New Bush Export - Preemptive Horseshit!

Maybe this is the secret weapon to to steady the faltering economy.

It seems the Bush Grindhouse, led by The Commander Guy himself, are launching a new policy export - Preemptive Horseshit.

The first client buying, or, certainly help shoveling, the horseshit, is Fouad Ajami, who Eric Boehlert called, in Salon, "The media's favorite Arab expert".

If you were wondering what a blow job looks like in the Wall Street Journal, you'll have to read Ajami's "Bush of Arabia", were he offers the hummer of "But Mr. Bush is traveling into the landscape and setting of his own legacy. He is arguably the most consequential leader in the long history of America's encounter with those lands."

It's as wet, to Bush, and Scooter Libby, as his "Fallen Soldier" wet kiss last June.

And, here we have Bush, in a series of interviews with Arab journalists, in preperation of his Legacy Shopping Trip to the Middle East this week, waxing, without a shred of reality present, on his potential legacy, heaping praise upon himself without a hint of modesty.

Here's a gem, a passage, from Dan Froomkin's "Bush's Messiah Complex", in which he says "As it turns out, the president sees himself as quite the heroic figure";

"I can predict that the historians will say that George W. Bush recognized the threats of the 21st century, clearly defined them, and had great faith in the capacity of liberty to transform hopelessness to hope, and laid the foundation for peace by making some awfully difficult decisions," Bush told Yonit Levi of Israel's Channel 2 News. Bush held several interviews with Middle Eastern journalists last week in anticipation of his trip to the region, which starts tomorrow.

"When he needed to be tough, he acted strong, and when he needed to have vision he understood the power of freedom to be transformative," Bush said of himself to Nahum Barnea and Shimon Shiffer of the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot.

As for the people of the Middle East, Bush told Hisham Bourar of al-Hurra Television: "I would hope that they would say President Bush respects my religion and has great love for the human -- human being, and believes in human dignity."

The Bush record, the president told Nadia Bilbassy-Charters of al-Arabiya Television, is one of liberation -- "liberation, by the way, not only from dictatorship, but from disease around the world, like HIV/AIDS or malaria."

Got that?

In the same article, a different view;

"As for real-time views of Bush's legacy, Abramowitz and Knickmeyer write: "In Arab streets, many blame Washington for the plight of Iraqis and Palestinians. Bush's presidency has been 'disastrous,' said Hisham Kassem, an Egyptian journalist who received a National Endowment for Democracy award from him last fall. 'America's neither feared nor loved. It's neither feared by the regimes anymore, and it's hated by the people of the Middle East. . . . That's the Bush legacy.'"

Froomkin wraps it up, most appropriately;

"Bush's view of himself is particularly delusional as he heads to a region that remains traumatized, angry and distrustful on account of Bush's disastrous war in Iraq, his antagonism of Iran and his perceived crusade against Islam."

Go to Froomkin's "Bush's Messiah Complex", it's chock-full of these type of delusions.

And, regarding his Mideast trip, the victory-less, victory-lap, Warren P. Strobel, of the McClatchy Newspapers, has in his report;

"The official Arab view of Bush was summed up inadvertently by a diplomat from a major Arab state, who indicated disbelief that the president will use the trip to renew his drive for Middle East democracy.

"Is that still on?" the Arab official replied sarcastically. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.

Bonus Bush Delusional Links

Maha: Welcome to the Asylum

BraveNewFilms: Quote of the week, Bush: "I'll be dead..."

PrairieWeather: Wanking with #43, poor chap

Libby - The Newshoggers: Bush on Bush

Kagro X - The Libby Letters: Fouad Ajami

The Condoleezza Rice Ballroom Dancing & Charm School - Or: Shopping For A Legacy on Cyber Monday

Sadly No Slaps Down Prom Dress Boy On Bush Legacy

I think, we can expect to see these things trickle out, through the end of the year, and into the next.

The dwarfs, finks, phonies and frauds of the Right Wing Freak Show, looking to lay down some gold, frankincense and muir at the alter of our first-and-only Court-Appointed President's legacy.

It seems Commissar Goldberg is about to talk or write about it.

You may remember the new Definer of Fascism from the pages of The Garlic, when we noted the reaction to his book in our "The morning after always looks grim if you happen to be wearing last night's dress".

There's a great interview (with Goldberg splaying all over the place) by Salon's Alex Koppelman ("We're all fascists now");

In the book, Goldberg attempts to convince readers that six decades of conventional wisdom that have placed Italy's Benito Mussolini, Germany's Adolf Hitler and fascism on the right side of the ideological spectrum are wrong, and that fascism is really a phenomenon of the left. Goldberg also attributes fascist rhetoric and tactics to Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and describes the New Deal's descendants, modern American liberals, as carriers of this liberal-fascist DNA. In a sense, "We're All Fascists Now," as Goldberg puts it in one of his chapter titles.

Larisa Alexandrova weighed in also, with her 'Springtime For Hitler' post;

Either Jonah Goldberg is putting on a new production of the Producers or his latest book is a cry for help from a fractured and disoriented mind.

Titled... wait for it... Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning, it is a retelling of history through the lens of propaganda.

Recently, Commissar Goldberg put out the call to his RWFS, and his National Review minions - "I thought it'd be interesting to know what NRO readers think Bush's legacy will be. Please send thoughts — hopefully constructive".

