His first in FOUR months (since May) …
President Bush scheduled a news conference on Tuesday, his first after a string of major developments, including his naming of two Supreme Court justices, two massive hurricanes, and the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. […]
[Bush is to] open the news conference with a statement summarizing recent developments and calling on Congress to work with him on pressing ahead on his agenda. … NYT
CNN, etc. will carry it live. The New York Times has live video, as does the White House, WaPo, and C-SPAN.
Well, now.
Bad taste is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it.
— I see that his heavy dose of XANAX is working well!
Bush will pay for Katrina by deep cuts … to make REAL CUTS IN NON-SECURITY SPENDING.
Fuck you.
THE PRIVATE SECTOR! –he pauses — it is the PRIVATE SECTOR that wil drive the engine for the Gulf Coast…
(He also said that Congress must provide aid to schools, whether public or private.)
The solution to high gas prices?
MORE REFINING CAPACITY… he said it three times … um, conservation? … that wasn’t very manly, was it …
Patriot Act is way cool .. and it nabs drug dealers too.
Send him a bill that reauthorizes the Patriot Act — smirk — you bozos on Capitol Hill, get goin’.
FIRST QUESTION NOW.
for 10 years” — meaning if you don’t know Bush personally, you’ve got a snowball’s chance in hell of getting any sort of promotion, no matter how good a judge you are…
Good old cronyism — it’s not what you know, it’s who you know…
My take on this is that he has very little ability to imagine what candidates would be like — from looking at their resumes, or hearing about them, or even briefly meeting them.
He gravitates, every time, to those who he knows well and can count on.
Part of this is his inability to look at an “abstract” of a prospective judge (or whoever), and IMAGINE and PROJECT how that person might do in a job.
He thinks in too confined and small a scope to be able to do that.
Further, he deeply needs the reassurance of someone he knows very, very well and who has been a steadfast ally. He has a deep need for constancy and loyalty — partly because of his cold, and sometimes absent (physically and emotionally) mother when he was a child. (Reading Bush on the Couch and it’s very revealing.)
I wasn’t kidding yesterday when I said that Harriet is like a surrogate mommy to him. The way that he waxes on about her — that she WON’T CHANGE– and he said this over and over – indicates his deep-seated need for her steady presence, her steady demeanor, etc. (But, like his mother, she can deliver a wallop, and that scares him, but he knows that her wallops go to those who interfere with him, and that deeply reassures him.)
That’s it, I just had to order Bush on the Couch from Powell’s this morning. It sounds too juicy too miss. Thanks for blogging the news conference, Susan. I admit, I had it on but had the volume turned down. Oy, that voice.
“I don’t want somebody going to the bench to supplant the legislative process … i want somebody who is a strict constructionist.”
“I know her well enough to say to know that she isn’t going to change … 20 years from now, she’ll be the same person and her philoosoph won’t change.
“I actually listen to senators when they bring forth ideas … and they brought forth some ideas … one of the most interesting ideas i heard was why don’t you pick somebody who hasn’t been a judge? One senator mentioned the “judicial monastary.”
“I appreciate the reception she’s gotten on Capitol Hill … “
(Q re shying from battle with Dems and charges of cronyism)
Harriet: She is a pioneer when it comes to the law … extraordinarily bright …
The Dems can decide if the special interest groups will affect hearings.
The tone will be set by the people who conduct the hearings, who give the speeches, who run the television ads…
“I know her well enough to say to know that she isn’t going to change … 20 years from now, she’ll be the same person and her philoosoph won’t change.
Now that is flipping scary.
You know, when you think about it, does Bush really know what she thinks? I mean, she’s a confirmed Bush-worshipper so she probably agrees with him every time he opens his mouth just to remain pleasing in his eyes. She may surprise him.
