Favorite Bushisms from the debate tonight

Mex missaging
Fighting so vociferously
Nude in Iraq

Kerry wins debate

ABC News
Kerry: 46
Bush: 37
Tie: 17

CBS also says Kerry wins. Will wait for polls to come in. Early posting in the morning.

UPDATE: Okay, I fibbed....I'm still processing polls.

CNN-Gallup-USA Today
Kerry: 53
Bush:36
Tie: 11

Vladimir is the new Cher

George is great friends with Vladimir. Sir, I knew Vladimir. Vladimir was a friend of mine. And, sir, you're no Vladimir.

C'mon, John, get him to say nook-ya-lure

Kerry says nuclear proliferation is the biggest threat to this globe. Make Bush say nook-ya-lure. And quote JibJab....you can't say nuclear, and that really scares me.

Mex missages

I'm still laughing....Bush said mex missages.

Will the experience in Iraq cause you to lead the US into another preemptive war?

BUSH: The enemy attacked us.

KERRY: The president said something very telling here...Iraq didn't attack us. But this president thinks they did.

As I lead in the world, Bush said

...does he think he is president of the world?

I think it's possible to be optimistic and realistic at the same time

He can add spastic if he keeps banging his hand on the podium.

Bush is pissed....bigtime

The petulant boy is angry.

Invading Iraq is the equivalent of Frankin Rooseveldt invading Mexico to retaliate for Pearl Harbor

I made a mistake in how I talked about Iraq; President Bush made a mistake by invading Iraq. Which is worse?

Wonder if George Bush will go with "We're making progress in Iraq" tonight

From USA Today: BAGHDAD (AP) — At least three bombs exploded near a U.S. convoy in western Baghdad on Thursday, killing 37 people and wounding more than 50, officials said. Hours earlier, a suicide car bombing killed a U.S. soldier and two Iraqis on the capital's outskirts.

He says God is his co-pilot, but George Bush is really in the Christian National Guard

George Bush is pandering to his "Christianity" just like he pretended to be a Vietnam warrior. I wonder when he'll go AWOL from Jesus. Bush dresses up in religion, just like he played dress-up in a flight suit. It's more about image than authenticity. His religion is a political Halloween costume. But he's carrying the cross prop for Partially Reborn.

Frank Rich writes today in NYT about The Passion of the Bush:

It's not just Mr. Bush's self-deification that separates him from the likes of Lincoln, however; it's his chosen fashion of Christianity. The president didn't revive the word "crusade" idly in the fall of 2001. His view of faith as a Manichaean scheme of blacks and whites to be acted out in a perpetual war against evil is synergistic with the violent poetics of the best-selling "Left Behind" novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins and Mel Gibson's cinematic bloodfest. The majority of Christian Americans may not agree with this apocalyptic worldview, but there's a big market for it. A Newsweek poll shows that 17 percent of Americans expect the world to end in their lifetime. To Karl Rove and company, that 17 percent is otherwise known as "the base."

Debate drinking game

Drink one sip if:
Anyone says "terrorism"
Anyone says "Halliburton"
Anyone says "flip flop"
Anyone says "Saddam Hussein"
Anyone blames "the media"
Anyone mentions their own military service
Anyone says "September 11"
One candidate interrupts another candidate

Drink two sips if:
Bush says "cut and run"
Kerry says "W stands for wrong"
Either candidate talks past their time limit
Kerry brings up Bush's "Mission Accomplished" moment
Bush mentions Crawford, TX
Anyone looks at the wrong camera
Anyone whips out "evidence"
Anyone says "Osama bin Laden"
Anyone mentions blogs
Anyone invokes the hurricane sympathy vote
Anyone mentions "North Korea"
Kerry mentions Bush wants to reinstate the draft
Everytime you see anyone wearing the yellow "LiveSTRONG" bracelet

Finish your glass if:
Anyone in the audience gets dragged out of the auditorium
Anyone in the audience gets off an unscripted question
Bush mispronounces any word or name
Anyone says "Osama bin Hidin'"
Anyone uses a sports metaphor
Anyone attempts to speak Spanish to pander to Latinos

Do a shot if:
Bush mentions the deficit
Bush accuses Kerry of being "French on terrorism"
Kerry accuses Bush of being a pansy for avoiding Vietnam
Bush admits he made a mistake ("miscalculation" counts)
Ralph Nader shows up insisting on airtime

Finish the bottle if:
Anyone challenges anyone to a duel
The moderator rips off his mask to reveal his true identity is Karl Rove

(I know this is making the rounds...I got this several days ago from my friend, Bill, who seems to get funny things well in advance of the Blogsnow moment.)

