Shock Absorber for Lunch
Rummy we hardly knew ye... what next, Nancy Pelosi running for parliament?
Bush Pledges to Work With Democrats / Nov 08 3:38 PM US/Eastern
By DEB RIECHMANN and TOM RAUM / Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON
President Bush pledged Wednesday to work with Democrats after the "thumping" his party got on Election Day. He named a new defense secretary to oversee the war in Iraq, a change the president said was going to happen whoever won the elections. Bush said former CIA Director Robert Gates would replace Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. The president said Rumsfeld was a "patriot who served this country with honor and distinction." Bush said he had been talking with Rumsfeld about whether it was time for a fresh perspective at the department, and the two agreed Tuesday that it was appropriate for Rumsfeld to resign. "He, himself, understands that Iraq is not working well enough, fast enough," Bush said. The president planned to meet with Rumsfeld and Gates on Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. Bush called Democratic leaders to congratulate them on their victories in Tuesday's voting and he expressed both disappointment and surprise over the election results. He admitted that he wrongly predicted a Republican victory on Election Day.
"Actually, I thought we were going to do fine yesterday, shows what I know," Bush said. "But I thought we were going to be fine in the election. My point to you is that, win or lose, Bob Gates was going to become the nominee." Bush seemed stoic about the election, proclaiming: "This isn't my first rodeo." "I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made" in Iraq, the president said. "Yet I also believe most Americans _ and leaders here in Washington from both political parties _ understand we cannot accept defeat." Gates led the CIA from November 1991 to January 1993 under former President George H.W. Bush. The president said he met with Gates over the weekend at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. "Bob Gates will bring a fresh perspective and great managerial experience," Bush said.
Bush was asked by reporters whether he retained full confidence in Vice President Dick Cheney, a chief advocate of the war, and whether the vice president would serve out the rest of his term. "Yes he does, yes he will," Bush replied. Yet only a week ago, Bush told The Associated Press and other reporters in an interview that he expected Rumsfeld and Cheney to stay through the end of his last two years in the White House. Asked Wednesday about that comment, Bush acknowledged he intentionally misled reporters because he want to avoid a change at the Pentagon during a hotly contested election.
"I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign," Bush said. "And so the only way to answer that question, and to get you onto another question was to give you that answer. ... The other reason why is I hadn't had a chance to visit with Bob Gates yet, and I hadn't had my final conversation with Don Rumsfeld yet, at that point."
The president joked that he had given House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, in line to become the first female speaker of the House, the name of a Republican interior decorator to help her pick out drapes for her new office. The comment was poke at the California Democrat's pre-election remark about having her pick of Capitol suites.
As to the role played in Tuesday's widespread GOP losses, Bush said, "I believe Iraq had a lot to do with the election, but I think there were other factors as well." He suggested that a variety of congressional scandals may also have played a role. He said he would seek to find common ground with Pelosi, but without either of them compromising their principles. Bush was asked at his East Room news conference about Pelosi's past derogatory comments describing him as a liar and dangerous. "I know when campaigns end and governing begins," he said. "If you hold grudges in this line of work, you never get anything done." Bush also got in a dig at his trusted top political adviser, Karl Rove. Rove is widely credited with Bush's presidential victories in 2000 and 2004 and GOP gains in the 2002 congressional elections. As recently as last week, Rove predicted Republican would retain both House and Senate. "I obviously was working harder in the campaign than he was," said Bush, who stumped hard for GOP candidates, especially troubled ones in traditionally Republican states. In Tuesday's elections, Democrats recaptured control of the House after 12 years of GOP rule and erased the Republican majority in the Senate. One race remained to be decided, Virginia, where Democrat James Webb held a slight lead of Republican Sen. George Allen. If Democrats win that seat, they would have a 51-vote majority to a GOP 49-vote minority. If Allen wins, the next Senate would split 50- 50. Bush said he wanted to hear other views on Iraq, and was looking forward to recommendations by a commission headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana. Bush said expected to meet with the group, which includes Gates, early next week.
Still, Bush added, "We're not going to leave before the job is done."
Bush Pledges to Work With Democrats / Nov 08 3:38 PM US/Eastern
By DEB RIECHMANN and TOM RAUM / Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON
President Bush pledged Wednesday to work with Democrats after the "thumping" his party got on Election Day. He named a new defense secretary to oversee the war in Iraq, a change the president said was going to happen whoever won the elections. Bush said former CIA Director Robert Gates would replace Donald H. Rumsfeld at the Pentagon. The president said Rumsfeld was a "patriot who served this country with honor and distinction." Bush said he had been talking with Rumsfeld about whether it was time for a fresh perspective at the department, and the two agreed Tuesday that it was appropriate for Rumsfeld to resign. "He, himself, understands that Iraq is not working well enough, fast enough," Bush said. The president planned to meet with Rumsfeld and Gates on Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office. Bush called Democratic leaders to congratulate them on their victories in Tuesday's voting and he expressed both disappointment and surprise over the election results. He admitted that he wrongly predicted a Republican victory on Election Day.
