On the surface, it is a very bad day for the _resident
and his Brain (Rove). In an interview with
SeeNotNnews, Wesley Clark (D-NATO) blasts the
_resident for leading the US into war on "false
pretenses," saying "You'd be taking them to the
Better Business Bureau if you bought a washing machine
the way we went into the war in Iraq." (Full story
below). BUT THERE'S MORE...SeeNotNews is also
reporting the release of a new tape reaffirming the
fact that Osama ("Wanted: Dead or Alive") bin Laden
and Mullah Omar are alive and engaged at least in
fanning the flames of hatred against the US (made
remarkably easy for them by the Bush Cabal).
MEANWHILE, in bread and butter politics, an
Ipsos-Public Affairs/Cook Political Report Poll of
1,532 registered voters conducted July 22-24, 2003,
and August 5-8, 2003, underscores the _resident's
political hemmoraghing: i.e., his overall approval
rating has "declined significantly, particularly with
groups identified as "swing voters," including
Hispanics ("the difference between right direction and
wrong track has gone from a net positive (+25) in late
April to a net negative (-14) in early August, a shift
of 39 points")and "Non-College Educated Men" (the
difference between right direction and wrong track has
gone from a net positive (+30) in late April to a net
negative (-10) in early August, a shift of 40 points).
For more info on this study, go to
http://www.commondreams.org/news2003/0815-07.htm
BUT IN AN EVEN MORE IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT, the NYTwits
ran a piece today on the unraveling of the "Solid
South," an electoral strategy essential to every
right-wing Republican White House victory from Nixon
on...Of course, the triangle of NY, CA and FLA cancel
it out as it did in 2000 (which is why Florida became
Fraudida), but I digress...The point is that the
NYTwit story carries dire warning signs for the
_resident, including the following: "Asked for a show
of hands in Spartanburg [S.C.] to indicate how many of
the executives voted for Mr. Bush in 2000, all
indicated they had. Asked for a show of hands of how
many would be willing to abandon him in 2004, all
indicated they would." For the full story, click on
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/18/nyt.south/index.html
(at least until someone gets wind of it...)
Yes, on the surface, it is a very bad day for the
_resident and his Brain (Rove), but be careful...The
cabal is not going to go quietly, and expect another
Trifecta ticket or two to be submitted for winnings
between now and 2004...
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/17/sprj.irq.clark.comments/
Clark talks like candidate, bashes Bush, Ex-NATO commander: Iraq shouldn't be center of war on terror
WASHINGTON (CNN) --Wesley Clark, who once served as
NATO commander and might have presidential
aspirations, attacked the Bush administration Sunday
for launching a war with Iraq on "false pretenses" and
spreading the military too thin amid the global war on
terrorism.
"You'd be taking them to the Better Business Bureau if
you bought a washing machine the way we went into the
war in Iraq," Clark said on CNN's "Late Edition with
Wolf Blitzer."
Clark, who led the alliance during the 1999 Kosovo
conflict, has been increasingly critical of the Iraq
war. His criticism could be a prelude to an
announcement that he will run for president.
Clark, a retired Army general, said more than half of
the Army's deployable strength is committed to
stabilizing Iraq, where American and allied soldiers
face continuing attacks four months after Saddam
Hussein's government collapsed.
"We've made America more engaged, more vulnerable,
more committed [and] less able to respond," he said.
"We've lost a tremendous amount of goodwill around the
world by our actions and our continuing refusal to
bring in international institutions."
He said that if Iraq "is the centerpiece of the war on
terror, it shouldn't be."
A mostly U.S. and British force invaded Iraq in March
after accusing Saddam of maintaining stockpiles of
chemical and biological weapons and long-range
missiles. The coalition also accused Iraq of trying to
obtain nuclear weapons. All allegations, if true,
would be violations of U.N. resolutions.
So far, no evidence of weapons of mass destruction
have been found in Iraq. U.S. officials have said
evidence found since the war began suggests that Iraq
was still trying to produce them.
Clark has called on Congress to investigate
allegations that the Bush administration overstated
intelligence about Iraq's weapons programs.
The Bush administration has acknowledged that a
16-word passage should not have been included in the
State of the Union Address as part of the pitch to
wage war. The statement was based on British
intelligence that could not be corroborated by the CIA
and had been struck from a previous presidential
address.
Bush has dismissed the criticism regarding the
statement and other intelligence.
"It's just pure politics," Bush said earlier this
month. "The American people know that we laid out the
facts. We based the decision on sound intelligence.
And they also know we've only been there 100 days."
Clark also lashed out at House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay, a Texas Republican.
Early in the Iraq war, Delay criticized what he called
the corps of "blow-dried Napoleons" who appeared on
television to analyze the progress of the coalition
invasion. Clark was a CNN military analyst during the
conflict but no longer works for the network.
"When our airmen were flying over Kosovo, Tom DeLay
led House Republicans to vote not to support their
activities -- when American troops were in combat,"
Clark said. "To me, that's a real indicator of a man
who's motivated not by patriotism or support for the
troops but by partisan political purposes."
Decision likely within weeks
Clark said Sunday that he will decide whether to run
for president in two to three weeks.
"This is a very tough call for someone who hasn't been
climbing the political ladder," Clark said. "I've been
in public service my whole life, but it's been in the
military. You're dealing with a new language, new
groups, new issues, new ways of thinking about how to
do this."
Clark has not declared his party affiliation, but said
earlier this year that he had not considered
challenging Bush as a Republican. Nine Democrats have
entered the 2004 presidential race.
Supporters of a presidential draft campaign have
broadcast television spots in New Hampshire, Iowa and
Clark's home state of Arkansas to drum up support for
a Clark bid. Clark said he has nothing to do with the
effort, which he called "an authentic expression of
political feeling," but would do nothing to discourage
it.
Clark would have to scramble to raise money to
campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire, where primary
elections will be held in January. Clark said money
should not be an issue.
"The issue is the issues," he said. "What does America
stand for? How do we want to behave in the world? What
does it take to fulfill America's dreams at home?"