Bury Me Broken

Rove Only Hurting Republicans

The latest machination in the Rove saga is the idea of Rove knowing of John Wilson's wife's identity as a CIA operative from other 'unnamed' reporters, that he was simply confirming with Matthew Cooper, the Time magazine reporter that wrote a story concerning Wilson's conclusions of no merit to the President Bush's infamous 16 words concerning Iraq and purchase of yellowcake uranium, a major cog in selling Congress and America on the Iraq war.

All of that aside, I wonder when the GOP is going to realize that Rove and President Bush's meteoric rise post 9/11 is having a reciprocal meteoric fall. Never mind the numbers for the president, which have tanked and are below all previous lows. The focus should be on what is presently occurring on all fronts.

1. Iraq drudges on every day. Every day we see blown up Iraqis, Iraqi officers trained by the United States for eventually policing and U.S. soldiers. It wasn't so long ago that we were volleyballing the idiotic statement of VP Cheney, that the insurgency was in its "last throes" as the head of the U.S. command, General Abizaid painted a different picture [as if we needed it].


2. Social Security reform. Bush continues to tour the country like an up and coming artist playing dates like high schools and civic centers as he pushes private accounts and repeats the disingenuous, rhetorical mantra of the bankruptcy of social security although the trustees of the Social Security Administration says it is not true.


3. Ahhh John Bolton. The nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN is the signature move of the US and our present disregard for everyone except the US. Bolton's statements including "there is no such thing as the United Nations" and "if the U.N. Secretariat building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference" mean he is the exact opposite of what we need in so far as ally building, coalition building, understanding, international cooperation and all those other fancy words that Republican and Democratic administrations have adhered to since the founding of this nation.


4. The economy. No need to discuss the economy because we are slowly growing right? Unemployment numbers are down right? Well in May only 78,000 jobs were created, half of what Wall Street predicted and less than a third necessary for inflation. Then in June, the administration streamed tears of joy that the deficit would be significantly less and tax receipts are up. What isn't said is that the deficit is down only in comparison with last year, that those 2001 tax cuts never came close to the administration's promises and part of the increase in tax revenue is from corporations paying extra because of a temporary tax break expired. And for July, consumer confidence and personal outlook numbers are down. P.S. Let's not even discuss those gas prices.

Never mind the fact that Robert Novak's column appeared a week after Wilson's op/ed claimed no substance to the Iraq-Niger-uranium claim that President Bush included in his January 2003 address but that the CIA struck from his October 2002 address. Never mind the fact that Republican talking points include Rove was just trying to help a reporter not "go out on a limb" with the Wilson story. Never mind the fact that RNC chair Ken Mehlman is making false statement after false statement all over the media with no rebuttal including claims that Wilson said the vice president sent him, his report was debunked, etc., etc.

Bottom line you: The White House staked its honor on what it has told the American public. America believes President Bush until now. As Jon Stewart parodies and eggs the faces of the president and press secretary McClellan with video of their own words juxtaposed with their 'no comments', only the Republican seeking re-election and election in 2006 and 2008 are harmed by this. Everyone else does the speaking tour, writes books and retires in comfort.

posted by niteskolar @ 1:19 PM