rating when he leaves office...

Again, I ask this administration; what color is the sky in your world??

The people in the White House see happy days for Bush this year, already labeled his “legacy year” by the White House staff. But, once again, they’re ignoring the American public, a majority of whom appears VERY ready for his presidency to be over.

Let’s think about this; the republican presidential candidates are hesitant to even mention Bush’s name, and the only remarkable shift will be the enormous sigh of relief coming from the masses on January 20, 2009.

Who in the conservative political punditry will stand up in front of the media and the American public and begin the steps that are desperately needed to polish the Bush Legacy??

One of the republican presidential contenders?

Doubtful...

One of the Republicans in the Senate or House?

Doubtful... especially if they are running for re-election.

Rush Limbaugh? Ann Coulter? Papa Bush?

Doubt it, doubt it and doubt it... none of them have the clout needed to polish his legacy, so it’s up to one man to do it… Dubya himself.

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Now that we’ve all stopped laughing, let’s think about that for a moment like Dubya would---

Poll Positions

‘Tis the season for polling, so here’s some nice polling data to help you get through the rest of your Tuesday.

Did you know that we are a “nation of discontent”… at least that’s the findings of a recent USA Today/Gallup poll shows, with 72% of Americans saying they’re dissatisfied with how things are going in the US, as opposed to the slight 26% that say they’re satisfied with the direction the country is heading.

Splendid… though it still begs the question as to what the hell the 26% are smoking.

And lest you think it’s only one poll that shows discontent, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll says that 75% of Americans are “eager for a change in direction from the agenda and priorities of President Bush”, with a paltry 24% of those polled believing that the Bush(whacked) Administration is leading the nation on the right track, which is the “lowest public assessment of the direction of the country in more than a decade.”

Nice…

And to pile on Bush, another new Gallup poll shows that 64% of Americans disapprove of the job he’s doing, and, for the “first time” ever in Gallup poll history, 50% say they “strongly disapprove” of Bush.

The previous high? The 1974 version of Richard Nixon, who scored a 48% mere days before an impeachment inquiry was launched.

Nice company for Bush to have, isn’t it?

Have some more polling info:

• 69% of Americans favor withdrawing U.S. forces, compared to 9% favoring an increase in troop levels.
• A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released yesterday shows, with a year until election day, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) remains the person to beat
  Another new CNN poll shows that 69% of Americans believe that waterboarding is torture and an additional 58% say that the U.S. government should be barred from using the procedure.
• All these numbers have one constant running through them, George W. Bush… his years of pathetic governing are the cause of this… and we still have a little under one year before we head to the polling booths to select who the Supreme Court will instill as our next President (sorry, I need to learn to let that go), and a large majority of Americans are distraught about the direction our nation is heading…

Bush and his cronies aren’t doing anything...

Congress isn’t doing anything...

Where in God’s name is this country headed?

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Blue Monday… and by ‘blue’ I mean depressing, not raunchy…

• Having solved the Iraq quagmire, the House and Senate are preparing to shift their focus towards a more domestic agenda… (Solved what now?)
• Apparently it’s news to the Washington Post that fundraising is a major player in the presidential race… the article goes on to say, well, nothing really…
• For the fifth time since 2001 (coincides nicely with Bush coming to power, doesn’t it?), Congress is increasing the debt limit by $850 billion to $9.815 trillion. (And once again the effects of the Presidency of Mediocrity ® shows its ugly head…)
• The trial for former defense contractor Brent Wilkes starts today. Wilkes is accused of channeling over $700,000 to disgraced ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham “in the form of both cash and perks ranging from a Sea-Doo jet boat to the services of two prostitutes at a high-end Hawaiian resort.” (The question now is; will Wilkes take anyone else down?)
• And have we mentioned? That the bill drafted by Rep. Duncan Hunter (r-CA) aimed at cutting off all federal funds to Columbia University now has a name? Because the school invited Iranian President Ahmadinejad to speak, Hunter (a true American… yes, that was sarcasm) doesn’t want the school to receive any federal money. And the name, after a nationwide search, is ‘Restore Patriotism to University Campuses Act’… (Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue though, he should have named it something like the “Trying to Make My presidential Campaign More Revelant Act”…)

Bush grades himself, and still manages to get it wrong

A reporter asked “President” Bush this morning whether there was a "risk of a recession."
Bush, as always, refused to answer the question and instead, as always, made a flippant remark that he wouldn't know because he's never been very good at Economics.

