How Bush Will Pull His Nuts Out of the Fire

WaPo’s Dan Baltz reported yesterday on President Bush’s strategy for saving his presidency: “Bush plans to use the time before the December elections in Iraq to talk about the U.S. stake and make the case that he has a strategy that is working, beginning on Wednesday with a speech in Annapolis that will focus on what the administration says is clear progress in training of the Iraqi security force. Other speeches will follow as White House officials attempt to use the final weeks of this year and early next year to shape public opinion.” That reminds me of one of Shel Silverstein’s cartoons. Two guys are shackled hands and feet to a concrete wall in a dungeon with no door or window and one says to the other, “Now here’s my plan.” President Bush is going to turn his lead-balloon government into the spun gold of Christ’s second coming by giving more speeches about an Iraq strategy that never existed. The White House blueprint for getting out of the hole they’ve dug for themselves is to have their boozy leader go out and charm the natives. The White House believes that a few more speeches will change public opinion from “Bush is the biggest asshole ever” to “We’re behind you, O Great I Am”. According to the Balz article, the White House is committed to the PR approach. White House counselor Dan Bartlett said White House officials don’t think people will continue to view Iraq in a negative light. "When you're in a tough spot -- and we're in a tough spot because of the nature of the enemy and the debate at home -- the snapshots will reflect [negative] public opinion," Bartlett said. "But we don't think they're permanent." So the plan is not to stop the violence in Iraq or withdraw troops. The plan is to have George W. Bush make speeches about how well the war in Iraq is going. And if you need any proof that the people in the White House are insane, Baltz reported “One White House official, who was willing to talk candidly about internal strategy only without being identified by name, acknowledged that 'those numbers are troubling' in recent polls but expressed confidence that they will recover because the public fundamentally regards Bush as 'a person of honesty and integrity'." The latest polls say that 60% of Americans do not believe George W. Bush is honest and trustworthy. Nevermind. Now here’s their plan.