The Bush "Victory" speech - a comment

[Chris A.]

Bush Used Military as a Stage Prop
A Troubling Speech

by Sen. ROBERT BYRD

In my 50 years as a member of Congress, I have had the privilege to witness the defining rhetorical moments of a number of American presidents. I have listened spellbound to the soaring oratory of John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. I have listened grimly to the painful soul-searching of Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Presidential speeches are an important marker of any President's legacy. These are the tangible moments that history seizes upon and records for posterity. For this reason, I was deeply troubled by both the content and the context of President Bush's remarks to the American people last week marking the end of the combat phase of the war in Iraq. As I watched the President's fighter jet swoop down onto the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, I could not help but contrast the reported simple dignity of President Lincoln at Gettysburg with the flamboyant showmanship of President Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

President Bush's address to the American people announcing combat victory in Iraq deserved to be marked with solemnity, not extravagance; with gratitude to God, not self-congratulatory gestures. American blood has been shed on foreign soil in defense of the President's policies. This is not some made-for-TV backdrop for a campaign commercial. This is real life, and real lives have been lost. To me, it is an affront to the Americans killed or injured in Iraq for the President to exploit the trappings of war for the momentary spectacle of a speech. I do not begrudge his salute to America's warriors aboard the carrier Lincoln, for they have performed bravely and skillfully, as have their countrymen still in Iraq, but I do question the motives of a deskbound President who assumes the garb of a warrior for the purposes of a speech.

As I watched the President's speech, before the great banner proclaiming "Mission Accomplished," I could not help but be reminded of the tobacco barns of my youth, which served as country road advertising backdrops for the slogans of chewing tobacco purveyors. I am loath to think of an aircraft carrier being used as an advertising backdrop for a presidential political slogan, and yet that is what I saw.

What I heard the President say also disturbed me. It may make for grand theater to describe Saddam Hussein as an ally of al Qaeda or to characterize the fall of Baghdad as a victory in the war on terror, but stirring rhetoric does not necessarily reflect sobering reality. Not one of the 19 September 11th hijackers was an Iraqi. In fact, there is not a shred of evidence to link the September 11 attack on the United States to Iraq. There is no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was an evil despot who brought great suffering to the Iraqi people, and there is no doubt in my mind that he encouraged and rewarded acts of terrorism against Israel. But his crimes are not those of Osama bin Laden, and bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not bring justice to the victims of 9-11. The United States has made great progress in its efforts to disrupt and destroy the al Qaeda terror network. We can take solace and satisfaction in that fact. We should not risk tarnishing those very real accomplishments by trumpeting victory in Iraq as a victory over Osama bin Laden.

We are reminded in the gospel of Saint Luke, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required." Surely the same can be said of any American president. We expect, nay demand, that our leaders be scrupulous in the truth and faithful to the facts. We do not seek theatrics or hyperbole. We do not require the stage management of our victories. The men and women of the United States military are to be saluted for their valor and sacrifice in Iraq. Their heroics and quiet resolve speak for themselves. The prowess and professionalism of America's military forces do not need to be embellished by the gaudy excesses of a political campaign. War is not theater, and victory is not a campaign slogan. I join with the President and all Americans in expressing heartfelt thanks and gratitude to our men and women in uniform for their service to our country, and for the sacrifices that they have made on our behalf. But on this point I differ with the President: I believe that our military forces deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and not used as stage props to embellish a presidential speech.

[still life]

Sadly, you WILL see clips of that event as part of Mr. Bush's re-election campaign.
War has indeed become "theatre" for most Americans and mores the pity. The public almost demands spectacle and a low-key speech would have not had the impact on a populance which expects "theatre" and drama, not gracious acceptance of a victory, with a view to a peaceful future. That's not this President's style.
In Iraq, disease may kill as many people there as the bombing did. The infrastructure of Iraq, with the exception of the Oil producing segments has been crippled, so victory for the people may be a long way away. Not having electricity, water or garbage disposal has caused terrible problems for the regular people. There is more to declaring victory than a military one.

No smoking gun, with regard to hard evidence of any WOMD, but just declaring victory, where a defeat would have been more amazing, given the superior military power of the U.S. is not enough. The only way that defeat would have been a possibility would have been if Iraq actually had the weapons which they were accused of having. Clearly they did not. If they had them, wouldn't this have been the time to use them?? This, IMO, should make us wonder, yet again, what this was all about.