"Actually, I thought we were going to do fine yesterday, shows what I know," Bush said. "But I thought we were going to be fine in the election. My point to you is that, win or lose, Bob Gates was going to become the nominee." Bush seemed stoic about the election, proclaiming: "This isn't my first rodeo." "I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made" in Iraq, the president said. "Yet I also believe most Americans _ and leaders here in Washington from both political parties _ understand we cannot accept defeat." Gates led the CIA from November 1991 to January 1993 under former President George H.W. Bush. The president said he met with Gates over the weekend at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. "Bob Gates will bring a fresh perspective and great managerial experience," Bush said.
Bush was asked by reporters whether he retained full confidence in Vice President Dick Cheney, a chief advocate of the war, and whether the vice president would serve out the rest of his term. "Yes he does, yes he will," Bush replied. Yet only a week ago, Bush told The Associated Press and other reporters in an interview that he expected Rumsfeld and Cheney to stay through the end of his last two years in the White House. Asked Wednesday about that comment, Bush acknowledged he intentionally misled reporters because he want to avoid a change at the Pentagon during a hotly contested election.
"I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign," Bush said. "And so the only way to answer that question, and to get you onto another question was to give you that answer. ... The other reason why is I hadn't had a chance to visit with Bob Gates yet, and I hadn't had my final conversation with Don Rumsfeld yet, at that point."
The president joked that he had given House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, in line to become the first female speaker of the House, the name of a Republican interior decorator to help her pick out drapes for her new office. The comment was poke at the California Democrat's pre-election remark about having her pick of Capitol suites.
As to the role played in Tuesday's widespread GOP losses, Bush said, "I believe Iraq had a lot to do with the election, but I think there were other factors as well." He suggested that a variety of congressional scandals may also have played a role. He said he would seek to find common ground with Pelosi, but without either of them compromising their principles. Bush was asked at his East Room news conference about Pelosi's past derogatory comments describing him as a liar and dangerous. "I know when campaigns end and governing begins," he said. "If you hold grudges in this line of work, you never get anything done." Bush also got in a dig at his trusted top political adviser, Karl Rove. Rove is widely credited with Bush's presidential victories in 2000 and 2004 and GOP gains in the 2002 congressional elections. As recently as last week, Rove predicted Republican would retain both House and Senate. "I obviously was working harder in the campaign than he was," said Bush, who stumped hard for GOP candidates, especially troubled ones in traditionally Republican states. In Tuesday's elections, Democrats recaptured control of the House after 12 years of GOP rule and erased the Republican majority in the Senate. One race remained to be decided, Virginia, where Democrat James Webb held a slight lead of Republican Sen. George Allen. If Democrats win that seat, they would have a 51-vote majority to a GOP 49-vote minority. If Allen wins, the next Senate would split 50- 50. Bush said he wanted to hear other views on Iraq, and was looking forward to recommendations by a commission headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton of Indiana. Bush said expected to meet with the group, which includes Gates, early next week.
Still, Bush added, "We're not going to leave before the job is done."
posted by Napoleon at 12:58 PM
3 Comments:
it's not my first rodeo either, Pres. Bush...
i can't say i was totally shocked by the outcome. there is so much negativity flying around about the conditions in iraq, and i think we're caught in another cycle of party favorites...what do you think napoleon? since you went thru waterloo and everything...
Bush was a centrist when he got in and remains one. We're fighting a war politically and the boys hands are tied because of a PC global mindset. We need to finish what we started but cannot because we cannot fight the way we need to be able to win. Yet, we also do not live in an era where we can realistically 'colonize' Iraq and stay there for fifty years (i.e. England/India) in order to make the new stuff stick. We are also dealing with a religious age old wound. The Quran teaches that jews must be eradicated. We're telling die hard muslims to come into the 21st century. Stalemate. Unless we get the gospel into Iraq, the hearts of these people will never change and it will be politics as usual.
good points, you're right..i'd say. but isn't that the way of it everywhere? with the gospel i mean. yesterday a "human rights activist" came to the door and asked me to donate to the homosexual agenda, to help fight job discrimination and the marriage amendment. she handed me a sheet with quotes from pat r. of 700 club and focus on the family. i told her that i don't hate any person, am not against people as people, but that i don't support homosexuality as a "lifestyle". i told her i thought it was a debilitating way to live, she backed away slowly, after raising her eyebrows at me. i wanted to talk more to explain what i meant. spiritually it is debilitating. there are many reasons why the Lord says in scripture that it is not the way of things. practical reasons! it's because i love people(or try to..)that i don't support it. bc i believe true freedom comes in christ and you can not truly follow him if you are disobeying his word. gee, dont' i know. sexual sins are severe in that they involve our temple, our own body, being "desecrated" so to speak. i have a heart for those caught in the quagmire of sexual confusion. every person i know that's struggled with this needs healing from their past and is not happy in the lifestyle. plus, practically speaking, it is ridiculous to base your entire identity on your sexuality. we don't do that, unless you have a huge lust problem, but god never intended for us to be defined by our sex drive. i might as well go door to door and ask people to support the "christian nanny fund" cuz we shore need some money!!!! people are persecuted everyday for better reasons. being hated bc of an issue you have is a terrible thing and you don't nec. see alcoholics or sex addicts or pot smokers being exiled in this world, but true freedom is not going to come to homosexuals by me giving them money to fight legislation.
well, that's off topic, sort of, but i guess not really since it is one of the reasons bush is hated. and also she started by saying, you know that there has been a recent win by democrats in senate and house...
it just sort of floored me bc i have never had someone come to the door to talk about the agenda. of course i'm in a bigger city now.
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