RK ARCHIVE - ANALYSIS: Bush's appeal "of a unified country" & to "put aside our differences"

Here is the official White House link and transcript of Bush's 9/11 speech from Monday night where Bush makes a rare appeal "of a unified country, and we must put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us:"

THE PRESIDENT: "On this solemn anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to this cause. Our nation has endured trials, and we face a difficult road ahead. Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified country, and we must put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us. We will defeat our enemies. We will protect our people. And we will lead the 21st century into a shining age of human liberty."

While I fully agree with the concept of unity and feel that it is very much lacking in this country, it cannot be a "unity" based on just rubber stamping whatever Bush decides to do on a unilateral basis without any kind of a real dialogue and debate about the policy. If that is the kind of unity which Bush is asking for, then I agree with Ted Kennedy's comments here:

(As Delivered by Senator Edward M. Kennedy at the National Press club, January 12, 2005)

"If the White House+óGé¼Gäós idea of bipartisanship is that we have to buy whatever partisan ideas they send us, we+óGé¼Gäóre not interested."
Real unity that is good for the country and which is very badly needed now must be a healthy kind of unity that involves real compromise and a real give and take on both sides (which Bush has almost never done on a willing basis regarding his policies but only when he is forced to in some way). There also needs to be real "debate, dialogue, discussion, disagreement, (and) dissent" coming from both sides in my opinion for there to be this healthy unity as Gen. Wes Clark is quoted as saying:

General Wesley K. Clark
Remarks to DNC Fall Meeting
Washington, DC
October 3, 2003

"This New American Patriotism is not just about waving the flag and guarding our borders. It's about guarding what makes us distinctive as Americans - our personal liberties, our right to debate and dissent. We are not a country that manipulates facts, ignores debate, and stifles dissent. We are not a country that retaliates against people who criticize the government. We are not a country that disdains our friends and allies. We are not a country that sheds blood before every other option has been exhausted. And we can't have a government that stands for any of these things.

And that's why I'm running for President - to return America to the core ideals of our democracy: personal liberty; service to country; respect for others; the right to criticize and correct the government - in time of war, especially. Debate, dialogue, discussion, disagreement, dissent - that's not wrong - that's not unpatriotic, that's one of the highest forms of patriotism and love of country, and we need to say it."

Unfortunately the philosophy of Neoconservatism is a philosophy of total arrogance that does not believe in this kind of a healthy unity or compromise. This is the very unhealthy and poisonous philosophy that has hijacked the modern Republican Party leadership as is clearly documented about Bush by Rush Limbaugh who is a top Neocon GOP grassroots activist leader and who represents this kind of arrogant philosophy:

LIMBAUGH: "The Democratic Party and the American left act like they remain to be convinced that we even have an enemy. So, I think, in case of George W. Bush, where this is concerned, foreign policy, national security, the heck with the polls and all. He is going to do his job. To heck with what the media is saying about him or what Jimmy Carter says at a funeral about him. He is going to go do his job. And we are thankful for that. I think we all ought to be...

Well, Neil, the problem, I think, again +óGé¼GÇ¥ and I don't want to sound excessively partisan here, even though I love partisanship, because I think it's defining. You know who are dealing with.

I mean, one of the problems here is these polls. I mean, the media uses polls to create news stories. I think polls are just an extension of the editorial page, an excuse to get them on the front page. You can ask any question you want, get any answer you want, and then run around with that as a news story.

What I'm telling you is, President Bush +óGé¼GÇ¥ when it comes to this issue +óGé¼GÇ¥ it's irrelevant to him. He is going to do what's necessary to do."

This kind of thinking and mindset is absolutely pathetic, destructive, and will never help to unify the country in a healthy way!

The fact of the matter is that what Bush says is clearly open to debate and question. Here is an excellent example of this from Bush's 9/11 speech on Monday night:

"I'm often asked why we're in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat."

The truth is that Saddam Hussein was a clear threat but he was NOT an imminent threat to anybody with Iraq being surrounded by about 130,000 troops and with about 200 weapons inspectors roaming around in Iraq!

Saddam Hussein was a bud guy and was a nuisance but he was NOT an imminent of a threat to the United States (or to anybody) at the time Bush started the war in Iraq because Saddam was fully contained and boxed up while Al Qaeda, Iran, and North Korea were all very possible imminent threats at that time!