[jav]

It is time to start organizing to keep Bush from gaining another term and further eroding the freedoms we take for granted. Oren Hatch is pushing for the Patriot Act to become permanent, which if it occurs will drastically alter the landscape for generations to come. Remember when it was thought that expressing your viewpoint was a right guarenteed by the Constitution? GW has done more damage in less time than any previous public official I can recall and to think once upon a time I viewed his dad as being the most dangerous man to ever hold the presidency! The bar just keeps getting lower and lower...
jav

[RonF]

Originally posted by jav
It is time to start organizing to keep Bush from gaining another term and further eroding the freedoms we take for granted.
jav

That's right on jav. Because I believe this lying, arrogant, out of control mob poses the biggest threat this country has ever seen, I will get off my ass this next election and I will do my part to try to weed these slimey characters out of Washington DC and send them packing back to their respective crooked corporations. Maybe we can throw a few in jail while we're at it.

[BeRiGaN]

Gee Chris, posting the same article on two boards????
At least you used a different title for the thread....
So, if posting the Grand wizard's words on 2 boards is good enough for you, using Michelle Malkin's March 2001 column in 2 places is good enough for me!:p


http://www.jewishworldreview.com/michelle/malkin030801.asp
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols2/mmalkin.jpg
Michelle Malkin
Sen. Robert Byrd, ex-Klansman
EX-KLANSMAN Robert Byrd, the senior senator from West Virginia, casually used the phrase "white nigger" twice on national TV this weekend. Enraged civil rights groups organized a protest campaign against Sen. Byrd and demanded that he undergo sensitivity training ... not. The ex-Klansman, you see, is a Democrat. Democrats can join hate groups and utter the ugliest racial slurs and get away with it because they are Democrats. They belong to the party of racial tolerance and understanding. They're paragons of virtue, and the rest of us are bigoted rubes.


The ex-Klansman showed his true colors when asked by Fox News Sunday morning talk show host Tony Snow about the state of race relations in America. Sen. Byrd warned: "There are white niggers. I've seen a lot of white niggers in my time. I'm going to use that word. We just need to work together to make our country a better country, and I'd just as soon quit talking about it so much."


The ex-Klansman, famed for Beltway blowhardism, should have quit talking a lot sooner. Why any prominent politician in his right mind would publicly and deliberately use the poisonous epithet "nigger" -- which most daily newspapers refuse to spell out, no matter the context -- is beyond comprehension. It's an open question as to whether the rant-prone, 83-year-old Byrd is even in his right mind, but senility doesn't excuse bigotry.


The ex-Klansman's admirers praise his historical knowledge, mastery of procedural rules, and outspokenness. They refer to the Senate's senior Democrat as the "conscience of the Senate." They downplay his white-sheet-wearing days as a "brief mistake" -- as if joining the Klan were like knocking over a glass of water. Oopsy.




This ex-Klansman wasn't just a passive member of the nation's most notorious hate group. According to news accounts and biographical information, Sen. Byrd was a "Kleagle" -- an official recruiter who signed up members for $10 a head. He said he joined because it "offered excitement" and because the Klan was an "effective force" in "promoting traditional American values." Nothing like the thrill of gathering 'round a midnight bonfire, roasting s'mores, tying nooses, and promoting white supremacy with a bunch of your hooded friends.


The ex-Klansman allegedly ended his ties with the group in 1943. He may have stopped paying dues, but he continued to pay homage to the KKK. Republicans in West Virginia discovered a letter Sen. Byrd had written to the Imperial Wizard of the KKK three years after he says he abandoned the group. He wrote: "The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia" and "in every state in the Union."


The ex-Klansman later filibustered the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act -- supported by a majority of those "mean-spirited" Republicans -- for more than 14 hours. He also opposed the nominations of the Supreme Court's two black justices, liberal Thurgood Marshall and conservative Clarence Thomas. In fact, the ex-Klansman had the gall to accuse Justice Thomas of "injecting racism" into the Senate hearings. Meanwhile, author Graham Smith recently discovered another letter Sen. Byrd wrote after he quit the KKK, this time attacking desegregation of the armed forces.


The ex-Klansman vowed never to fight "with a Negro by my side. Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds."


If this ex-Klansman were a conservative Republican, he would never hear the end of his sordid past. "Ex-Klansman who opposed civil rights and black justices" would appear in every reference to Sen. Byrd. And even the "ex-" would be in doubt. Maxine Waters and Ralph Neas and Julianne Malveaux and Al Sharpton and all the other left-wing bloodhounds who sniff racism in every crevice of American life would be barking up a storm over Sen. Byrd's latest fulminations. Instead, the attack dogs are busy decrying latent racial bigotry where it doesn't exist, while the real thing roams wild and free in their own political backyard.

