Bush Redux?
March 28th, 2008 at 02:14pm Geoff
By now each of us has heard the claim by the two Democratic candidates for President and other minions of the Democratic Party that Sen. McCain is running for a “third Bush term.” Of course this is nonsense. Sen. McCain was never one, for better or for worse, to toe the administration line and would not seek to perpetuate that line were he to become President.
The only reason his Democratic critics can allege that he is Bush redux–despite all those pesky matters of public record to the contrary–is because he, like President Bush, is determined to win in Iraq and stave off the devastating effects American defeat would incur.
But on second look, Sen. McCain and the Bush Administration have had two distinct positions on Iraq throughout the course of most of our involvement there, as David Brooks points out this morning. From nearly the moment that Saddam’s statue fell in Baghdad, Sen. McCain criticized the administration’s reconstruction strategy and advocated an infusion of American forces into Iraq to bring security to the country, the absolute requiem for a democratic process to develop. Only in January of last year did the Bush Administration abandon its own failed strategy and adopt that of Sen. McCain and other bright military minds in the country.
Sen. McCain never toed the administration’s line, and in fact it was the Bush Administration that eventually conformed itself to Sen. McCain’s line. Now Democrats would like to convince Americans that the opposite is true, seeking to penalize Sen. McCain for the fact that the Bush Administration eventually wised up and adopted his strategy.
Of course the irony in this is that it is now Democrats who support the old Bush/Rumsfeld strategy, preaching as gospel phased withdrawals of American troops with the simultaneous transfer of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces that are not yet ready to shoulder that entire burden themselves, the recipe for–as we have seen–al Qaeda terrorism and sectarian bloodshed.
In the end, as Mr. Brooks concludes, “Anybody who thinks McCain is merely continuing the Bush agenda is not paying attention.”
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6 Comments
1. Diana Powe | March 28th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Oh, yes. David Brooks is quite the credible source of analysis. I notice that he nimbly skips over the fact that Senator McCain’s blazing and non-stop criticism, by which he so clearly distinguished himself from the Bush Administration was one speech months after McCain had been one of the cheerleaders for invading a sovereign nation that had not attacked us. That would be rather counter to the Senator’s speech in reference to Lebanon. So, if David Brooks wants to highlight Senator McCain being a flip-flopper, then have at.
2. Diana Powe | March 28th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
A nice side-by-side comparison passages from President Bush speeches and Senator McCain speeches showing the sameness of the two:
http://utdocuments.blogspot.com/2008/03/mccain-and-bush.html
3. Geoff | March 28th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
You either lack understanding of the situation, Diana, or you’re being flat disingenuous. Support/Opposition to the initial invasion and Support/Opposition to the Bush Administration’s post-invasion reconstruction strategy are two separate things. In no way is it a flip-flop to have supported that initial invasion but to have been critical of the Bush Administratoin’s reconstruction strategy.
If you’re looking for flip-flops simply examine the typical Democrat who supported our efforts in Iraq when public opinion was behind it and then did an about face when it was not. That is an actual flip-flop, not the imaginary one you accuse Sen. McCain of adopting.
4. links for 2008-03-31 | Mc&hellip | March 31st, 2008 at 5:34 am
[…] Blogs For John McCain’s Victory » Bush Redux? The only reason his Democratic critics can allege that he is Bush redux–despite all those pesky matters of public record to the contrary–is because he, like President Bush, is determined to win in Iraq and stave off the devastating effects American de (tags: McCain election 2008 Bush Democrats politics) […]
5. links for 2008-03-31 | MY&hellip | March 31st, 2008 at 6:36 am
[…] Blogs For John McCain’s Victory » Bush Redux? The only reason his Democratic critics can allege that he is Bush redux–despite all those pesky matters of public record to the contrary–is because he, like President Bush, is determined to win in Iraq and stave off the devastating effects American de (tags: McCain election 2008 Bush Democrats politics) […]
6. KMorrison | March 31st, 2008 at 9:09 am
I hope this is the tact that Dems take, because they they don’t even believe their own line. For better or for worse, McCain and Bush are clearly seperate individuals and the Dems could appear really silly if they push this as their winning slogan.