Hard as He Tries, He Can't Be Un-Clinton

LA Times ^ | 4/5/02 | JAMES P. PINKERTON

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

Reality bites. One could almost hear President Bush chewing the inside of his cheeks Thursday as he announced that he was dispatching Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East, reversing his "hands off" policy--a policy that had clearly failed.

Bush is proud, but he's a politician, too, and so he ended up yielding to one of the most powerful forces in politics: regression. Yes, regression, the statistical concept that explains why the policies of one president change so little from the policies of the previous president.

[DallasMike]

...reversing his "hands off" policy...

Since when did Bush have this policy? It's nothing more than a figment of the media's imagination which has suddenly acquired the status of reality.

[KC_Conspirator]

Since when did Bush have this policy? It's nothing more than a figment of the media's imagination which has suddenly acquired the status of reality.

I like Pinkerton, but I think he is off the mark. The lefties in the press (and the DNC) have always argued that Bush was not "engaged" with the middle east. He always has been engaged, but he has not signed false accords like Oslo or invited terrorists to the Wye Plantation so he could get the Nobel Peace Prize.

These same people are now calling for US troops to be placed in between Isreali's and Palestinians. I could not think of a worse policy. Did these same people claim that they were always against sending troops into these situations like in Beirut, Lebananon in the early 80's? Its like they want to run the War on Terrorism like the LBJ did the Vietnam War.

[eureka!]

This article is predicated on lies and half truths. To essentially say that W is "regressing" to the 'Toon's administration policies is folly. I guess if W has some success, this writer will credit Clinton. Not suprising coming from the LA Clymes. A pox on their dishonest houses...

[hove]

I would like to know who twisted Bush's arm into sending in Zinni...and then Powell....before Sharon got control of the terrorists and finished the roundup. That was a horrible mistake! It is a recipe for failure. Could that be the reason? Or does someone have this administration held hostage?

[gridlock]

I would argue that Bush's programme has been an unqualified success. The path we were on before was headed to disaster. The path we are on now, though noisy and messy, is at least based in reality. This situation will eventually thrash itself out. And when it does, the resulting peace will be based on military and cultural reality, not on wishful thinking about Pallies and Israelis standing in the desert singing Kum-ba-ya.

[KC_Conspirator]

I don't know if you this will lead to peace in the middle east, but you are right about the fact that now our policy is rooted in reality. Instead of feel-good time, rockin' roll, everybody hold hands and sing "We are the World" crap that predated the Bush administration we now see what Yasser and the Palestinians have been planning for 8 years.

[norton]

"Every White House starts out with a degree of contempt for its predecessor, ...But the full measure of Bushite contempt for the Clintonians became clear...when Ari Fleischer gibed that after "an attempt to shoot the moon and get nothing, more violence resulted." His argument was that the Camp David negotiations in late 2000 actually escalated the fighting. The White House spokesman quickly apologized for his precise choice of words..."

The author misses this one by a mile and more:

The "degree of contempt" in this case is not anything remotely resembling the new guy's feeling he can do it better;
it's reaction to the contemptable bunch of swine that once inhabited an administration of proven liars.
I guess "Bushites" is fair so long as "Clintonistas" is allowed;
too bad the mainstream media never adopted that particular description.
Camp David DID, in fact, gurantee more palistinian aggression;
but the LA Times has never been too good on history.
Finally, Mr. Fleischer's words were indeed "precise";
(per webster) "exact in measuring, recording, etc."
...keep up the good work Ari.

[TheDon]

Too funny! Poor fella isn't even bright enough to see the brilliance of the Bush foriegn policy in regards to the Palestinian question. Bush and team have been playing the press and international community like a violin.