UPDATE: There has been some questioning about the interview I heard even to the point of suggesting I made it up. Well, NPR puts up audio podcasts of their shows and yesterday’s is now online. It’s from their show Day to Day and the interview was with House Majority Whip Roy Blunt. Go there and listen for yourself. It is right at the beginning of the interview about 15 seconds in.
The quote was, “”I think the President was very engaged in the meeting, he was interested in the reports from the various members…”
I know supporters will jump on me saying I’m reading too much into this. But, why would this even be mentioned at all or stated this way unless it was something unusual or unexpected. Especially notice that Blunt says “I think the President was very engaged…” Not that he was certain, that he thinks the President was.
Listening to NPR at lunchtime, I heard part of a short interview with a Republican Congressman who was in the meeting with Bush about what was happening in Iraq just before word came that Zarqawi was killed. What struck me was he made a point of mentioning that Bush was engaged and following what was being discussed.
Yes, a member of his party tried to reassure the public that Bush actually knew what was happening. For all his faults, could you ever imagine anyone saying that about Clinton? That the president has some comprehension of what was being said in a meeting, understood what was going on, that he wasn’t asleep, not brain dead, etc. What a guy we got in the White House that a comment like that has to be made at all. By a supporter.
“I mean, I read the newspaper. I mean, I can tell you what the headlines are. I must confess, if I think the story is, like, not a fair appraisal, I’ll move on. But I know what the story’s about.”
George Bush, Philadelphia, Dec. 12, 2005
The last time I checked Ted was a different name from John.
So you admit Clinton was bombing Iraq, at least those radar stations. He bombed more occasionally, like the day his impeachment vote was scheduled. You need to check your history. The Kurds and Southern Iraq were both being protected by US and British forces. I would call that an occupation of Iraq, even if they weren’t in Baghdad.