News Analysis: Bush States His Case Early By ELISABETH BUMILLER, NYTimes
Whatever the result of the interview, it clearly showed that the White House has decided it cannot just throw $100 million in advertising at a Democratic nominee and try to turn him into George McGovern, the liberal trounced in the 1972 election by President Richard M. Nixon. If anything, the interview showed that Mr. Bush has concluded that he must make a persuasive argument not only for his presidency, but in effect his own electability.
Mr. Bush’s Version (NYTimes Editorial)
[A]fter a week in which it became obvious to most Americans that the justifications for the war were based on flawed intelligence, Mr. Bush offered his reflections, and they were far from reassuring. The only clarity in the president’s vision appears to be his own perfect sense of self-justification. [mjh: ”Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”]
Right now, the questions average Americans are asking about Iraq seem much clearer than the ones Mr. Bush is willing to confront. …
The president was doing far more yesterday than rolling out the administration’s spin for the next campaign. He was demonstrating how he is likely to think if confronted with a similar crisis in the future. The fuzziness and inconsistency of his comments suggest he is still relying on his own moral absolutism, that in a dangerous world the critical thing is to act decisively, and worry about connecting the dots later. …
Another question average Americans will be asking themselves this election year is whether the Bush administration, which wanted to invade Iraq even before Sept. 11, manipulated the intelligence reports to frighten Congress and the public into supporting the idea. The president’s claim yesterday that Congress had access to exactly the same intelligence he had was inaccurate, and his comments about the new commission he has appointed to look into intelligence gathering made it clear that he has no intention of having his administration’s actions included in the probe.
Op-Ed Columnist: Lost in Credibility Gulch By BOB HERBERT, NYTimes
The president is genial enough, but it might be time for a bipartisan truth squad to follow him around, sorting out the facts from his musings, speculations, fantasies and mis-rememberings.
Iraq has shown us the trouble that can lurk in the gaps between reality and whatever it is that George W. Bush believes or says. …
Mr. Bush presented himself in 2000 as an honest, straight-shooting Texan, an aw-shucks kind of guy whose word, unlike that of the sitting president …, could always be trusted.
The credibility that he enjoyed during that campaign, and which reached a peak in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, has steadily eroded since then. …
It’s time to put an end to the fantasies and the deceit, which have landed us in a quagmire overseas and the equivalent of fiscal quicksand at home.
It’s not too much to ask that the president of the United States speak the clear truth about his policies and their implications. Mr. Bush would do himself and his country a favor by establishing a closer relationship with reality and a more intense commitment to the truth.