We noted the other day, Spencer Ackerman's brilliant definition of the Bush Legacy, recommending Obama adopt it on the stump;

Welcome to the next four years. These people have plunged the country into two failing/failed wars and killed hundreds of thousands of people. (Also, they pulled off a housing crisis and a healthcare crisis and an environmental crisis and when an entire city drowned the administration left the black people to die.) There’s no alibi: when conservatism had its chance to govern, this is what it yielded. If I was one of them, I’d bitch about Rajiv Chandrasekaran or Jeremiah Wright or whatever was necessary to distract people from what I did when I had the chance to do it. Get ready for years and years and years of this puerile and tiresome nonsense.

Probably not the legacy-building constructive narrative Commissar Goldberg is looking for ...

Heck, it's probably registering on Goldberg's Liberal Fascism Meter as we speak

Well, if he doesn't like that one, Brad, over on Sadly No, came up with another gem today.

I highly encourage you all to send Jonah your thoughts on this matter, be they constructive or otherwise.

For my part, I think pictures speak more than a trillion-kabillion words, so I’ll let them speak for me. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bush Legacy

You gotta go over to the post and check it the pictorial Brad lays out - Pretty much on-target!

And Brad adds;

To sum up: Bush has been a smarmy, destructive asshole for the past eight years and he has left the next president with an extremely large pile of shit to deal with. And you, Jonah, dutifully enabled the stupid SOB for years until you realized that he was starting to cost the GOP votes. Lest we forget...

A "smarmy, destructive asshole ..."

Yep, sure sounds like the Court-Appointed President (h/t Barry Crimmins) we have had over the past seven-and-a-half-years.

He'll own that legacy, that moniker, for perpetuity.


Bonus Links

Lawyers, Guns and Money: Dear Jonah: I Am Not Serious, Either

E&P Staff: Jon Stewart Goes After Jonah Goldberg and 'Fascism' -- He Responds

The Hon. Dr. St. Rev. Bradley S. Rocket, Esq, PhD, MD: A tantalizing peek at history’s greatest book

It Takes A Neocon To Raise A Legacy ... They're Drinking The Kool-Aid Again ...

It's turning into a mini Neoconpalooza today!

We offered earlier, what it would be like to be stuck on a boat full of Neocons (see our post "Where's Ernest Borgnine when you need him?")

And, lo-and-behold, before the second cup of coffee (fair-trade-bought-beans) can get cold, we have a couple of Legacy-Writing Drafts to chew over, that is before we smash them both with "The Hammer".

Legacy #1 - The Don't Call Him Dick For Nothing

First, there's the big, fat, wet kiss The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes plants on Darth Vader's cheek (and not either one above his neck), with his "Cheney Speaks", portraying a staunch and resolute, fearless Vice President, just doing his job (you're on your own as to supplying a barf bag);

"It had to be done. It was a--once you made the decision, once the plane became hijacked, even if it had a load of passengers on board who, obviously, weren't part of any hijacking attempt, once it was hijacked, and having seen what had happened in New York and the Pentagon, you really didn't have any choice. It wasn't a close call. I think a lot of people emotionally look at that and say, my gosh, you just shot down a planeload of Americans. On the other hand, you maybe saved thousands of lives. And so it was a matter that required a decision, that required action. It was the right call."

And, perhaps, an insight to the question, inadvertently supplied by Hayes, of who the real President was/is;

"Shortly after 10:00 P.M., Cheney, along with his wife and top two aides--Libby and Addington--walked back upstairs from the bunker and out the diplomatic entrance of the White House to the South Lawn, where Marine Two, the vice president's helicopter, was waiting. Joined by three Secret Service officials, a military aide, a communications expert, and Cheney's doctor, they took off under cover of darkness, an unusual precaution. The departure itself was a violation of longstanding protocol: No one takes off from the South Lawn other than the president. Their destination was kept from all but a handful of the most senior White House officials."

And;

"Less than thirty minutes later, another tradition was discarded when Cheney and his family settled into the Aspen Lodge at Camp David, the facility typically reserved for the president."

And what's so good about building up one legacy, is you get to throw someone under the bus.

"On February 15, 1991, George H.W. Bush had urged Iraqis to overthrow Saddam Hussein ...

Those comments and the subsequent failure of the United States to support the rebellion would have lasting consequences. "The Shia had been treated for centuries as second-class citizens, governed by the Sunnis, and in recent decades the Baathists, under Saddam Hussein. They had been encouraged, in '91, to rise up, and did, and were slaughtered for their troubles. Nobody came to their assistance," Cheney says.

Many Iraqis assumed that the United States refused to remove Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf war because the United States wanted him to remain in power ..."

And in case Cheney was impressed with the first big, wet, kiss, Hayes puckered up in closing out;

"And then Cheney paused, his words and his emotions tangled in his throat. He started to speak and then, choking back tears, stopped again. Reporters exchanged quick glances as if to confirm that they were seeing what they thought they were seeing.

For the man who had repeatedly evaded questions about how those attacks affected him personally, this was his answer."

Legacy #2 - When In Doubt, Pucker Up

But wait, not to be left behind, and under a sun-drenched, cheery title of "On The Brighter Side", TWS's main man, the warrior who put the destruction in the WMD's, the hawk who will measure the Bush Presidency by how well he carpet bombs Iran, Little Billy Kristol throws his hat in the ring for writing The Decider/The Commander/The Shakespeare Guy's legacy, the uplifting scolding that we've had it all wrong, with his "Why Bush Will Be A Winner" (okay, we'll wait a minute, while you grab the Hayes Barf Bag ... )

"Let's step back from the unnecessary mistakes and the self-inflicted wounds that have characterized the Bush administration. Let's look at the broad forest rather than the often unlovely trees. What do we see? First, no second terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- not something we could have taken for granted. Second, a strong economy -- also something that wasn't inevitable.

