They Do Comedy Too!

by hilzoy

Some recent comedic gems from the Bush administration:

(1) Asked about the idea that our soldiers would be 'welcomed as liberators' in Iraq, President Bush said:

"I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome."

Ah, yes: just another one of those non-peaceful welcomes, like the Russian welcome of Napoleon, or the Lakota welcome of Custer at Little Big Horn.

(2) A few days ago, Condoleeza Rice said that "the United States prohibits "cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment" of suspects, "whether they are in the United States or outside of the United States."" Asked whether this represents a policy shift, a senior State Department official said:

"Do not read this in a tortured, convoluted and contrived way."

Yes, but can we read it in a way that, while undoubtedly painful, does not make Dr. Rice's remarks feel a degree of suffering equivalent to organ failure or the loss of a limb? What if a CIA agent, in an undisclosed location outside the US, gives the reading in question? What if we just shut her remarks up in an unheated room on the middle of the Afghan winter, or waterboard them? Would that be OK? Would feeding her remarks lemon chicken make it all better?

(3) As we know, Bush has refused to answer any questions at all about the leak of Valerie Plame's name on the grounds that it might compromise an ongoing investigation. Does he know who leaked her name? No comment. Does he still have confidence in Karl Rove? No comment. What does the President think of Karl Rove's taste in suits? No comment. Does Karl Rove even exist, or is he some sort of collective nightmare? No comment. Anything Bush or any member of the administration says -- anything at all -- might compromise Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation; and, as we all know, George W. Bush is too deeply concerned with letting justice take its course, and with the integrity of judicial investigations, to say a word.

So this was a surprise:

"President Bush said on Wednesday that he thought Representative Tom DeLay, under indictment in Texas, was innocent and that he hoped Mr. DeLay could return to the post of House majority leader.

In an interview with Fox News, Mr. Bush broke with his usual practice of avoiding direct comment on pending criminal investigations to express his faith in Mr. DeLay, who was forced by party rules to step aside as majority leader after being indicted in September on charges of funneling corporate campaign contributions to Republican candidates for the Texas Legislature."

I'm with Reddhedd on this one:

"Um, hello??!?? The President of the United States and former Governor of the State of Texas says he thinks that Tom Delay is innocent to a national news outlet after a presiding judge has just ruled that the charge stands as proper to be tried by a jury of Delay's peers. Did he or his staff even stop to think about the consequences of this public display of affection for Delay? Has anyone explained to the Preznit the meaning of the words "jury tampering?""

But here comes the funny part: Scott McClellan was asked about this in today's press briefing, and guess what? He refused to answer, on the grounds that that would constitute commenting on the Plame investigation:

"Q Scott, the President told Brit Hume that he thought that Tom DeLay is not guilty, even though the prosecution is obviously ongoing. What does the President feel about Scooter Libby? Does he feel that Mr. Libby --

MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. First of all, the President was asked a question and he responded to that question in the interview yesterday, and made very clear what his views were. We don't typically tend to get into discussing legal matters of that nature, but in this instance, the President chose to respond to it. Our policy regarding the Fitzgerald investigation and ongoing legal proceeding is well-known and it remains unchanged. And so I'm just not going to have anything further to say. But we've had a policy in place for a long time regarding the Fitzgerald investigation.

Q Why would that not apply to the same type of prosecution involving Congressman DeLay?

MR. McCLELLAN: I just told you we had a policy in place regarding this investigation, and you've heard me say before that we're not going to talk about it further while it's ongoing.

Q Well, if it's prejudging the Fitzgerald investigation, isn't it prejudging the Texas investigation with regard to Congressman DeLay?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think I've answered your question."

Gotta love those guys in the White House -- they're such kidders.

Comments

[rilkefan]

Didn't Kevin Drum post something along these lines not long ago?

[ral]

Well, we can compare and contrast the comments here and at PA.

[hilzoy]

So far, not a single person has mentioned my favorite bit:

"I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome."

I mean, that's just one of those classic Bush moments, but I suspect it's about to sink unnoticed below the waves.

[ral]

It does give insight into George W. Bush's thinking and his speaking style, doesn't it? I mean, what is his definition of "to welcome"? One thinks also of what a "heck of a job" is or who "folks" are.

[DaveC]

I'm glad the good folks came out and voted in Iraq today.

I'd say they welcomed voting. and our servicemen&women have done a heck of a job!
credit where it's due.

[KCinDC]

Let's not forget "Whether or not it needed to happen, I'm still convinced it needed to happen."

[cleek]

credit where it's due

no question. our troops are doing us proud.

well, one question, not about the troops: if, in 2002, Bush had asked the American public for permission to invade, occupy and rebuild Iraq in the name of spreading democracy, would he have received permission ? 70% ?

yes, the election is good news. but it's not what the public signed-off on in 2002. maybe it's the best we can hope for now, but it shouldn't excuse the fnck-ups that got us here.

remember, Tookie did good things later in life, but he was still held accountable for his previous failures.

nonetheless, good for our troops - bring them home, ASAP.

[John Thullen]

DaveC.:

I'm glad the good folks came out and voted today in Iraq, too.

I'm glad the President let us know the intelligence justifying the invasion was bad.

Not that it mattered, apparently.

Intelligence is no longer required. Winking is sufficient. In which case, abolish the C.I.A, the F.B.I., and cancel the Patriot Act.

Time to nuke Peking and put a bullet in Chavez's brainstem. Why? Who cares?

The ends justify the means. I tell my son this every day. He looks at me like I'm nuts, which I am. Then I tell him DaveC agrees with me and he smiles and goes forth into the world and lies to girls. For the sake of democracy.

Because the world needs sociopaths and pychopaths to bring democracy to fruition.

Not that this has anything to do with you DaveC. I separate the man and his comments. ;) Which I hope the rest of you do to, for my sake, and for the sake of voters throughout the world. Even the dead ones.

[a]

"I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome. There were some in society, rejectionists and the Saddamists and the terrorists that have moved in to stir them up that said, "We're going to prevent a democracy from emerging." But I think a lot of people are glad, I know a lot of people are glad we're there. And they're glad we're helping them train their troops so they can take the fight."

Nothing wrong with that statement. It requires a deceitful partisan to truncate it to make it useful.

Do you really think you can actually get away with this sort of crap? Still? In this age, with this sort of audience?

[stickler]

But I think a lot of people are glad, I know a lot of people are glad we're there. And they're glad we're helping them train their troops so they can take the fight.

Yeah, the Shiites are very glad that we're helping them to train their troops so that they can take the fight ... to the Sunnis.

[Fledermaus]

I wonder how much longer Scotty can keep his absurd BS up. He must know how much of an idiot he looks like when BushCo keeps putting him in these positions - I imagine he's just seething with resentment and one of these days he is just going to blow his top and start yelling "Of course it doesn't make any logical sense, we've been doing these confrences for the last 3 years together, haven't you people figured out yet that they just don't care about logic?!!?"

[Doh]

No one's picked up on my favorite recently-- Condoleeza Rice's Chief of Staff (IIRC) complaining in WaPo that the food on Air Force 2 was so bad as to constitute inhuman treatment in violation of the Geneva Convention.

[glow23]

The important point is that we we let these people keep their head in the sands.

This can only help the Republicans in 2006.

The liberals have been wrong about every election since 2000. Funny how after 6 years so many still think they are right about everything.

[liberal japonicus]

Funny how after 6 years so many still think they are right about everything.

Yeah, since we were wrong as to how low the Republicans would sink, we've gotta be all wrong about this whole torture shtick, eh?