WASHINGTON, May 13, 2008
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
-
President Bush, took a swipe at Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, saying that his biggest fear was that one of the two democrats would win the presidency and withdraw troops from Iraq, which would lead to another terrorist attack on American soil. (CBS)
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."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From U.S.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 11
- next
See all 212 CommentsI 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!
Posted by david1737 at 07:25 PM : May 15, 2008
+ report abuse
********
or spit at them just like to patriotic liberals
Another four years of Republican policy.
If Bush wanted to show respect for the troops, he''d of fired Rummy a lot sooner.
Bush must be the most arrogant man on earth.
Posted by ***
So what, Bush is a History undergrad and he doesn''t know history at all!!!
Posted by RickNuber
Keep in mind that the CEO of Diebold is a BIG Time repub supporter from Ohio. I don''t trust that b astard or any products from his company regarding voting machines!!!
[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 gw''''s great grandfather ... who was the president of the usga in the 1920''''s
http://www.freerepublic.com/f
ocus/f-news/1490657/posts
We weren''t "misled" by the intelligence information, we were "misled" by Bush twisting the intelligence to what he wanted it to be.
It''s amazing has not figured out yet, that we know what a complete idiot in chief we know he is!
This guy lies to himself and believes it!
Another non-productive, bullying, goading, and juvenile post from James.
As an old Mommy, I have concluded that you, James, have some bizarre issue with Vietnam vets, as well as are so completely impotent in your real life that you must use cyberspace and the internets'' tubes to give yourself a feeling of dominance.
Your Mom would be ashamed of you.
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?
So is "Treason" you moron, and you committed both!
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
... - 11
- next
See all 212 Comments