And third, and most important, a war in Iraq that has been very difficult, but where -- despite some confusion engendered by an almost meaningless "benchmark" report last week -- we now seem to be on course to a successful outcome."

First, throw some garlands down on the domestic front (after all, you'll want to secure those library donations from the Isolationist Conservatives as well as all the others);

"So on the two biggest pieces of domestic legislation the president has gotten passed, he has been vindicated. And with respect to the two second-term proposals that failed -- private Social Security accounts and immigration -- I suspect that something similar to what Bush proposed will end up as law over the next several years."

And;

"And if you're a conservative constitutionalist, putting Roberts and Alito on the court constitutes a huge accomplishment."

The War? Everything's coming up roses;

"What about terrorism? Apart from Iraq, there has been less of it, here and abroad, than many experts predicted on Sept. 12, 2001. So Bush and Vice President Cheney probably are doing some important things right. The war in Afghanistan has gone reasonably well.

These Waziristan havens may well have to be dealt with in the near future. I assume Bush will deal with them, using some combination of air strikes and special operations.

We are routing al-Qaeda in Iraq, we are beginning to curb the Iranian-backed sectarian Shiite militias and we are increasingly able to protect more of the Iraqi population.

Iran is a problem, and we will have to do more to curb Tehran's meddling -- but we can. So if we keep our nerve here at home, we have a good shot at achieving a real, though messy, victory in Iraq."

And Kristol isn't adverse to puckering up himself;

"Following through to secure the victory in Iraq and to extend its benefits to neighboring countries will be the task of the next president. And that brings us to Bush's final test.

The truly successful American presidents tend to find vindication in, and guarantee an extension of their policies through, the election of a successor from their own party. Can Bush hand the presidency off to a Republican who will (broadly) continue along the path of his post-9/11 foreign policy, nominate judges who solidify a Roberts-Alito court, make his tax cuts permanent and the like?"

Send In The Hammer

But, it's Sunday, so we can count on - and he delivers, as usual - Frank Rich to come hammering home (Stanley Tools, take note), to save the day by turning the reality channel back on, as he continues his relentless pounding of the Bush Grindhouse in "Don't Laugh at Michael Chertoff";

"But even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Last week, as the Bush administration frantically tried to counter Republican defections from the war in Iraq, Mr. Chertoff alone departed from the administration's script to talk about the enemy that actually did attack America on 9/11, Al Qaeda, rather than Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the jihad-come-lately gang Mr. Bush is fond of talking about instead. In this White House, the occasional official who strays off script is in all likelihood inadvertently coughing up the truth.

The White House's game is to create a new fictional story line to keep the war going until President Bush can dump it on his successor. Bizarrely, some of the new scenario echoes the bogus narrative used to sell the war in 2002: an imaginary connection between Iraq and the attacks of 9/11. You'd think the Bush administration might think twice before recycling old lies, but things have gotten so bad in the bunker that even Karl Rove is repeating himself.

The capital's entire political debate over Iraq - stay-the-surge versus "precipitous withdrawal" - is itself pure hot air. Even though felons and the obese are now being signed up to meet Army recruitment shortfalls, we still can't extend the surge past next April, when troops for Iraq run out unless Mr. Bush extends their tours yet again. "Precipitous withdrawal" (which no withdrawal bill in Congress calls for) is a non sequitur, since any withdrawal would take at least 10 months. Rather than have the real debate about how to manage the exit, politically panicked Republicans hope to cast symbolic votes that will allow them to tell voters they were for ending the war before they prolonged it."

Regrettably, these won't be the only legacy drafts we see coming out of the TWS barn, they have an almost inexhaustible supply of Kool-Aid, as well as another farm-produced by-product.

And it will take all the Frank Rich's out there to keep them on the ranch, not letting them stray too far.

And just in case it isn't the Kool-Aid, Hayes and Kristol, you can follow the same advise we gave John Fund, as well as Dorothy Rabinowitz and Richard Cohen ...


Bonus Links

Webb Rips Graham As ‘Politician Trying To Put His Political Views Into The Mouths Of Soldiers’’

Kristol: ‘We’re Not In A Civil War’ In Iraq, ‘This Is Just Not True’

Glenn Greenwald: Still more White House secrecy -- this time in the Tillman investigation


Bonus Links II

Crooks and Liars: Bush Iraq policy controlled by Bill Kristol

The Guardian: Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran; Military solution back in favour as Rice loses out; · President 'not prepared to leave conflict unresolved'













Get ready for some big, wet ones, boys, Kristol and Hayes are calling ...

"He is Iraq's Katrina itself"

Just as New Orleans's Ninth War will still be a moonscape when Bush goes out of office, so will Iraq.

Sadly, it's looking less, and less, likely that we will see him exit the White House, handcuffed, in a perp walk - as he so richly deserves.

Mostly due to a brain-dead, Constitution-blinders-firmly-affixed-Congress (How big an outcry from our elected representatives have you heard about the bombshell news the other day, that the torture program was choreographed directly out of the Bush Grindhouse?), he gets to wear his real, and proverbial, flightsuit and play "The Commander Guy" for a number of dwindling months.

