The cracks in the facade of Bush unity

[JoFerret]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040921/pl_afp/us_vote_foreign&cid=1521&ncid=2043

WASHINGTON (AFP) - George W. Bush likes to put up a show of administration unity for the world but his presidency has been marked by divisions on issues ranging from Iraq, to the US economy and the global environment.

Several top officials who were with Bush when he took the oath in January 2001 have since resigned, some like ex-treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, going public with their feelings about the Bush style of government.

But it has been the White House infighting pitting Secretary of State Colin Powell against Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney that will be most remembered.

In his book "Plan of Attack", about events within the administration before the invasion of Iraq, Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward quoted Powell as saying "Cheney has a fever. It is an absolute fever. It's almost as if nothing else exists."

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[Myrina]

1. Setting the stage to dump Dick ...

... bring on McCain as VEEP candidate to counter Kerry's VietNam service, right George ??

:shrug:

[Sub Atomic]

4. That would be ideal.

It would throw back in monkey boy's face their mantra of steady leadership during a time of war.

[2Design]

7. having watched mccain over the last 6months - I would never want

him for president - ever
therefore no vice president

[grace0418]

8. You are so right

McCain is such a whore. He'll tell anybody anything they want to hear just to appear like a good guy. His ulterior motives are more and more transparent to me.

[JoFerret]

12. ....Kerry would have to run the anti-McCain ads

of the Bush primaries from 2000 to split the ticket. If they are accessible...what fun!

[Carla in Ca]

9. I agree that Cheney will 'get sick' on Nov.3rd

if, God help us, * wins. But I think the choice will be Pataki of New York. Wants to succeed * plus can perhaps make NY a red state.

[Dhalgren]

10. No, not Pataki, but another Republican govenor -

Jeb Bush! It's perfect - Jeb comes in as big brither W's side-kick and then takes over in 2008 as a continuation of the "team". You know that the American people just can't vote against a Bush (not and live to tell it).

[Carla in Ca]

11. I respectfully totally disagree with you

No way he would risk the negativity and scrutiny of a campaign for president. His daughter got busted last year for drugs. No way.

[kevin881]

17. thats illegal.

they made it illegal after Bobby was JFK's atty general.

[elsiesummers]

18. Bingo - Jeb!!! But only if they get in next term - Cheney stays on ticket.

They won't ditch Cheney now.

Ideal for * would be for Cheney to die in office so he can turn to his brother (we should call him **) in a time of grief (* will shed crocodile tears) to reduce press questions and intra-party antagonism about nepotism.

[JoFerret]

13. Pataki is a nothing

...he is like Tom ridge - a totally empty sack.

[smirkymonkey]

14. Except for the matter that a majority of New Yorkers

can't stand Pataki. Pataki supporters are few and far between these days.

Plus he's almost as big a douchebag as Bush*.

[Princess Turandot]

19. Pataki isn't exactly a folk hero in NY..

he got elected on one position: that he would sign the annual death penalty bill that was passed each year by both NYS legislatures, and vetoed by Mario Cuomo. I think voters were just weary of Cuomo as well, who was running for his 4th term. I'm a fairly liberal democrat, and while I didn't vote for Pataki, I couldn't bring myself to vote for Cuomo either that year. In the races after that, the Democrats were somewhat divided in who their candidate was and I think Pataki won by inertia. If you put him on a stage with every other NYS politician, he's like a third wheel. I don't think downstate would vote republican because Pataki was on the ticket.

[Mr_Spock]

15. Hehe - too late. Unless, of course, Cheney has the "attack" we predicted

during the debate. Be interesting to see that happen.

[eaprez]

2. Dontcha love it?

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Great quote from Woodward's book.....

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040921/pl_afp/us_vote_foreign&cid=1521&ncid=2043
>>In his book "Plan of Attack", about events within the administration before the invasion of Iraq, Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward quoted Powell as saying "Cheney has a fever. It is an absolute fever. It's almost as if nothing else exists."<<

I am sure many of you have heard of gold fever.... well, that is what Mr. Dick had... and where we are today is what it has turned into. Wouldn't it have been better to give him some Tylenol? Certainly cheaper I would think at this point.

[JusticeForAll]

5. Gold Fever

Your statements reminded me of this song...sounds true except for the last line...I don't remember ever calling Cheney a friend...

Thompson Twins (Album: Close to the Bone)

Well ya thought you were one of the chosen few
Ya tried to change the world but the world changed you
Oh yeah, you've gotten old but you didn't get wise
And now you can't see further than those dollar signs

(chorus)
You got GOLD FEVER its makin' you blind
You got GOLD FEVER sell your brothers down the line

Well ya tell me just how you sleep at night
When ya know what ya doin' just ain't right
Ooh yeah bad money breeds bad men
Now it bothers me to think I used to call you a friend

[HysteryDiagnosis]

6. It's nice to know (and not) that some things never change... n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

16. He has "gold fever" and all he found was pyrite.

[Lerkfish]

26. rather a "pyrrhic" fever, don't you mean?

pyrrhic


adj 1: of or relating to a war dance of ancient Greece; "pyrrhic dance movements" 2: of or relating to or containing a metrical foot of two unstressed syllables; "pyrrhic verses" 3: of or relating to or resembling Pyrrhus or his exploits (especially his sustaining staggering losses in order to defeat the Romans); "a Pyrrhic victory" n 1: a metrical unit with unstressed-unstressed syllables 2: an ancient Greek dance imitating the motions of warfare

[eriffle]

20. After a long talk with a conservative friend

He finally admitted I don't like Bush, he's done some stuff that really pisses me off, but I just can't relate to John Kerry. These people don't like Kerry, but they also don't like Bush. I wouldn't be amazed if he ends up not voting. Dyed in the wool conservatives won't vote for Kerry because he does differ from their beliefs, but Bush does too. This could also lead to the polls being skewed, if people were to vote they'd vote Bush, but from what I'm hearing here, people aren't as enthusiastic about four more Bush years as they were before Iraq went down the tubes pubicly

[Eye and Monkey]

21. "Iraq went down the tubes pubicly" - reference to Abu Ghraib or -

just a Freudian slip?

[eriffle]

22. whoops

I meant publicly....but I guess yeah, the prison abuse was an example of it.

[Dhalgren]

23. I was talking to a Puke the other day.

And he started in with that "trying to be reasonable" bullshit about "Kerry's view on this and Kerry's stand on that." I just stopped him. I said, "I don't care what Kerry's views are on anything - he isn't Bush and that's all that matters to me. Bush is a lying, murdering, cheating, kidnapping, terrorist son of a bitch and I would vote for a one-eyed, mangy, retarded dog just to get that coward bastard out of office!" (I paraphrase, somewhat, because I was a little hot and don't remember my exact words) He just kind of backed up a little (I am a fairly big guy) and told me to calm down, that he got it that I didn't like Bush. I told him that I would not calm down - that this was my children's and my country's futures we were talking about and it was no damned time for calm. Anyway, I felt only a little chagrined afterward - mostly I felt great...

[NewYorkerfromMass]

25. Once Kerry erases damage from the Swift Boat smears

he will win a lot of these hedgers.

[newyawker99]

24. Hi eriffle!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[struggle4progress]

27. kick

:kick: