Wash Post: "He's Got Such A Credibility Issue..."

[kpete]

"He's Got Such A Credibility Issue..."
The Washington Post | Peter Baker | November 30, 2005 at 11:06 PM

AP/Charles Dharapak

Thirty-two months after U.S. forces invaded Iraq, President Bush's advisers concluded that his message of "stay the course" has been translated by a weary American public as "stay forever." And so yesterday the president tried to reassure the nation that he has a comprehensive vision for beating the insurgency and eventually bringing U.S. troops home.

The message was hardly subtle as the White House posted a 35-page "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq" on its Web site and hung dozens of "Plan for Victory" signs behind Bush as he addressed midshipmen in Annapolis. But it was intended to reshape the argument against critics who have been gaining traction with congressional calls to withdraw troops immediately or at least set a timetable for pulling out.

But broadly Bush gave no ground to critics who want a major course change, and the plan he released yesterday offered nothing new substantively. Short of changing conditions on the ground, Bush faces enormous challenges in turning around public attitudes on the war. The American people have grown increasingly sour on Iraq in public polls, and most no longer approve of the way the president is handling the war.

The latest speech won Bush few converts in Washington, with opposition leaders rushing out critiques, in some cases even before he had finished speaking in Annapolis. "The president was basically repackaging things and saying everything's fine when every day we read that things are not fine," said former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright. "I so wish I could believe him. I like to believe an American president. But he's got such a credibility issue."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113002159_pf.html

[marbuc]

1. I was only able to stomach the first several pages

but nothing convinced me that this is anything but a "stay forever plan." There is talk of building political institutions and economies, and defending Iraqis against the terrorists (we invited), and all of this will take several years. I thought we were supposed to train the Iraqis to do this themselves, and trust that their sophiscated society can handle the nation bulding.

[Cha]

2. Nancy Pelosi said on Jon Stewart's

last night that those banners behind bush were to remind him why he was there.

"Staying the course is not a strategy"..Dean on Leno last night.

[leveymg]

3. LBJ earned his "credibility gap" and resigned. But, he was a far

more intelligent Texan. Maybe, Dubya will see the light and follow Johnson's example into retirement back to the ranch.

W - Back to the Ranch, '06.

What do you all think of that as a bumper sticker?