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Spending the Day with the President is a Big Waste of Time

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NBC Anchor and "Nightly News" Managing Editor, Brian Williams, spent a day with George Bush, interviewing him about Iraq, Katrina, and the economy. Quite frankly, I'd rather have my uterus scraped without anesthesia than pass the day with the president.

Here's some of the egomaniacal pitch.

On Iraq:

Bush: I think I believe liberty is universal...I meant what I said in my inaugural address. We ought to end tyranny in this century. And so long as I'm the president, I'm going to follow through on what I said I would do.

Williams: ...I know you have a crucifix in your study that's a kind of talisman for you. You're surrounded by symbols of the fact that, as we speak, our men and women are on the battlefield.

Bush: I understand the consequences of war...They (the families) understand that we've got to defeat the enemy there so we don't have to face them at home. It doesn't take away the pain or anguish for the loved ones, or for me. By the way, it's not about me, the meeting with these families. It's about them. Although I will tell you, after nearly all the meetings, I leave a better person for having spent time with a mom or dad or a wife who are (Brian should've corrected some grammar here) showing such incredible courage.

So, Mr. Bush is going to end tyranny in this century. Hmm. This century? And if he feels the pain that those of us have suffered who've lost a loved one in his war, why does he wave, give the thumbs up, and continue to wear that big grin on his face on a day when it's just been announced that more troops have been killed? And why didn't he talk with Cindy Sheehan? I'm glad he told us that when he meets with the families, it's not about him, although I doubt his sincerity. Furthermore, if he really becomes a better person after meeting with these families of the 2,151 soldiers now dead, he must be a really, really, really, really, really good person. Right? Meeting with Cindy would have made him even better. Good enough to get through the gates of heaven. Ya think?

On Katrina:

Williams: After the tragedy, I heard someone ask rhetorically, 'What if this had been Nantucket, Massachusetts, or Inner Harbor Baltimore or Chicago or Houston?' Are you convinced the response would have been the same? Was there any social or class or race aspect to the response?

Bush: Somebody I heard, you know, a couple of people said, you know, said, 'Bush didn't respond because of race, because he's a racist.' That is absolutely wrong. And I reject that. Frankly, that's the kind of thing that...well, you can call me anything you want...but do not call me a racist.

Does the president actually, you know, mean this? Can I call him, you know, anything I want? I'm going to, you know, take advantage of his permission, so here goes:

War Criminal. Worst president in the history of our country. Flip-flopper. A bigger flip-flopper than John Kerry. A flip-flopper of Olympic proportions. A divider. Not a "uniter." Nation builder. Nonreader. Just another crony. Neocon. Bubble-dweller. Puppet operated by Karl Rove. War-dodging girlie man. Inarticulate. You are, no, I can't write it. My computer would burst into flames.

Finally, the economy segment. That's when I said, "Uncle!"

I couldn't watch this and it's not just Bush. The obsequious Williams strains my patience. He and Chris Matthews need to go somewhere and play a game of "you stroke my ego and I'll do yours."

Yesterday, after a much needed respite, I listened to part of the President's speech--another one of his attempts to gain support for the war. Here's some of his specious logic:

It's true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong...My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision. Saddam was a threat and the American people and the world is (another opportunity for Williams to give Bush a grammar lesson) better off because he is no longer in power.

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Missy Beattie lives in New York City. She's written for National Public Radio and Nashville Life Magazine. An outspoken critic of the Bush Administration and the war in Iraq, she's a member of Gold Star Families for Peace. She completed a (more...)
 
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