Bush Kept His "Mission Accomplished" Banner

[Donnachaidh]

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2010/11/bush-library-mission-accomplished-banner-iraq?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Motherjones%2Fmojoblog+%28MotherJones.com+|+MoJoBlog%29&utm_content=Twitter

Ever wonder what happened to the big ol' "Mission Accomplished" banner that hung behind George W. Bush during his carrier-deck Iraq victory speech? Wonder no more. Via the USA Today:

As former president George W. Bush broke ground Tuesday in Dallas for his presidential library, officials weighed whether or not to display one item that few know is being held in storage there: the "Mission Accomplished" banner...

The banner now sits in storage and will become part of the library's collection. A decision on how or whether to display the red-white-and-blue banner hasn't been made, said Alan Lowe, director of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.

No word yet on whether the Bush Library will house any waterboards, yellowcake uranium, or notes from secret energy-industry meetings. But hopefully this golf club will be there:

Video and more at the link ---

[northoftheborder]

1. wonder if anyone saved the shoe thrown at him......

in Iraq. that would make an interesting contribution to his historical collection.

[madokie]

4. I want to think that it was auctioned off to a lot of fanfare

maybe I dreamed it but I seem to think the person who wound up with it sold it for a shitpot of cash.

[leveymg]

7. i want that shoe!

Think there were two missiles launched at fearless leader.

[Solly Mack]

2. shakes head

[johnnie]

3. That banner is one of the main jokes about georgie...

...and they want to hang it there..LOL. That's like hanging the "blue dress" in Clinton's library, or a tape recorder in Nixon's.

[cutlassmama]

5. It'll probably remain in storage. He admitted it was a mistake to display it.

He said he should have said "great mission" or something to that effect. "mission accomplished" was a mistake. At least he can see that now.

[gratuitous]

8. Is that the story they settled on?

I remember at one time the Bushies floated the idea that the banner belonged to the ship, and the crew put it up, that Bush didn't know anything about it. Then it was a banner that was supposed to commemorate the ship's return to home port, their latest mission accomplished (which doesn't make any sense, either). It seems there were a couple of other lies they tried out, before finally admitting that, yes, in the midst of all the other stagecraft of that stunt (the jet landing on the deck, keeping the ship at sea for a couple of extra days to accommodate Commander Bunnypants, positioning the ship so that the California coast wouldn't appear in any of the photos), this was one additional element.

[awoke_in_2003]

14. Yeah, but he know the memory span...

of most americans. It will be displayed, and the righties will cheer.

[El Supremo]

6. Did he keep his codpiece too?

[SoCalDem]

9. Not surprised.. Serial killers keep "souvenirs" from their victims

so they can take them out, fondle them, and have the experience waft over them again.. GW is not very different.

[thelordofhell]

10. Did he keep his copy of "My Pet Goat"?

Murdering bastard

[Blue Owl]

11. He displays it next to the pretzel that nearly took his life

n/t

[icnorth]

12. The turkey! What about the turkedy?

What ever happened to the Baghdad Bird?
?w=410&h=308

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. Look, shrub NEEDS that library.

You know how it is when you have been in a alcohol induced blackout.
For years?

The library will serve to help him vaguely remember his time as Prez didn't.

[UTUSN]

15. He uses it as a cape when he plays with Saddam's saber?!1 n/t

[Sonoman]

16. Theatre of the Absurd

I mean come on, now.

Take one of the (many) most bizarre chapters of one fucked-up Presidency and put it on display.

I think I need a drink.

Sonoman

[LawnKorn]

17. How many times did MacArthur return to the Philippines?

Bush probably printed up a dozen of them to dole out for "Library denotations" with his signature on them.

Just another bad investment by the worst President in American history.

[musette_sf]

18. Where is Ken Starr when we need him?

Test it for stains and DNA. vs. Cheney, Rover, Gannon, Condi, and oh hell, why the hell not, Clarence Thomas too.

[applegrove]

19. What about that phoney turkey he was filmed handing out to the troops in Iraq?

[jmowreader]

20. He didn't serve the plastic turkey to the troops

He served real turkey to the troops...but you may remember this: when Shrub went to Iraq (and the ONLY reason he did this is he found out Hillary Clinton was going to Afghanistan to meet with the troops, and didn't want to be upstaged) he first only allowed soldiers who were admitted Republicans to eat with him, then he told the troops "I flew halfway around the world in search of a decent meal" (or words to that effect), then after passing out a few token slices of turkey he hauled ass back to the USA without eating one bite of food.

I think the Plastic Turkey Incident was the most bizarre event of the eight-year reign of error.

[applegrove]

21. You are right. He wasn't handing it out he was just showing it for display.