Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Bully Boy trots out some oldies in Cleveland

What shall I write?
What can I say?

Some will already catch the musical reference. For those who don't, we'll get back to it.

Fearful of a Republican rebellion over Iraq that his own aides believe could force him to change course, President Bush said Tuesday that the United States would be able to pull back troops "in a while," but asked Congress to wait until September to pass judgment on a future military presence there.
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, fresh from a trip to Iraq, joined in the call for patience, imploring lawmakers not to "let fatigue dictate our policies." As the Senate began a two-week debate over a major military spending bill, the White House dispatched cabinet officials and advisers to urge other Republicans to stand by the president.


The above is from Jeff Zeleny and Sheryl Gay Stolberg's "Bush Counters G.O.P. Dissent on Iraq Policy" in this morning's New York Times. Bully Boy wants people to wait for September and makes like Darlene Love singing "Wait Till My Bobby Gets Home"? And for someone who wants to whine, John McCain, that we should not "let fatigue dictate our policies" -- uh, what was the dropping of two members of his staff? If that's news to you, check out Wally's "THIS JUST IN! STILL CRAZY!" and Cedric's "Senator Crazy presses on" (joint-post). But Bully Boy wants to say "patience" and he's done that over and over which the reporters fail to note. Possibly the mistake was in sending reporters to Cleveland when what was needed was a critic from the paper's arts section?

Along with the song lyrics performed, they could have noted that he sweated profusely (mid-way through the forehead was well past "shiny"), that his jacket appeared to have been sewn to provide a little extra width around the hips, that no one bothered to fix his tie before he went on (hence the crease under the knot), that his pants continue to be too long (possibly the White House tailor isn't allowed to point out how short Bully Boy actually is?), that he gestured widly and repeatedly, that while the curls arounnd the face of a young Sophia Loren were exotic and gamine, those really aren't qualities one looks for in a world leader. And possible they could have concluded something from the fey manner in which he held up the paper/sticker reading "CLE+" to the audience? They probably would have noted that he now looks well beyond middle aged anytime he's not well lighted by the White House advance team.

In terms of the performance? Bully Boy appears to like nothing as much as pretending to be Axel Rose and singing "Patience." It's surprising that Stolberg especially doesn't note it because she reported on one of those patience bits last year. From"NYT: Nothing to see, is there ever?" (June 15, 2006)


Meanwhile Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes an article that's either a rewrite or reads that way. There have been so many stories of Bully Boy playing Axel Rose and singing "Patience" ("Just a little patience . . .") that it's hard to keep all the nonsense straight. Stolberg cleans up Bully Boy's press conference (omitting, for instance, the laughable "darn dangerous" remark and not noting his stops and starts, his faltering words as though someone had just whispered in his ear . . . wait, that's another story). It's useless which is why it runs in the paper.

You can find those moments repeating over and over throughout the illegal war but, strangely, the press wants to act as if this is the first time Bully Boy's ever asked for patience. He's asked all along. Over and over. And at some point, the public loses their own. That point has been reached. Martha notes Michael Abramowtiz' "President To Critics: Wait Till September" (Washington Post):

President Bush pushed back Tuesday against demands from Republican lawmakers to outline a new war strategy, urging them to hold their fire until Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, delivers a progress report in September.
Bush told a friendly audience here that the additional troops he ordered to Iraq have only recently arrived to join the fight. "I believe that it's in this nation's interests to give the commander a chance to fully implement his operations. And I believe Congress ought to wait for General Petraeus to come back and give us an assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions," Bush said at a town hall appearance.

Yes, he's singing and apparently missing his boy Davey Petraeus so he gave a full on performance yesterday. He brought out the usual crowd please cover of "Patience" (without even getting called on it) and then he launched into "Wait Till My Bobby Gets Home" only to close with a Carole King and Gerry Goffin classic:

My friends look forward to their picnics on the beach
Yes everybody loves the summertime
But you know darling while your arms are out of reach
The summer isn't any friend of mine
It doesn't matter whether skies are grey or blue
It's raining in my heart 'cause I can't be with you
I'm only living for the day you're home to stay
So it might as well rain until September
September,
September,
. . . .

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