Bush to let successor worry about paying for Iraq
By Steve Benen Wednesday Jan 23, 2008 7:16amBush, before:
"I believe it is the job of a President to confront problems, not pass them on to future Presidents and future generations."
Bush, now:
The White House confirmed Wednesday that its new budget next month will not request a full yearβs funding for the war in Iraq, leaving the next president and Congress to confront major cost questions soon after taking office in 2009.
Typical.
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What a dick...cheney.
The next pres. could just end the damned war and fund bringing the troops home. Cancel all the contracts with independent contractors and allow the Iraqis to get jobs and rebuild their country to their own liking.
As if we expected otherwise from a guy who ran three energy companies into the ground, traded away Sammy Sosa, and was the lone vote against the playoff system (all the while insisting that 'history' would vindicate him)?
We're going broke. The dollar is in the tank, the economy on the brink, and we're killing our military in slow motion by clinging to an ineffective strategy.
This is the problem with Republicans: They love to borrow and spend against our future, not for it. They decry the Democrats as being "tax and spend liberals" and you know what, I would rather pay for our expenses now, than to saddle future generations with our economic mistakes.
One of the basic reasons that our dollar is worth less than the Canadian dollar is our staggering national debt, which has ballooned to almost $10 trillion! Forget our yearly deficits, its that damn debt that is destroying us!
Just the Chimp bein' the Chimp.
Never took responsibility for anything. Left it to Daddy, Mommy, Daddy's friends, etc. etc.
Maybe the American public should learn to pay attention when they vote.
"Can't you see we're busy over here?" http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Contempt_citations_on_hold_as_Dems_0123.html
Elected by the Supreme Court, not the people of the United States, Bush & Co. has been inept from the start. They bungled Katrina, the "war on terror," the budget, while our infrastructure is tumbling down, our jobs left the US, and we owe our soul to China. Why should we expect they will accomplish anything positive before they leave let alone clean up their messes? With the exception of a major redistribution of wealth from the lower and middle classes to their favored few, name one accomplishment they made that benefited the country and will last. All of this was done with the eager approval of their minions in Congress. Remember when they announced that Clinton's people removed the "W" from all the keyboards? They forgot that they received from the Clinton administration a balanced budget, a budget surplus and integrity in the world.
Liberal AND Proud @ 5:
9/11 was Clinton's fault. The Democrats rushed Bush into a vote on the war in '02. The economy is tanking because of liberals. The world hates our policies because of FDR. Or whomever else this turd can find to blame for his actions. He has NEVER taken responsibility for anything. Unfortunately, this mess is too big for even his daddy's friends at the Carlyle (sp) Group to correct.
Liberal AND Proud @ 5:
pissed off patricia @ 2:
Can I get an "Amen!"
Circa 2000: "When I'm president we won't be in the business of nation building"
After 9/11 (cause that 'changed everything'): "It is our job, to spread freedom & democracy around the world, and I intend to do that"
2008: 2 Trillion dollar War & Occupation, $5,000 per second...
Best con job perpetuated on the United States since late in 1980....
I agree. This is very typical of Bush. Just about every business he has ever ran in his life has fallen through and the pieces left over from his screw ups had to be cleaned up by someone else. Iraq will be no different.
How 'bout them Tex-assed Rangers, heard he made millions.
The Bush Administration is catching it from worldwide unrest by desperate people in the MiddleEast, Africa and India. Not to mention a tanking economy and worldwide outrage over Torture as US Policy.
President Bush, Republicans, and friends (DLC) are not in control; Look for increase in brutality.
these guys are the Masters of Disasters. And yet there are still some Americans out there with their heads so far up their ass's they believe the Republican party is doing a good job. They used to stand behind Bush too, until his failures became too glaring for even the zealots to ignore. Now they say "Oh well, Bush is bad, but it's only him...and Cheney...but the Republicans are OK." and I keep telling them, take a honest look at what has been done and tell me really the Republicans haven't hurt America.
