Author: Trish

What America Hears When Bush Speaks: “Blah Blah”

Trish

It finally seems like most Americans view George W. Bush as the bull-headed, tunnel-visioned, arrogant jerk we do. A new ABC/Washington Post poll shows his citizens have given up on their president.

Bush’s approval rating among political independents — the center of American politics — is at a career low, 25 percent

Just 28 percent think Bush — long seen as inflexible on the war — will use the report to adjust his Iraq policy. Sixty-six percent think he’ll stick with his war policy no matter what the Petraeus report says…

Americans, by nearly 2-1, disapprove of Bush’s handling of the situation in Iraq, 65 percent to 34 percent — around where it’s been for most of the last year and a half. His broader job approval rating is almost identical: Just 33 percent approve of his work in office overall, matching his career low. He hasn’t seen majority approval in an ABC/Post poll since January 2005.

And it’s not just folks like Pensito Review readers and writers — most of whom never liked Bush to begin with — who are down on him.

Bush’s approval rating among political independents — the center of American politics — is at a career low, 25 percent. He’s also at 25 percent approval among people who describe themselves as ideological moderates, matching his low in that group.

Americans also aren’t scared or convinced by the Bush, “If we leave the terrorists will follow us home” line.

There’s little public acceptance of two of the chief arguments against withdrawal — that leaving Iraq in its current state would make the United States more vulnerable, and indeed that victory in Iraq is necessary for victory in the broader U.S. war on terrorism.

Just 22 percent of Americans say withdrawing from Iraq would increase the risk of terrorism occurring in the United States. Half as many say the opposite — that remaining in Iraq increases the risk — while most by far, 65 percent, think the risk of an attack is about the same either way.

I don’t know if my fellow Americans are getting smarter or have just given up hoping Bush will be better.

Bush Bumbles Across the Free World — Confuses Australia with Austria, Pisses off South Korea, Nearly Falls Off Stage

Trish

Now we know why it’s best for Bush to stay home and clear brush. Not long after answering Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile’s question about progress in Iraq, “We’re kicking ass,” Bush went on to really offend.

Bush strode away from the lectern on a path that would have sent him over a steep drop. Howard and others redirected the president to center stage

“Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit,” Bush said to Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Oops. That would be APEC, the annual meeting of leaders from 21 Pacific Rim nations, not OPEC, the cartel of 12 major oil producers.

Bush quickly corrected himself. “APEC summit,” he said forcefully, joking that Howard had invited him to the OPEC summit next year (for the record, an impossibility, since neither Australia nor the U.S. are OPEC members).

…Talking about Howard’s visit to Iraq last year to thank his country’s soldiers serving there, Bush called them “Austrian troops.”

That one was fixed for him. Though tapes of the speech clearly show Bush saying “Austrian,” the official text released by the White House switched it to “Australian.”

Then, speech done, Bush confidently headed out the wrong way.

He strode away from the lectern on a path that would have sent him over a steep drop. Howard and others redirected the president to center stage, where there were steps leading down to the floor of the theater.

But wait, there’s more. Being addled in Australia was only a warm-up. If you really want to mess things up, piss off a country that is trying to help you fight one of the members of your axis of evil.

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Fred Thompson: The New Katherine Harris

Trish
Fred reaches for his campaign manager’s um, arm.

We’re only one day in, but it already looks like having Fred Thompson in the 2008 campaign is going to be fun!

In fact, Fred’s candidacy could be almost as entertaining as Katherine Harris’ 2006 run for the Florida senate. Katherine, you might recall, buzzed through staffers like so much termite-infested cord wood. In one historic day alone, four senior staff members walked out. By the end of her campaign, scores had either quit or been fired.

But Fred is already looking good for meeting or beating Katherine’s record.

Mark Corallo, a veteran of the Bush administration who had served as Thompson’s primary spokesman when the Tennessee Republican began exploring a bid earlier this year, has left the campaign, Corallo and several Thompson aides told CNN…

He is the fourth communications staffer to leave the Thompson campaign. The former Tennessee senator also replaced his campaign manager weeks before officially announcing Wednesday that he would run for the White House.

In Harris’ case, extreme bugginess was the likely cause of the turnover. Between claiming live footage from the 2000 presidential theft was doctored to make her appear more heavily made-up, or that only born-again Christians are fit to hold public office, or raiding her campaign funds for home renovations, it’s no wonder her first ex-campaign manager programmed his cell phone to play the theme from the Exorcist when Katherine called.

With Thompson, the rumored source of the turmoil is just as hard-wired into the campaign.

…Republicans are still trying to determine who is really calling the shots and how much power is held by Mrs. Thompson.

“It’s now become an open joke among people in the consultant community and political movers and shakers that the senator’s wife is really running the campaign,” said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster and strategist. “The spouse needs to be an integral part of the campaign but it is never a good thing when the spouse runs the campaign because the spouse is never objective.”

Thompson himself jokes about Jeri being in charge.

Speaking at his $1,000-a-ticket fund-raiser at the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown Washington Monday night, Fred Thompson began by introducing “my campaign manager — oh, I mean my wife.”

