I expect he will be stabbed repeatedly by Republicans in the lame-duck session (et tu’ Santorium) because his stubbornness over Iraq prior to the election, (making it center stage in speeches and defending Rummy) cost Republicans the Senate for sure. Think they will jump thru hoops for him now?

I took it (the taxes part) as exposing his insularity. Like whoever that was (Hastert?) defending Bush’s tax-cuts-only-for-the-rich: “remember, those people don’t pay taxes”. The only way you can say that is if you’re so f-ing rich you reach the FICA cut-off before you’ve even thought about taking down the xmas decorations. Make taxes sufficiently regressive, and they’re not taxes anymore (to those that matter).

The other possible translation: “Hey, Karl said it would work”.

Meanwhile, like Zeus, I find myself feeling relaxed and pleasant in a way that I’d almost forgotten about. Aaaaaaaaaah.

I’m looking to tackle the meme that departing Iraq will make it an Al Qaeda haven. I’m pretty sure most of the resistance views them only as a means to an end. With US troops departing, if reconstruction dollars stay in, the only group that would have any motivation to accept outside agitators would be the Sunnis.

And if Shias like al-Sadr can be persuaded to make fair economic concessions that grants Sunnis survival, without vengeance (a la Mandela), there will be no Al Qaeda threat in Iraq.

More people need to point out the obvious. Granting the possibility that Iraqis are not so different in their needs, desires and motivations is the next big step. I wish we could get hundreds of average Iraqis over here to speak at grange halls and public forums across the nation. People like Riverbend, who can get past the clutter of diplomacy and speak heart to heart.

Bush: “….While we made some progress on changing the tone, I’m disappointed we haven’t made more.”

Maha’s Translation: The President is a sociopath.

I may be overtired and giddy, but that one just set me off into a fit of laughter. As the instant messagers say, LOL! Thank you for that and I’m going to bed the same way I woke up…SMILING!

On the other hand, if the Prez can articulate a strategy which includes other powers in the region and gets the factions in Iraq to the table…. I don’t like it. But I will listen. Continue the current strategy, but change who’s sittting at Rumys old chair? Like HELL!

That’s exactly the bottom line in Iraq. Bush created a mess and now our foreign policy is a trainwreck. There are numerous foreign policies issues we can’t deal with at the moment because Bush has us tied down in Iraq. And of course it’s an enormous drag on our economy for something that has given us very little in return and not much for the Iraqis. And our president’s long list of slogans can’t hide the fact that he can’t tell us what we’re supposed to be winning at this late stage of the game. At this stage, all we’re doing is cleaning up Bush’s mess. Sooner or later, we need to get out before we can go forward again in other areas.

Bush brings back fond childhood memories for me. I remember telling my parents..” I’m gonna hold my breath until I die, and you’ll be sorry”