I had intended to to this without commenting, letting his words sink in... But I am a weak man; I simply could not let these words go without replying. After all, that's what this is all about.
All quotes are from the Meet the Press transcript pages. Here
So, Let's begin with a soft one.
MR. GREGORY: (on the Republican Party) But do you feel responsible for its current state?MR. ROVE: Well, look, every, every person who identifies with the Republican Party ought to, ought to, ought to feel some responsibility.
Being only on my first Plymouth of the day, I can let this one go....
No, no I can't, sorry.
The fact is, people who identify with the real conservative, Republican values of small government, low taxes, separation of church and state, and keeping the government out of people's private affairs are not responsible for the state of the party ruled by an administration that has raised record tax revenue (here), made terrible decisions based on Christian beliefs (subject for a future editorial), stomped all over the constitution (here) and has brought the government into the bedrooms of the nation like no other since Nixon.
Moving on.
Our party, when this president came in, we faced a recession.Um, er... really? Actually in saying this he is showing the genius of Karl Rove. "Facing" means it is ahead. And during the 2000 election the recession was still ahead. The fact is, in 2000 the US was riding high. The tech bubble was deflating, but on the whole the economy was strong.
Which brings us to the present.
Our economy is dynamic and powerful, providing jobs and increases in real income for people.Time for my second Plymouth.
People, the economy appears to be dynamic and powerful, but the US is printing money like it is wallpaper --and that is what over produced currency becomes. Oil has gone up; but, 40-45 per cent of the increase is due to the devalued greenback. The state of the dollar has driven the cost of imports through the roof --remember that the US is to a great degree a net importer. Not to mention the lousy-mortgage situation.
No, the economy in not dynamic and powerful. It is at the sign-in desk in the emergency room looking for its insurance card.
He went on.
You look at education reform, you look at energy, you look at higher education, you look at welfare, and you look at the compassion agenda, you look at faith-based, you look at AIDS in Africa, you look at trade—on a whole range of issues, this president has been able to offer a bold and optimistic agenda and get it done.Uh, get what done exactly?
Education reform? That's done? Really? So, the US is now leading the world in the education of its people? No. The education record of the US is and continues to be one of the worst in the world. To be fair, it was not good before Bush; but (going back to Karl's quote) he has not got the job done.
Energy? The US is facing an energy crisis not unlike the one it faced in the '70s and the devaluation of the dollar is largely responsible. They are still talking about drilling in Anwar. Against the recommendation of the scientific community and as a direct hand out to farmers they are supporting the use corn for the production of ethanol. I could go on --and will in another editorial.
Compassion agenda? Aids in Africa? Trade?
One last item on this quote. How is introducing a faith based agenda a good thing? What would Thomas Paine say?
On to Iraq.
What would’ve happened if, if we’d said at the end of D-Day, “Oh, you know what? We’ve suffered too many casualties. Let us, let us, let us step back from this important battle”?Is he actually suggesting that the current state of the aggression in Iraq is comparable to the European Theater at the end of D-Day? Is he suggesting that the Bush/Petraeus team is comparable to FDR-Churchill/Ike, Monty, Patton, Smith, Bradley team? Not to mention that the whole western world was on board and that every American was forced to be and, perhaps more importantly, felt part of the fight --at the very least through rationing.
On Saddam prior to invading Iraq.
16 UN resolutions that said “live up to the agreement that you made in the aftermath of the first Gulf war to disclose your weapons of mass destruction and to account for them.” He didn’t.Perhaps Mr. Rove didn't get the memo. There were no WMDs to for Saddam to disclose.
On Valeri Plame after talking to Novak
MR. ROVE: ...You know, I acted in an appropriate manner, made all the appropriate individuals aware of, of, of my contact (with Novak). I met with the FBI right at the beginning of this, told them everything.
MR. GREGORY: Do you think you owe Valerie Plame an apology?MR. ROVE: No.
A significant part of the Rove strategy that has permeated the administration is that one should never admit fault, never show weakness, never apologize. Despite his record, on this he is wrong. Apologizing when you mess up is one of those things that good parents teach their kids. I am not going to suggest that Mr Rove Sr. is to blame, but I do believe that a good person takes responsibility for their actions and apologizes when they mess up. There is great power in this behavior.
The counsel’s office had made a very generous offer. If they want to find out what Harriet Miers and I said and did, we’d be happy to go up there and have a visit with them about it.He really wanted to make the point so he said it again.
If they want to hear from me, the counsel’s office had made a generous offer. They didn’t take us up on it.For those who don't recall the offer, Mr. Rove was happy to testify before congress in a secret session, with no record and no oath of honesty. Now, it would still be illegal for him to mislead the panel (lie) but without witnesses or a record (more here), how could his true testimony be guaranteed? Would he lie or manipulate the truth? Yes, yes he would.
Time for my third Plymouth. Happy Sunday.
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