Bush tries empathy

And fails. What a surprise. Remember, this is the guy who joked about executions and not finding WMDs.

“I think it -- I'm just envisioning what it would be like to be a young soldier in the middle of Iraq and realizing that politicians have all of the sudden made military determinations. And in my judgment, that would put a kid in harm's way, more so than he or she already is. I really think it's a mistake for Congress to try to tell generals, our military experts, how to conduct a war.”

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/04/20070427-6.html
h/t Think Progress and Salon

I’m sure he gave a lot of thought to what combat was like while he cut and ran from his National Guard duty. On the other hand, maybe his draft dodging saved a few lives. The whole family is pathetic.

Laura’s, “nobody suffers more than their president and me”, has been all over the internet this week.

And don’t forget Mama Bush’s “And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them.” and “why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?””

I think Daddy Bush may be the most insightful of the bunch. “as long as we keep a roof over their heads, food on their tables, a car in their driveway, gas in their gas tanks to get to and from work, we can keep the BUDSTERS [broke, useless and depressed] at bay!”

Can we impeach him yet?

Fun with telemarketers

A telemarketer called our house recently. Normally a very mundane event, but my husband has found a way to make it both fun and informative. After listening to the opening spiel, he said that he had a question. The telemarketer was delighted to answer any question.

“How did you vote in the last presidential election?” After a bit of sputtering and stammering, he said that he doesn’t believe in voting. This led to a good ten minutes of discussion. The telemarketer had never thought much about politics so he had some trouble deciding what he thought. Apparently, he considered government to be sort of like a mother. It tells you what to do, and what is good for you, and what you need to know. He never did come up with an answer for how our leaders should be chosen.

Eventually, my husband let him continue with his sales pitch.

“What kind of services do you get from your cable or dish provider?”

“I don’t watch TV.”

“You don’t have cable?”

“I don’t have a TV.” (the TV is on in the background, but probably too low for him to hear)

“Well I guess I can’t sell you any of these services then!” (from a very put upon telemarketer)

end of call

I was really looking forward to the next telemarketer. I was going to conduct a poll, and then write about it. After two weeks, the few that have called, called when we were out. They left messages on the machine. Now I know how to get on the real "do not call" list. 13 days and counting ...

Where do your reps stand on Iran?

I sent the following letter to my reps.

Does President Bush have the authority to attack Iran?

If he does it anyway, what can Congress do? What will Congress do?

Maybe ya'll should try listening to some of the people that have turned out to be right about Iraq. When someone consistently turns out to be wrong, you need to stop taking his advice.

It's been over a month, and this is how they replied.

Senator Richard Shelby - He sent me a very nice letter by snail mail. It's full of talking points about how dangerous Iran is, but no answers to my questions.

Representative Jo Bonner - Nothing but an auto response.

Senator Jeff Sessions - I might as well ask a rock. He's still not talking.