|
Of course, Bush did look Cindy in the eye a couple of months ago. Now, it’s a Move-on.com political ploy. Harry Yes, Pres. Bush has, by White House accounts, visited privately with at
least 900 military grieving families. They are usually separated into rooms on
a base or in a gym and he goes from one family to the next, like a doctor
seeing patients, each family getting an allotted amount of time. Some even
accost him verbally, and he has been emotionally impacted by the experience, as
well as his wife. This is much different than answering questions from an articulate
mother who has gotten over being polite as a matter of respect for the
president, after it was revealed that the WMDs weren’t there, that the war’s
planners didn’t account for reality, that many soldiers are not well protected,
and the rhetoric fails to acknowledge the costly mistakes. It leaves many
otherwise patriotic Americans angry at the disconnect between the sales and the
customer service this administration practices. The hardest words for GWB to
say: I made a mistake. While I agree the magnitude of Camp Casey itself (now joined in
Crawford by a pro-Bush Camp Qualls) has taken on further dimensions (Bushstock
2005 will have events in DC late September) the public outpouring of conflicted
opinion and restless frustration is genuine. That’s reflected in the poll
released today by ARG showing Bush’s approval ratings at 36%, a six point drop
since July, and lower than Nixon’s during the height of Watergate. This poll,
by the way, was taken the first weekend of August, before the Sheehan Effect
could be a factor and relates to dissatisfaction with domestic policy (gas
prices, job worries, credibility issues).
Whatever Bush is selling, as they say, fewer Americans seem to be buying
it. This ARG poll was all over the broadcast and internet media today, but
not likely the rightwing media, so I’m sharing it with you from my next Casey
Report dispatch:
President Bush deserves vacation time, certainly, but he didn’t help
himself to any remaining sympathy with his untimely comments about R&R
during his five week vacation, which now exceeds the record time Reagan spent
vacationing in 8 years: It’s hard work, but Bush will ‘go on with life’: defends refusal to see protesting mother. “President Bush, noting
that lots of people want to talk to the president and "it's also important
for me to go on with my life," on Saturday defended his decision not to meet with
the grieving mom of a soldier killed in Iraq. Bush said he is aware of the
anti-war sentiments of Cindy Sheehan and others who have joined her protest
near the Bush ranch. "But whether it be
here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something
to say to the president, that's part of the job," Bush said on
the ranch. "And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive
to those who have got something to say." "But,"
he added, "I think it's also important
for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life." The comments came prior to a bike ride on the ranch with journalists
and aides. It also came as the crowd of protesters grew in support of Sheehan,
the California mother who came here Aug. 6 demanding to talk to Bush about the
death of her son Casey. Sheehan arrived earlier in the week with about a half
dozen supporters. As of yesterday (Saturday) there were about 300 anti-war
protesters and approximately 100 people supporting the Bush Administration. In
addition to the two-hour bike ride, Bush's Saturday schedule included an
evening Little League Baseball playoff game, a lunch meeting with Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice, a nap, some fishing and some reading. "I think the people want the president to be
in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy," he said
when asked about bike riding while a grieving mom wanted to speak with him.
"And part of my being is to be outside exercising." On Friday, Bush's motorcade drove by the protest site en route to a
Republican fund-raising event at a nearby ranch. As Bush rolled by, Sheehan held
a sign that said, "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?" Birmingham (Alabama) News 081405 http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1124011285247770.xml&coll=2 Imagine how “it’s
also important for me to go on with my life” sounds to the families of dead
soldiers, much less orphaned children in Iraq. KwC |
_______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] http://fes.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