And inhabiting the Unreality Bubble he has ensconced himself in, Lord knows what further havoc he will reek.

Especially when he's running his policy speeches up the Neocon flagpole, before he gives them.

Wants to make sure, I suppose, there's enough warmongering in it.

Juan Cole writes/reports one of the best blogs on what's happening in Iraq (and the policies behind it; Another good one is Abu Aardvark).

Cole nails the Bush Legacy;

War turns Republics into dictatorships. The logic is actually quite simple. The Constitution says that the Congress is responsible for declaring war. But in 2002 Congress turned that responsibility over to Bush, gutting the constitution and allowing the American Right to start referring to him not as president but as 'commander in chief' (that is a function of the civilian presidency, not a title.)

So Congress abdicated to Bush. Bush has abdicated to the generals in the field.

That is not a Republic. That is a military dictatorship achieved not by coup but by moral laziness.

And, as Gene Robinson notes today, the Bush Grindhouse, cluelessly, is going through the motions, to pass this mess on to the next president.

Of course, Bush long ago lost any credibility with Congress and the American people on Iraq. It's understandable that he hides behind Petraeus's breastplate of medals and Crocker's thatch of gray hair, sending these loyal and able public servants to explicate the inexplicable: What realistic goal is the United States trying to achieve in Iraq? And in what parallel universe is this open-ended occupation making our nation safer?

Even the most basic question of any war is undefined: Who is the enemy? It was almost painful listening to Petraeus as he faced reporters yesterday and was asked whether Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army were friend or foe. His tortured answer, translated into English, was yes.

But thanks to Cole today, the Legacy Shopping is over.

Ironically, what officers like Petraeus need from Bush is not deference but vigorous leadership in the political realm. Bush needs to intervene to work for political reconciliation in Iraq if Petraeus's military achievements are to bear fruit. But Bush seems incapable of actually conducting policy, as opposed to starting wars. Bush happened to Iraq just as he happened to New Orleans. He cannot do the hard work of patiently addressing disasters and ameliorating them. He just wants to set people to fighting. Crush the Sadr Movement, perhaps the most popular political movement in Iraq? He's all for it. Risk provoking a wider conflagration in the Middle East by worsening relations with Iran? Sounds like a great idea to him. Bush campaigned on being a 'uniter not a divider' in 2000. In fact, he is the ultimate Divider, and leaves burning buildings, millions of refugees, and hundreds of thousands of cadavers in his wake. He is not Iraq's Brownie. He is Iraq's Katrina itself.

Just as New Orleans's Ninth War will still be a moonscape when Bush goes out of office, so will Iraq.

Phew!

That's a nutshell, alright ... A pretty, darned good nutshell I would say.

Last summer, The Garlic put forth a proposal - and it's still open and viable - that could end this madness.

Please, someone, step up and go for it!

Bonus Links

Amy Goodman: “Iraq Does Not Exist Anymore”: Journalist Nir Rosen on How the U.S. Invasion of Iraq Has Led to Ethnic Cleansing, a Worsening Refugee Crisis and the Destabilization of the Middle East

Bob Herbert: The $2 Trillion Nightmare

12 Former Army Captains: The Real Iraq We Knew

Wanted Dead Or ... Ahh, The Hell With It .. I'll Let The Next President Get'em ...

New Bush Export - Preemptive Horseshit!

Breaking News! ISG Offers New Option For Bush Legacy

Baker Group Recommends New Reality Show For Iraq Solution

Hybrid of “Lost Meets Extreme Makeover”; Winner Gets To Replace Maliki And Run Country

Stunningly, saying that the group “endeavored mightily to stay within our current historical period”, the final report of the Iraq Study Group delivered to President Bush today includes a chapter, which notes offers the best chance for success, that calls for the White House to stage a reality television show that will produce the solution for the Iraq situation.

Sources close to the White House, and who shared a copy of the report with The Garlic, say that this chapter is classified, and will not be released in the public version of the report.

An earlier recommendation from the ISG pointed to having President Bush “re-do” his invasion of Iraq.

The proposal for a reality television show offers, according to the report, “the avenue to reach the broadest possible ideas for a resolution.”

The proposed reality show, which the ISG also offers titles, such as “Lost In Iraq”, “Extreme Diplomacy Makeover” and “Who Wants To Be An Iraqi Prime Minister” goes further, suggesting that the program be produced by an American television network, and al-Jazeera in the Middle East.

Along with the television broadcasts, the program would be covered by RealityBlogs.com and Reality TV Magazine, under exclusive agreements already reached with the Iraq Study Group.

With the two separate programs, the respective winners would meet in what the report calls “The Ultimate World Super Bowl”, that would be broadcast over two nights, and, the reports predicts, would “shatter, completely” all television rating records. Furthermore, the ISG report forecasts that “billions” in advertising revenue would be generated, and suggests splitting the profits between the television networks and a fund that would go towards reconstruction projects for Iraq

The winner of the reality television program would then replace Nuri al-Maliki as Prime Minister of Iraq, and serve in that post until the next Iraq election, or, until the following years’ reality television program, whichever comes first.

Best Chance For Legacy

In a section of this Reality Television Chapter, James Baker confronts a topic that had to be difficult for the President to read.

Baker, bluntly, confronts the “Bush Legacy” and suggests that “with military and political options for success looking ever more bleak” President Bush should consider this reality television program to “salvage some level of accomplishment.”