30 Days and 2,368 Attacks: A Map

Every province in Iraq has been hit over the past month. A map of where they happened and how.

Make up your own George W Bush stump speech

This is funny.

George Bush's Top 10 Flip-Flops: Another list

From CBS News.

UPDATE: Great WaPo collection of Bush lies and flip-flops in Who's the Biggest Flip-Flopper?

The Five Stages of Bushism

The Talent Show makes a list of The Five Stages of Bushism.

Stage 1 - Pretending to listen to the question

Stage 2 - Trying to understand the question

Stage 3 - Stalling for time

Stage 4 - Giving a pre-scripted answer unrelated to the question asked

Stage 5 - Acting like a badass motherf**ker

Kerry-ka-tures

Artist Dale Axelrod was standing on the corner of Broad and Sansom in Philadelphia this afternoon. His helmet caught my eye. His idea captured my imagination. From his website Kerry-ka-ture:

Kerry-ka-ture Mission: To support Senator John Kerry’s election as President, and begin the process of bringing our troops home from Iraq.

Strategy: To provide a way for Kerry supporters to communicate their support in a fun, positive, non-intimidating way to friends, coworkers, neighbors, and family and to engage them in a dialogue about how important it is for them to register and vote in the upcoming election.

Charlie has spoken about this - preaching to the converted isn't what we need, we must get to those who are undecided or against us. Dale Axelrod has an open source idea. He draws caricatures and says "by showing off your Kerry-ka-ture you can open up a low key dialogue about the election in almost any location." He's encouraging artists to download his artwork template, and draw Kerry-ka-tures for profit (or for donations to the Kerry campaign). He makes very good points. Check him out. Here's the sketch. If you see him, have your face put there. If he's there on Friday, I will.

Crazy is as crazy does

I'm so pleased that the assault weapons ban was lifted. Now crazy Carolina wingnuts can write "death and destruction to Arabs" blog postings and have the weapons to back it up (he says he has a closet-full). And get kudos. Get this part: He's a professor at UNC-Wilmington. Read more. Follow the links. And once again, be afraid. Be very afraid.

(via Atrios)

George Bush: It's about your record, Stupid

Al Gore has some advice for John Kerry as he prepares for the debates with George Bush. It's about Bush's record. Bush can no longer run on promises, he's created a mess, but is either too stubborn or too stupid to know what he's facing. From the article How to Debate George Bush:

The debates aren't a time for rhetorical tricks. It's a time for an honest contest of ideas. Mr. Bush's unwillingness to admit any mistakes may score him style points. But it makes hiring him for four more years too dangerous a risk. Stubbornness is not strength; and Mr. Kerry must show voters that there is a distinction between the two.

UPDATE: Sorry, I didn't quite get that headline right.

16 questions for George Bush that won't be asked

The Gadflyer made a list of 16 questions for George Bush that won't be asked in The NASCAR Debates. Thomas Schaller writes, "With the formats now agreed upon, it's time for the presidential debates. Of course, we don't have real debates in American presidential politics. Real debates allow opponents to spar, to ask each other questions, to follow up. The world's greatest democracy prefers its circuses to be highly scripted, its cakes pallid enough so as not to offend the national palate."

Asteroid misses Earth; other smaller asteroids slammed White House in 2001

A 3-mile-long asteroid whisked past Earth today, coming within a million miles of creating a cataclysm that scientists said would have wiped out a country "as large as France" and causing worldwide devastation. Rumor has it that George Bush dressed up in his cheerleader outfit and led Wingnuts in the chant "Hit France if there's a chance." See the video of the asteroid. Let's get rid of the asteroids at the White House. Last few days to register.

Documents reveal gaps in George Bush's service as president

From The Onion: Freshly unearthed public documents, ranging from newspapers to cabinet-meeting minutes, seem to indicate large gaps in George W. Bush's service as president, a spokesman for the watchdog group Citizens for an Informed Society announced Monday.

George Bush: Answer the questions or get out

13 questions for George Bush. Bet these become the anti-Lays: he can't answer just one.

