How dumb do they think we are? - Democratic Underground

BobcatJH

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Mon Jun-19-06 10:22 AM
Original message

How dumb do they think we are?

Edited on Mon Jun-19-06 04:14 PM by EarlG

I recognize that Tony Snow comes from a background of misdirection and obfuscation, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as White House spokesliar. But I'm not sure there's a grain of salt big enough out there for this assertion:

President Bush understands there is growing U.S. concern over his handling of the Iraq war but will not rely on polls to determine when to withdraw troops, his spokesman said Sunday.

I suppose this shouldn't surprise any of us. The president and his handlers have long said that they pay no attention to polls, period. While that, of course, is a flat-out lie, it's a point I'll get to in a moment. But look closer at what Snow said. He's basically admitting what we've known for quite some time: This administration doesn't care about the people it governs. And, in this case, the people want us out of Iraq. They've tired of the lies. They've tired of the excuses. They've tired of the loss of life.

That said, the president and his colleagues are, through Snow's argument, giving a massive middle finger to the rest of us. A big "screw you" courtesy the commander-in-chief. Funny how the "support our troops" brigade seems more to support their deaths than anything else. How else could you explain their desire to, contrary to overwhelming evidence otherwise, keep them in a dangerous situation with not only no end in sight, but also no stated exit strategy? Nor, I might add, no sign of getting any better.

Back to the earlier point, that President Bush doesn't rely on polls. Tell me, how, then, are we to believe he recognizes the "growing U.S. concern over his handling of the Iraq war"? Because he's certainly not seeing any "growing concern" at his staged "visits" with "average Americans". Perhaps, as may be the case, Bush learned about the "growing concern" from press reports, which wouldn't be a new development.

How much longer will the administration expect us to believe they pay no attention to the polls? Because the White House has been behind massive public relations pushes timed coincidentally to combat bad poll numbers. Remember Social Security? Remember warrantless wiretapping? Remember after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi? Right, those media campaigns had nothing to do with the president's terrible poll numbers. Not at all.

Do you honestly believe that, as the 2006 and 2008 elections approach, that this West Wing won't be concerned with the polling with regard to Iraq? The polling is on our side. And they know it. Short of unearthing Osama bin Laden or cutting every American a check for $10,000, the only ace in the hole for this bunch remains massive troop withdrawals. So while they speak disdainfully about polling and withdrawal, going so far as to malign those who truly care about the troops, you can count on them playing their last card should Republican electoral disaster become an absolute certainty.

Make no mistake, this White House does as much scoreboard watching as a second-place baseball team does in late September. Hint: A lot. There's nothing this administration does that doesn't have a public relations component. To think otherwise, to believe Snow, is to show complete insanity. Or a reckless disregard for the truth. Two things personified by this administration, the most poll-watching pack of poll haters in existence.