Reporter: Do you think there’s a risk of a recession? How do you rate that?

BUSH: You know, you need to talk to economists. I think I got a B in Econ 101. I got an A, however, in keeping taxes low and being fiscally responsible with the people’s money.

Excuse me?? Who says he deserves an 'A' for being “fiscally responsible” with other people's money??? I certainly don't, and I doubt many others think that as well…

In the last few days people have been talking to economists... including one of the most well-known, intelligent and influential economists; former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

Greenspan is on record of saying that the odds of a recession remain "somewhat more" than one in three. And yet Bush continues to spin his record on fiscal responsibility, never mind the fact that his tax cuts helped create some of the most substantial budget deficits we've had in many, many years.

And how about this from Yale University economist Robert Shiller, an “economist who has long predicted this decade’s housing market bubble would deflate said the residential real estate downturn could spiral into ‘the most severe since the Great Depression’ and could lead to a recession."

And don't even get me started on his grades... I would wager that Bush failed "Alphabet 101" too.

Bush even made light of his grades during another presser today, pointing out that while Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice may have a PhD, she’s still not President of the United States. Instead, Bush, who was a “C student,” is. Said Bush;

"I remind people that, like when I’m with, Condi, I say she’s the Ph.D. and I’m the C student and just look at who’s the president and who’s the adviser."

Ladies and gentlemen, this is indeed a "Presidency of Mediocrity"®

Sigh...

One last 'Snow' job?

In his address to the nation Thursday night, “President” Bush told us that he would endorse a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq, saying;

“At the same time, they understand that [Iraq’s] success will require U.S. political, economic and security engagement that extends beyond my Presidency. These Iraqi leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America. And we are ready to begin building that relationship.”

Uh-huh…

This morning, outgoing White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was interviewed on CNN;

Q: How long are we going to be in Iraq? Because the President last night was setting the stage for a long-term relationship with the Iraqis, which would include a U.S. military presence there.

SNOW: Yeah, well, the Iraqis want that.

Ummmmmmm.. not so fast there Tony… I think you may be wrong about that.

An ABC News/BBC/NHK survey of Iraqis released earlier this week showed that 79% of Iraqis oppose a U.S. presence and 57% approve of the insurgent attacks on U.S. troops…

But the Iraq people want our troops to stay…

Let me ask you a question Tony, was the lobotomy expensive or were you and the rest of the Bush-cronies able to get a group rate?

Rummy's Ruminations

This story is a few days old, but I think it speaks volumes about the Bush(whacked) Administration…

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave an extensive interview with GQ magazine recently and had some very interesting and enlightening things to say.

Ignoring for the moment that he said he had no regrets, he said this about the war in Afghanistan;

“Look at Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, 28 million people are free. They have their own president, they have their own parliament. Improved a lot on the streets. […] “It’s been a big success!”

Um… okay… though I guess if you compare the Afghan war to the Iraq war it’s been, in his words, a “big success”.. but is it really?Well, if you decide to do something radical and, I don’t know, look at facts, it’s far from being a success and instead remains an abandoned war on terrorism… consider:

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president said recently that the level of security in his country has “definitely deteriorated”, but a former national security official called that “a very diplomatic understatement.”
The Taliban has carried out “103 suicide bombings in Afghanistan in the first eight months of 2007”, which is an increase from last year of 69%
For the second straight year Afghanistan has “produced record levels of opium” thanks to a “staggering 45 percent increase in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province.”

But ‘it was a success’… though I guess that depends on what your definition of success is… if it’s allowing the Taliban to get back to pre-war strength than, by all means, it’s been a success.

And if you look even deeper, you can find proof that Rummy had a role in the deterioration of the country considening that back in February 2002, then Secretary of State Colin “Wish I never joined Bush’s cabinet” Powell made a proposal that “American troops join the small international peacekeeping force patrolling Kabul and help Karzai extend his influence beyond the capital.”