If Thompson starts claiming Democratic office-holders secretly support him over their party’s eventual candidate, it’ll feel just like Harris is back. Fun!

Richardson: God Picked the Primary Dates

Trish

God reveals the primary dates to Moses

The primary situation is getting downright comical, even as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) pledges to veto any bill that would un-do the recent move to a Feb. 5 election.

That declaration comes after my previous pick, John Edwards, insulted my home state.

Comment from God: “I’ve decided to call Bill Richardson home. And maybe that short ugly guy from Ohio too.”

“This election, more than any other, is about real change and choosing the candidate who is going to fight for that change,” Edwards said in a statement released by his campaign Saturday. “Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina need to be first because in these states ideas count, not just money.”

All righty then. I’ve already written the Edwards campaign to ask for my tainted Florida money back.

But the topper has got to be Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.) Richardson’s claim that God Himself chose the primary dates is explored in a hilarious post on the Tampa Tribune’s blog, the Buzz.

God Likes Democratic Boycott of Florida

Well, He didn’t tell us that directly. But Bill Richardson says there’s divine support for Iowa’s status in the nominating process:

“Iowa, for good reason, for constitutional reasons, for reasons related to the Lord, should be the first caucus and primary,” Richardson, New Mexico’s governor, said at the Northwest Iowa Labor Council Picnic. “And I want you to know who was the first candidate to sign a pledge not to campaign anywhere if they got ahead of Iowa. It was Bill Richardson.”

Readers are having a field day making comments about Bill’s obviously caught up and overwrought oration.

[…]

State, National Democratic Party Doing Their Best to Swing Florida Republican

Trish

FCD home page, showing the “news” from as recently as Aug. 29

The news for Florida Democrats gets worse by the minute — in addition to taking away our delegates, the DNC forced most candidates to sign a pledge that they will not campaign in Florida.

Anyone who says we have effective leadership at the top of the Florida Democratic party is just plain wrong

The DNC, in short, is doing everything it can think of to ensure that Florida’s electoral votes go to the Republican candidate for president in 2008.

And what is our state party doing about it?

I don’t know. The FDP’s* web site hasn’t been updated since Aug. 29 — the day before party chair Karen Thurman and her crew unsuccessfully pleaded our case in Washington. An escalating tactical war, intended to bring Florida Democrats to our knees, has been waged since with daily headlines detailing more bad news.

But instead of helping us stay on top of the situation, offering lights at ends of tunnels, and suggesting tactics Florida Democrats like me can take to help, we get stale silence.

Anyone who says we have effective leadership at the top of the Florida Democratic party is just plain wrong.

* Thanks, Anonymous, for pointing out my original acronym was wrong. If only you’d contribute something more meaningful than minutiae and uninformed jabs about me being a novice, we’d really be in business.

Update: Almost as if they read Pensito Review, the Florida Democratic Party has at last updated its web site, so we can find out almost anything we ever wanted to know about how Florida Democrats enjoyed their Labor Day picnics. Now if only they’d address our dire situation in regard to the 2008 elections…

If Fred Thompson Were Running for Least Sincere Candidate, He’d Get Our Vote Hands-Down

Trish
The truck parked in Fred Thompson’s mother’s yard since his last campaign

With summer reruns ending, Fred Thompson is ready to make the surprise announcement that he’s running for president. And as a Republican, too. Who’da thunk?

The big question is, will he pull out the secret weapon this time around? Our bet is yes because it’s hard to get more jaundiced than Fred Dalton Thompson.

As we reported earlier, Fred’s been waiting for Law & Order season 18 episode reruns to end before he announces for two reasons.

One: Big, massive jowly-faced bucks.

Two: To get around the FCC’s equal time requirements.

His opponent said Thompson was actually a “Gucci- wearing, Lincoln- driving, Perrier- drinking, Grey Poupon-spreading millionaire Washington special-interest lobbyist.”

Under the equal-time rule, if a network gives time to one political candidate, it is required to provide the same amount of airtime to his or her opponents. In other words, if Thompson appeared on a “Law & Order” episode for 10 minutes during prime time, NBC would have to give Thompson’s rivals for the Republican nomination 10 minutes of prime time each.

…an NBC spokeswoman said, “If Fred Thompson formally announces his intention to run for president, NBC will not schedule any further repeats of ‘Law & Order’ featuring Mr. Thompson beyond those already scheduled, which conclude on Saturday, September 1st.”

Now that the summer season is over and Fred can begin his “real” campaign, will that red pickup truck parked in his mama’s backyard all these years be revived? It worked like a charm last time.

Early in the 1994 race, after struggling to connect with voters, Thompson decided to lease a used truck and drive around the state in what turned out to be a wildly successful effort to recast himself as a folksy man of the people.

His opponent, Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper, derided the truck as a cynical prop to deflect attention from Thompson’s inside-the-Beltway status. But Thompson was able to shake off Cooper’s suggestion that he was actually a “Gucci-wearing, Lincoln-driving, Perrier-drinking, Grey Poupon-spreading millionaire Washington special-interest lobbyist.”

Thompson ended up capturing more than 60 percent of the vote.