- none of them can do it or for that matter can even show me where I'm wrong.
By the way, I wish they would not use the word "budget". That particular word makes it sound like the Bush Administration knows what it is doing financially which we all have known from day one is not the case. I think we would all be wise to ignore that word "budget" and replace it with words that really matter. Something like the following would be more fitting:
"The White House confirmed Wednesday that its new bill for the taxpayers to pay next month will not request a full yearβs funding for the war in Iraq, leaving the next president and Congress to confront major cost questions soon after taking office in 2009."
tjb @ 13:
yes, by cheating people out of their land using eminent domain so he could have their stadium built. He has aways been this way, look at everything he has ever done, he never finished a project (at least any of the ones I can find information on) in his life.
The only thing that ever mattered to Junior was having the word 'president' associated with his worthless frat-boy arse. He's an idiot and a fuck-up, and he knows it.
The Good Doctor wants to work with Barney Frank.
That is an inexplicable bit of spite coming from this unbalanced little prick, because things are being engineered so, if the GOPers can't steal /rig the next election, that at least a corporatist prostitute will still be president. This would mean that the war/occupation/colonization will continue indefinitely into the future. Profits and plunder for the corporations and the bad guys will continue rolling on. Since the GOPers and the neocon-Lites/corporatist are all working for the same side (and that isn't the People), you'd think there would be a little partisan cooperation.
One last note: I wonder if they will give the Democratic president as long as they gave Bush before he was supposed to be responsible for anything that happened in America. He wasn't responsible for 9/11, almost a year into his presidency, he wasn't responsible for the failures that followed Katrina, almost 5 years into his presidency, and now in his (god help us)eighth year in office I'm sure they will find a way to say he is not responsible for the recession we are in (and it's only going to get worse)
so watch...on the first day in office you will here Rush or Bill'O-job start talking about all the problems they are now ignoring.
Kinda makes ya wonder why anyone really wants the job. No matter how good the next president may be, the incredible pile of intractable problems really does look impossible to conquer or even lessen, at least in a relatively short time. And if a Democrat takes the presidency and Republicans remain in control of Congress (which they are, since they can--and do--obstruct everything), any possible solutions will be blocked for fear of making the new administration look good.
Sigh.
Uh-Oh - Georgette Orwell! Big Sister is watching us! lol - great choice for your name there :)
jwf @ 8:
I don't quite agree 9/11 was Clinton's fault. George Tenet, who was one of the few members of Clinton's staff to transition to the Bush Administration, warned Rice and Cheney that they needed to look into Al-Qaida activities. Cheney was supposed to set up a Terrorism task force and meet with Tenet but never did. Tenet asked to meet with Rice several times but was rebuffed. Rice was more concerned with some kind of missile defense system and Cheney was more interested in holding closed door meetings with his friends in the energy business. And Bush was on vacation.
Al Franken termed the whole thing as "Operation Ignore."
You have to remember, Bush wanted to set up his own agenda from the get go. Anything Clinton had done in his last few months in office, Bush went the opposite direction:
1) Clinton was holding Middle East Peace before he left office - Bush just let it slide.
2) Clinton put in place new environmental legislation - Bush reversed many of them.
3) Clinton tried to go after Al Qaida - Bush completely ignored the threat.
4) Clinton left office with the Economy in pretty good shape - Bush claimed the economy was tanking.
Clinton tried several times to go after Al-Qaida. He was rebuffed by the Republican controlled congress who didn't want to pay for it.
9/11 happened on Bush's watch. If he and his staff had even bothered to listen to George Tenet they may have had time to put the pieces together. I wouldn't blame Clinton. If anything Bush completely ignored the threat.
wow, I just noticed - when I see the words Big Brother I think of a crusty white dictator (Cheney springs to mind) - but when I see the words Big Sister I think of a big black mama who would go into the White House and grab George by the ear and pull him outside to look and the country and say "Now clean up that mess you made!" and if he didn't do it, he'd get the switch!
