Nope, a “miscalculation,” not a mistake. And not with regard to fucking up by going to Iraq in the first place, no, about what the conditions would be after we got there. That is absolutely not even remotely the same as admitting a mistake.
Good try, but, not. This time he merely “misspoke,” made an “incorrect remark.” You’re really stretching here.
And this is just a repeat of exactly the same thing as your first attempt at an example.
Here, let me help you out here.
Now there’s a shocker of an admission! I guess we know who one of them is now, don’t we?!
For one thing, over half of the senior officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency have virtually no experience in managing emergencies but they do have ties to Bush’s 2000 campaign.
So, we’re looking for an example of Bush admitting error.
Does Bush consider this to be an admission of error? Let’s see:
Does that sound like a “My bad!” to you?
Wow, President Bush seems to have put on some weight. It’s almost as though that were some entirely different person.
That refers to the same “admission” we already looked at. The one where he’s on record as saying “Nononono… I didn’t mean I made a mistake – I meant we did much better than we expected to.”
Your examples of previous admissions aren’t that at all. This is the first time he’s actually shouldered a reasonable amount of responsibility for a major cock-up, and it’s remarkable only because previous major cock-ups have been bluffed through.
I think everyone realizes that politicians, by their nature, are going to minimize their faults. Bush just seems to have had the opportunity to bluff his way through a few more fiascos than are par for the course, and has, so far, been doing a pretty good impression of a teflon wall covered in silicone oil.
It’s remarkable any time a politician admits culpability without being absolutely forced into it. We can all think of examples where other heads of state have gritted their teeth and kept ducking when it was obvious they were totally at fault, whether it’s your last president’s stonewalling about his extramarital action, or our current PM’s complete denial of responsibility for the biggest corruption scandal in recent Canadian history.
Don’t waste your time trying to present ol’ George as a conspicuously forthright politician. They are rare, and he’s pretty far from the mark – which is why we’re rightly gobsmacked by this unexpected turn of events.
For your further education, Psycho Pirate, I will also offer that “taking responsibility” means not only admitting to making a mistake, but doing everything in one’s power to go about correcting that mistake. You’ll forgive me if I don’t hold my breath.
Count me in among the respondents who are not exactly overwhelmed by the magnanimity or gutsiness of this blame-shouldering, but are nonetheless pleased and approving that Bush at least went as far as he did with it. Thank you, Mr. President. (About time. :p)
What I admit worries me, though, is the second paragraph of the linked article:
Hmm, the moment he chooses to start in admitting mistakes is after he’s been conferring with the leader of the Iraqi transitional government? Oh shit. What’s screwing up over there that we’re about to find out about?
It took me a few hours but I’ve finally nailed down what has happened these past 24 hours. Unfortunately I don’t have time for a drawn out explanation so here’s the Cliffs notes version:
Brown resigned yesterday. When asked what he thought, Bush didn’t offer “no comment” like many might have expected. Instead, he said specifically that he had no clue it had happened.
This puzzled me. How in the world would a man in the position Brown was in NOT have told the President when he was resigning? How in the world would Bush NOT have known and specifically admit that he didn’t know?
So today we see that Bush is taking responsibility for everything gone wrong at the federal level. Now it clicks.
Bush could not fire Brown because that wouldn’t be taking responsibility himself. In fact, Bush had to specifically say he had no possible idea that Brown was resigning because, Bush cannot claim to BOTH take responsibility AND let someone else resign for a blunder at the federal level. If he were to truly take responsibility, he could not let Brown resign. Thus, he announces this after Brown resigns and must feign ignorance as to the resignation. “no comment” wouldn’t work here.
Those of you who shout about inability to admit mistakes and accept responsibility, and you’re also ardent supporters of the previous administration, which had no shortage of lies, deception, and credibility issues? :dubious: Puh-leeze.
And you really are a dolt, many already have mentioned that the local authorities have a share of the blame (me included), we are complaining about the failure for responding late and inadecuately **after ** the hurricane.
Shayna actually found one. Holy smokes. I guess I had forgotten about that. But we know who he was thinking about don’t we? Anyone who spoke truth to power, such as O’Neill, Clarke, John DiIulio.
