McCain Knows Better

Via the Daily Background:

General James Jones recently returned from a Congressional-mandated trip to Iraq and reported that political reconciliation “is absolutely the key to measurable and rapid progress” and needed to happen before any significant reduction in violence could happen. On Meet The Press today, John McCain incorrectly claimed that General Jones did not conclude in his recent Iraq report that political reconciliation needed to happen before a drawdown in violence can be achieved:

MCCAIN: Tim, I’ve known Jim Jones for 30 years. That’s not what he’s saying.

In reality, this was exactly what Jones said, both in his report and on Meet The Press a week ago.

There's clips of McCain disputing what Mr. Jones said on Meet the Press at that link. It takes a certain amount of self confidence to say, on national television, something so clearly untrue. His reasons are obvious, the quote is unfavorable to his position of supporting president Bush's war. The biggest issue for the republican candidates will be their support for the war. While some of them have intelligently decided to distance themselves from Bush, others have latched themselves to Bush's policies in pursuit of appeasing the 29% that they perceive as the base. Hopefully, republicans will vote for change in the primaries instead of just more of the same.

Making Friends

Via The New Republic:

Dick Armey, the House Republican majority leader when Bush took office (and no more a shrinking violet than DeLay), told me a story that captures the exquisite pettiness of most members of Congress and the arrogance that made Bush and Rove so inept at handling them. "For all the years he was president," Armey told me, "Bill Clinton and I had a little thing we'd do where every time I went to the White House, I would take the little name tag they give you and pass it to the president, who, without saying a word, would sign and date it. Bill Clinton and I didn't like each other. He said I was his least-favorite member of Congress. But he knew that when I left his office, the first schoolkid I came across would be given that card, and some kid who had come to Washington with his mama would go home with the president's autograph. I think Clinton thought it was a nice thing to do for some kid, and he was happy to do it." Armey said that when he went to his first meeting in the White House with President Bush, he explained the tradition with Clinton and asked the president if he would care to continue it. "Bush refused to sign the card. Rove, who was sitting across the table, said, 'It would probably wind up on eBay,'" Armey continued.

I know I just had something about Anecdotal Reporting, but I had to post this anway. I do see the irony, really.

Complaints about George Bush...to George Bush

via NY Times:

There are times in the life of George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States and father of the 43rd, that people, perfect strangers, come up to him and say the harshest things — words intended to comfort but words that wind up only causing pain. “I love you, sir, but your son’s way off base here,” they might say, according to Ron Kaufman, a longtime adviser to Mr. Bush, who has witnessed any number of such encounters[...] “It wears on his heart,” Mr. Kaufman said, “and his soul.”

Aww, poor #41, I guess it's sad to watch your child squander the legacy of your name, and not just your family name, but your first name along with it!

Bush had Lyme disease

via NewsObserver.com:

President Bush was treated for Lyme disease last August, the White House announced Wednesday after failing to disclose the problem for nearly a year.

Which wouldn't be such a big deal, except for some of the symptoms of Lyme Disease:

The disease varies widely in its presentation, which may include a rash and flu-like symptoms in its initial stage, followed by the possibility of musculoskeletal, arthritic, neurologic, psychiatric and cardiac manifestations. In most cases of Lyme disease, symptoms can be eliminated with antibiotics, especially if treatment is begun early in the course of illness.

A percentage of patients with Lyme disease have symptoms that last months to years after treatment with antibiotics. These symptoms can include muscle and joint pains, arthritis, stiff neck, cognitive defects, neurological complaints or fatigue. The cause of these continuing symptoms is not yet known...

Neurologic? Psychiatric? Why did we just find this out? My guess is that the administration did not want anything else out there that would hurt the president. Poor policy and management is bad for a president, but having a disease that could possibly lead to psychiatric problems, now that's really bad. At least he's got an excuse for being crazy now...