The Pottery Barn Apology?

For his critics, President George W. Bush’s address tonight was a walk down Misstep Lane, from linking Iraq to 9-11 and al Qaeda (which even Petraeus admitted this week wasn’t true) to understating the current chaos and civilian carnage gripping the country (especially Anbar).  There was a new admission tonight, too: the US is committed to Iraq beyond Bush’s presidency.  One person I watched the speech with commented, “A simple ‘I'm sorry' would have worked fine.”

For the President’s supporters, well…it went as well as it could have.  He may not have won much support for Iraq, but he likely didn’t lose much, either. More importantly for skeptics in the GOP, he offered dates and numbers for the first time.  That’s gotta help in the coming election cycle.

Stout

For me at least, the low point was the story of Spc. Brandon Stout, who “volunteered for the National Guard and was killed in Baghdad.”  

I’ve had many friends over the years who’ve served in the National Guard.  It’s an honorable thing to do, and in poorer communities, especially in the Midwest, it’s a respected and common way to earn a little extra income (emphasis on the “little.”)  But before 2003, no one signing up for the Guard had any reason to think they’d be sent overseas to war even once, let alone two or three times – and none of them envisioned dying in Baghdad. 

I’m sincerely sorry for Spc. Stout and his family. But I’m also mystified as to why Bush’s speechwriters went out of their way to push that heartland hot-button. 

Response #1

Sen Jack Reed (D-RI) gave a well-written and well-delivered response that boiled down to four basic bullet points:

• 27,000 wounded
• 3,700 killed
• No clear and achievable mission
• 10 billion dollars a month

He probably could've left it at that, really. 

MSNBC Responses #s 2, 3, 4, 5....

• Pat Buchanan (former GOP presidential hopeful,  now an “Analyst”) said Bush did what he needed to do for moderate Republicans by giving a number of soldiers (5,700) that would come home by Christmas. But he was critical of Bush’s dependence on Petraeus. 
  
• Rachel Maddow of Air America went snarky early, equating Bush’s warnings about attempts to topple Iraq’s government to “getting a lecture on the evils of prostitution from David Vitter.”  [Snap.]
• Senator (D-DE) and presidential candidate Joe Biden was predictably outraged and mystified by Bush’s refusal to acknowledge the bad news.  It wasn’t terribly convincing.
• Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, on the other hand, was refreshingly (if slightly naively) un-snarkified. The GOP hopeful said Bush got it right, citing other sources that tell him the surge is working.  And he knocked analysts who “have a political agenda” in denying progress in Iraq. Of course, MSNBC co-anchor Keith Olbermann couldn’t resist a Vietnam comparison, but a surprised Huckabee fielded the question pretty well.

The NC Congressional delegation wasn’t so positive about it – even GOP Sen Elizabeth Dole, whose guarded tone is a marked departure from her support of Bush on Iraq as recently as this summer.  The N&O rundown is here.

And then there was John ….

Presidential hopeful and former NC senator John Edwards bought his own ticket to tonight's party by purchasing 2 minutes of airtime right after the speech. (Well, not right after, exactly – you had to sit through ads for AT&T, CVS, Conoco Phillips, “3:10 to Yuma,” Lenscrafters, Hilton, AG Edwards,  major league soccer on cable, something called Supreme Master Television, John Hancock, BP, and Jos. A. Bank. Yawn.) 

Finally, 35 minutes after the speech, Edwards appeared on-screen to deliver a focused, well-crafted message: 9-11 is not related to Iraq, supporting the troops is not the same as supporting a failed war, and we should withdraw our troops, “starting now.”  Edwards accused Bush of resorting to the only strategy he’s ever had: “More time, more troops and more war.”   He urged viewers to pressure Congress to force the President to set a timeline for Iraq. 

(And hey, who knew Edwards had an Oval Office mock-up in his Chapel Hill estate?  Nice flag!) 

Afterwards, Olbermann and Maddow discussed Edwards’ unprecedented ad, speculating that perhaps the former NC Senator bought his own time so he could deliver his message undisturbed.  I’d buy that — and I think it worked pretty well.

It’s also notable that neither Sen. Hillary Clinton nor Sen. Barack Obama offered a response in person – even though, as Pat Buchanan pointed out, Edwards’ ad openly targeted Congress.  

What did you think of it all? Let me know.

Don’t make me stop this car…

Governor Mike Easley got all executive today with a very politely veiled threat about water usage.  New federal data out today shows NC’s drought conditions are steadily getting worse.  86 out of 100 counties are now classified as being in extreme or exceptional drought…but only 66 out of the state’s 400+ water systems have any mandatory restrictions in place. 

Easley sent out this release today, urging NC to start voluntarily restricting water use now to head off potentially stricter regulations down the road.  He says he doesn’t want to go there, but he will if he has to in order to protect public health and safety. 

Of course, for some folks, public safety can’t hold a candle to a green lawn. The N&O’s Sam Lagrone had a great piece last Friday on the Homeowner’s Association of Wake Forest’s “Margot’s Pond” community.  Last week, they sent out a letter warning residents their lawns had better be green, drought or not, or the HOA would make them green and then send the homeowner the bill.

I figured Easley’s announcement might have convinced the HOA to soften its stance, but as of tonight, there’s nothing on their website that indicates any such change of heart.  Makes me think of a certain X-Files episode...

Comments? Drop me a line.