“While the meter twitches slowly to ‘Worst President’, legacy status can be achieved via this reality television program. The history books will say one thing, however, popular culture will recognize you as the greatest television producer of the most-watched program in history.”

The ISG report notes very few, “unprecedented” events could top “The Ultimate World Super Bowl”, citing things like the marriage of the Pope , the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, or the first interviewer of Elvis Presley, upon his return.

Wide Open Field of Contestants

The ISG Report also suggests for the reality television program there be virtually no restrictions as to who can participate as a contestant.

The show would be open to anyone, including politicians, both currently in office as well as retired. So far, according to Baker, two have signaled they would like to audition for the program - former Secretary of State Alexander Haig and former Green Party Presidential nominee Ralph Nader.

Rumors, according to the sources who supplied the copy of the report to The Garlic, say the soon-to-leave Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has shown interest in being on the program, as has the recently voted out of office Senator, Rick Santorum.

As a subplot to the American broadcast, the report suggests having the contestants “engage in some level of tension, like a border dispute or immigration issue” with the participants of the Canadian reality program, “The Next Great Prime Minister Contest”.

Baker cautions President Bush not to overload the program with “office holders and policy wonks”, suggesting a “robust field of contestants,” with as many “Average Joe’s” as possible.

Again, being brutally open, Baker says that “the country, and world as seen what you and your administration as wrought. Contestants with no political or foreign policy experience will likely garner support from viewers and will be ratings-drivers.”

ISG To Serve As Judges

To “preserve continuity”, Lee Hamilton, the co-leader of the Iraq Study Group, indicates that the group will serve as judges of the program, adding in “celebrities” as dictated by current events around the time of the broadcasts.

Lee cites an example, saying if the reality show was being broadcast today, the group will likely add to the judging panel Michael Richards, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears and “a real ratings-grabber, the Bush Twins.”

The report says the al-Jazeera will be free to compose their own judge’s panel and, there will be no restrictions. President Bush is encouraged to reach out to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to increase efforts to locate Osama bin-Laden, suggesting that having the Al Qaeda leader, via remote, on the panel would “guarantee that weeks’ ratings top spot.”

Prisoners held at Guantanamo, as well as secret CIA Prisons, would be eligible to be on the reality series, either as contestants or judges, as much as their scheduled harsh interrogations allow.

Special Caveats Embedded In Reality TV Proposal

Baker notes that President Bush will automatically join the Judging Panel upon his leaving office, including if he is impeached, which would “really boost the ratings.”

It will be written into the contract with the both the American network and al-Jazeera, that the Carlyle Group and Halliburton have the option of “specially discounted” advertising rates.

Lastly, Baker, speaking directly to President Bush, cites how Dick Cheney became Vice President, and stipulates the ISG reserves the right to cancel the reality television show and name himself - Baker - as Prime Minister of Iraq.

Mike Allen Forgets To Add Himself To The List

Like the old Life Cereal commerical (with a twist), the PartyofNoicans know they can reach out to The Politico's Mike Allen.

"Let's get Mikey, he prints anything!"

He was probably so excited, jumping with glee, that the cronies of the Bush Grindhouse gave him another meme to push, that Allen forgot to disclose that he has been a long-time member of the team

Allen, today, cheerleads the on-going Bush Legacy Project

No quit: the campaign to boost Bush

Even though Bush is keeping quiet in Texas before heading out on a lucrative speaking tour, an informal network of former aides is keeping his views in the political bloodstream, defending his legacy in TV appearances and backgrounding reporters about his record. 

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer calls the Bush pundits “a loose confederation of people united in our belief in what President Bush did, and we’re freer now to talk about some things than we used to be — good and bad.”

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer calls the Bush pundits “a loose confederation of people united in our belief in what President Bush did, and we’re freer now to talk about some things than we used to be — good and bad.” 

The Bush defense forces include Fleischer; former press secretary Dana Perino; Bush political czar Karl Rove, who has contracts with Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek; economics guru Tony Fratto; the prolific Peter Wehner, former director of the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives; and the graceful speechwriter Michael Gerson, who writes an opinion column for The Washington Post.

The former aides are armed with many of the same arguments that they tried out on reporters when they strolled the hallways of the West Wing.

Can't you just see Allen, at his keyboard, thinking only quixotically, about those brave dwarfs, finks, phonies and frauds, attempting to prop up and spin the abysmal failure of The Commander Guy, his chest swelling with pride when it pops into his head "The former aides are armed with many of the same arguments that they tried out on reporters when they strolled the hallways of the West Wing."

No doubt, he sees himself strolling the hallways, as an equal, of course, one of the team.



Take a look at a sample of a Media Matter search for "Mike Allen";

Spinonymous sources: Time's Allen granted anonymity to White House sources hyping Bush's "recovery plan"

News analysis or GOP "fact sheet"? Mike Allen's Time column stitched together from Republican talking points

On CNN, Politico's Allen defends McCain response to "bitch" question about Clinton: "[W]hat Republican voter hasn't thought that? What voter in general hasn't thought that?"

Politico's Allen repeats RNC ad verbatim, doesn't report Obama response

And it's nice to see that Dana Perino still has her "glass-half-filled" optimism in check;

“Communications-wise, this tidal wave is going to have to wash on over everybody,” said Perino, Bush’s last press secretary. “We do what we can, and we believe that history will get it right in the end.”