She may well do that! But, given his limited ability to see widely about anything or anybody, he can’t see that far down the road … he needs to believe she will remain the same, and said so over and over just now.
comment from Chris Matthews — he found it interesting that it seems like Bush didn’t check with Cheney on the SCOTUS nomination. He noted that Bush said that he notified Andrew Card of his decision, and Card notified Cheney. Matthews wondered if Bush is possibly distancing himself from Cheney in anticipation of potential indictments in the Plame case.
Who was the African-American woman who asked the question about bridging the divide of race and poverty, slipping in the Matthew 25 reference (“least of our brothers and sisters)? Bush seems to be totally ducking the issue of race, and is focusing on the economics. Oh, and there he goes on the “faith-based” again…of course, that means you have to have the proper faith… 🙁
THANKS! … that’s fascinating. Can we dare dream that Cheney may be involved? It’s Oct. 3. The grand jury’s work is done, or about to be done? What’s the exact date in October?
(And I can’t type like the other live bloggers and am SO GLAD you’re listening. )
I didn’t even know he was having a press conference today. Some talking head said yesterday that the reason Bush presented Miers so early yesterday morning was that he was aiming at the TV morning shows audiences – women. And, here he is again – early morning.
(A black reporter asked him about the effects on blacks from Katrina and about Bill Bennett’s volte… how will that affect 2008?”
“I’ll take all the responsibility for the failures at the federal level.”
“Economics has a lot to do with bridging divides…. one way to bridge that divide with jobs and small businesses … you can’t bridge divides without ownership .. there’s a divide because some people own a home and some don’t … and education is a vital part of bridging divides.
“Challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations …”
“I was disappointed in the vote I got from the black community .. i’ve put people in office ..”
I have a bridge I’d like to show him…
“I was disappointed in the vote I got from the black community .. i’ve put people in office ..”
admitted cronyism…doh!
Isn’t he saying that at the Federal Level not much went wrong. It’s the locals fault?
A couple observations:
“the private sector” .. that’s where the growth will come from … there will be lots of construction jobs … there may not be enough electricians, but we’ll train people to be electricians …
…
with the black box attached?
of construction jobs…and the question is whether we have the wherewithal to train people for these jobs.”
Translation: I wonder if we’ve got enough cronies to funnel the money through so they can pay substandard wages and pocket the difference…
PLENTY OF POLITICAL CAPITAL LEFT….just had to put that in all caps….that’s what the Pres. has left.
Good morning! Want some coffee, and a cat for your lap? ()Bear needs love.)
Sorry Susan, I am alergic to coffee and cats, but I will pet my dog and your cat Bear (in my mind), hey I think I am going catatonic from listening to the pres.
Why do we have to cut ONLY non-security spending?
Fuck.
Oh .. and those soldiers. .. we’re going to make sure they have what they need.
God I can barely stand to listen to the man speak his own words, we need a speech writer now! It is so discouraging……he can barely finish a full sentence and forget about details about anything! He’s lucky if he can remember what the sentence he starts is about when he finishes it.
sounds like a lie to me – he’s already threatened to veto the spending bill by cutting defense spending.
on its own — I’d been recording something on the DVR. I’m taking that as an omen, and heading off to get the bed made.
You folks is on your own from here on out — I’ve got so much tension just listening to him for half an hour that my muscles are all tightened up… 🙁
Some days it’s good to be at work and missing what’s going on, LOL.
God make it stop…….the person to person to person and flu. It is barely 10:00 a.m. here. It is a long day to get to Vodka:30. I bet it’s Vodka:30 in Crawford Texas though.
Ohhh .. when i saw your headline, i thought you meant that BUSH was waiting anxiously for his VODKA:30.
Is when it is legal for Tracy and CabinG to imbibe cosmopolitans if it has been a bad political day. Sorry Susan. But when you are president holed up in Crawford Texas I bet Vodka:30 is when you damn well say it is Vodka:30.
Vodka:30 LMFAO!
to the shopping list, along with cranberry juice; not much into Cosmos, but a Sea Breeze sounds good about now…
OJ, so maybe a screwdriver, since this country’s already screwed…
It’s an important supplement in your daily diet!