More Republican lies about John Kerry's record

So, it's come down to this: Republicans using images of Osama bin Hidin' and scary voice over saying "children have been killed in Russia" while lying about John Kerry's voting record on Iraq, terrorism, and national defense. (See the lies for yourself.) Looks like desperation time, because they don't have their own record to run on. 1,053 American soldiers dead in Iraq is just an afterthought. Read more on FactCheck.

One raindrop for each John Kerry vote in Philly

I was headed to the Drinking Liberally event in Philly this evening. I started walking. Then swimming. And while I was squishing in my shoes as the rain drenched my pants, I thought about a stat I heard at the Barack Obama/Joe Hoeffel event yesterday: 1.3 million registered voters in Philly. Get out and vote, my friends. One John Kerry vote for every raindrop that fell this evening in Philly.

Republicans lie, people die: RNC's new lies about John Kerry's position on Iraq

A new RNC ad is out It features "selective use of Kerry's own words makes him look inconsistent on Iraq. A closer look gives a different picture."

Summary from FactCheck.org
Kerry has never wavered from his support for giving Bush authority to use force in Iraq, nor has he changed his position that he, as President, would not have gone to war without greater international support. But a Bush ad released Sept. 27 takes many of Kerry's words out of context to make him appear to be alternately praising the war and condemning it.

Michael Moore spotlights Bush flipflops

MIchael Moore's site has a summary of 10 alternating postions that Bush and his administration have taken on Iraq.

Breaking news! Jon Stewart smarter than Bill O'Reilly

Stewart's rapier wit vs. O'Reilly's dull butter knife of doltishness
Bill O'Reilly called Jon Stewart's audience "stoned slackers" when Stewart appeared on Triumph of the Bill. But, wouldn't you know it? Viewers of Jon Stewart's show are more likely to have completed four years of college than people who watch "The O'Reilly Factor," according to Nielsen Media Research. Duh. O'Reilly doesn't exactly need thinking people to do the goose step. Read more.

Freeway Signs

Freewayblogger.com Kudos Maria. Zoom, zoom, zoom.

Votes dead in Ohio

Neil Young keeps humming in my head as I think about the Secretary of State killing voters in Ohio with lethal paper cuts.

Read Holy F***ing Jim Crow in MyDD.
Atrios outlines voting rights laws that are well worth reviewing.
Oliver Willis writes about Vote Theft in Progress

Don't let the Bushies steal this election again folks. Start calling and writing.

Barack Obama and Joe Hoeffel in Philadelphia

Barack Obama said, "Eighteen months ago, you didn't even know who I was. Just some skinny state senator. And now look."

The next Senator from Illinois came to Love Park today in Center City to endorse Joe Hoeffel, the next Senator from Pennsylvania. Hundreds of supporters rallied this afternoon.


Dr. King said: "The arc of history is long, but it bends toward justice."


He just leaned down because a woman asked him to "sign my baby." She said, "I want her to meet the first black president of the United States."


It was great to shake his hand. Here's Sarah with him right after she did.


He stayed and signed autographs for hundreds of people. I have one. I'm keeping it.


Change is gonna come.


Joe mingled with the crowd before his speech. Here he is with Sarah.


Joe basks in the glow of a well-deserved endorsment by Barack Obama.


Ego shot. Joe Hoeffel, Sarah, and me.

Detritus under the Bush

Oliver Willis provides this quote: "Like Vietnam, the military is again being asked to clean up the detritus of a failed foreign policy." And he asks, "Who is this freedom-hating hippie?" His answer will surprise you.

George Bush is a vandal

Boing Boing featured a vintage anti-vandalism poster by the WPA. This one, titled Result, made me think about George Bush's work to throw rocks at the street lights of the world. He's that little creepy kid who's tough when he's in a group, but a weakling by himself. I added some text to the poster.

How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power

Link

Iraq: You break it, you buy it

From Maureen Dowd (she is always so clever): Rummy also blew off Colin Powell's so-called Pottery Barn rule that if we broke Iraq, we own it.

Obama in Love Park

Obama in Love Park
Sep 27, 2004, 2:30 p.m.
Joe Hoeffel campaigns with Barack Obama to "Take Back the White House, Take Back the Senate"
Love Park, 15th Street and JFK Blvd., Philadelphia

Nicked from Atrios

The Two Georges: Bush and Custer

George Walker Bush|George Armstrong Custer
New bumper sticker: "Custer stayed the course, too"
(via Kos)

John Kerry and George Bush in a boxing match: Dick Cheney referees

From Aaron McGruders' great comic, The Boondocks, today. Aaron was very good last night on Bill Maher's show, too. Worth a look in the rerun.

