President Bush, "60 Minutes" and a grim future [View All]

[BobcatJH]

Having just watched President Bush's appearance on "60 Minutes", I have a few thoughts working their way through my head. Here's my initial reaction: This president doesn't seem to have a solid grip on the reality of the situation both in Iraq and at home. Sure, he can give pat answers, the same answers he always gives, but he again seemed to laugh at the wrong times (when talking about his escalation), smile at the wrong times and generally seem detached from the matters at hand.

Also, he seemed tonight to blatantly contradict himself. Listening to the interview - and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong - it sounded like the president took credit for the plan he announced last Wednesday. But if you'll recall the speech itself, here's what he said: "Only Iraqis can end the sectarian violence and secure their people. And their government has put forward an aggressive plan to do it." Later, he added, "Our military commanders reviewed the new Iraqi plan to ensure that it addressed these mistakes. They report that it does. They also report that this plan can work." What he said Wednesday seems as clear to me as what he said during the report. The only problem being, of course, that the statements stood in stark contrast. Whose plan was it? His? Or the Iraqis?

Also, it was nice to see CBS interviewer Scott Pelley completely buy into the White House's language when referring to the Democratic Party. When speaking about the possibility of Congress opposing the president's escalation, Pelley said, "The Democrat leadership says, 'We wanna support the troops who are on the ground. We just wanna redline the extra 20,000.'" Note the use of the word "Democrat" instead of "Democratic". What may have been a coincidence was quickly shown to be otherwise. In response to Pelley's question, Bush said, "Yeah. I know. I will resist that. Listen, we've got people criticizing this plan before it's had a chance to work. they're saying, 'We're not even gonna fund this thing.' And they're not gonna give it a chance." Following up, Pelley led the president into his next talking point by saying, "There's no Democrat plan." Somewhere, Edward R. Murrow shook his head in disgust.

While it would be easy to let Pelley's shoddy journalism get in the way of the greater point, it's important to note where the conversation soon went. Pelley very directly asked, "Do you believe as commander-in-chief you have the authority to put the troops in there no matter what the Congress wants to do?" Bush was unequivocal: "In this situation, I do, yeah. Now, I fully understand they - could try to stop me from doing it. But - I made my decision, and we're going forward." In other words, nothing Congress does - even cutting off funding - would get in the way of this president pursuing a policy that has shown no promise of working. That sentiment, sadly, is something Vice President Cheney echoed earlier today on "FOX News Sunday". Here's Cheney's exchange with Chris Wallace:

WALLACE: ... though, is, if they (Congress) want to stop it, can they?

CHENEY: The president is the commander in chief. He's the one who has to make these tough decisions. He's the guy who's got to decide how to use the force and where to deploy the force.

And the Congress, obviously, has to support the effort through the power of the purse. So they've got a role to play, and we certainly recognize that.

But you also - you cannot run a war by committee, you know. The Constitution is very clear that the president is, in fact, under Article 2, the commander in chief.

WALLACE: So let me ask you a couple of specific questions. If Congress passes a resolution opposing increasing the troops in Iraq, will that stop you?

CHENEY: It would be a sense of the Congress' resolution, and we're interested in it and what Congress has to say about it. But it would not affect the president's ability to carry out his policy.

That, to me, is clear. This White House doesn't care what anyone thinks. You. Me. Congress. Anyone. And considering what Stephen Hadley had to say on the Sunday morning show circuit earlier today, the administration's plan is completely transparent: We're going through with the escalation. No matter what. On top of that, we're picking a fight with Iran. Not only picking a fight, but also starting one. Because, as Hadley said, if Iranians in Iraq "are doing things that are putting are people at risk, of course we have the authority to go after them and protect our people." Again, clear. So let's not fool ourselves about what this White House is trying to do. It appears the administration's posturing toward Iran is about to become something else altogether.

A detached president bent on ignoring both reality and the will of the people. A vice president sure of his boss's ability to circumvent the law. A top adviser willing to admit that this administration now has another nation in its cross-hairs. If anything, the "60 Minutes" report didn't break any new ground. It did, however, put this administration's plans into stark relief. Stark, indeed.

Other thoughts: Tonight's most laughable moment: Bush claiming to be flexible. Right, flexible enough to consider breaking the law to stay in Iraq by evading the decisions of Congress. Also, did you notice Bush claiming not to be a "revengeful" person when discussing the execution of Saddam Hussein? We're talking about the same man who once said, of Hussein, "After all, this is the guy who tried to kill my dad," aren't we? Thought so.