Huh? Who here is “an ardent supporter of the previous administration”? I never in my life met a fellow liberal who didn’t have some pretty strong criticisms of Bill Clinton. Certainly I never met anybody who thought he was a paragon of unflinching truth and candor, especially in his personal life. We just didn’t happen to care very much that he lied about getting a blowjob.
(And whatever Clinton’s faults, at least he was sometimes capable of shouldering responsibility like a man. He apologized fully for his conduct in the Lewinsky affair; he admitted it had been a mistake to ignore the Rwandan genocide; he apologized for the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia. No, he doesn’t seem to be a particularly admirable or straightforward person, perhaps not even as politicians go, but at least as President he had some notion of where the buck stopped. Which is something that his successor doesn’t seem to have had a clue about until very recently.)
I was underwelmed by the semi-apology. However, even if it was a sack cloth and ashes full confession, unless there are steps taken to correct the situation and prevent its recurrence, my reaction will be “so fuggin what”.
Psycho Pirate
I just wish Dubya wouldn’t qualify everything he says. That debate response that Shayna found is “dead on balls accurate”. How did I forget that one? :smack: I remember watching that debate and when that question was asked, the audience was waiting for Dubya to be a “regular” guy and actually say something substantial. Wow just look at that “confession”. :rolleyes:
As far as a “double standard” between Dubya and Clinton? I’ll give you my reasons why - and it is NOT due to ideology. Clinton had a shitty, abusive poverty-stricken childhood yet became a Rhodes scholar and President. Also, he could speak correctly and properly. At least he acted Presidential.
Ideologically, I’m much more liberal than Ronald Reagan - HOWEVER - he could speak very well, he also came from a humble background and if nothing else, you didn’t feel ashamed the guy was President.
Basically, these 2 guys (Clinton and Reagan) EARNED their presidency. It’s not as if someone came up to them and said “Hi Billy, hi Ronny - I’ve got a Presidency for each of you !!” “Oh thank you Daddy !!”
I am just in awe of the brilliance of this line of blame-shifting. Not only can you tar the current Democratic governor and mayor, you get to slam the Louisiana Dem’s all the way back to the Kingfish himself! Absolutlely wonderful! Don’t let little things like, say, the facts of who is actually[sup]*[/sup] in charge of those levees and wetlands projects, dissuade you from this. Keep it up, and the propaganda-meisters will soon be knocking down your door.
For someone who doesn’t listen to polls, it appears he’s grappling to save himself with this light apology. I don’t think it will help him though, not much anyways. He has proved to be incompetent over and over.
It just baffles me that he can make so many mistakes and people still line up to lick the sweat off his nuts. Pretty sad when your approval rating is the same as Nixon’s during the Watergate scandal. Even Clinton had a 70% approval rating during the impeachment proceedings and I think his lowest rating was in the lower 40% during his entire 8 years.
But it’s about freedom and terrorists and 9-11 and the war on terror and WMD’s and they hate our freedoms and values and . . .
Fucking Christ. I can only imagine what the next Democratic administration will be like once every fucking question gets answered with “Sure, but Bush fucked up the same thing, only bigger.”
I don’t get the whole let’s drag in Clinton when the argument isn’t headed in the direction we are comfortable with school of thought.
The topic here is Bush and his “taking responsibility”, Bush and his “mistakes”.
If a thread about Clinton and his mistakes is started, I will certainly post there.
Could there be a lamer apology out there? And what President doesn’t even know that one of his heads of a major department has resigned?
A “President” who goes to bed at 9 pm, and focuses more on his bicycling prowess than oh-the country and its people, that’s who.
I do so hope that the next administration is not government by frat boy. I think we’ve seen that this doesn’t work…
I was thinking more along the lines of committing seppuku in the Rose Garden.
Another thing to keep in mind: GeeDub is still angling to head up the investigation, still hoping that he can control the inquiry. Regard this “admission” in that light, and it makes more sense.
Phase one will, of course, concentrate on the failings of intelligence and lower levels of governance to provide the President with timely information. Phase two, at some later date yet to be determined, will focus on how that info was applied. It is, of course, possible that phase two may need be postponed, due to the press of Presidential responsibilities. Mmmmm. Yes. Quite.