Fascism 101: Bush Administration Goose-Stepping toward Total World Domination

VLWC outlines the classic example of Fascism that the "Bush Junta" uses. He also links to a great article titled Fascism Anyone? that shows the 14 common threads that link Fascist regimes in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. George Bush's government is overlaid. Now I am afraid.

Iraqi election: George Bush's team achieves mediocrity

Elections must be open to all. Four out of five ain't bad. We'll work to get it right. It's already perfect.

That's the assessment of the upcoming "elections" in Iraq. "Oh, Georgie, what a fine mess you've gotten us into this time." Read more.

3,487 Iraqis killed since April; 2,752 killed in WTC. Are we even yet?

From an article by Nancy A. Youssef in the Philadelphia Inquirer titled Military faulted on Iraq deaths

BAGHDAD - Twice as many Iraqis, most of them civilians, are dying as a result of operations by U.S. and multinational forces and Iraqi police as are being killed in attacks by insurgents, according to statistics compiled by the Iraqi Health Ministry.

According to the ministry, the interim Iraqi government recorded 3,487 Iraqi deaths in 15 of the country's 18 provinces from April 5, when the ministry began compiling the data, until Sept. 19. Of those, 328 were women and children. An additional 13,720 Iraqis were injured, the ministry said.

Diary of a Political Tourist

Note to self: watch this. HBO schedule.

Two faces of George Bush

Iraqi "insurgent" groups ID'd

Iraqi newspaper identifies insurgent groups. I hated writing the word "insurgent" and wonder if we could come up with a better word. The report uses "revolutionary," "brigade" and "faction." There must be something. Comments?

Sick fear mongers: Republicans' terror campaign

Tying Kerry to Terror Tests Rhetorical Limits by Dana Milbank in WaPo
An Un-American Way to Campaign in NYT

George Bush isn't a flip-flopper, he's just a flop

Mr. Bush and His 10 Ever-Changing Different Positions on Iraq: "A flip and a flop and now just a flop." From Michael Moore to George Bush (aka Baghdad Bush).

Moore's also going on a Slacker Uprising Tour to 60 cities in 20 battleground states. He's coming to Philly, so I'll see him there. From the press release:

"It is not the wealthy and the elite who don't vote," added Moore. "The non-voters are the poor, the disenfranchised, the single moms and young people. I am calling for a non-voter uprising, led by thousands of campus slackers who proudly sleep 'til noon and who believe papers are for rolling, not reading. They are rightfully cynical, but this year their motto will be: "Bush and Kerry Both Suck -- That's Why I'm Voting for John Kerry!"

Word up. Billionaires for Bush by 50 Billion

Billionaires for Bush visit G-Dog's house. The billionaires are in the house.

Grassroots endorsement for your favorite candidate

(via Democracy for America)
Put the power of Democracy for America to work for your favorite candidate.

The incumbent and the challenger with the most votes at the end of balloting will win a national email appeal from Governor Dean and Democracy for America. Howard Dean will send a special message to the Democracy for America grassroots about the candidate who best demonstrates that they are running a people-powered campaign.

This is an easy way for your favorite candidate to gain widespread exposure, recruit a national base of support and raise much-needed resources for the final weeks of the campaign.

The voting will take place online, will last for five days and is open to all visitors to Democracy for America. Vote now to show your support for your favorite Senatorial candidate:

I cast my vote for Joe Hoeffel today by clicking here.

Kerry debate zingers

People voted on Kos...here's the "Best of" list.

More Wingnut Lies: Republicans Lie about John Kerry's Quote on Abortion

From FactCheck.org:

When Kerry said abortions should be moved "into the mainstream of medical practice," he was talking about safer locations, not more frequent abortions.

Summary
A Republican National Committee website urging Catholics not to vote for Kerry prominently features a 1994 quote in which Kerry said abortions "need to be moved out of the fringes of medicine and into the mainstream of medical practice."

But Kerry wasn't advocating more frequent abortions, he was calling for them to be performed in safe locations. His stated position on abortions is that they should be "safe, legal and rare."

The Kerry quote came from remarks inserted into the Congressional Record about the murder of two people at a Florida abortion clinic. More recently Kerry has said he's personally opposed to abortion and believes life begins at conception, even though he favors the right to abortion and has promised if elected to appoint to the Supreme Court only persons who support the Roe v. Wade decision.

