Bush No Longer A 'Stay The Course' Guy

(CBS)  This commentary was written by CBSNews.com's Dick Meyer.

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It's official: the Bush administration's "stay the course" was a figment of the American imagination. Never happened. Wasn't our position. Never said it. Wasn't me.

President Bush hinted that he was aware the country was hearing voices on the occasion of his Oct. 11 news conference.

"The characterization of, you know, 'It's 'stay the course' is about a quarter right," he said. " 'Stay the course' means keep doing what you're doing. My attitude is: Don't do what you're doing if it's not working — change. 'Stay the course' also means don't leave before the job is done."

Understand?

The official declaration that "stay the course" never happened came two weeks later. "Listen, we've never been 'stay the course,' George," the president told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. "We have been — we will complete the mission, we will do our job and help achieve the goal, but we're constantly adjusting the tactics. Constantly."

"Listen, we've never been 'stay the course' ..."

The official Minister of Truth, Tony Snow, codified this latest bit of Bush doctrine the next day.

"So what you have is not 'stay the course,' but, in fact, a study in constant motion by the administration and by the Iraqi government, and, frankly, also by the enemy, because there are constant shifts, and you constantly have to adjust to what the other side is doing … That is not a 'stay the course' policy."

Got it? "Stay the course" = constant motion. Simple. It's as simple as knowing what the meaning of "is" is.

So, when President Bush said in most of his public appearances over the past year or so that America needed to "stay the course" in Iraq, he didn't mean that America needed to "stay the course" in Iraq. In no way was he supporting a "stay the course" policy.

So it must follow that when the president accused the Democrats of wanting to "cut and run" in Iraq, he was not accusing the Democrats of wanting to "cut and run" in Iraq. He must have meant something very different.

And I'm sure Minister Snow will tell us exactly what "cut and run" really means when the administration's next Language and Reality Edict is ready.

This stuff gives doublespeak a bad name.

For three years, President Bush has labeled any worry and criticism about the war in Iraq as cowardly, irresponsible "cut and run" thinking and declared his resolve to "stay the course." That political rhetoric was effective for a long time. But as the political campaign heated up this year, things changed.

The most effective and common type of Democratic advertising has shown bloody pictures, body counts and ominous music over sound bites of the president saying "stay the course" and the candidate saying, no, we need a new course, a new direction.

"Stay the course" became a negative that implied an ostrich-like imperviousness to reality. But the president and his marketing team didn't just dump the slogan; they denied the slogan ever existed.

Because not staying the course with "stay the course" would mean you're a cut-and-runner. Americans aren't cut-and-run guys. Cut-and-run guys aren't resolve guys and the president is a resolve guy.

The audaciousness of this is offensive. Actually, it's insulting.

"Listen, we've never been 'stay the course' ..."

Puh-lease.

It now appears that the electorate has been insulted enough to cut and run on the president.

It's not that we're cut-and-run guys, Mr. President. You just haven't been straight with us.

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Dick Meyer is the editorial director of CBSNews.com, based in Washington.

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By Dick Meyer

[wskowalski]

amen and kudos to cbsisajoke. Ain't that the truth - although CBS is hardly the only example, as we all know.

What outstanding journalism this column represents, Mr. Meyer - you should be proud of your work and your insight, and no doubt CBS should double your salary for this fine example of excellent and truly relevant analysis. HA!!!!!

You pathetic liberal hypocites need to get over your unbelieveable, unending anger over 2000 - and for once in your lives look beyond your own narrow viewpoints and hatreds, to realize that there is really a force and group of people out there that want to destroy us....and that dealing with them is real, grownup work that takes real, grownup responsibility and attention. Which is why you and all like you are not now, and never will be again, fit to govern this nation. Chew on that.

WS Kowalski

[bluestardad]

Guys you can feel it in the air there is an awakening of the American Electorate and we are the sleeping giant our oppressors have feared all this time. We need to make sure that we take someone to the poles on Election Day. Americans will vote against this administration in so great of numbers that Carl Rove%u2019s election stealing programmers cannot up date the election theft code fast enough to stop the landslide victory.

[cbsisajoke]

Doublespeak? You Libs have begged President Bush to "not be so narrow-minded" and to "explore all avenues." When he says "stay the course" he means we should stay focused on the goal. Are there mistakes that were made? We all know the answer is "yes." Should we cut-and-run....uhhh... I mean "re-deploy?" No.

