Will be guided by principles and conviction 
that will not change

[Bush] "...I will be guided by principle and convictions 
that will not change..."

9/4/00

Will say what I mean, and do what I say

[Bush]: "...When we tell you something, 
we mean it. When we say we're going to 
do something, we're going to do what we say..."

AN ASIDE
 Dwight Meredith (P.L.A.):
"...In the Republican Party’s 2000 platform, we 
find (link via Jeff Cooper) the following: 
Reducing that debt is both a sound policy goal 
and a moral imperative. Our families and most states 
are required to balance their budgets; it is reasonable 
to assume the federal government should do the same. 
Therefore, we reaffirm our support for a constitutional 
amendment to require a balanced budget. 
(Emphasis added)
President Bush has argued that the current budget 
deficit results from factors other than his irresponsible 
fiscal policy. If balancing the budget is a moral issue 
that should be enshrined in the Constitution, 
it is a matter of principle..."

Tax cuts will be implemented without budget 
deficits, even in a recession

[Bush] "...we can proceed with tax relief without 
fear of budget deficits, even if the economy softens. 
Projections for the surplus in my budget 
are cautious and conservative. They already 
assume an economic slowdown in the year 2001..."

Will not pass on our budget deficits 
(borrowings) to future generations; we owe 
this to our children and grandchildren

[Bush]: "...Future generations shouldn't be 
forced to pay back money that we have borrowed. 
We pay back money that we have borrowed. We
owe this kind of responsibility to our children 
and grandchildren..."

1/03

[Bush]: "...we will not deny, we will not 
ignore, we will not pass along our problems to 
other Congresses, other presidents, 
and other generations..."

Will retire $2 Trillion national debt in 10 years

[Bush] "...We owe it to our children and 
grandchildren to act now, and I hope you 
will join me to pay down $2 trillion in debt 
during the next 10 years. At the end of 
those 10 years, we will have paid down all 
the debt that is available to retire..."

[Bush] "...It will retire nearly $1 trillion in debt 
over the next four years. This will be the largest 
debt reduction ever achieved by any 
nation at any time..."

Outstanding U.S. public/national debt as 
of 3/10/04 is ~ $7 Trillion

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

DailyKos

B5

Will protect Social Security surplus in its entirety

[Bush] "...To make sure the retirement savings of 
America’s seniors are not diverted into any other 
program, my budget protects all $2.6 trillion of 
the Social Security surplus for Social 
Security and for Social Security alone..."

10/3/00

A promise made on safeguarding Social Security
surplus will be a promise kept

[Bush]: "...The revenues exceed the expenses in Social 
Security to the year 2015, which means all retirees 
are going to get the promises made. So for those of 
you who [Gore] wants to scare into the voting booth 
to vote for him, hear me loud and clear: 
A promise made will be a promise kept..."

3/22/01

Will never dip into Social Security Surplus to 
finance spending

[Bush] "...For years, politicians in both 
parties have dipped into the Trust Fund 
to pay for more spending. And I will stop it..."

[Daniel Gross]: "...In his first three budgets, Bush 
(who had the good fortune to take office at a time 
when the surpluses were growing rapidly) and 
Congress used $480 billion in excess Social Security 
payroll taxes to fund basic government operations
—about $160 billion per year! 
By so doing, Washington spenders have masked 
the size of the deficit. For Fiscal 2004—which began 
in October 2003—if you factor out the $164 billion Social 
Security surplus, the on-budget deficit will be 
at least $639 billion, rather close to the modern peak 
of 6 percent of GDP. And according to its own projections 
(the bottom line of Table 8 represents the Social Security 
surplus), the administration plans to spend an additional 
$990 billion in such funds between now and 2008. That year, 
according to the Office of Management and Budget's 
projections, the on-budget deficit will be about $464 billion. 
Only by using that year's $238 billion Social Security surplus 
does the administration arrive at a total, unified 
deficit of $226 billion...."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

CTJ

Paul Krugman 
(New York Times)

Daily Howler

Daily Howler

William Gale
(Washington Post)

DNC

B7

B8

Will not spend more than Gore would [have]

[Bush] "...If this were a spending contest, I 
would come in second. I readily admit 
I'm not going to grow the size of the 
federal government like [Gore] is..."

Policy

Will enforce spending discipline on Congress

[Bush] "...The President will enforce fiscal 
discipline on Congress, because when 
spending is out of control, deficits increase 
and our economic growth is hindered..."

10/3/00

Increasing federal spending is a sure way to 
make the economy go bust

[Bush]: "...the surest way to bust this economy 
is to increase the role and the size of the federal 
government..."

Enforced no spending discipline in Congress and almost
never vetoed anything

Bush is the biggest spending President in a long time

Jonathan Chait 
(The New Republic)

Dwight Meredith 
(P.L.A.)