Chip @ 23:
I think the 'Clinton's Fault' reply was sarcasm, since it also blamed the Democrats for rushing the war vote in '02.
The problem is that he just doesn't give a shit about anything. Never has had to and still doesn't. Whether it's his family, our country, our people, he just doesn't care about any of it. He sees himself as some sort of gift to the world and as that gift, he bears no responsibility for anything he does. As my dad would have said, He needs a good ass kicking. And he does. Daddy would have said he needs somebody to bring him down to earth. I don't endorse spanking children, but in this case I would make an exception.
On a positive note, at least the Chimp and Dick plan on surrendering their offices by this time next year.
Georgette Orwell @ 21:
I'm guessing the sane qualified repubs are sitting this one out because they know that a dem is most likely to win, that dem can't possibly dig through all the problems in four years, so at that time a repub will ride in to save the day.
Has anyone noticed how things go to shite (as in economic meltdown, everything else goes to shite right away...) about the 6th or 7th year of EVERY 2 term Republican presidency?
Chip @ 23:
I was being sarcastic. Bush is responsible.
Symon @ 27:
Do you really believe that?
"My name's George W. Bush. I spent my time in office givin' tax breaks to rich people, lyin', torturin', destroyin' the Constitution, and killin' hundreds 'n' thousands of Iraqis.... Now pass me that polishin' rag."
It is the job of a president. Unfortunately, the current occupant of the Oval Office is no president.
If he leaves..I don't think after all this they are going to give this kind of power away to hillery or obama...mark my words "Something wicked this way comes"
I just wonder if they'll be able to remove the old-man-stink from Cheney's office??
bill w @ 31:
I do believe the current president will step down. Then his party will methodically undermine the Democratic successor at every turn for four years and, styling themselves as the saviours of the country, return to the WH in 2012.
It worked for Reagan.
pissed off patricia @ 2:
yeah go edwards!
"When God created Republicans, he gave up on everything else." ~Frank Zappa
An Average Joe @ 9:
AMEN!!!!
Of course he is going to let the successor worry about it. Hell, it will be successors. It's called debt. Monstrous debt. Matters not who is elected, this debt is not going to go away in 4 years or less, even if the Military Industrial Complex financing is gutted in 2009.
CalGeorge @ 32:
"Mr. Bush, you've spent the last 8 years bankrupting the country, starting an illegal war, torturing, vetoing every piece of meaningful legislation, ignoring serious problems. What are you going to do now?" "I'm going to (DisneyLand) Paraguay!"
Why are you surprised; it's Bush's SOP to let others clean up the shyt he leaves behind.
But, people voted for him (twice) because, he was the kind of person "you could have a beer with."
I've always been particular about who I choose to drink with, and Bush would NOT be on my list, even if he is POTUS.
I consider Driftglass to be more worthy of drinking with than Bush.
Dahgrostab'ph-r-i....Can that switch lead to the electric chair or better yet the lethal injection vial?? Yeah, lethal injection. 'W' sure liked that when he was "Guvner of Texsus".
jwf @ 8:
Ah Sarcasm...I was about to go off, lol!!!
But yeah, Americans do definitely need to pay attention during elections...not just vote for who has the best hair, or the best sound bites...
liberalNmoderation @ 44:
Why? The MSM has it all figured out. It's all about electing the first woman!!! Doesn't matter what she stands for or her policies, cuz if you ask about that, you are sexist.
pissed off patricia @ 28:
Sane qualified Republicans? I think they're more myth than reality. Kind of like Sasquatch and the Loch Ness monster.
This is why I hope the Dems take majority control of both houses and a Rethug wins the presidency. That way the Pres can take the fall for Bush. You know the Rethugs are just waiting to blame a Dem pres for Iraq's "failure."
bill w @ 31:
I don't believe anything that these fuckers say. Cheney is an imperialist fascist and The Chimp is just a megalomaniacal asshat with delusions of godhood.
