Cue The Zither Music ... Minced Garlic: New Keith Olbermann Special Comment

The Entire Government Has Failed Us On Iraq

Another Keith Olbermann Special Comment this evening, about shame, and the bi-partisan governing exhibited by our President and Congress over the past day in regard to the Iraq War Spending Bill.

He called it a "betrayal" and, for the Democrats, "their Neville Chamberlain moment"

"That’s what this is for the Democrats, isn’t it?

Their “Neville Chamberlain moment” before the Second World War.

All that’s missing is the landing at the airport, with the blinkered leader waving a piece of paper which he naively thought would guarantee “peace in our time,” but which his opponent would ignore with deceit.

The Democrats have merely streamlined the process.

Their piece of paper already says Mr. Bush can ignore it, with impunity.

The Garlic thanks to a confluence of events, sees it more like the classic "The Third Man", with George Bush taking on the Harry Lime role (so deliciously portrayed in the film by the great Orson Wells), with a haunting score of zither music.

Last night, taking on the Holly Martins role, the U.S. Congress, with not enough cynicism, and wanting to believe so much in their Bush-as-Harry Lime, capitulated and gave him a toothless Iraq War Spending Bill.


This morning, the stalwart of justice, Monica Goodling, certainly taking on the part of Anna Schmidt, all misty-eyed in love with Harry, took her turn before the House Judiciary Committee, to, alternately defend Lime and his cohorts, and, at the same time throw a few people under the bus - and hope, just as Anna in the movie did, she doesn't get arrested, but will do so, willingly, for her Harry.

Today, The Commander Guy goes to the Coast Guard Academy, to raise the curtain - again - on fear, playing the Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda card - with, at least, two-year old intelligence, only recently declassified for The Decider's usage - telling how Iraq will be used as a launching pad for attacks on the United States - the same Iraq that Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda wasn't in when the Bush Grindhouse unleashed their "Shock and Awe" to invade and occupy the country.

Lime, in post WWII Vienna, was trafficking in bad penicillin, along with other unsavory activities, including murder.

Bush-as-Lime, in the post Sept.11th world, is trafficking in bad intelligence, illegal wiretaps, the politicization of the Justice Department, as well as the aforementioned invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation.

Lime, in a famous scene, runs through the Vienna sewer system.

Bush-as-Lime, by his actions, has dragged the United States of America down in the sewer, with his attack on the U.S. Constitution, the suspension of habeas corpus, governing via Signing Statements, and his lying.

Lime, in the movie, doesn't get away with it.

Our Bush-as-Lime, thanks to the Congress, playing the passive Martins, half wanting to stop him, and half, wanting to see him succeed, may just get away with it, keeping us, and our soldiers, in harms way, right up to January 20th, 2009.

But all the Commander Guy could come up with today was to pull out the tired, well-worn, fear mongering speech, nothing even remotely close to the classic riff Harry Lime gives Holly (with a bit of fear mongering of his own - "... I carry a gun...I don't think they'd look for a bullet wound after you'd hit that ground...") at the top of the Riesenrad, the large Ferris wheel in the Prater amusement park;

HARRY
Don't be so gloomy...After all,
it's not that awful. Remember what
the fellow said...

- in Italy, for thirty years under
the Borgias, they had warfare,
terror, murder, bloodshed, but they
produced Michaelangelo - Leonardo
Da Vinci, and the Renaissance...In
Switzerland, they had brotherly
love. They had five hundred years
of democracy and peace, and what did
that produce?...The cuckoo clock.
So long, Holly.

Olbermann, for his part in this play, came out swinging.

Few men or women elected in our history—whether executive or legislative, state or national—have been sent into office with a mandate more obvious, nor instructions more clear:

Get us out of Iraq.

With bullet points, Olbermann blasts the Dems, with punches that likely were felt down in the Beltway, before going on to;

A President, Mr. Bush, uses the carte blanche he has already, not to manipulate an overlap of arriving and departing Brigades into a ‘second surge,’ but to say in unequivocal terms that if it takes every last dime of the monies already allocated, if it takes reneging on government contracts with Halliburton, he will make sure the troops are safe—even if the only safety to be found, is in getting them the hell out of there.

Well, any true President would have done that, Sir.

You instead, used our troops as political pawns, then blamed the Democrats when you did so.

Olbermann finishes (and I won't ruin it here for you) with a flourish, a heated "we’re not going to take it", while laying down a challenge, to, well, someone, stop the lies, and stop the war.

Links

Read and/or Watch The Video of Keith Olbermann's Special Comment - The Entire Government Has Failed Us On Iraq

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

White House Plans “Strategy Accomplished” Banner As Backdrop For Bush Speech

No Post-Speech Photo Cropping; Attire Still Up In The Air; Leaving Door Open For “Newer” Strategies To Follow

Sources have told The Garlic, that when the President delivers his speech this evening, on his new Iraq Policy, a large banner will hang behind him, reading “Strategy Accomplished”.

The President will announce that he has chosen as his way forward, and against the advice of his military command, installing more troops - as many as 20,000+ - in Iraq, to secure Baghdad and other trouble areas.

With heavy criticism, from both Republicans and Democrats, and rock-bottom approval ratings, the aide indicated that “We have take the opportunities given us ... We need to begin the work of building back the image of a strong, in-charge President ...”

President Bush has delayed the unveiling of his new strategy and the concept of the banner initially was borne out of a joke by West Wing staffers, that the President finally made the determination on the “new way forward”.

“After we all had a laugh, we thought about it and the more we talked about it, we saw that we can actually use it as a positive.”

The White House was lambasted, after the President delivered, back in 2004, his speech aboard the U.S.S. Lincoln, declaring major combat operations in Iraq were over, and with a large “Mission Accomplished” banner hanging behind him.

Later, more derision was aimed at the White House, when it was discovered that official White House photos of the day cropped out the “Mission Accomplished” banner.

“No cropping this evening,” declared White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.

“We are proud that the President has come up with the strategy and we want everyone to know about it. We cleaned up the Iraq Jar and we’re putting it all out there.”

So orchestrated around the “Strategy Accomplished” banner is the White House, the staff brought in a team of fashion consultants, and conducted two-hours of wardrobe tests yesterday, with the President in everything from tailored suits, to the uniforms of all four military branches, combat attire, with and without body armor, as well as the infamous flight suit he wore the day of the “Mission Accomplished” debacle.

In the days following the speech, the White House is planning funneling thousands of people through the White House Library, to have photos taken with the “Strategy Accomplished” banner.

And not only is the White House thumping the “Strategy Accomplished”.

The RNC is planning a mass mailing to party donors and faithful supporters, bumper stickers and placards carrying the “Strategy Accomplished” message, in an effort to rally more public support for the new policy.

Sources tell The Garlic that Special White House Council Karl Rove will be applying his “The Math” powers to the speech message, to challenge critics, not on their support of the policy, but whether or not they can produce an accomplished Iraq strategy

“This is all about building back the President’s power image,” said one White House aide.

And the White House is not resting their laurels on just the speech this evening.

“We expect,” offered Bolten, “that the President will continue to strategize the best possible policy for battling the terrorists and insurgents... He’s on a roll now.”

Bolten indicated that the White House has already ordered a new banner to be printed, blazing the message “New Strategy Accomplished”.

So orchestrated around the “Strategy Accomplished” banner is the White House, the staff brought in a team of fashion consultants, and conducted two-hours of wardrobe tests yesterday, with the President in everything from tailored suits, to the uniforms of all four military branches, combat attire, with and without body armor, as well as the infamous flight suit he wore the day of the “Mission Accomplished” debacle.