An intelligence failure...

This was truly too easy. They ought to at least make me work for my sarcastic opportunities, but, alas, they serve it up on a silver platter.

Last week George Bush, Karl Rove and Karen Hughes launched the Legacy Project -- a deliberate effort to spend the next six weeks trying to convince us we really didn't understand the last eight years.

The effort is being rolled out in a series of "exit interviews," where the trio try to replace the general consensus that George Bush was the worst president EVER with the proposition that George Bush was a resolute war president and reluctant warrior who was misled by bad intelligence.

First stop on the Bush Legacy Project was ABC's Charlie Gibson where Bush said "I don't know --- the biggest regret of all the presidency has to have been the intelligence failure in Iraq."

His biggest regret was the intelligence failure. That's right, the decider is basing his horrible decision making on a failure of intelligence. I couldn't agree more.

As Ben Cohen of The Daily Banter put it:

[Bush] has presided over two disastrous wars, an increase in poverty at home, an increase in wealth inequality, an increase in the number of people without health care, a crisis in public education, the break down of national infrastructure, the literal drowning of a city, the use of torture as official policy, the biggest financial crisis in 80 years, and the irreversible decline of America's prestige abroad.

With all of that on his watch, this dim bulb launches a PR campaign to convince us that he was not the worst president because of an "intelligence failure."

But the interview got better:

GIBSON: If the intelligence had been right, would there have been an Iraq war? BUSH: Yes, because Saddam Hussein was unwilling to let the inspectors go in to determine whether or not the U.N. resolutions were being upheld. In other words, if he had had weapons of mass destruction, would there have been a war? Absolutely.

Huh?

GIBSON: No, if you had known he didn't.
BUSH: Oh, I see what you're saying. You know, that's an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can't do. It's hard for me to speculate.

That's an interesting question? Really? It's as if this is the first time he is reflecting on a decision that has been debated for the last five years. And...he doesn't want to speculate. How convenient. Here's a thought... if you want to convince us to reconsider your legacy, you ought to be ready to answer basic questions. You ought to go out on a limb and speculate. You truly have nothing to lose.

The legacy project rolls on, so let's keep repeating the talking points until we believe them. Bush was really a good president. If those pesky intelligence folks had gotten it right, we would have had a good reason to invade Iraq. If only they had done their jobs. Oops. We're speculating again.

You're right W. Your biggest regret should be a failure of intelligence. Yours.

That was truly too easy.

His name was Justin

This morning, I visited Arlington National Cemetery for a Veteran’s Day excursion. Section 60 of the cemetery has been designated as the final resting place for all those who died in Iraq, and we spent a good deal of our time just talking with family members who were there to remember their loved ones.

No matter how many times you confront these sacrifices in a personal way, it is always moving. I was touched by a 5-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother who were there to see their dad. Surprisingly, the young boy spoke of his father with more pride than sadness.

Most memorable was the mother of Army Spc. Justin Rollins. She covered the range of emotions in our conversation -- from beaming with pride for his sacrifice, to remembering his many antics with laughter, to crumbling into tears recalling that yesterday was his birthday. Justin was an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper and infantryman who was killed by an IED humvee explosion three weeks before he was scheduled to go home and planned to propose to his long-time girlfriend.

In the stories of these strangers, the meaning of Veteran’s Day came to life. I thanked his mom, Rhonda, and the many families in Section 60 for their sacrifice, I’d also like to thank all those who served our nation and paid the ultimate price.

More about Justin

So?

You'd think that Dick would be banned from talking to the media after his "greeted as liberators" prediction, but the administration still lets him wander into a microphone and drop these gems:

Raddatz: "Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting, and they're looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives."

Cheney: "So?"

Raddatz: "So -- you don't care what the American people think?"

Cheney: "No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn't had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there."

Here's just something for the vice president to ponder. I'm sure at some point in his career he must have perused the Declaration of Independence:

... Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

So... Mr. Vice President.
So... it does matter what the American people think, since you derive your power from our consent and your resources from our paychecks.
So... it does matter if one of the 4,000 dead Americans is one of your family members. It's easy for you to be callous since you don't know the service members whole lives were lost because of your folly. But they are real people, and their families deserve more respect than a dismissive "so" and platitudes about their patriotism.
So... by every objective measurement, your policies have all failed. When you are in the dust bins of history, we will reserve our enending contempt for your incompetence.
So there!

DC, give congress the finger

Washington, D.C., residents, eager for statehood, now have a reason to give Congress the finger.

During the Iraqi election Dec. 31, 2004, voters dipped their fingers in purple ink to signify that they had voted in the election. The process, conceived as a way to monitor voting status, quickly grew into a symbol of pride. Iraqis brandished their inked fingers for cameras and flaunted them as a symbol of defiance and pride.

The symbolism wasn’t lost in America, where Louisiana freshman representative Bobby Jindal painted his finger purple during the State of the Union as a symbol of unity.

District residents should take this very visible and well-known symbol and use it as a tool to highlight their status as the only citizens in our country to defend democracy but not enjoy it.

Here’s how their act of defiance would work. District residents should be encouraged to dip their fingers in ink – preferably red – to demonstrate their lack of voting rights.

Red ink could be used to symbolize the fact that America has defaulted on its promise of no taxation without representation. It could be used to dramatize the blood that they spill in Iraq for a right they don’t enjoy at home.

I’m sure we could talk a District-based printer to donate the ink to the cause. The ink could be stationed around the city – maybe at Metro stops, for instance. Residents should be encouraged to stop at these locations and dip their fingers as a symbol of protest. Those who couldn’t could download an image of the symbolic red finger from a website. Bumper stickers and T-shirts could fuel the campaign.

We brought democracy to Iraq. How about a little for the Nation's Capital. Don't make us give you the finger.