If America were Iraq. What would it be like?

From a powerful article by Juan Cole, professor of history at the University of Michigan:

What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number.

Thus, violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and rocket attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment in the last week? That is a number greater than the deaths on September 11, and if America were Iraq, it would be an ongoing, weekly or monthly toll.

Pix from John Kerry visit to Penn today

Okay, at the risk of this becoming a slide show from my summer vacation, here's a great set of pictures from John Kerry's visit today to UPenn in Philadelphia. (I was lucky to get a Red Ticket because of Sarah's persistence, so we got lots of closeup pix and even got to shake Big John's hand.) Other dignitaries included Gov. Ed Rendell, Mayor John Street, Sen. Joe Biden, Congressman Joe Hoeffel, and Bernard Hopkins, the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.


I was in Orlando this week. I drove past Disney World and Fantasyland. George Bush lives in Fanstasyland.


Bernard Hopkins, the undisputed middleweight champ, gave John Kerry a set of boxing gloves and said, "Knock out George Bush like I did Oscar de la Hoya."


"Take off the gloves, John" was the shout from right behind me. John Kerry laughed.


The crowd was huge. I'd estimate 20,000 people easily. There were 11 Bush backers outside the fence. UPDATE: ABC News is estimating 25,000 to 40,000 supporters.


This woman yelled, "I want to have your babies, John." She was a little embarrassed after she said it. And I thought the women commenting about how "cute" John Edwards was this past Sunday in Phoenixville was something!


Vote Peace '04 from KerryTshirts.net was the most popular shirt at the rally.


Our own Governator, Ed Rendell, told Penn students they can register to vote in their domicile.


John Street led a call-and-response about the Declaration of Independence that could only have been done on Penn's campus. How many times can you hear a crowd of 20-thousand respond with the words "inalienable rights" when asked the answer to "We are all endowed with what?"


Joe Hoeffel pointed out that Sen. Arlen Specter voted with Bush/Cheney 89% of the time, with the NAACP 14% of the time, and with the NRA 100% of the time.


Help is on the way.

America to George Bush: Oops, there goes gravity; back to reality

George Bush is living in fantasyland again. From today's NYT article titled Bush Upbeat as Iraq Burns:

The president said he is personally optimistic and he delivered an upbeat assessment of conditions in Iraq to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Iraq, he said, is well on its way to being "secure, democratic, federal and free."

If you spend more than a little time immersed in the world according to Karl Rove, you'll find that words lose even the remotest connection to reality. They become nothing more than tools designed to achieve political ends. So it's not easy to decipher what the president believes about Iraq.

This is scary. With Americans, Iraqis and others dying horribly in the long dark night of this American-led war, the world needs more from the president of the United States than the fool's gold of his empty utterances.

Off to see John Kerry; pix this afternoon

John Kerry is in Philly today. Speaking at Temple U this morning; UPenn this afternoon. I'll post pix when I return.

Liar Liar, World's On Fire

Seen in Center City, Philly.

Send a letter to Baghdad Bush

(via BoingBoing) This guy takes USPS stickers, runs them through his printer and prints 'USPS does not acknowledge the authority of the Bush administration.' and then puts them back in the rack at the post office. Link to Quicktime movie

Voting machines are electoral machine guns

More Diebold E-Voting Vulnerabilities (via Slashdot)

UPDATE: E-Vote Fears Soar in Swing States (via Wired News)

Bush still can't understand the difference between Abu Abbas and Abu Nidal

I'm watching him right now during his press conference with Allawi. When asked if it's an act of hypocrisy to use CIA reports about WMD to invade Iraq and then dismiss them when it says Iraq is foundering, Bush said: "Anyone who believes that this world is better off with Saddam Hussein is just wrong. He harbored terrorists like Abu Nidal...Abu Abbas, al Zarqawi." Only problem, as has been shown on VLWC and others, Bush can't get the name of the bad guy right. Heck, at this rate, what's the difference between Iraq and Iran? (Just one little letter.)

"Suiciders." That's what Baghdad Bush just called the suicide bombers. "We're not going to be moved aside by the suiciders." Heck, I have to stop writing. He's coming up with a new one each minute. More soon. "The ability of 'suiciders' to affect free societies." Okay, I really have to stop now. ADDED: Link.