I have a quiz in my neurology class tonight, so it’s going to be a long time till vodka:30 for me today…I was ready to start when I read Ductape’s diary and realized that we are indeed living in the Republic of Gilead.
He dares wax nostalgic about his days in the TANG.
How do those ‘journalists’ do it?
Oh, i missed that. What did he say, Alice?
of the Texas Air National Guard and he didn’t like it when the President wanted to order his Guard around either……something like that.
I sometimes wonder if Bush thinks about all those National Guard troops in Iraq, and chortles about he was able to serve in the Guard and avoid Vietnam while those suckers are stuck in the desert…”Man, I got over but those fuckers didn’t!”…
He made sure he used it twice and He also showed off a bit letting us all know that opine and opinion are related words.
Damn — my mom used to beat me in Bali (a word game using cards) with that word…she must be feeding him his lines now…
Opine? He’s known about that for years. Heck, he has a deck o’pine out back at the ranch. He’s in the lumber business, ya know. Wanna buy some wood?
Have you noticed he is using a few multi syllable words lately, his wire feed must be working better now and who do you think is at the other end today….I think it is Rove…
man. I think maybe Rove was busy and everybody else in the room passed the headset around like a hot potato and finally the White House janitor ended up with it in his hands and he shrugged and put it on and did a fantastic job!
The Chair of the Federal Reserve … oh god.
Which crony will take THAT job?
Which crony will take THAT job?
Jenna Bush. She’s obviously “well-qualified”. She knows how to spend money and that philosophy won’t have changed 20 years from now.
Catnip, you’ve been on a roll lately with the snark. Does the cooler weather bring that charm out in you?
OT – Did your early snowfall melt? How much did you get? It’s supposed to get up to 85 or so here in Knoxville today, and we only had 1/2 inch of snow all of last winter. Wanna trade weather? (I do!) But before you say yes, consider this: with global warming, each year the state is measuring the advance of fire ants into the state. They’re currently only 2-3 counties away from me now. 🙁
Catnip, you’ve been on a roll lately with the snark. Does the cooler weather bring that charm out in you?
How can you not be snarky when each day begins with yet another jaw-dropping bit of insanity from Bushco? I fear for my mental health! 🙂
The snow fell all day but melted immediately – thankfully! I’d trade with you – you can’t have garage sales when it’s snowing and that cuts into a major source of entertainment for me.
Fire ants? Ewwwww. Do they bite? Can’t Bush send in the military to deal with them too? Or perhaps Tom “The Exterminator” DeLay? I hear he’s not too busy these days.
Do they bite? Oh, baby: check this out.
When I was in high school I went to visit a good friend that had moved to coastal South Carolina. They had fire ants in their (sandy) lawn. If you stepped on a hill a whole army of the buggers were all over you. His father broke open the hills with a big stick, poured gasoline on/in them and set them afire. Not very environmentally friendly, but well deserved. Nasty buggers (shudder).
I say call the army in to round ’em up and use them in the WoT.
🙂
concerns down to a science doesn’t he?
Yes. It worries me that he’s so well-rehearsed on that topic.
as my monthly trash bill! Now on TO A REAL DAY!
It is Vodka:30 for me. I’m going on a permanent trip to Cosmo-ville. I hope it is not in the line of the never ending globally warmed hurricanes. But even if it is, it is better than watching this crap.
Five years of this asshole. And all is well. Nobody gives a fuck, do they. Trillions of additional debt. Lying war. Did you catch the repeated fucking lies today, “Iraq is part of the war on global terror,” he smirks. “That’s what the American People gotta understand.”