A Taliban truck with women about to be shot in the head at the soccer stadium

Readers of Khaled Hosseini‘s books, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, will of course flinch when they see a red pickup. The trucks became a symbol of the Taliban, which used them to patrol for people violating their 7th century rules of conduct.

And the pickups provided ideal platforms for intimidation and enforcement. From their Land Cruisers and Hiluxes, the Taliban were ready to leap down and beat women for showing a glimpse of ankle or to lock a man in a shipping container for three weeks until his beard grew to the approved length. Or, most dismal, to drag an accused adulterer or blasphemer to the soccer stadium for execution.

Fred’s non-stump speeches to date have been all about fear, ala Bush/Cheney. So go ahead, Fred. Drive around in that red pickup. It might be the most sincere move you’ll make in your witless run for power.

White House Refuses to Name Mystery I.T. Firm

Trish

ABC’s Brian Ross is reporting that the White House is refusing to name the company it farmed out its email management to. You know, the one whose fault it supposedly is that we can’t read Karl Rove’s email.

The White House will not identify a private company which appears to be involved in the disappearance of millions of White House e-mails.

The company was responsible for reviewing and archiving White House e-mails, a White House official told congressional staff in May, according to a letter yesterday from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Congressional investigators asked then for the name of the company and “have repeatedly requested” the information since then, according to Waxman.

Resistance is futile, thanks to Richard Nixon.

According to the White House, at least five million e-mails were not properly archived and may be lost forever, in apparent violation of the Presidential Records Act. The post-Watergate law states that communications relating to official activity in the offices of the president and vice president are owned by the American public and cannot be destroyed.

Waxman’s new deadline to stop the stonewalling is Sept. 10.

In addition to requesting the firm’s name, Waxman’s staff has also asked to see a White House report which detailed the days on which few or no e-mails were archived; the White House has been similarly unresponsive to that request, Waxman charged, and asked it provide the document by Sept. 10 as well.

Maybe the White House strategy is to stonewall it until Jan. 20, 2009 and then put Bush on one of those secret flights to Eastern Europe and send Cheney to the bunker.

Republicans Painted Themselves Into Gay Corner

Trish

When the Karl Roves and Andrea Laffertys of the world decided that the best way to get out the vote was to fire up the masses about gay rights, they never considered that some of their own were gay too. It’s kind of like forgetting that some Republicans are black, and one or two are poor. Easy to do, but a mistake nonetheless.

Houston Chronicle: “A party that harps on sexual orientation, as the Republicans now do, forces many of its own into furtive, destructive behaviors”

When reality intrudes into their rhetoric, the dissonance stings — hard. The Houston Chronicle notes the consquences for a party, “which since the 1980s has, culturally and legislatively, demonized gay men and women.”

By preoccupying the party with homosexuality…Republican strategists have helped force out or into hiding numerous lawmakers who served the party well. Instead of disclosing their orientation and getting on with their work, gay or bisexual Republicans typically have felt compelled to choose between personal integrity and political survival.

Yet heterosexuality is hardly a bedrock Lincolnesque value. [Sen. Larry] Craig’s own constituents happily re-elected him for years — despite rumors about his orientation — before he began opining on others’ sexuality.

An even better example of this dynamic is the successful career of former U.S. Rep. Steve Gunderson, a Wisconsin Republican who told voters he was gay while still in office. Then he continued working diligently for the causes they cared about most.

…Gunderson backed the balanced budget amendment. He supported President Ronald Reagan’s tax cuts, approved the first Gulf War and promoted the dairy industry. Rural, conservative voters re-elected him eight times in a row for his conservative values before he chose not to run again in 1996…Gunderson never betrayed voters or himself.

In contrast, since 1980 the Republican Party has lost at least three once-closeted House members to scandals…But the scandals were at least partly fueled by each congressman’s need to deny his sexuality. Craig, now frantically trying to deny his guilty plea, may be the latest on the list.

…a party that harps on sexual orientation, as the Republicans now do, forces many of its own into furtive, destructive behaviors.

So while those caught are passing around blame — in Craig’s case to newspapers, lying cops, and wide stances — they should examine their own willingness to jump on the hate train, and partake of the payoff at the end of the line.

Ryan Skipper’s Death Inspires New Awareness of Hate Crimes

Trish

It’s been a long time since we had any news about the murder of Ryan Skipper, a gay Florida man who police believe was the victim of a hate crime.

In that time, another man was slain because his murderer wanted to kill a gay man — any gay man. In both deaths, investigators immediately arrested and held suspects, awaiting trials that might still be a year or more away. And while we — and especially the friends and families — wait there is silence.

At least there was. A new organization, inspired by Ryan’s brutal killing, is trying to raise awareness of the consequences of mindless hate. Gay American Heroes seeks:

To honor and remember LGBT victims of hate crimes
To engage and inform the public about hate crimes against LGBT persons
To inspire compassion and greater appreciation and acceptance of diversity

The group is putting together a traveling memorial for display at colleges, gay pride events, and other public venues including communities where hate crimes have occurred or been threatened. The exhibit will honor lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who were murdered because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

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