Doublespeak of the Week

I have no doubt that future political scientists will study, with neophytic zeal, President Bush's 2004 election victory. A victory complete with such stunning tricks as turning a decorated Vietnam veteran into someone who shamed his country and making that same person into a flip-flopping, second-guessing ninny.

Of course it was Bush, a man who never experienced combat, who was painted as the veteran troop commander. It was also Bush, himself an experienced flip-flopper, who came across as the decisive leader. Yes, he was decisive about the big decision: invading Iraq. Even though this is a decision which history will prove him wrong about, much like history later exonerated all of those who protested for our withdrawal from Vietnam. Bush, in danger of going into the red on public support for invading Iraq to find phantom WMDs, later changed his rational to installing democracy and removing Saddam, all the while desperately trying to tie Iraq to 9/11. Faced with mountains of evidence, or lack of evidence, Bush has indeed proven decisive, though most would say stubborn.

And here we are with his latest flip-flop: what to do about the man he nicknamed "Turd Blossom". Yeah, Karl Rove. At first Bush said, decisively, that he would fire the person found to be the leak. Now, he says he will fire the person if he has committed a crime. Of course those are two different things and the reason is because the person who leaked the info is his good buddy Rove. Is the White House changing its story to fit the prevailing political wind? Wow, I didn't see that ploy coming! Of course, the 55 million who voted for him probably care less and gladly rejoice in the verbal abuse. Although, there are those confused 5-10% who, since the election, have abandoned approval of the President, although I'm not sure what they've been recently surprised about.

If Bill Clinton can be investigated and practically impeached for a sex scandal can I expect the same diligence for a national security issue such as this? I'm not holding my breath. I think if this country had its eye on national security issues we would have learned the lessons of Vietnam and not trusted it's fighting young men to a waffler.

Stay tuned for more smoke and mirrors as Bush announces his Supreme Court pick tonight. I predict more ire from the religious right.