And his command of the Bird Flu facts just scares the shit out of me. How much of his limited brain energy did it take to understand that. I mean, he has not yet come to grips with the basics of evolution, but he understands the Avian Flu. He must be on daily briefings with someone from the CDC. And if that is the case, there must be something to worry about. And didn’t he look gleeful, talking about a militarized response to the flu crisis. Christ. I was totally creeped out. “I want to talk about this. It’s important. We might need to use the military to quarantine people. Congress needs to give me this power.” I paraphrase. Holy Fuck. I feel like a toy soldier in this fucker’s sand box, and he is about to pour some gasoline on and get a match.
I seriously want to opt out of this whole America thing. And, drunkenness doesn’t seem like a bad escape. Who knows? In twenty years, I could end up President.
I’ll vote for ya!
Hey. I never realized this before yesterday, but I am damn close to U.S. Supreme Court credentials. I just need to find a politician and stuff my nose up his or her ass for 10 years or so, and hope my horse gets elected.
I just need to find a politician and stuff my nose up his or her ass for 10 years or so, and hope my horse gets elected.
Know what’s weird about this?
Imagine you are Karl Rove or Harriet Mier back in the 80s and 90s in Texas.
Imagine you have great political ambitions that aren’t ideologically driven and are a lot about promoting yourself, and hitching yourself to a rising star?
Imagine yourself ever, in a million years, thinking that Dubya would be a cynically smart choice.
How could they have ever, ever imagined Bush as a future governor, let alone president, but for his father’s name? He had nothing else to suggest him for such a rise.
What did they see that we didn’t?
And, worse, who are the cynically ambitious hitching themselves to now to be the next Karls and Harriets.
is at once a great and sad point. Who the fuck would glom on to this asswipe?
Well, apparently, second rate people. While all the qualified peers and lackeys or the day were attending to people like John Kerry and Evan Bayh and Trent Lott… I mean you name those with the gravitas to move on. Bush was stuck with the Miers. The Brownies. I mean, this is why we are getting a second rate Texas based operation in our federal government. This is like the JV team.
Although what do I know. I’ve been doing political analysis for, like, ten minutes. Which, again, might qualify me for a federal position somewhere. I’m definitely dusting off the resume.
Although what do I know. I’ve been doing political analysis for, like, ten minutes. Which, again, might qualify me for a federal position somewhere. I’m definitely dusting off the resume.
I think you’d fit in nicely as Secretary of Defense. It’s an easy job because you just make plans and then when things go wrong, you tell people that things were supposed to go wrong because that was part of the plan.
Although, I must say, don’t ever let on that you have “imagination” because that’s an instant disqualifier for anyone in this administration. You have to pretend that you can’t ever imagine anything so you can CYA in the future.
You ask a very good question:
What did they see that we [half the USA and most of the world] didn’t?
It comes drifting back to me, first impressions of those ambitious politicos who latched onto Bush.
They had never met anyone who was so well-connected.
Sorry, I can’t find the exact quotes right now, but from what I have read about GWB way back in the Texas days, from drinking buddies to future sychophants, ‘they had never met anyone who was so well-connected.’ He could virtually get away with anything because of his connections and they admired that.
Molly Ivins on Bush would be the best source to find a definitive answer to your question. She was there.
Susan, I wasn’t going to comment today because I am up to my neck in corrugated cardboard, packing, but your comment triggered some outrage in my brain. I’ve been asking your question for five years.
Hey Joe:
About this drunkenness thing. You could always look at it as an internship. Just remember his words when you do wake up, “I want to lead”!
If you find anywhere besides Margaritaville to opt out to, please let this disgruntled fellow citizen in on the secret will you?
Ever seen Empire Falls? You know the Paul Newman character? If it wasn’t for family, I would so be getting fucked up in Florida trying not to think about the world. This is just crap. And having kids makes it worse crap. I’m starting to come to terms with my own life not being worth much in this society. But when you think about your damn kids, who are going to be forced to live with this dousche bags’ policy decisions for most of their lives — it is enough to drive you insane.
I’ll let you know if I find the right spot though. Promise.
