Trying to eliminate Sadam … would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. … There was no viable ‘exit strategy’ we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations’ mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land.

– George H.W. Bush, published memoirs, A World Transformed, 1999. [thanks, cko!]

Quote of the Week

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (A Word Transformed) (unedited quote)

::.centre for public opinion and democracy.::

What candidate would you vote for in the 2004 U.S presidential election?

John Kerry (D) 47%
George W. Bush (R) 43%
Ralph Nader (I) 2%
Michael Badnarik (L) 1%
David Cobb (G) 0.2%
Michael Peroutka (C) 0.2%
Other 0.8%
Undecided 7%

NewMexiKen: Presidential debates

First presidential debate:
Thursday, September 30
University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
Jim Lehrer

Vice presidential debate:
Tuesday, October 5
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Gwen Ifill

Second presidential debate:
Friday, October 8
Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Charles Gibson

Third presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 13
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Bob Schieffer

Bush’s two biggest burdens By David Broder

The factors that make President Bush a vulnerable incumbent have almost nothing to do with his opponent, John Kerry. They stem directly from two closely linked high-stakes policy gambles that Bush chose on his own. Neither has worked out as he hoped.

The first gamble was the decision to attack Iraq; the second, to avoid paying for the war. …

If Bush can win re-election despite the failure of his two most consequential — and truly radical — decisions, he will truly be a political miracle man. But as his own nominating convention approaches, the odds are against him. …

Bush finds himself defending the loss of more than 1 million jobs during his tenure — the first president, as Democrats love to point out, since Herbert Hoover to suffer an actual job loss in office. The 32,000 jobs added to the economy in July were the smallest number this year, raising fears that the recovery proclaimed last spring may be losing steam. …

The president has suffered other blows to his credibility…. But they pale in importance compared to Iraq and the economy. In The Washington Post’s polls every month since January, more voters have voiced disapproval of his performance on those two issues than approval.

Time is short for changing people’s minds. Bush is dragging two huge weights – and he has no one to blame but himself.

A Republican Adrift in Ohio
By Harold Meyerson

ELYRIA, Ohio — In theory, Dan Imbrogno shouldn’t be a voter George W. Bush has to worry about. Imbrogno, a lifelong Republican, Ohioan and business executive, looks like central casting’s idea of the model Bush voter. …

Imbrogno is a tried-and-true Republican, too, but even so, he says, “I won’t vote for Bush. I won’t necessarily vote for Kerry; I have trouble with his positions on some issues other than economics.” But he supports John Kerry’s proposal to end tax breaks for companies that have moved their jobs overseas.

Imbrogno is not alone. He’s active in the Northeast Ohio Coalition for American Manufacturing (NEOCAM), a group of corporate executives who Imbrogno estimates to be roughly 80 percent Republican. And among his fellow NEOCAM members, he says, “I know I’m not exceptional” in breaking with Bush.

America’s Waters Vulnerable to Development, Pollution
Bush administration policy should be reversed

”The Bush administration is sweeping away 30 years of protection for some of our nation’s most important waters,” said Joan Mulhern, senior legislative counsel for Earthjustice. ”Polluters have been given a green light to ignore the Clean Water Act, even when it may affect drinking water supplies.”

Bush Administration Policy Makes America’s Waters Vulnerable to Development, Pollution

“It is ironic that while the President is touting his goal of a net gain of wetlands, his administration’s policy is exposing millions of acres of wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams to destruction,” said Julie Sibbing, a senior legislative representative at the National Wildlife Federation. “An estimated 20 percent of America’s wetlands might be open to pollution and development.”

The EPA has estimated that some 20 million acres of wetlands in the continental United States may lose federal protection under the Bush administration’s policy. In addition, tens of thousands of miles of seasonal and headwater streams and countless numbers of small lakes, and ponds could be left without federal protection from water pollution.

“The Bush administration is pursuing a short-sighted policy aimed at satisfying oil industry and other polluter interests bent on dismantling our fundamental clean water safeguards,” said Robin Mann, chair of Sierra Club’s Clean Water Campaign.

Note the following is a different subject, though clearly related in what it says about ‘straight-shooting’ Duhbya. mjh

ABQjournal: Fed Panel Weighs in on N.M. Drilling

The prospect of natural gas development in the Valle Vidal has drawn opposition from Gov. Bill Richardson, other state leaders and a broad coalition of local sportsmen, environmental groups and businesses.

Allan Lackey, a Raton businessman and former Valle Vidal outfitter, said other uses of the forest land and the voices of local people are being ignored.

“It’s been a pattern that the Bush administration has established all across the West to expand oil and gas drilling,” said Lackey, a Republican. “It’s an all-out raid on our public resource.”

El Paso Corp. was hoping the White House task force could help it speed up a decision on whether the Valle Vidal could be opened to oil and gas leasing.

ABQjournal: Bush Sends Mixed Messages By Leslie Linthicum, Journal Staff Writer

The president praised the federal [Indian housing] program, saying it showed that the American dream of home ownership was ‘valid for everyone.’

He didn’t say that his administration has proposed slashing money for the program for next year.

‘Mixed messages’ — is that like a flip-flop or a lie? mjh