Rumsfeld blocked his proposal.

While his boasts of success in Afghanistan are good, his best quote came when the interviewer asked him whether he misses President Bush… said Rumsfeld; “Um, no.”

Ouch… that’s gotta hoit…

But he said he still sees Cheney… no word if he plans to go hunting with the him though…

And the most revealing moments came when Rumsfeld admitted that not only did he try to resign three times before he actually left. But that he wrote a memo before the Iraq invasion that contained “at least” two-dozen warnings about what might happen.

Despite everything, Rummy still thinks that Bush will be vindicated someday and, over time, will be appreciated for his strengths and national security accomplishments…

I would write more, but my sides hurt from laughing too much…

A short post on the anniversary of Katrina's landfall

It’s been two since since Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and the gulf coast of Mississippi… two years, and out of the 115 “critical priority projects” that NOLA city officials identified as such… none, have been completed.

And of the $34 billion that was “earmarked for long-term rebuilding,” less than half of it has made its way to the municipal projects.

While touring the city today, Bush remarked that his administration has a “strong commitment” to rebuild the city.

Too bad he didn’t have a “strong commitment” to protecting the city 2 years ago… too bad he didn’t have a “strong commitment” to installing someone into FEMA who knew what the hell they were doing… too bad he didn’t’ have a “strong commitment” to visit the ravaged areas sooner than he originally did…

Bush’s lack of action 2 years ago and his audacity today does nothing to impede the fact that Katrina continues to stand as Bush’s largest domestic failure…

Apparently we CAN’T stop fellating Rove

Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes can’t at least… look at what he says about Rove;

“Rove is the greatest political mind of his generation and probably of any generation. He not only is a breathtakingly smart strategist but also a clever tactician. He knows history, understands the moods of the public, and is a visionary on matters of public policy. But he is not a magician.”

Seriously? That’s what you think?? Tell me Fred, what color is the sky in your world??? Rose-colored, or is that color reserved for your official glasses?

And just in case you need more proof that Rove gets it wrong more often than he gets it right, during an interview with Rush “BFI” Limbaugh this afternoon, Rove said that the people criticizing Bush are “sort of elite, effete snobs who can’t hold a candle to this guy. What they don’t like about him is that he is common sense, that he is Middle America.”

Limbaugh then suggested that Bush critics are frustrated with Bush because he “outsmarts ‘em.”

There are so many things wrong with those statements that I don’t even know where to begin…

Poll Positions

There are some new polls out, and they continue to show waning support not only for the Iraq war, but “President” Bush as well.

While American Research Group’s new poll shows Bush’s approval at an itty-bitty 25%,with his disapproval at a staggeringly high 71%, a new Washington Post/ABC News poll gives Bush’s approval above the Nixon Line (soon to be re-named the Nixon-Bush Line) at 33%, with 65% disapproving.

But let’s not get too excited just yet… while the numbers for the President are slipping further and further into the abyss, so too are the numbers for Congress, primarily due to their incredible inability to end the war.

35% said they approve of the way congressional Democrats are handling the situation in Iraq, with 63% disapproving… but Bush is not the answer either, as the poll then goes on to show that 55% of those surveyed trust Congressional Democrats to fix the Iraq war problem, and a scant 32% trust President Bush to do it.

Why?

Because Bush is too damn stubborn… or, in the words of the poll, 80% of Americans see Bush's stance on Iraq as too rigid as he has downright refused to listen to other people’s opinions.

This includes republicans, Democrats and Independents…

So I read that, and then I have faith in mankind again… but then I see something that leaves me absolutely… Be. Wildered.

Three-quarters of republicans approve of the way Bush is handling his job, compared to one in 10 Democrats and three in 10 independents giving him high positive marks.

And here’s my question; how many of these republicans actuallyactually approve of the job Bush is doing, and how may are simply saying they approve due to a sense of party loyalty?

Think about it… can the entire republican party that friggin’ moronic>? Those with a brain, and I know there must be some out there, can not honestly think that this war is going in a positive direction… let alone the country.

If they do, then they have a much worse case of tunnel vision than Bush.

And that’s downright alarmingly.