[jav]

Another example of what makes politics politics! This is an example of why I am not a liberal or a Democrat, but an independent and a radical one at that! The situation in this country has gone way beyond remedies along party lines, we need to start asking the right questions and cease continuing to play politics with peoples lives. If one is sincerely interested in making democracy work and looks at the way our government works without bias, how could you not conclude that the system is very, very sick and needs an overhaul? Certainly our democracy is the best system yet developed, but that is no excuse to allow it to continue as is with the top ten percent reaping the benefits while the bottom eighty percent barely are able to survive. And now with Bush and his henchmen in charge, we are rapidly approaching a non-status as a democracy. Help, the inmates are running the asylum!!!
jav

[3pointdeli]

Resume

George W. Bush

Past work experience:

· Ran for congress and lost.
· Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.
· Bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas,
company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.
· Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart
deal that took land using taxpayer money.
Biggest move: Traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago White Sox.
· With fathers help (and his name) was elected Governor of Texas.
Accomplishments:
· Changed pollution laws for power and oil companies and made
Texas the most polluted state in the Union. Replaced Los Angeles
with Houston as the most smog-ridden city in America.
· Cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas government to the tune of
billions in borrowed money.
· Set record for most executions by any Governor in American history.
· Became president after losing the popular vote by over 500,000 votes,
with the help of my father's appointments to the Supreme Court.

Accomplishments as president:

· Attacked and took over two countries.
· Spent the surplus and bankrupted the treasury.
· Shattered record for biggest annual deficit in history.
· Set economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in
any 12-month period.
· Set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock
market.
· First president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.
· First president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.
· First year in office set the all-time record for most days on
vacation by any president in US history.
· After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, presided
over the worst security failure in US history.
· Set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips than any other
president in US history.
· In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their
job.
· Cut unemployment benefits for more out of work Americans than any
president in US history.
· Set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12-month period.
· Appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than
any president in US history.
· Set the record for the least amount of press conferences than any
president since the advent of television.
· Signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution
than any president in US history.
· Presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to
intervene when corruption was revealed.
· Presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused
to use the national reserves as past presidents have.
· Cut healthcare benefits for war veterans.
· [My favorite] Set the all-time record for most people worldwide to
simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people),
shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of
mankind. (http://www.hyperreal.org/~dana/marches/ )
· Dissolved more international treaties than any president in US
history.
· My presidency is the most secretive and un-accountable of any in US
history.
· Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US
history.(the 'poorest' multi-millionaire, Condoleeza Rice has a Chevron
oil tanker named after her).
· First president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union
simultaneously go bankrupt.
· Presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any
market in any country in the history of the world.
· First president in US history to order a US attack and military
occupation of a sovereign nation. Created the largest government
department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.
· Set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases,
more than any president in US history.
· First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the
US from the human rights commission.
· First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the
US from the elections monitoring board.
· Removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of
congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US
history.
· Rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.
· Withdrew from the World Court of Law.
· Refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by
default no longer abiding by the Geneva Convention.
· First president in US history to refuse United Nations election
inspectors (during the 2002 US elections).
· All-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign
donations._ My biggest lifetime campaign contributor presided over
one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history
(Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).
· Spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president
in US history.
· First president in US history to unilaterally attack a sovereign
nation against the will of the United Nations and the world community.
· First president to run and hide when the US came under attack
(and then lied saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)
· First US president to establish a secret shadow government.
· Took the biggest world sympathy for the US after 911, and in less
than a year made the US the most resented country in the world
(possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).
· With a policy of 'dis-engagement' created the most hostile
Israeli-Palestine relations in at least 30 years.
· First US president in history to have a majority of the people of
Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world
peace and stability.
· First US president in history to have the people of South Korea
feel more threatened by the US than their immediate neighbor,
North Korea.
· Changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded
government contracts.
· Set all-time record for number of administration appointees who
violated US law by not selling huge investments in corporations
bidding for government contracts.
· Failed to fulfill my pledge to get Osama Bin Laden 'dead or alive'.
· Failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders
of our country at the United States Capitol building. After 18 months
I have no leads and zero suspects.
· In the 18 months following the 911 attacks I have successfully
prevented any public investigation into the biggest security failure
in the history of the United States.
· Removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than
any other president in US history.
· In a little over two years created the most divided country in
decades,possibly the most divided the US has ever been since the civil war.
· Entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less
than two years turned every single economic category heading
straight down.

Records and References:

· At least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving
record has been erased and is not available).
· AWOL from National Guard and Deserted the military during a
time of war.
· Refuse to take drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.
· All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away
to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and un-available for public
view.
· All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or
bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.
· All minutes of meetings for any public corporation I served on the
board are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.
· Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding
public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public
review.
· For personal references please speak to my daddy or uncle James Baker
(They can be reached at their offices of the Carlyle Group for
war-profiteering.)

