Bush's speech of reassurance.

I was very impressed that he didn't fall off the podium during it. He seems rather accident-prone.

Cav
That is why there was no bicycle in sight. He is now preparing an edict to make the use of bicycles illegal. The problem is systemic.

au1929, I heard about that. I think he's only doing it because Kerry's bicycle tumble was more graceful, and he doesn't want his ineptitude to be 'one-upped.'

This sounds very much like the speeches he gave a year ago. He refuses to change his bluster, tone or rhetoric.

I am happy he is planning to close the Abu Garrumbub prison.

I found his speech to be highly inspirational.

In particular his generous description of us all as "My fellow Americans" at the beginning and his mention of "God" at the end.

I think he needs a taller hat.

If that was inspirational then reading the phone book is inspirational.

It was inspirational for those who belong to the church of infinite folly.

He should have practiced pronouncing the name of the prison. Other than that I thought it was pretty good. Here's a link to the speech.

My hubby just wrote in an email:



This mispronunciation was already covered here, but I thought the second point was interesting.

For him, it was not a bad speech because he didn't make any obvious pronunciation blunders other than stumbling on the prison deal.

As for the speech itself it was vague self serving horseshit, containing initiatives as bold as coming out in favor of milk for babies, and I think most people recognized it. His numbers continue to decline.

It must be a Bush thing because Bush I couldn't pronounce "saddam"

Opinons from friends and enemies.

Speech panned as 'damage control'



Tuesday, May 25, 2004 Posted: 3:37 AM EDT (0737 GMT)

TOKYO, Japan -- Japanese and South Korean media have panned U.S. President George W. Bush's speech on post-occupation Iraq, labeling the address a damage control ploy in the wake of the prisoner abuse scandal.
Bush's speech was seen in Asia on Tuesday and coincided with a new draft resolution backed by Britain and the U.S. that creates a new United Nations mandate for coalition forces in Iraq.
Strong U.S. ally Australia welcomed Bush's pledge to stay the course in Iraq until the country is democratic.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard added that troops would remain in Iraq despite opinion polls indicating that support for the Australian deploying was easing.
"This government has absolutely no intention of altering our position in relation to being part of the coalition in Iraq," Howard told parliament.
"We did not enter the coalition on the basis of opinion polls last year ... and we have absolutely no intention on the basis of opinion polls of altering our position at the present time."
Australia has around 850 military personnel in and around Iraq, down from 2,000 troops that took part in the invasion of Iraq.
Though Tokyo -- another major U.S. ally -- welcomed the draft resolution, Japan's media was scathing of Bush's address, saying it appeared to be aimed at bolstering support after the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal. (Bush address)
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Bush's speech was a possible attempt to reverse flagging domestic and international support for U.S. operations in Iraq.
In a news analysis, Yonhap said Bush had probably judged that it would be difficult to win the upcoming presidential election if he didn't bolster public opinion.
Approval for Bush is near a record low with 49 percent of people surveyed in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll saying they disagree with the way Bush is handling the presidency. (Full story)
Bush's proposal to demolish Abu Ghraib prison could be interpreted as a "political show," Yonhap said.
Bush vowed the U.S. would pay to demolish the prison and build a new one, saying the prison that was a symbol of death and torture under Saddam Hussein had "became a symbol of disgraceful conduct by a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values."
Japan's public broadcaster NHK said the move to destroy the prison was designed to improve America's image.
Reporting from Iraq, CNN's Harris Whitbeck said Arabian TV also widely gave the thumbs down to Bush's speech.
Analysts on Al-Jazeera said they felt Bush was trying more to improve his ratings among the U.S. domestic electorate than do more for the Iraqi people, Whitbeck reported.
Whitbeck added that most Iraqis said they hadn't expected to hear anything new in Bush's address.
The Qatar-based Al Jazeera, as well as Al-Arabiya, have been criticized by the U.S. military for alleged misreporting. Both deny the accusations. (Full story)
Speaking to CNN in London, James Cusick, the political editor of Scotland's Sunday Herald, said the Bush speech was "addressed to an American audience."
"Basically the core content of the speech was that the U.S. needs the U.N. back," Cusick told CNN.
Cusick added that there was "an absence of strategy in the speech" but said the decision to demolish the Abu Ghraib prison was a "sensible one."
"But it doesn't solve the problem ... it is the gesture that is required, but it is something that should have already happened ... it is almost like 12 months too late."

You mean SAD AM?

Instead of Sah - DOM he pronounced it SAD - um. Someone told me he did it that way on purpose because that pronunciation means "sheep-herder" in their language. That or some other low-level farm worker, it's been over 10 years so maybe I'm not recalling it correctly.

Will the demolishing of Abu Ghraib remove the stain? It would seem to be an empty gesture.

It's the "Day late and a dollar short" form of diplomacy. The only thing this administration can do quickly is declare war apparently.

http://homepage.mac.com/webmasterkai/kaicurry/gwbush/dishonestdubya.html

It is made of plastic, of course. The Plastic Presidency.