The Adults Report for Duty
Vice-President Cheney famously promised us that the adults were taking over after Clintonian shenanigans. This proved not to be the case unless you are willing to classify Bushian stubbornness, petulance and faith-based policy making as adult behavior. But, there are signs and rumors that some real adults are about to make a move. Seymour Hersh, the mature reporter from the New Yorker who constantly breaks big stories (like this one in the current New Yorker) says about Congressman Jack Murtha, a hawkish conservative Democratic congressman who recently called for withdrawal from Iraq causing White House undies to imbed deeply up their collective ass cracks says: “Murtha is one of those oldies, in his 70s now...He's a very conservative military guy, who controls the budget, not only the budget we know about, but the black budget, the covert budget. He's one of those people trusted... Murtha...in particular (is) known for his closeness to the four-stars (generals). They come and they bleed on him...And so, for Murtha to suddenly say it's over, as he did three weeks ago or two weeks ago...it drove the White House crazy. They were beyond mad, as somebody said to me, because they know that the generals are talking to him...So... you can consider it a message from a lot of generals on active duty today. This is what they think, at least a significant percentage of them, I assure you. This is, I’m not over-dramatizing this. It's a shot across the bow. They don't think it's (Iraq) doable. You can't tell that to this President. He doesn't want to hear it. But you can say it to Murtha...”
Even after name-calling and Swiftboating old Mr. Murtha is keeping up the drumbeat saying the Army is shot and will be out of there next year. You can try and shoot the messenger but when the message is seeping out of the Pentagon it’s not so easy.
Bush’s reply was a rewrite of the speech that Nixon gave on Vietnamization in 1969 wherein Nixon said the following: “For these reasons, I rejected the recommendation that I should end the war by immediately withdrawing all of our forces. I chose instead to change American policy on both the negotiating front and battlefront....” You can read the entire speech here. Substitute Iraq for Vietnam as Eric Alterman suggests and you will be amazed and perhaps appalled at the similarities.
But perhaps the most interesting rumor that the adults are rising up comes from Washington reporter Steve Clemons who suggests that the first mom, Barbara Bush is about to get on her high horse and ride into the White House and kick some ass just like Nancy Reagan did after the Iran-Contra fiasco. Clemons writes: “Barbara Bush is allegedly TICKED off at Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Andy Card, nearly all of them -- except Karen Hughes -- for how her boy is faring in the hearts and minds of Americans.The matriarch of the Bush clan is colder than North Pole ice right now to those around her son who she thinks have undermined him...Barbara Bush is one of those wonders of nature (we hear) who knows no limits and can easily surge beyond category 5 hurricane winds.Should be interesting to watch the role of the First Mother in the coming couple of months. Watch for a lot to change right after the State of the Union address, I've been told.”
I saw Bar once in person as she toured the Central Washington State Fair grounds. I was about twenty-five yards away and she scared me quite badly. Can’t wait to see what happens and which other adults might show up to help out.
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