A wide variety of officials in the administration had advised Bush to apologize on Wednesday when he gave interviews to two Arab television channels and were puzzled when he did not, senior U.S. officials said. An apology had been recommended in the talking points Bush received from the State Department and elsewhere, the officials said. Senior administration aides then made a push overnight for him to say he was sorry during his news conference with Abdullah, the officials said.
Bush’s decision to personally ratify an apology that his subordinates had previously offered, and to do so next to an Arab leader and in language designed to resonate in Muslim culture, reflected growing concern among his advisers that the widening scandal could imperil the outcome of the Iraq occupation and his reelection campaign
John Wayne never apologized and, by God, George Bush isn’t about to either, John Wayne movies being the model for current defense and foreign policy. An apology is in the minds of some people an acknowledgment of culpability. The Big Dawg never is culpable. That’s what being the Big Dawg means, that and the Big Dawg gets to eat first. All the Little Dawgs are looking to bite the Big Dawg in the ass but it’s worth it to be the Big Dawg.
It’s really very simple when you have the Big Dawg theory of statecraft properly explained. You might search for it’s first appearance on these boards.
I wouldn’t call that apologizing. He expressed regret without accepting any responsibility. Essentially “That isn’t the America I know. I’m sorry those soldiers came from the wrong America.”
Well, I am willing to concede that for me, “I’m sorry” has been my lifelong best friend, so much so that there are several ex wives who contend that it costs me so little to say that they are tired of hearing it
But that’s just me.,
Withal, even given some folks reluctance to form the words, isnt there a point in international war and peace type stuff where its really really important to do a convincing impersonation of a sincerely sorry person?
How hard should it have been to get this madman to deliver an actual full bore mea culpa?
(granted he never actually did more tna report the fact that he had, at some time out of camera range apologized to Abdullah, who after all had many relatives brutalized in the prison,…;
(it’s almost like, “one towelhead is as good as another to receive the royal grace”)
Oh, and while we are talking about too dumb to be president, how smart is it to have this story circulate? About how hard it was to wring out an apology?
Does it not sort of, y’know, undercut the whole apology drama for the putative audience?
Well, there are plenty of people out there who think he SHOULDN’T have apologized, that there’s no one to really apologize to, and that most of the people who would hear it don’t deserve it, because they never apologized for Saddam’s atrocities or what happened to the contractors in Iraq.
Not that I agree, but there’s another thread of thinking he could be following.
Bush doesn’t exactly have a history of deciding not to do things just because half of America disagrees with them. He has even said himself that he doesn’t make decisions based on polls.
Bush didn’t admit to any mistakes because polling told him it wouldn’t play well. His claim not to use polls is utter bullshit. If he doesn’t use polls to determine what to say, why does his administration employ polling firms to poll on specific questions and actions his administration is going to take?
It’s nuanced, professional handlers at work. No question, the President, in such an uncomfortable situation, simply has to express regret. It would lack all human decency to not express regret. But to apologise implies culpability, some agency, some actual responsibility.
We are all looking at this awful thing, saying how awful it is, and he is standing with us, agreeing about how awful a thing it was. That happened. Which he regrets, like we all do.
But too much apology is demeaning. Hard to keep your image as a firm and decisive leader buffed up when you do stuff like that. Makes you look too much like people. Besides, he is an American, this stuff was done by people who aren’t really Americans, because Americans don’t do things like that. So there is no more need for GeeDubya to apologize than there is for America to apologize.
And even if there was (and there is) some reason for an apology, there are people who support him now who would turn on him in an instant if he did. Apology, he’s a wuss, express regret, he’s a statesman.
I agree. I probably should’ve put a :rolleyes: in my post too. In election season, he’s definitely watching the polls.
I wouldn’t go so far as to call Bush psychopathic, but the OP is right on.
What Bush gave was not an apology but a condolence. It amounts to no more than the “Sorry, please try again” underneath a losing bottle cap. He only cares about looking good for Americans; he doesn’t care what the Iraqis think of him or the United States.
He’s lucky that a lot of Americans also don’t care what the Iraqis think of our country. If we’re building a new nation, and we tell ourselves we’re doing it for them and that they should be grateful, then shouldn’t we act in a way that they’ll actually appreciate?
They told me if I voted for Gore, then gas prices would skyrocket, the government would get bigger, and the world would turn on America… and they were right!
Well, when you think you are God’s gift to the world, is apology for anything you do or are responsible for really necessary?
Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he’s in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this. Lt Gen William Boykin, speaking of G. W. Bush, New York Times, 17 October 2003
God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany. Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler
If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier - just so long as I’m the dictator. George W. Bush, 18 December 2000
The hypocrisy of members of this forum when concerning people who aren’t card carrying members of the Communist party is distressing.
When a company makes a product that kills a child, do they apologize? No, they never apologize, they may settle a lawsuit and pay out the money. That is how they apologize. They don’t vocalize their apology because that implies culpability, which opens them to further lawsuits.
I’ve said before that I don’t want the president, any president, be it Clinton for his purjury or Reagan for Iran-Contra to openly apologize for their actions. Because in the modern world we can’t accept apologies, apologies just seem to bring crucifixion. That is the type of society we live in and that is how partisan people view their presidents.
If he doesn’t apolgoize, he’s a bastard. If he apologizes, it means that anything he does ever after will be regarded like this, “Well he was wrong before, he’s probably wrong now.” That is a stupid standard of logic that we hold people to, but everyone in this thread is guilty of it and that is why he shouldn’t and cannot apologize.
He’s a politician, god damn, quit acting like he is the only politician ever that tries to spin things. I know that John Kerry is the messiah, came from on high to slay the evil conservatives, but even he is all about spinning things to his advantage, guess what, it’s politics as usual.
Oh, and the John Wayne comparison just shows the monumental and blithering idiocy and uninformed nature of most of the people around here.
I’m simply saying if anyone was to have that opinion, that opinion would be idiocy. Someone can do something stupid without being an idiot, I’ve done it myself.
You’re right. We should never question our leaders for we are but too meek and ignorant to understand such greater matters. We should just roll over instead of asking them to be accountable for their actions. I mean, like Nixon…why didn’t we just lay off the poor guy, right?
WRONG! You know, little you and little me are an active part of the checks and balances. And, it’s not just voting. But, watch-dogging and keeping our voices heard in government that makes our American system work. Otherwise, we might as well elect an infallible dictator to tell us how it’s gonna be! - Jinx