This policy from Bush has got to be open to serious debate and dialogue in my opinion and cannot just be blown off like how Tony Snow did:

Press Briefing by Tony Snow
White House Conference Center Briefing Room
September 8, 2006

Q Has the administration been briefed on the Senate Intelligence Committee report due out today on the run up to the attack in Iraq?

MR. SNOW: "No. We'll see it when it gets released... But, more importantly -- if we have people who want to re-litigate that, that's fine, but the President's stated concern this week, as you've seen, is to think, okay, we'll let people quibble over three years ago;"

That was an arrogant answer from Tony Snow in my opinion because how this war was started is very important to be talking about. The misjudgments and mistakes involved in that initial decision are related to the misjudgments and mistakes that are happening right now because they are based on the same type of philosophy!

The arrogance of this GOP leadership is also seen in how they are planning to "get personal" by spending "millions" of dollars to dig "up dirt on Democrats" in election 2006 to try and stay in full power in Congress to avoid being held to any form of serious accountability regarding their controversial and divisive policies:

"Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable financial war chest over the final 60 days of the campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues and local controversies, GOP officials said..."

It is also not helping things when Vice President Dick Cheney is on record as thinking that this is okay for the GOP to be doing:

MR. RUSSERT: "There is a report in the papers today that the Republican Campaign Committee of the House is going to spend $50 million between now and the midterm elections, and 90 percent of that money is on negative advertising against the Democratic opponents. Is that appropriate?

VICE PRES. CHENEY: Well, Tim, I haven+óGé¼Gäót seen the ads. I hope our guys have good, hard-hitting advertisements, certainly the opposition does. And I don+óGé¼Gäót see anything inappropriate about a tough, hard-charging campaign. This is an important campaign. Just think about what+óGé¼Gäós at stake in this election in terms of national security and the global war on terror and where we go on these issues you and I have been talking about this morning."

The bottom line here is that while a healthy unity is badly needed in this country now, it cannot be a false or unhealthy unity of just rubber stamping whatever Bush decides to do without any real debate, serious dialogue, and compromise coming from both sides where each side can generally agree on the policy!

Serious and healthy unity will NEVER come while Bush and the GOP leadership are arrogantly just shoving their divisive and controversial policies right down the throats of at least half of the country!

This is probably the most important issue that Democrats can be running on in election 2006 in my opinion against Bush rubber stamp candidates. There are many problems at home and abroad and nobody can EFFECTIVELY govern and solve serious problems when they and their policies are hated and despised by at least half of the country and by most of the free and civilized world!

Democrats and Democratic candidates should be asking the question: Can Bush (or ANY President) EFFECTIVELY govern and solve serious problems like that and should members of Congress (who are supposed to be a check and balance on the President) be rubber stamping over 95% of whatever Bush decides to do on a unilateral basis? The obvious answer to that question in my opinion is a very definite and firm "No!"

We can talk about problems in Iraq or on any other issues until we are blue in the face but none of them will never be truly resolved with one ideological side just shoving their own controversial and divisive policies right down people's throats!

An excellent and effective argument that Democratic candidates can be making for Democrats taking back at least one branch of Congress in November is that real debate, dialogue, and compromise will be restored back to government which will help both sides to resolve problems in a much better and effective way!

Please forward this on because this is a very important concept that ALL people need to clearly understand before they vote in November. This message will also connect with many moderate, independent, and disillusioned Republican voters because most of them are absolutely sick and tired of this bitter partisanship and they are looking for real unity in this country!

http://www.securinga...
Listen to Gen. Wes Clark fight for Dems on Sean Hannity's radio program:

An excellent example for all of us to follow and what we all need to be doing to help fight against extreme right wing Neocon smear propaganda which will help our local candidates to win their races!

Comments

Bill Clinton calls for kinder, gentler political talk / I really like this: (Mitch Dworkin - 9/12/2006 6:24:33 AM)

http://www.usatoday....

Posted 11/20/2005 9:50 PM Updated 11/21/2005 5:53 AM

Clinton calls for kinder, gentler political talk

By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY

Keep the talk going (VA Breeze - 9/12/2006 11:26:35 AM)

Posts like yours and commentary ike Keith Olbermann's will go a long way to waking people up to get them talking. Many take silence as tacit agreement.