Yes I saw Empire Falls, so I know the character. I’m lucky I guess, the wife and I never had kids. (not by our choice) So my cynical humor comes from one who has probably lived 3/4 of a good life already, and has no kids or grandkids to worry about. I do have some Nieces and Nephews and one grand niece already. I would like to think that something resembling the lifestyle we have been able to lead, would be left for them.
If you are serious about the sauce though, try a dry Rob Roy. 1 part dry vermouth, 2 parts scotch. Serve on the rocks with a twist. It may not cure what ails you, but after two or three, you don’t care as much.
Hope we can really get past BushCo with a country left. That’s why I keep coming here to get my news and views, so I can, like you, try to figure out what is going on, and what we can do about it. Take Care Joe, I enjoy reading your articles, even though they often contain frightening stuff.
One other thought; when ever possible, I avoid watching the great man live. A clip here or there from the TV re-runs and some articles here is about all I can take without getting ill.
And didn’t he look gleeful, talking about a militarized response to the flu crisis.
What? Is he going to set up something like leper colonies and have the military handle the evacuation? Seriously – the military? What’s that about?
reading a lot into his response to the Avian Flu question. But yes. I mean he brightened up. And was talking about the importance of having the power to make a federalized response. I can’t remember if he actually used the word military. But it was pretty clear to me what was going on in that vacant cranial cavity. I know. I’m crazy, but I was actually frightened. Voldebush.
I am so glad I missed this this morning!!
W is such an idiot — no one actually has to give him the power to quarantine people in a health crisis. The P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act already did that for him — guess he didn’t read it either.
Hang on a sec., I’ll go find the relevant portions.
The CDC has a brief discussion of the legal basis for declaring quarantines here. It says that the focus is on state and local enforcement. however, the president has the power under the commerce clause to enforce quarantines as well, going back to a 1796 law authorizing the president to assist states in enforcing quarantines. Good historical discussion here. We tend to forget about this kind of thing because the last time such powers were invoked was a century ago.
Your trivia for the day, from the second source above:
Thanks KP!! And then there’s this from April of this year:
I have no training to say this–which means I could be appointed Surgeon General if I were Republican–but Miers looks to me as though she’s moving towards dimentia.
She has the eyes of 2nd term Reagan. I say the repubs dont’ get more than a decade out of her.
Demented woman.
And Surgeon General Gooserock.
“Ah’d jus like tuh say, that a’ve looked intuh Gooserocks soul. I know the man. And he’s gonna make a great Sturgeon. Ah mean Surgeon Gen’ral. He’s got them band aids. An the lollipops I like. An he personally heimlicked me when ayes choking on that pretzel. And Gooserocks not gunna change. He’s always my doc. Next question. Stretch?”
Fuck. I have such a bad taste in my mouth.
Try gargling with a vodka:30 special. Highly recommended to me by Dr. Gooserock himself.
He kept saying the PRIVATE SECTOR will bring about the recovery of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.
That means it’s every man, woman and child for themselves. The government will not get involved if it doesn’t have to.
He looked nervous when he was asked about Valerie Plame. Chris Mathews loves him so muuuuuch. But he wondered where is the VP? He noted that Dan Bartlett is the one who he is consulting with not VP. Doesnt that mean Libby and therefore Cheney are perceived to be in trouble by the President in regard to Plame? I hope so. But….
Spoke a lot about bringing in the Military to combat the avian flu. Quarenteeing the nation. Travel will not be permitted to and from Military controlled areas where the flu is present. He seems to want to have the military take over. That’s really clear. He wants Rumsfeld to have the power to insert the military in case of an emergency.
That really worries me. When we had the SARS epedemic to deal with here in Canada, we weren’t under martial-flipping-law. That is just scary.
CNN is showing a clip of Clinton down south meeting with hurricane survivors – apparently a 2 hr meeting (in which they’re sitting in a circle) where he pledged to listen to their concerns.
Beats a damn fly-by or drive-by a la Bush.
I now dub Bush press conferences “Mess Conferences”. He only holds them when he has a mess of his to try to slither his way out of.