This election cycle needs a do-over. CNN, Fox, MSNBC and Disney owe us all an apology for not giving us qualified applicants that we can pretend to vote for.
Off with his head and while we are at it, stomp on his balls.
oops, he doesn't have any! he is a chickenshit!
HDon @ 49:
i beg to differ. we have three strong contenders on the democratic side.
on the otherhand, there is no on worth pissing on with the repugs.
The new Republican Motto should be "The Most Irresponsible Political Party In The World - Join Us If You Just Don't Care!".
There is a sort of dizzying, nausea inducing euphoria every time he let's fly another statement that proves, yet again, what obscene LIARS these people are. And PROUD of their subterfuge! It's like this pugnacious little turd is TRYING to be the worlds worst president in such a way that historians will be forced to come to the conclusion that it was all a farce, because what else could something this blatantly awful be?
ConcernedCanuck @ 40:
That's because NOTHING is his fault!
It's simple the next president simply ends the war and brings the troops home.
"Why? The MSM has it all figured out. It's all about electing the first woman!!! Doesn't matter what she stands for or her policies, cuz if you ask about that, you are sexist.
"
My, my, you sure are scared of being called sexist. Why don't you just try to consider Hillary a person or a human being, not a subset of those categories, and then let fly whatever you have to say.
If you're joking, i apologize.
pissed off patricia @ 2:
Patricia.... When are you going to learn how to be an American? Don't you know that for the last seven years, good ideas are considered "un-American?" We can not just end the war. We have to stay over there until the next great depression occurs. Then after that, we have to let the government get royally fucked. So fucked that they have to cut spending for medical research, public school programs... etc. Only then can we end this war and bring home our troops(if we have any left....) Only when we have completely shredded the constitution and told every American citizen that what they think doesn't matter and we have told the rest of the world to go fuck themselves can we end this war.
snark
Bush = terrorist. Impeach!
Dr. Acula @ 54:
I hope you overlooked the "snark" at the end of that comment
JudyLou @ 56:
"
My, my, you sure are scared of being called sexist. Why don't you just try to consider Hillary a person or a human being, not a subset of those categories, and then let fly whatever you have to say.
If you're joking, i apologize.
I was joking. Hillary as a human being is a shrewd calculated corrupt politician from days gone by. I don't know how anybody can call her campaigning on change, any change at all, but I guess some of them are gullible. Her record speaks for itself. It ain't pretty.
jackpine savage @ 38:
god needed to do something with all the shit in eden......voila, repuglicans,
especially the evangelishts.
Politically, after thinking about it, I think this is a good move by Bush. It puts the ball squarely in the court of the next president, very early in his or her administration, to fish or cut bait regarding keeping the troops in place (and funded).
Leaving the cost of the war and the war itself for the next president was Bush's plan all along -- at least ever since it was obvious that the occupation of Iraq was a failure.
Bush wants to save his legacy (what's left of it) so he's stalling by keeping troops in Iraq until he leaves office. Then the next president (probably a Democrat) will be forced to clean up his mess and will get blamed when he or she pulls troops out in 2009 or 2010.
Just another example of Bush not taking responsibility for his actions, nor being held accountable. *Sigh* some people just waltz through life without a care.
It makes your head spin. I mean literally. If one were to attempt to collect every out right lie, deception and questionable act the Bush Administration is guilty of directly or indirectly in the span of their eight year crime wave it would be overwhelming. Can you imagine the what turn up if Cheney or Bush for that matter were forced to sit before a committee and answer questions and be thoroughly investigated without the protection of 'executive privilege'? Isn't that how Nixon was finally impeached? Of course what is even more mind boggling, is the fact that these criminals are allowed to continue by Congress. The very body that is supposed to make sure that the President is kept in check. Exactly at what point did our Nation become so pathetically broken? In spite of all the public disapproval, at what point did 'our Government of The People, for The People' stop being just that? It seems that when those planes slammed into the World Trade Center, not only were the voices of the three-thousand inside silenced, but also the voices of an entire once great nation.
the busch mission was to create an environment conducive to corporate theft of american wealth. nothing in the mission involved taking responsibility. busch has accomplished his mission with the direction and assistance of puppetmaster chainey.
of course they will leave a
messlegacy for the next president!Yes, Get the fuck out of the way, We got a country to run.
