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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Monday, January 01, 2007

The White House assures us that Bush cares

I'm not a historian, but doesn't the recurring insistence that the president "feels" the losses in Iraq seem a little bizarre?
Bush mourns death of 3,000th U.S. soldier in Iraq

"The president believes that every life is precious and grieves for each one that is lost," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel. "He will ensure their sacrifice was not made in vain."

And, it's not just this bit of boilerplate. For the last few months at every press conference, Bush has made the same point.

What does it say about his image that it's deemed necessary for the president to assure us time and time again that he is, in fact, human and does care that people are dying?

An offshoot of the earlier "bring em on" tough boy rhetoric? A relic from the indifference of Katrina? Or a political necessity in the current politics of the war?

Related: Bush thanks the troops on his vacation in Crawford.

9 Comments:

  • All three.

    By Blogger Reality-Based Educator, at 11:31 AM  

  • It seems so forced.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:35 AM  

  • Political necessity, especially since this year he will be sending more to die for a war a majority of Americans don't agree with.

    Happy New Year !

    By Blogger Unknown, at 12:00 PM  

  • "I care. Now watch this surge. Heh heh heh."

    By Blogger QuakerDave, at 12:15 PM  

  • So, the consensus is political. I agree.

    And that's pretty funny, Dave.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 1:37 PM  

  • Bush's Iraq stategy for the past 3 1/2 years has been a vain attempt to beat Iraq into his personal image of a democratic state. Therefore, the soldiers who died at his command, died executing a vain strategy.

    Every soldier who dies in Bush's war in Iraq, dies for the vanity of the President. A man who will not seek peace with enemies as long as there is other peoples blood to spill.

    I would not say a sigle soldier in vain; that would imply the soldiers were in error. I would say the President has killed in vain.

    By Blogger -epm, at 1:57 PM  

  • That's it.

    That's why people are so mad, and that is the impression the White House is trying to counter.

    The want you to believe that "staying the course" carries a personal cost to Bush, but nobody's buying that anymore.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 2:09 PM  

  • This from the man who still has not attended a single funeral for any soldier killed in his war -- correct?

    By Blogger Nonplussed2, at 6:13 PM  

  • Very correct. It's not that he doesn't want the picture published, it's that he doesn't want to disrupt the funerals.

    (Forget the fact that he has been invited to several.)

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 6:31 PM  

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