President Slams Democrats On Terror

Bush Lays Out A "Doomsday Scenario" First, A Democrat In The White House, Then Another Terrorist Attack On American Soil

(AP)  President Bush said Tuesday he was disappointed in "flawed intelligence" before the Iraq war and was concerned that if a Democrat wins the presidency in November and withdrew troops prematurely it could "eventually lead to another attack on the United States."

In an interview with the political newspaper Politico and Yahoo News, Bush also said he gave up golf in 2003 out of respect for U.S. soldiers killed in the war, which has now lasted more than five years.

"I didn't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

Bush said he made his decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.

A question submitted from the online audience asked Bush whether he felt he had been misled about Iraq as he made the decision to go to war.

"`Misled' is a strong word," he said. "Not only our intelligence community, but intelligence communities all across the world shared the same assessment. And so I was disappointed to see how flawed our intelligence was."

"Do I think somebody lied to me? No, I don't. I think it was just, you know, they analyzed the situation and came up with the wrong conclusion," he added.

He acknowledged concerns about leaving the unfinished Iraq war to a Democratic successor. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have said they will bring troops home if elected.

Bush said his "doomsday scenario of course is that extremists throughout the Middle East would be emboldened, which would eventually lead to another attack on the United States."

Also in the interview to an online audience, Bush:

-Said more is known about global warming than when he first took office in 2001. Asked if it was real, Bush said, "Yes, it is real, sure is." Still, he defended his opposition to the Kyoto treaty on climate change. "I could have supported a lousy treaty and everybody would have went, `Oh, man, what a wonderful-sounding fellow he is. But it just wouldn't have worked."

- Criticized the Democratic-led Congress, claiming it had dragged its feet on trade, on renewing surveillance powers and failing to respond appropriately to the housing crisis. "And so I would call them stalled. I would call them, so far, good at verbiage and not so good at results."

-Said his Christian faith increased while in office, saying he sought to understand his weaknesses, better himself "and get closer to the Lord."

-Criticized former President Carter for advocating what he called a "blame-Israel-for-every-problem" mentality to the Middle East.

-Said he sympathized with the two candidates in the long-running Democratic primary race. "I feel like this primary has been a long, hard campaign. I remember what it was like in 2000, and I was exhausted. And my primary ended pretty quickly, compared to this one. And so I - both those candidates have got to be just worn out. They haven't had time to get their feet on the ground or rest."

-Said he was not concerned about an ugly conversation about race if Obama wins the Democratic nomination. "I think most Americans are open-minded people, and they're going to pick the president who can keep America safe and keep taxes low. And so I think - my own judgment is, is that race will only enter in if it's provoked by the press."

- Said he would return to using e-mail after he leaves office, saying he gave it up to avoid leaks. He said he looks forward to "e-mailing to my buddies. I can remember as governor I stayed in touch with all kinds of people around the country, firing off e-mails at all times of the day to stay in touch with my pals."

[oldpilot954]

Everybody whines about the war. Not one person has died in that war that did not volunteer to be in the military. You take fight''n pay you take fight''n chances! "Bush" or "no Bush" if you don''t want to fight don''t join the military. My generation did not have a choice when a Democratic president drafted them and shipped them to S.E. Asia to kill a few hundred of them a week. But the news media loved it then just like they do now. Secondly, what do you think will happen to the economy without a war to support it. We dump all the deployed soldiers into the workforce but there are no jobs because the population wants to buy cheap goods (thus made off-shore)on credit. War goods at least send cash back into the economy while civilian toys send the cash to our competitors. I don''t like war in any shape or form but personal American greed is the economy problem -- not the war.

[j0xujahc]

The terrorists need never to bother with us again and still they will be the winners. The law abiding are losing our privacy while Big Brother "protects" us by making us take of our shoes. We are spending trillions chasing ghosts in Iraq and our economy is crumbling. Illegal immigrant issues serve only to distract us from our real troubles. Bush is Osama%u2019s greatest weapon.

[tekgiz]

Pardon me, am I the only one who remembers Clinton, at a press conference, mentioning that this country was actively seeking Osama Bin Laden during his last year in office. Or the fact that during the transition from Clinton to Bush, it was a Bush staffer who told Clinton''s National Security Advisor that they (Bush admin) weren''t really concerned about al Quida? (That was testified to before congress, by both Clinton personnel and former Bush staffers.)

[cattlekate]

Dirn is a bad word here and gets stars???

[cattlekate]

Now, I still do not understand the golf connection. What is Bush talking about? Did some gold star Mom chide Bush about playing golf while she was burying her child?Posted by cattlekate at 09:17 AM : May 15, 2008

I posted this earlier in the thread(second page):
apparently there''s a bit of an obsession w/ golf in the bush family .. going all the way back to gws great grandfather. who was the president of the usga in the 1920''s Posted by bobnjersey at 10:30 AM : May 15, 2008

Thank you Bob!

I am sorry I missed your earlier post. I was thinking, and picturing in my mind, Bush engaging in a smart-mouthed banter quip about golf - like he did with the WMD''s and the Press Corps dinner.

Well, come to think of it, Bush''s statement about giving up golf, if it was in jest, and with a hunched-over, smirking gaffaw he is famous for, is still insulting and shows how out of touch he is.

*** - I missed the Keith Obermann expose'' of this insulting quip, last night, May 14.

Anyway - thanks Bob!

[algoresarse]

f Bush wanted to show respect for the troops, he''''d of fired Rummy a lot sooner.

Posted by david1737 at 07:25 PM : May 15, 2008
+ report abuse

********

or spit at them just like to patriotic liberals

[david1737]

Here''s your "Doomsday Scenario":

Another four years of Republican policy.

[david1737]

"Bush also said he gave up golf in 2003 out of respect for U.S. soldiers killed in the war"

If Bush wanted to show respect for the troops, he''d of fired Rummy a lot sooner.

[david1737]

Wow! After all of the times that Bush has failed he''s got the nerve to stand in front of a mic and pretend that he cares about America, the world and God.

Bush must be the most arrogant man on earth.

[rwm2_2000]

The sad thing is I AGREE WITH THEM ALL!