Shock and Awwwwwwwwwwww.
bobbie @ 44:
I say we remove the middle man and just make it an Electric Switch!
No surprise that Bush will let his successor pay for Iraq and fix his mess!!!
Maybe the Reps will allow Hillary Clinton to become president because they know it takes a democrat to fix everything they break.
Lets remember Bill Clinton left us with a SURPLUS.
They need to make a video of all of Bush's campaigne promises and all the lies he has told since. It would be very entertaining.
well, bush and his buddies got theirs....and its fuck you to the rest of the country
the man and all his chronies should be rotting in prison
argumentum ad hominem
typical bush family rape, plunder an leave office politics...we'll be cleaning up buschco's mess for decades.
Let's not forget, per Time magazine this was all just a big intelligence blunder...
Where are those White House E-mails?
When histories of the Iraq war are written, scholars will want to know how the Bush administration came to grips with one of the nation's costliest intelligence blunders: inflated estimates of Saddam Hussein's arsenal and his links to Al-Qaeda.
I suppose we can call it an intelligence blunder in that the intelligence was ignored...
Got an idea:
Why not work our tails off to put into office this next election season a VETO PROOF CONGRESS AND A VETO PROOF HOUSE
AND
Let the Republicans put their guy in the White House.
He will be stalemated from action... but forced to sit and take it when the economy collapses around him.
It really stinks that they are planning to shove their *hit hole of a mess onto the Democratic Party so that they can BLAME IT ON DEMOCRATS AGAIN.
These people are truly CRIMINALS.
I think if the thugs won the next one, and were blocked by a VETO PROOF CONGRESS AND HOUSE...
that by the time 4 years were up Rethuglicans would be kicked out of office for 100 years!!!!!
What do you say?
should we?
An Average Joe @ 9:
AMEN !!
Throw this GODDAMN MUTHER FUCKER in JAIL for fucking criminal negligence!!!!!
FUCK YOU BUSH!! FUCK YOU!
Why is anyone surprised?!? George W. Bush has a long-standing habit of screwing something up and then leaving the mess behind him for other people to clean up -- whether it be a company or a country. All you have to do in order to realize this is look at his failed business ventures before he went into politics. George W. Bush shouldn't even be allowed to lead people in song, let alone lead them in any other capacity.
Bluestocking @ 79:
No one is surprised that Bush is FUCK UP. What bakes my biscuit is that there is no FUCKING ACCOUNTABILITY!!! Impeachment is too good for the scum bag. He should be in shackles!!!!
This is nothing new, everyone knew that he was going to do exactly this. The man is a coward in every way possible, he has been an utter failure in everything he has ever done in his pathetic little-so-called life. The really worst part is, he doesnt care, he doesnt care that more Americans hate him now that ever before, he prefers to lie to himself about what a great leader he is, he's a delusional sociopath. All that matters to him is the fantasy world he lives in, reality is too messy for his ego to handle. He'll go back to his fake ranch in Texas and start writing memoirs that will stroke his overinflated ego even more but will most likely be an unreadable mess of lies worse than anything Ann Coulter could ever hope to spawn (assuming of course that he doesnt have it ghost-written for him which I think is likely).
I truly hope that our next president (who will be a Democrat, the Republicants dont have any credibility left) will on the one hand tackle Iraq and try to salvage something from Bush's folley (what I call Iraq), and on the other hand begin reversing everything that Jr did durring his squatter period pretending to be president. It should all culminate with investigations and arrests of top officials within the retarded mafia that is the Bush administration.
...so its Jeb in '08?
Nice.
ooooops meant Jeb in '12 ....
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