Back, nearly two-years ago, Oliver Willis noted Allen with "He Loves Conservative Blogs, Pundits"

And, Glenn Greenwald, last year, offered this, in his "The right-wing Politico cesspool";

Allen recently conducted an "interview" with George Bush that was so vapid and sycophantic that the normally polite Dan Froomkin of The Washington Post detailed the "questions" Allen posed and then asked rhetorically: "Has there ever been a more moronic interview of a president of the United States than the one conducted yesterday by Mike Allen?"

And recently, from Matthew Yglesias's Note, Mike Allen Fans Flag Non-Story

Naturally, it got its Drudge link. All for a story about nothing. Allen’s response is, I think, the most infuriating. Everyone knows that Mike Allen is an important political reporter. His morning “Playbook,” in particular, helps set the agenda for the whole next day of moronic political buzz. When he writes up a stupid story, he’s not passively predicting that people will be buzzing about it, he’s helping to make it happen.

I am a bit surprised Allen didn't include Nicole Wallace, one of the former Bush Grindhouse mouthpieces, in his line-up of the Crony All-Stars.

Last week, in homage to Allen, Wallace wallowed, and had a doozy, ripping on Obama for picking on Rush Limbaugh.

The Trouble With Operation Rushbo

They are so happy that we’re talking about something other than Wall Street’s “gag me with a spoon” reaction to the administration’s economic policies.

[Snip}

They are making a villain. Obama relies on a villain to execute his highly effective communications strategy. Rail against an enemy, assign blame to this villain for everything that’s gone wrong in America, and then position himself as the only one with the correct skills and adequate morals to take on this villain. It’s worked well for him, so far. Hillary Clinton was a perfect villain in the primaries.

Then, Obama moved on to the general election. McCain didn’t make a very good villain. The whole war hero thing got in the way, so his team came up with a better villain: George W. Bush. Obama talked about President Bush so much that days would go by when he wouldn’t mention his opponent. He strode into office on a message of hope and change, but his demonization of Bush was unprecedented in focus and ferocity.

[Snip}

Politically speaking, Republicans are in the wilderness, and we know it. I’ve likened our status to the early weeks of an American Idol season. Many of our performances in these early months after our defeat last November will be off-key and lacking in polish.

Emulating, to a capital "T", our boy Allen, Wallace, if you read the piece, leaves out some crucial facts and information.

Like, The Cheeseburger That Sweats bellowing into his microphone (well, any microphone), that he hopes Obama fails.

I'm sure Allen was quite proud of her.

And, we're fairly certain, that the PartyofNoicans has Allen's direct number, for when they have a meme to push.

Perhaps they've even set it to music, say, the "Ghostbusters Song".

If there's something to rearrange
in your news or print
Who ya gonna call?
Mike Allen

If there's something truthful
and it don't look good
Who ya gonna call?
Mike Allen

If you're making up things
running through your head
Who can ya call?
Mike Allen

An miserable meme
That has to be fed
Who ya gonna call?
Mike Allen

I ain't afraid of no lies
I ain't afraid of no spin

Who ya gonna call?
Mike Allen

If ya need to moan
pick up the phone
and call
Mike Allen

Bonus Allen Acquiescence

Corrente: What Mike Allen considers a "tip"

Joe Sudbay (DC): The Bush Team "united in our belief in what President Bush did" stands by their man

emptywheel: Mike Allen’s Punditry Ether

Think Progress: Texas Legislature To Honor ‘Dynamic Texan’ Bush For Advancing American ‘Safety and Prosperity’

Minced Garlic - New Keith Olbermann Special Comment ... Bush's legacy: The President Who Cried Wolf

I think, by this morning, President Bush may be just plain crying.

It’s almost as if six-years of karma have caught up to our Court-Appointed President, or that the Higher Father just shockingly discovered what is being said about Him and quickly took a few steps back with “Wait a minute! I didn’t tell him to go into Iraq!”

The blowback has been fierce (finally!).

From harsh hearings on the Hill, to sinking polls, and even his formerly fanatic fan base - military audiences - are not paying attention to the “Applause” light.

Add to this another exceptionally stellar Special Comment last evening, from MSNBC Countdown Anchor-Hero Keith Olbermann, this one titled Bush's legacy: The president who cried wolf

Only this president, only in this time, only with this dangerous, even messianic certitude, could answer a country demanding an exit strategy from Iraq, by offering an entrance strategy for Iran.

If Bush was hoping to dampen the criticism about Iraq, but throwing Iran and Syria in the mix (noted by The Garlic on Wednesday), that may be gaining momentum, as noted, not only Olbermann, but also by Steven Clemmons’ The Washington Note yesterday.

And lessons learned are not apparent, as Olbermann noted from the media briefings given by the White House prior to Bush’s speech Tuesday evening, with the President and White House banging the same drums for Iran and Syria, that they banged for Iraq;

In fact, when you briefed news correspondents off-the-record before the speech, they were told, once again, “if you knew what we knew … if you saw what we saw … ”

“If you knew what we knew” was how we got into this morass in Iraq in the first place.

The problem arose when it turned out that the question wasn’t whether we knew what you knew, but whether you knew what you knew.

You, sir, have become the president who cried wolf.

A centerpiece of this Special Comment was Olbermann reprising a riff he did on Tuesday evening, running down a biting list on the merits of our Chief Surger credibility;

I read this list last night, before the president’s speech, and it bears repeating because its shape and texture are perceptible only in such a context.