Georgie Porgie is such a petulant little boy

Why pay attention to the thousand-plus soldiers killed in Iraq, the millions of Americans without healthcare, or the state of America's declining reputation in world when you can just try to poke fun at John Kerry? That's how Baghdad Bush and the rest of the Liars Brigade does it. See the Kerry-Edwards response to the Bushies' stupid high-school AV class video in Juvenile.

Bush vs. Bush: Baghdad Bush Wins!

Watch George Bush kick his own ass in this debate against himself on The Daily Show. Video.

For fun, you can watch Rummy squirm like a worm in this MoveOn video.

The asshat Zell Miller challenging Chris Matthews to a duel. Video.

All cited in a piece on Daily Kos titled Suggestion for Kerry Website/Possible Ads

Cheney: to Bush: It's only make-believe, Georgie Porgie

From the AP, Little Georgie Porgie in his world of make-believe, where he gets to play with plastic Army men and use dirt-clod bombs:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Sept. 22, 2004 — President Bush is living in a make-believe world in his understanding of Iraq, misleading the American people and attacking Democrats on phony issues, presidential rival John Kerry said Wednesday in an interview with The Associated Press.

"Even today, he blundered again saying there are only a handful of terrorists in Iraq," Kerry said. "George Bush retreated from Fallujah and other communities in Iraq which are now overrun with terrorists and threaten our troops."

Bush, campaigning in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, said, "It's hard to help a country go from tyranny to elections to peace when there are a handful of people who are willing to kill in order to stop the process. And that's what you're seeing on the TV screens. You know, these people cannot beat us militarily."

The President of the United States is a Liar

From Oliver Willis, this video of Baghdad Bush caught lying like a rug in this piece by Peter Jennings. Kudos to Kos, too.

When Fascism Comes to America

Powerful article and analysis by Maureen Farrell in BuzzFlash titled "When Fascism Comes to America."

Tell the truth about Iraq, Baghdad Bush

A long e-mail from MoveOn today (I thought it was worth having in its entirety):

Dear MoveOn member,

To hear President Bush tell it, Iraq is a bed of roses: "Our strategy is succeeding," he said last week. Yesterday at the U.N., he said Iraq is "on the path to democracy and freedom."

Yet the CIA told Bush recently that the scenarios we're really facing there range from a quagmire to a bloodbath. The CIA's July report outlines three possibilities for Iraq, ranging from "an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous" to "civil war," according to the New York Times. [1]

Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) is calling on Bush to level with us, by releasing the report, formally called a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), to the public. Graham, the former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has read the NIE, and he thinks we all should see it too.

Join Senator Graham in demanding that President Bush to face the facts and tell us the truth about Iraq, by releasing the NIE, at:

http://www.moveon.org/tellthetruth/

It's not just Democrats who are questioning the President's grip on reality.

Senator Chuck Hagel (NE), a Republican, says: "The worst thing we can do is hold ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we're winning. Right now, we are not winning. Things are getting worse." [2] "The fact is, we're in trouble. We're in deep trouble in Iraq." [3]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) also supports releasing the NIE [4] and says: "We made serious mistakes right after the initial successes by not having enough troops there on the ground, by allowing the looting, by not securing the borders." [3]

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), says "he believes the situation in Iraq is going to get worse before it gets better, adding that he believes the administration has done a 'poor job of implementing and adjusting at times.'" and says "We do not need to paint a rosy scenario for the American people...." [3]

Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) says it's "exasperating for anybody look at this from any vantage point." [1]

Those are Republicans talking. Here's what the generals and national security experts are saying, in a terrific recent piece in the UK's Guardian newspaper:

Retired general William Odom, former head of the National Security Agency, said: "Bush hasn't found the WMD. Al-Qaida, it's worse, he's lost on that front. That he's going to achieve a democracy there? That goal is lost, too. It's lost." He adds: "Right now, the course we're on, we're achieving Bin Laden's ends."

Retired general Joseph Hoare, the former marine commandant and head of US Central Command, [said]: "The idea that this is going to go the way these guys planned is ludicrous. There are no good options.... The priorities are just all wrong."

Jeffrey Record, professor of strategy at the Air War College, said: "I see no ray of light on the horizon at all. The worst case has become true..."

W. Andrew Terrill, professor at the Army War College's strategic studies institute -- and the top expert on Iraq there -- said: "I don't think that you can kill the insurgency"... "The idea there are x number of insurgents, and that when they're all dead we can get out is wrong. The insurgency has shown an ability to regenerate itself because there are people willing to fill the ranks of those who are killed"... "Most Iraqis consider us occupiers, not liberators."