[still life]

To which Mr Bush would reply that none of that is important. After all, I was the "Wartime President" who really kicked ass in Afghanistan and Iraq, re-establishing the U.S. as the most militarily powerful nation in the world. Diplomacy and co-existance is for wimps.
Of course, the certain knowledge that the U.S. would not be opposed, in any meaningful way, because we knew that Iraq had no weapons which were an "imminent threat" does not diminish the validity of the victory. The failure to even know where bin Laden, Saddam Hussein or any of the main villians are doesn't matter, because we won and are the most militarily powerful.
The fact that we possess every WOMD which exist, and others too, is of no consequence, because we're "the good guys".
Victory over the "evil-doers" is what matters to the American public. The cost of that victory in public confidence in the economy and the subsequent loss of jobs will not occur to the American voters until after the next election. Somebody else will have to clean up the mess, after the certain second term.
Ah, Victory. Nothing like it.

[Jazzmoose]

Well, I certainly hope Bush and his cronies are counting on that second term and getting nice and complacent. The election is still over a year away, and that's a lifetime in the political cycle. The war will have faded by then, unless they start another one. They'll have to plan it carefully, of course, too many wars too fast and people might get suspicious...

[3pointdeli]

suspicious? maybe, but bush's cronies are obviously geniuses at spinning things in their favor.

[a.j. zeitlin]

There's no denying that Bush's speech was very stagey; but he wanted to strut and there was just no stopping him.

Byrd, one of the sleeziest wind-bags in the Senate, doesn't surpirse me. I don't think there's a single highway in West Virginia that doesn't bear his name.

[still life]

Whatever you may think of Senator Byrd and, despite his former Klan connection, I find it impossible to disagree with anything he said in the speech quoted.
Even a stopped clock is right, twice a day.

[jav]

3point deli- The resume says it all- and how naive/stupid/ignorant/indifferent/callous/selfish/unmotivated are we as a people to allow this to continue without a fight? The handwriting is on the wall, or would that take too much time away from watching reality tv on our big screen?

[still life]

Originally posted by jav
3point deli- The resume says it all- and how naive/stupid/ignorant/indifferent/callous/selfish/unmotivated are we as a people to allow this to continue without a fight? The handwriting is on the wall, or would that take too much time away from watching reality tv on our big screen?

Well, "give them bread and circuses" and they won't care that the country is circling the bowl. Until this whole thing hits them in the pocketbook, it isn't real.

[3pointdeli]

i'd consider the anti-war protests a fight. they didn't do any good. what makes you think "a fight" will do any good now? and what exactly do you mean by fight?

[jav]

Of course the anti-war protests were a fight and one that needs to continue with attempting to make this administration accountable. No, it did not stop the war, but it laid the groundwork for keeping Bush out of a second term. How long can he keep initiating conflicts while the economy at home sinks further and further into the abyss that his ill advised policies create? Americans want quick solutions because we are not a patient people and Bush will have to show more intelligence than he has exhibited thus far to play the game and time it to coincide with the next election. His dad was on top of the world and the polls, but by the time for re-election he could not sustain his status- is GW any wiser or craftier?

Fighting at the polls, fighting by speaking up, fighting by organizing mass protest against attacks on our rights, it would be easy to just lay down and say we tried, but failed and now the administration will do what they will. Liberty is not free and we are lucky to live in a democracy, but if we do not remain vigilant, than those rights will erode and eventually fade away. If Bush has his way they will anyway and maybe we are fighting a losing battle, but what is the alternative? Fight the good fight!

[3pointdeli]

it's not a matter of gwb being smart. his team makes all the moves, and they seem to be getting ol' boy exactly what he wants.

also, let's not fool ourselves. we don't live in a democracy.

[jav]

"When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice."
Martin Luther King Jr.

Of course we dont live in a democracy, but the blueprint is in place. What should we do shrug our shoulders and concede the country to GW? How insulting to all those who fought and died to try and force this country to be all that it claims to be! I know the obstacles- racism, sexism, poverty, homelessness, classism, imperialism...still it would lessen us as a nation and as individuals if we acquiesce to the powers that be. The basic premise of human freedom according to Sartre is that the essential and ultimate freedom that cannot be taken from man, is the freedom to say No.

[3pointdeli]

how exactly would you go about saying no, and do it in a way that would *not* result in jail time, IRS audits, harrassment, etc?

[jav]

I suppose it comes down to rather you want to be in the balcony or the barricade. I write letters to my congresspeople, join groups like MOVE ON that organize against the disasterous direction we are being taken, keep tabs on the media and voice my disapproval when they ignore pertinent events, march in protests and voice my opinion whenever and wherever I can and feel it will influence others. I have no interest in jail, but if that is the price than I weigh the options as they arise. I have been arrested numerous times for civil disobedience always done in a non-violent manner and will again I'm sure. The question to me is not will we be victorious, but will I stand up for my principles and be counted. It would be easy to be overwhelmed by all that is wrong and fall into just voicing my discontent when it is convenient and safe and not backing up my beliefs with action, but that would be totally non-productive and reactive and I chose to be proactive!
"Every dogma has its day, but ideals are eternal."
Israel Zangwill