Before Mr. Bush was elected, he said nation-building was wrong for America.
Now he says it is vital.
He said he would never put U.S. troops under foreign control.
Last night he promised to embed them in Iraqi units.
He told us about WMD.
Mobile labs.
Secret sources.
Aluminum tubes.
Yellow-cake.
He has told us the war is necessary:
Because Saddam was a material threat.
Because of 9/11.
Because of Osama Bin Laden. Al-Qaida. Terrorism in general.
To liberate Iraq. To spread freedom. To spread Democracy. To prevent terrorism by gas price increases.
Because this was a guy who tried to kill his dad.
Because — 439 words in to the speech last night — he trotted out 9/11 again.
In advocating and prosecuting this war he passed on a chance to get Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi.
To get Muqtada Al-Sadr. To get Bin Laden.

He sent in fewer troops than the generals told him to. He ordered the Iraqi army disbanded and the Iraqi government “de-Baathified.”
He short-changed Iraqi training. He neglected to plan for widespread looting. He did not anticipate sectarian violence.
He sent in troops without life-saving equipment. He gave jobs to foreign contractors, and not Iraqis. He staffed U.S. positions there, based on partisanship, not professionalism.

He and his government told us: America had prevailed, mission accomplished, the resistance was in its last throes.
He has insisted more troops were not necessary. He has now insisted more troops are necessary.
He has insisted it’s up to the generals, and then removed some of the generals who said more troops would not be necessary.
He has trumpeted the turning points:

The fall of Baghdad, the death of Uday and Qusay, the capture of Saddam. A provisional government, a charter, a constitution, the trial of Saddam. Elections, purple fingers, another government, the death of Saddam.

He has assured us: We would be greeted as liberators — with flowers;
As they stood up, we would stand down. We would stay the course; we were never about “stay the course.”
We would never have to go door-to-door in Baghdad. And, last night, that to gain Iraqis’ trust, we would go door-to-door in Baghdad.
He told us the enemy was al-Qaida, foreign fighters, terrorists, Baathists, and now Iran and Syria.
He told us the war would pay for itself. It would cost $1.7 billion. $100 billion. $400 billion. Half a trillion. Last night’s speech alone cost another $6 billion.

And after all of that, now it is his credibility versus that of generals, diplomats, allies, Democrats, Republicans, the Iraq Study Group, past presidents, voters last November and the majority of the American people.

And after all of that, now it is his credibility versus that of generals, diplomats, allies, Democrats, Republicans, the Iraq Study Group, past presidents, voters last November and the majority of the American people.

Maybe their hoping that Rove has his “The Math” cap back on and working, or that the Freak Show will carry the message and beat down ... Well, just about everybody - Democrat, Republican, Liberal, Conservative. The White House appears to be escalating its’ escalation, and quite rapidly and this is going to require the other two branches of our government stepping up, large and strong, and enforce their constitutional mandate to keep this crew in check.

Links

Read and/or Watch Video of Bush's legacy: The President Who Cried Wolf

Howard Fineman’s A Crisis of Confidence

Transcript - President Bush Addresses Nation on Iraq War

Chopped Garlic - When In Doubt, Send The Marines

Ignorant Dolt of The Day: Ross Douthat

I was surprised, to some extent, that there wasn't a big roll out.

You know, trumpets blaring, long, ego-pumping press release.

But, no, nothing.

Only his column announced that NYT columnist Russ Douthat had jumped aboard the Bush Legacy Team, earning him a spot on the ever-growing roster of The Garlic's, Ignorant Dolts.



It was a doozy today, going well beyond the "when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade" kind-of-thing.

Douthat actually praises The Commander Guy for the disasters he created, in short, for the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, Bush aces it because he escalated the war, and as to the Nightmare On Wall Street, The Ek-A-Lec-Tic Reading Guy decided to let Heistin' Hank Paulson turn over the U.S. Treasury to his old cronies, bailing them out from their own greed.

Here's some gems from Douthat's "The Self-Correcting Presidency";

But if Bush is destined to go down as a failed president, come what may, he looks increasingly like an unusual sort of failure.

America has had its share of disastrous chief executives. But few have gone as far as Bush did in trying to repair their worst mistakes. Those mistakes were the Iraq war — both the decision to invade and the conduct of the occupation — and the irrational exuberance that stoked the housing bubble. The repairs were the surge, undertaken at a time when the political class was ready to abandon Iraq to the furies, and last fall’s unprecedented economic bailout.

Both fixes remain controversial. But for the moment, both look like the sort of disaster-averting interventions for which presidents get canonized. It’s just that in Bush’s case, the disasters he averted were created on his watch.

[snip]

It’s true that Bush didn’t personally formulate the surge, or craft the bailout. But he was, well, the decider, and if he takes the blame — rightly — for what Donald Rumsfeld wrought, then he should get credit for Gen. David Petraeus’s successes in Iraq, and for blessing the sweeping decisions that Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke made in last September’s desperate weeks.

And if we give Bush credit on these fronts, it’s worth reassessing one of the major critiques of his presidency — that it was fatally insulated, by ideology and personality, from both the wisdom of the Washington elite and the desires of the broader public.

[snip]

And perhaps his best decisions, on the surge and the bailout, were made from the bunker of a seemingly-ruined presidency — when his approval ratings had bottomed out, his credibility was exhausted and his allies had abandoned him.

