Feckless leader

Posted by Melissa McEwan at 1:10 PM on April 11, 2006.

Bush still can't answer important questions; life's just a big old joke.

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Yesterday, during at appearance at Johns Hopkins School of International Studies, Bush opened it up to some unscripted Q&A, which is always a disastrous idea under the best of circumstances, but things took a terrible turn when a first-year student in South Asia studies asked him about the law governing the actions of private military contractors in Iraq.

Q …My question is in regards to private military contractors. Uniform Code of Military Justice does not apply to these contractors in Iraq. I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions.

THE PRESIDENT: I was going to ask him. Go ahead. (Laughter.) Help. (Laughter.)

Q I was hoping your answer might be a little more specific. (Laughter.) Mr. Rumsfeld answered that Iraq has its own domestic laws which he assumed applied to those private military contractors. However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against -- over our American military contractors. I would submit to you that in this case, this is one case that privatization is not a solution. And, Mr. President, how do you propose to bring private military contractors under a system of law?

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that very much. I wasn’t kidding -- (laughter.) I was going to -- I pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, I've got an interesting question. (Laughter.) This is what delegation -- I don't mean to be dodging the question, although it’s kind of convenient in this case, but never -- (laughter.) I really will – I’m going to call the Secretary and say you brought up a very valid question, and what are we doing about it? That’s how I work. I'm -- thanks. (Laughter.)

Three years into the war, that the president still has no idea how to answer questions like this (sobbing) is just a dreadful embarrassment (blushing), not only for him, who must now be used to the shame of his own idiocy (crawling into the fetal position), but also for us, who probably ought to be used to it (sobbing), which is perhaps the most pathetic commentary of all (uncontrollable wailing).

The intrepid Crooks and Liars has the video. Be prepared to cringe in agony as you witness Dear Leader do his manic tapdance under the excruciating misapprehension that the crowd is laughing with him rather than at him.

(Crooks and Liars)

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Melissa McEwan writes and edits the blog Shakespeare's Sister.

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We have years and years of this left to live through./b> [Report this comment] Posted by: Longdream on Apr 11, 2006 8:08 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I'm putting my head in the oven now. So long, you guys. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Seeing It Live Was A Nightmare [Report this comment] Posted by: LynnZTV on Apr 11, 2006 8:11 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I make a point of watching as many live feeds as I can, because what is said there rarely makes it to the summaries unless it is PROFOUNDLY brain damaged (and Keith Olbermann's staff is primed to hit "record.") I'm afraid many editors just don't enough time to catalogue it all. Melissa is right--the pathetic tap-dance gets worse every day. He actually managed to deliver yesterday's mea culpa ("So, I did it" when asked about the cherry picked declassification) with an echo of his former bluster (the smirk even flashed for a second.) Don't miss the daily live demo's, with Rummy running a close second on the "OH NO YOU DIDN'T JUST SAY THAAAAT" scale. And start making a list of these bons mots so that if we survive the next few years, we can combine our notes, get Molly Ivins to edit them, and publish the annotated vesion of "Thet Wuz The Dubya Thet Wuz." [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] What do you expect? [Report this comment] Posted by: farhada on Apr 11, 2006 8:23 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] You know, We have a proverb in Farsi that says, that out of the toilet, comes only what is already inside of it. Bush is full of it, he is an idiot who has the ears of the publich by joking about the issues, he joked about WMD, no one cared, not he is joking about this and no one is calling him on it. As long as he and his administration are above the law, that is what you expect. An administration full of shit can only come up with more crap if you ask the serious questions. /Farhad [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Deb [Report this comment] Posted by: debmcd on Apr 11, 2006 9:45 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Christ, this man is an embarrassment to every man, woman and child in this country. I hope those 59 million idiots who put this moron in office are satisfied having the worst stand up comic in the world as their leader. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: Deb Posted by: nim1 Superficiality strikes and takes its toll [Report this comment] Posted by: electriclady281 on Apr 11, 2006 10:58 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] We used to be a nation of honest people. That was long, long ago and far away. Your grands might (have) remember(ed) it; literature certainly does, Then a terrible thing happened. We began to think that cheating was a fast track to success. From hucksters to advertisers to politicians and leaders of commerce and society and even churches, they all began pushing snake oil. The proles were either conditioned to unquestioningly believe their leaders by an educational and corporate system that praised creativity but actually punnished it, or became afraid to question them in public for fear of being ostracized. Most cheaters and believers alike went underground so deeply to hide their truths and authentic selves that many never found them again, even though some searched. When independent thought, integrity, and responsibility ceased to be considered unimportant, unnecessary, and, worst of all, old fashioned, in this land of such bounty that it was difficult to imagine anyone living without abundance, we became a superficial folk and our institutions reflected that accordingly. We stopped electing statesmen. If George Bush is not the perfection and apex of this sick and idiotic national doctrine, then God help us, because we obviously can't. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] GOOD GOD. . . [Report this comment] Posted by: monkeywrench on Apr 11, 2006 2:43 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] . . .THIS IDIOT, THIS MORON – THIS LUNATIC– IS STILL IN OFFICE?!?!?!? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] » RE: GOOD GOD. . . Posted by: maroonlady This man must have been born without a functioning cortex. [Report this comment] Posted by: monkeywrench on Apr 11, 2006 2:50 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] I guess when Bush gave his answer, Rove wasn't able to whisper in his EarPrompter. . . The World Court will not be successful trying this nimcompoop for crimes against Humanity after he leaves office. This is just another example of what will be his "insanity" defense, or, if that doesn't work, proof that he lacks the I.Q. to understand his crimes – or anything else, for that matter. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Mr. Bip [Report this comment] Posted by: tap17x on Apr 12, 2006 2:45 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The most frightening thing about Bushie Jr. is that the voting public almost voted him into office twice, "God," if any, forbid. The average imbecile voter feels comfortable having an imbecile for president. That's why they liked Reagan, but Bushie Jr. is even worse. Not to insult, of course. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Look, its a Blink-a-chu! [Report this comment] Posted by: fixitt on Apr 12, 2006 10:29 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Ne-o-Con - Gotta catch them all! Rev Don [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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