Bush changes the tagline and you scream hypocrite. There are others on this website who claim the MSM doesn't challenge President Bush. How in the world can you write that, much less say that, with a straight face? You guys revel in having a "reporter" push back at Bush in a news conference, yet freak out when a candidate walks over to Hillary and "invades her space!"

You scream at Rush Limbaugh for commenting on Michael J. Fox's "commercial," yet you see nothing wrong with George Clooney making fun of Charlton Heston's alzheimers?

It really is amazing how irrelevant the MSM has become. Go ahead and report the slanted news.... I've already read the straight story hours, if not days ago.

[roger3815]

Jedi mind trick.

[se sanders]

Bush has been playing fast and loose with the truth since he has been in office. First it was WMD's, then it was setting up a democracy, then the war was going great, then it's not so good but we're staying the course, now he never said that...ad infinitum. No wonder he has that contemptuous smirk. He thinks we're all stupid!

[bluestardad]

Be Ever Vigilant. Bush and Rove will do anything to stay in power up to an including flooding key districts with fake absentee ballots tampering with electronic voting machines, and bussing in voters who are not from the districts to vote, or even starting another war with and suspending civil liberties postponing the mid term vote. There is a great possibility for this administration to tamper with the electronic voting machines to the point that very subtle differences will take place in Key races just enough to tip the vote in their favor but not enough to cause a full scale American Revolution leaving some doubt, but just enough to throw key races in the Republican Favor. Watch out for this election coup.

[alphaa10-2009]

Welcome to Newspeak--
The worrisome aspect of all this is dictatorship begins with petty deceit, proceeding directly to damning deceit and overt abuse of power. Bush made every link he could between Iraq and 911, and years later, abruptly protested he never specifically linked the two.

And now, according to Chairman Bush, "timetable" means anything this Red Queen of a politician says it means, neither more nor less. It can mean holding in place, it also can changing and THEN holding any course variation at any time.

Though Bush wasn't in the Navy, even he should be able to understand his concept of "stay the course" is wrong, not to mention flatly illogical. The outrage is Bush fully aware of his deceit, and still believes he is not widely seen as the consumate opportunist he always has been. The low cunning of this Prevaricator in Chief endangers the very democracy he claims to defend.

[whight]

How right. Bush is so stupid that he lies when all he said before is in black and white. I have heard him say so many times 'Stay the course". Now we are to believe he didn't say that. How dumb can he be.

[mh4cbs1]

*** Meyer who wrote this column must be a traitor.

Didn't you hear our Glorious Leaders?? They said "you are either with us or against us!! You "don't have the stomach for War" - in the words of our 5-deferment Vice President. How can they "Save Civilization" with all these terrorist sympathizers and traitors running around? How can the vanquish the "Evil Ones"?

No wonder Iraq isn't going so well, it's all these "Cut and Run", "Blame Game" people who have the audacity to hold their elected officials accountable. How seem to have a problem with being LIED into a needless, horrific WAR ON IRAQ.

Why aren't they scared anymore? Red Alert! Red Alert! Fight them over there so we don't have to fight them Here! Mushroom Clouds! Evil Ones are coming! They want to destroy civilization! Be Afraid! Bush will protect you! He is the "War President"

Hey! Come on America, Be Afraid! Ignore the Lies! Hey, you aren't afraid? you are learning the truth?... how come its not working anymore...

[mh4cbs1]

*** Meyer who wrote this column must be a traitor.

Didn't you hear our Glorious Leaders?? They said "you are either with us or against us!! You "don't have the stomach for War" - in the words of our 5-deferment Vice President. How can they "Save Civilization" with all these terrorist sympathizers and traitors running around? How can the vanquish the "Evil Ones"?

No wonder Iraq isn't going so well, it's all these "Cut and Run", "Blame Game" people who have the audacity to hold their elected officials accountable. How seem to have a problem with being LIED into a needless, horrific WAR ON IRAQ.

Why aren't they scared anymore? Red Alert! Red Alert! Fight them over there so we don't have to fight them Here! Mushroom Clouds! Evil Ones are coming! They want to destroy civilization! Be Afraid! Bush will protect you! He is the "War President"

Hey! Come on America, Be Afraid! Ignore the Lies! Hey, you aren't afraid? you are learning the truth?... how come its not working anymore...