This is not a blueprint that future presidents will want to follow. But the next time an Oval Office occupant sees his popularity dissolve and his ambitions turn to dust, he can take comfort from Bush’s example. It suggests that it’s possible to become a good president even — or especially — when you can no longer hope to be a great one.

You would have thought some editor at the NYT would have walked the copy back to Douthat, reminding him, that "Hey, no way, Worst-President-Ever!", and give him the choice of rewriting it, or having some advertisement run in his column space.

And, if you think The Garlic is being tough on him, that Douthat isn't deserving of the IDOTD ...

From Blue Texan, over on Firedoglake;

I never thought I'd write this, but I'm starting to miss Bill Kristol.

Put another way, if I get totally wasted on smack, pass out on the couch with a lit cigarette and set the house on fire, but am shaken out of my drug-induced stupor by the billowing smoke in time for me to pull one of my children out of the conflagration -- that makes me a "good" parent not a "great" one.

Some sliding scale! And I thought conservatives opposed affirmative action.

Brad, at Sadly No;

Yeah, OK, so Bush fucked up everything he touched, but at least he had the good sense to scramble around at the very last minute while spending lots of lives and money to avert a complete zombies-roaming-the-streets type of disaster. In conclusion, Bush was a good president.

Even Glenn Greenwald, on his Twitter, weighed in;

Ross Douthat, every week: I'll explicitly renounce right-wing myths to prove I'm reasonable, then spend the whole column justifying them

Yeah, Douthat, we know that the NYT brought you in to replace Little Billy Kristol, that you are one of the young tigers of the Right Wing Freak Show (the non-screaming division), but Jesus, were you in a coma for the past 8+ years?

One thing if you playing around with this idea, over cocktails (you could always blow it off that you were drunk).

But, to run this Bush Legacy Package as your column?

Only an Ignorant Dolt would do such, and you, Ross Douthat, are today's Ignorant Dolt.

Of Blackboards, Chalk and Legacies ... The Constitutional Crises Continues

Okay, so it's been a holiday week, I should stifle my impatience that Congress hasn't filed the Impeachment papers, or the call for a Citizen's Arrest has gone down yet.

Everyone must be waiting for a clean news cycle to spring into action.

The Blackboard and Chalk Part

So much for the faulty memory.

It appears I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby remembered very clearly, that he better hustle his ass off and pay the $250,000 fine related to his felon conviction - and within 72-hours of being bailed out by The Commutation Guy - before anyone gets the wiser and messes up his "Hush and Keep Quiet" deal.

And, as Gomer Pyle would say, "Surprise, Surprise!", we have a legal kerfuffle brewing, thanks to The Commander Guy (just at the moment he was morphing into The Commutation Guy).

The presiding Judge, His Honor Reggie Walton, has pointed out to the Bush Grindhouse, of said felon, Scooter Libby, that the statute doesn't accommodate probation if a convicted felon doesn't serve any part of his sentence.

The Scooter Man didn't serve any part of his 30-Month sentence.

The Bush Grindhouse still insists that the commutation was legit and Libby is not receiving any special treatment.

So, speculation is this will be settled in the following manner;

Scooter Libby will stay after work, and write on a blackboard:

"I WILL NOT LIE OR OBSTRUCT JUSTICE" 500 times.

There. Done. Punished.

The Legacy Part

Boy, the legacy building is really tough these days, especially when you break the law, cloak your work in secrecy and, otherwise, don't do anything positive.

And he can't, technically, claim getting elected President on the Legacy Ledger - that was handed to him by the Supreme Court.

So, you compensate, right?

You build a new Iraq Embassy that could probably house a few dozen Spruce Gooses' (and, apparently, following Mr. Hughes' lead in using, how should we say, different materials).

You keep sending in troops - and even more mercanaries - to a war that was long lost.

And there's the arm-twisting whatever remains of his deluded supporters, to kick in big-time, for a presidential library.

The only mystery or suspense about what would be housed in a Bush Presidential Library, with his (or Cheney's) penchant for burying everything, is if there'll be a copy of 'My Pet Goat' in it.

But thanks to Glenn Greenwald yesterday, The Uniter/The Decider/The Commander Guy can peek at what awaits him, as he shallowly and embarassingly cuts the ribbon (assuming they don't put that out on a No-Bid Contract) on his post-Presidency whatever-you-call-it building.

The tragic collapse of America's standing in the world

And there's this caveat;

And in what is perhaps the most tragic aspect of the Bush legacy, large numbers of people around the world, over the last six years, have abandoned their belief in U.S. democratic values -- the exact opposite result, literally, of our ostensible objective in everything we have done in the last six years

Maybe we need to get Bush to write on a blackboard 500 times;

"I WILL NOT LIE, COOK INTEL, START PHONY WARS, ILLEGALLY WIRETAP, EXPOSE COVERT CIA AGENTS, FILL THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WITH CRONIES, ISSUE ANYMORE SIGNING STATEMENTS, OR IGNORE THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS"

Send chalk to:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Bonus Links

Lewis Libby owes his freedom to our corrupt political elite

Late Nite FDL: News Flash! They Don’t Hate Us for Our Freedom.

Washington, Lincoln Most Popular Presidents: Nixon, Bush Least Popular

Update

Arianna Huffington: Oh, the Hardship: It Takes Libby Nearly Three Days to Pay His Quarter Mil Fine

Frank Rich: When the Vice President Does It, That Means It’s Not Illegal