McCain on Hardball: Bush's top priority is to rebut accusations

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Tweety asked McCain if Bush owed the American people an explanation regarding the bad intelligence that got us into the war in Iraq. McCain paused for a moment and said "Yes, but I think his top priority now is to rebut the charges that have been made against him..."

The charges that he lied, of course. That's the top priority. Fix the image, go into attack mode and blame the Iraq war on the Democrats...right, Senator McCain?

[NanceGreggs]

1. Only ONE way to find out ...

... who misexagerrated the strategery of the lead-up to the war in Iraq, your Presidentship ...

Let's see every memo, every email, every document, and the minutes of every meeting leading up to this war.

It's your turn, Bush. Show 'em or fold 'em.

[xray s]

2. Textbook Stockholm Syndrome

If my wife was smeared by a political opponent the last thing on my mind would be defending him.

[Skittles]

7. he makes me sick, xray s

that McCain could defend bush inc, who smeared McCain's family - it's just beyond the pale, just sickening beyond belief

[indepat]

3. Truth and facts can not be rebutted, only lied about

[jannyk]

4. Sorry Johnny boy

he can rebut all he wants but it's too fucking late!

[Vickers]

5. So, McCain, has Wee Cowboy actually rebutted anything, or has he

simply called the Dems a bunch of names, like his dimwitted bloodsucking VP?

:shrug:

[orpupilofnature57]

6. Thomas Moore is a hero of sen. Mc Inane ? Makes sense the reason..

why was alligence to the pope, no mention of Jesus

[Awsi Dooger]

8. Excellent, more incompetent handicapping!

Again, I'm constantly amazed at the lousy strategy in politics, by both parties.

Bush going negative in regard to the war dialogue is never going to boost his favorables. It reminds me of last year when we were masochistically calling for more and more hammering of Bush when the problem all along was Kerry's favorables. The opinions of Bush the incumbent were basically locked, minus outside influences like we've seen unfold over the past few months. Nothing Kerry or MoveOn could say was going to alter impression of Bush.

Let's hope Bush and the GOP are relentlessly ignorant of the proper approach and continue to attack us. They are on the defensive right now and the party in that position never benefits from negativity. If Bush wanted to boost his standing he needed to embrace something positive and meaningful to his base and also the soft Republicans he has lost. A big picture issue that can shift the attention and be argued logically, at least logically by warped GOP mindset. He forfeited almost all his major second term issues earlier this year and luckily nothing substantial to fall back on.

[Martin Eden]

9. McCain is whoring for Bush on the issue of WMD lies

McCain spouted the same old spin that it's ridiculous to think the intelligence agencies of France and Russia were part of a "massive conspiracy" to mislead America into war -- after all, they all believed Iraq had WMD.

This is a lie, because those other intelligence agencies weren't saying Iraq had "reconstituted nuclear weapons" or that "you really can't distinguish between Saddam and al Qaeda."

Also, there is a tremendous difference between assumptions in 2002 based on very sketchy intelligence and reports from the UN inspectors after they were readmitted and had access throughout Iraq.

If all intelligence agencies agreed, does that mean that Bush and Cheney agreed with Blix and Elbaradei when they reported that the extensive infrastructire necessary to build a nuclear bomb simply didn't exist in Iraq?

Hell no!

The Bushies did everything they could to dismiss, denigrate, and refute the inspectors on the ground in Iraq who were providing the first solid intelligence in 5 years. The real imminent threat was a report concluding there were no WMD -- the rationale for war would vanish along with the mushroom clouds we were told to fear.

Meanwhile, McCain is given free airtime to promote his new book Character Is Destiny.

John, if the title of your book is true, your future looks bleak.

[burythehatchet]

10. Hey John

KISS MY ASS

[bvar22]

11. bush*s entire rebuttal on the "LIES" accusation to date:

When presented with the now known FACTS about the manipulation and stovepiping of bogus intelligence by the WhoteHouse before the Iraq Invasion, bush* replied (in effect):


"DIDN'T NEITHER!!!... U THA LIAR!!!!"

bush*s rebuttal was well received by the small group of True Believers (32%), though most admitted that his argument was "over their heads, and difficult for them to understand.