Dubya's Fan Dance

Awww, I think President Nutball needs a big hug based on this story.

It turns out that, based on what he has communicated to family friend Robert Draper (whose upcoming book Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush has had excerpts published in the New York Times; ironic title, I’d say - and no shot on an Amazon link, in case you were wondering), Dumbya…

…must continue to contend with the loneliness and the sadness of serving, all the while not showing the strain. But surely he has a "shoulder to cry on," Draper asks? "Of course I do," the President replies. "I've got God's shoulder to cry on, and I cry a lot."

And we all do too, but I’m sure for very different reasons. Also…

…You would expect that, as Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Bush would have a firm handle on everything that has happened on America's watch in Iraq. But in one exchange he almost blithely admits to Draper: "The policy was to keep the [Iraqi] army intact; didn't happen." How was it then, Draper asks, that his then administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, was allowed, in May 2003, to disband the Iraqi army without pay?

Mr. Bush is stumped, suggesting that maybe the answer lies somewhere in the notes of the National Security Advisor, Stephen Hadley. "Yeah, I can't remember; I'm sure I said, 'This is the policy, what happened?'" Mr. Bush said, adding: "Again, Hadley's got notes on all this stuff."

It is a revelation that has already got some of Mr. Bush's critics almost gasping with indignation. "There are so many things to scream about" in reports of the Draper book, James Fallows of the Atlantic Monthly wrote in his blog yesterday, but none more that the exchange about the fate of the Iraqi army.

"Think about this. The dissolution of the Iraq military is one of the six most-criticised and most-often-discussed aspects of the Administration's entire approach to Iraq ... and the President who has staked the fortunes of his Administration, his party, his place in history, and (come to think of it) his nation on the success of his Iraq policy cannot remember and even now cannot be bothered to find out how the decision was made."

Also, Dubya tells Draper that, after he “steps down”…

…He expects to settle in Dallas and make it home-base for a "fantastic Freedom Institute" to spread democracy around the world. Yet it is hardly inspiring when he talks mostly about his desire to earn money on the speaking circuit and the likelihood of his getting bored. "I'll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol' coffers." Mr. Bush tells Draper. "I don't know what my dad gets – it's more than 50-75" thousand dollars a speech, and "Clinton's making a lot of money." "We'll have a nice place in Dallas," he went on, but then added, "I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch."

Jerry and Joe Long of the Sturdy Beggars comment on the “ol’ coffers” remark here, and speaking only for myself, I can’t wait to see the “Fantastic Freedom Institute” of Dubya’s after it is built. I wonder if you’ll get a free Captain Midnight decoder ring upon entering the institute that will reveal, at long last, the location of Saddam Hussein’s WMDs? Or maybe there will be a special exhibit featuring the pretzel that he almost choked on in January 2002 (and by the way, how do you “pass out” when choking like that and manage to not asphyxiate yourself? I always wondered about that “official story”).

I think we should all keep in mind, though, that the point of these leaked revelations about the book (as well as his little surprise trip to Iraq, where he hinted that some troops will be able to come home, a tactic he's pulled before – how dumb would someone have to be to actually take Bush at his word at this point? Never mind, I don’t want to know the answer.) is to deflect attention away from the “magical September” report of Dick Cheney Gen. David Petraeus, with more than a smidgeon of misinformation being propagated by our corporate media, that will serve to reinforce support inside the Beltway for the Iraq war (Paul Krugman has more on this here).

And speaking of Petraeus, Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times reminded us of the following in this story (behind the wall now, I’m sure)…

…in May (Bush) said that this fall it would be up to General Petraeus to convince the public that the Iraq strategy is working.

“I’ve been here too long,” Mr. Bush said, according to Mr. Draper. “Every time I start painting a rosy picture, it gets criticized and then it doesn’t make it on the news.”

I don’t know what is more depressing in that excerpt, the fact that Dubya willingly admits here that he is ceding control over what has become the defining issue of his nightmare of a presidency to someone not elected to any office by anyone (as he did in the earlier “Hadley” reference), or his ongoing utter denial of reality for blaming “the news” for not “painting a rosy picture” for him (as if that hadn’t been going on for waaay too long already).

We’re being played again, ladies and gentlemen. And it may work. Again.

And if you guessed that I was going to link to a petition about this, give yourself a pat on the back.

Update: "Camp Cupcake," huh? Figures.