General Odom [also] said: "This is far graver than Vietnam. There wasn't as much at stake strategically, though in both cases we mindlessly went ahead with the war that was not constructive for US aims. But now we're in a region far more volatile, and we're in much worse shape with our allies."... "I've never seen [tensions] so bad between the office of the secretary of defence and the military. There's a significant majority believing this is a disaster." [5]

Just as important are the opinions of those whose loved ones are serving in Iraq, like Martha Jo McCarthy, whose husband is on National Guard duty there. She says:

"Everyone supports the troops, and I know they're doing a phenomenal job over there, not only fighting but building schools and digging wells. But supporting the troops has to mean something more than putting yellow-ribbon magnets on your car and praying they come home safely."

"I read the casualty Web site every day and ask myself, 'Do I feel safer here?' No. I don't think we can win this war through arrogance. Arrogance is different from strength. Strength requires wisdom, and I think we need to change from arrogance to solid strength." [6]

Join Senator Graham now in calling on President Bush to face the facts and level with us, by releasing the CIA's report, at:

http://www.moveon.org/tellthetruth/

President Bush has got to tell us the truth about Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction. No Saddam-al Qaeda connection. The mission is not accomplished. The transition has not been peaceful and stable. Attacks on our troops are increasing, not decreasing. These failures lie solely with the president, and he owes us an honest explanation.

Thanks for signing our petition today, and for everything you do.

Sincerely,

--Carrie, Joan, Lee, Marika, Noah, Peter, and Wes
The MoveOn.org Team
September 22nd, 2004

And while you're at it, could I have a new puppy?

The Philadelphia Inquirer did a story yesterday on political prayer sites. I'm praying that Pat Robertson and Jimmy Swaggert get boils in very uncomfortable places. Have a look. And be very afraid. (BTW: These Friends in Cheez-Whiz are not praying for John Kerry. Funny, because the sky is blue - a blue state if I ever saw one.)

Pray the Vote
Intercessors for America
Pathway

George Bush: The Anti-Midas

George Bush is the anti-Midas. He took a golden opportunity with the UN and turned it into lead (to be kind, I was thinking more like sh*t). It's much worse than that. From today's NYT editorial titled George Bush's Lead Balloon:

Mr. Bush might have done better at wooing broader international support if he had spent less time on self-justification and scolding and more on praising the importance of international cooperation and a strengthened United Nations. Instead, his tone-deaf speechwriters achieved a perverse kind of alchemy, transforming a golden opportunity into a lead balloon.

Considering the opportunity costs of Iraq

Lambert at corrente writes: "James Fallows has a sober, and sobering, look at Iraq that takes opportunity cost into account, as apparently Bush did not—amazingly for anyone with an MBA—when choosing to invade Iraq." Great read.

Baghdad Bush addresses the U.N.; hears the sound of one hand clapping

Baghdad Bush addressed the United Nations General Assembly today. In characteristic fashion, Bush said without a hint of irony, "We know that dictators are quick to choose aggression, while free nations strive to resolve differences in peace." (Link.) The French delegate was heard to shout, "Incroyable!"

As as service to Baghdad Bush, I outlined what some of the world's newspapers headlines are saying about his speech today:

Unapologetic Bush calls on UN to 'help spread democracy and freedom throughout globe' - The Scotsman

UN takes a new swipe at Bush - Gulf Daily News

Defiant Bush defends war in speech to UN - The Guardian

Sweet Nothings: Bush's U.N. speech offers platitudes instead of solutions. - Slate

Bush defends Iraq war in U.N. speech - Japan Today

Bush, Annan trade barbs over Iraq at United Nations - The (Lebanon) Daily Star

Bush returns to UN to ask for help in Iraq as bloodshed threatens progress - Canada.com

A side note: Bush's remarks drew applause only once at the end of his speech. (Link.) Little different than his Triumph of the W campaign stops where attendees have to swear allegiance to Der Fumbler.

Baghdad Bush flip-flops again

Baghdad Bush has flip-flopped more than a fish out of water, says DeWayne Wickham in this piece that nicely summarizes Bush's mendacity about Iraq, the Congressional Black Caucus, and nation-building. Read more.

Stop whining and start winning, says Michael Moore

Michael Moore's message starts: "Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have to come there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism, OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyaching and stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies." Read more. Well worth the read.



If you like the article a lot, you can always get the Che/Michael t-shirt.