Originally Posted By Mr X <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070222/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq_10" target="_blank">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200 70222/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq_10</a> Okay, I'm not the least bit surprised that Cheney is shooting off his loud, intimidating mouth again. Nothing new. What concerns ME, however, is the fact that the Speaker of the House tried to reach the President but he was UNAVAILABLE!! Um, maybe I'm missing something in this whole "chain of command" thing, but shouldn't the speaker be someone who pretty much has a direct line to the commander in chief? What could be more important that the president couldn't take the call? Or who? Or maybe he was on vacation again? Doesn't anyone else think this is rather odd? Troubling, even? Glad it wasn't anything important, anyway. *rolls eyes*
Originally Posted By Mr X An excerpt... "And you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to call the president and tell him I disapprove of what the vice president said," Pelosi said. "It has no place in our debate." Bush had previously urged her to call him when a member of his administration stepped over the line by questioning Democrats' patriotism, she said. Later, Pelosi said she had tried to reach the president but was only able to get through to White House chief of staff Josh Bolten.
Originally Posted By gadzuux What's the point of taking her call? He wouldn't listen anyway. This is the result of an executive branch that is isolated - they don't have any collaborative relationships with outside sources and have a bunker mentality. They don't have the support of the american people and they know it, so suddenly everybody is an "opponent". The sooner we get these people out of OUR white house, they better we'll all be. Bush fully intends to "kick the can" for another two years in a pointless effort to stave off having a defeat in iraq on their watch. Nevermind that they started this misbegotten debacle, it's more important to them that culpability be avoided than actually taking responsibility for their own actions. How many more people need to die because of bush's cowardice?
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< What's the point of taking her call? >>> Maybe to honor his word? <<< it's more important to them that culpability be avoided than actually taking responsibility for their own actions. >>> This is a repeating pattern - the "personal responsibility" types always seem to be the ones that never own up to what they've done. It's easy to say that others should be held personally responsible when you choose to define things such that you're never wrong.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I don't think she (or anyone) can just go to his office. She has to have an appointment. Which means she has to call his office...
Originally Posted By DAR So then she should keep trying instead of complaining to the press about it. There are a lot of things that you can criticize this President about, but this one is pretty minute if you ask me. And another thing if I were to call Ms. Pelosi's office will she get back to me?
Originally Posted By Dabob2 I think the speaker of the house not being able to get through to the president is a legitimate complaint. Not that he has to be free the instant she calls, but I'm assuming from the story that he didn't get back to her.
Originally Posted By DAR <<Depends. Are you in the chain of command?>> Well I'm a voter and a taxpayer, that should count for something.
Originally Posted By debtee Dick Chaney comes to town and has caused Chaos for our city. Barry is estimating it could take up to 2 hours to get to work today just because of all the road closures and complications of his security measures. The news is saying the City of Sydney is in Lockdown, it's just a joke. His bomb & bullet proof car arrived the day before his visit and his secret service men got special permission from our Prime Minister to carry their guns as security guards cannot carry guns in Australia. Air Force 2 arrived last night and all airspace over Sydney was grounded. All flights delayed more then 5 hours. So this means a full day for Barry as all his freight did not leave until AFTER passenger flights and will miss all connections overseas. I'm not for or against this guy on his policies ......however it really is like out of a movie set when he travels around isn't it. I know he is at risk from Terriosts and would not want anything to see anything bad happen to him, however it does feel like it's all being overdone as other world leaders come to Sydney without all this drama. Just my two cents to this topic!
Originally Posted By ElKay "So then she should keep trying instead of complaining to the press about it. There are a lot of things that you can criticize this President about, but this one is pretty minute if you ask me." It again sounds like Bush is in "bubble-boy" mode. Recall back just after the election when the wheels started to fall off his Admin. when the media was full of stories of an out of touch Prez. Things culminated with the disaster of Katrina. Sure Bush may not like Speaker Pelosi all that much, however, Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neil had a working relationship even if each man despised each other. Pelosi represents a sea change in American politics where women take a front seat roll in government. By not taking her call or getting back that same day not only offends many, many women, but once again adds to the lie that Bush is a "united instead of a divider."
Originally Posted By DAR <<Things culminated with the disaster of Katrina.>> Not to derail but Katrina proved just how stupid people are to rely on the government at any level.
Originally Posted By ElKay "ot to derail but Katrina proved just how stupid people are to rely on the government at any level. " What claptrap! That the exact sort of mind set makes Afganistan the garden spot of the World that it is. DAR, if that's how you believe how is it you are communicating on the DARPA inspired and funded Internet? It wasn't the impersonal governmental bureauracy that caused the canals to weaken and allow the storm surge to inundate NO. It was actually corrupt officials that didn't inspect the work of the contractors and the Corps of Engineers. The Bush Admin. purposefully underfunded the funding requests by the State and local officials, most likely they were mostly Democrats. The chief hurricane forecaster warned FEMA and the senior Admin. about the impending threat of a dead-on hit by Katrina on NO, but it of course it was August and Bush was recreating in Crawford, less than 500 miles away from NO and had other "more important" things on his mind like giving McCain a birthday cake and attending the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII in solidly GOP San Diego. It wasn't a bureaucratic lottery that put Chertoff and (heck of a job) Brownie in charge of Homeland Security and FEMA. These guys owed their jobs to political connections more than their abilities as crisis managers, especially Brownie. It's a pathetic, self-fulfilling argument that says Katrina or any other government program is doomed to failure. The State of Florida owes very existance and prosperity on the largess of the rest of the country that allows those residents to live in a hurricane shooting gallery. If the Feds. stopped issuing Nat'l. Disaster delcarations and SBA loans, etc. and etc. then nobody would dare or afford to live there in the past 50 years. Same goes for much of the rest of the country including California. It's the boobs like those who infest the GOP that make those statements seem credible with their stupid adventures in Iraq and Afganistan.
Originally Posted By DAR Waiting around for the government at any level to help out is foolish in my view. Whether it's local, state or federal, there will always be a way for them to screw it up. If you want to rely on the government then that's great.
Originally Posted By DouglasDubh I think Ms Pelosi believes patriotism is the right of Democrats to attack Republicans without facing criticism. Unfortunately for her, free speech is a double edged sword.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Criticism is one thing - likening her to al qaeda is another. But I'm not surprised that you can't differentiate between the two.