Jonathan Weisman 
(Washington Post)

Democrats.org

Tax cuts should be for everyone who pays taxes. 
I won't pick and choose who gets taxes and who won't.

[Bush] "...We're not for targeted tax cuts. We're 
for saying anybody who pays taxes in 
America ought to get tax relief..."

10/3/00

[Bush]: "...[Gore] says he's going to give you 
tax cuts; 50 million of you won't receive 
it. He said, in his speech, he wants to make sure the 
right people get tax relief. That's not the role of a president to 
decide right and wrong. Everybody who pays taxes 
ought to get tax relief..."

[Bush]: "...I can't let [Gore] continue with fuzzy math. 
It's $1.3 trillion, Mr. Vice President. It's going to go to
everybody who pays taxes. I'm not going to be one 
of these kinds of presidents that says, 
"You get tax relief and you don't." I'm not going 
to be a pick-and-chooser..."

Isaac Shapiro, 
Allen Dupree and 
James Sly (CBPP)

Spinsanity

Tax cuts should provide most help for 
those at the bottom end of the income scale

[Bush] "...If you pay taxes, you should get 
tax relief...I agree with my critics, however, that 
those on the bottom end should get the 
most help...."

CBPP

Paul Krugman 
(New York Times)

2003 Tax Cuts will help 
everyone who pays income taxes

[Bush] "...My jobs and growth plan would 
reduce tax rates for everyone 
who pays income tax..."

B13

Recession was inherited from Clinton

[Bush] "...When I took office, our 
economy was beginning a recession..."

FLIP AGAIN
Recession was inherited

Economic growth has more to do with people's 
ingenuity, hard work and entrepreneurship than 
the President's actions

[Bush]: "...I think the economy has meant more for 
the Gore and Clinton folks than the Gore and Clinton 
folks has meant for the economy. I think most of the 
economic growth that has taken place is a 
result of ingenuity and hard work and 
entrepreneurship..."

[Link]: "...The White House claimed credit today for the 
surge in economic growth, saying the $1.7 trillion in 
tax cuts championed by President Bush had helped 
the nation overcome recession and the economic 
effects of the terrorist attacks, two wars and 
corporate scandals...
"The tax relief we passed is working," Mr. Bush 
said to workers at an aluminum plant in this 
state that is seen as crucial in his re-election 
bid. "We're making progress," the president said 
earlier at a fundraiser for his re-election campaign. "But 
we will not stop until there are jobs aplenty for 
those looking for work."...."

Income should not be taxed twice

 [Bush]: "...it's unfair to tax money twice. There's 
a principle involved. The government ought to 
be content with taxing revenue streams or 
profits one time, not twice..."

Sales taxes are also STILL 
subject to double taxation. 

These disproportionately affect poorer people. 
Bush has done nothing to remove this "unfairness".

On average 320,000 new jobs per MONTH 
will be created in 2004

[Bush CEA report, signed by Bush]: 
"...the President's Council of Economic Advisers 
(CEA) is forecasting about 320,000 new jobs 
will be created every month this year..."

MSNBC: "...The president is interested in actual jobs 
being created rather than economic modeling," White 
House spokesman Scott McClellan said. 
"We are interested in reality," added McClellan, who 
quoted the president saying: "I'm not a 
statistician. I'm not a predictor."..." 

I advocated, and Congress passed, tax cuts
which expire

[Bush]: "...This tax relief plan is principled. 
Today is a great day for America. It is the first 
major achievement of a new era, an era of 
steady cooperation. And more achievements are 
ahead. I thank the members of Congress 
in both parties who made today possible. Together, 
we will lead our country to new progress and new 
possibilities. It is now my honor to sign the 
first broad tax relief in a generation..."

Bush: "...The tax relief we passed is scheduled to 
go away...For the sake of job creation, there needs 
to be certainty in the tax code [CG emphasis]..."

Bush: "...And finally, we need to make sure 
the tax cuts are permanent. See, the tax cuts 
are set to expire. That's what a lot of people don't 
understand. This is an important part of the dialogue 
in Washington, D.C. now, is how to make 
sure the economy continues to grow. These job 
creators need certainty in the tax code. You 
can't have taxes go down one year and up the next. 
They need certainty when it comes to planning. 
They need to be able to have certainty when 
it comes to their investment deductibility. 
That's what they need..."

Brad Delong

Economic weakness/uncertainty is due 
to SEC overreach

[Bush]: "...The economic uncertainty 
is because of SEC overreach..."

Of course, after this he decided to underfund the SEC
(which I could consider a flip but will leave aside for now)

C2

Will work to end tariffs and not erect new ones

[Bush]: "...I’ll work to end tariffs and break down 
barriers everywhere, entirely, so the whole world trades 
in freedom. The fearful build walls. The confident 
demolish them. I am confident in American workers and 
farmers and producers. And I am confident that America’s 
best is the best in the world..."

(Partial) FLIP AGAIN
Bush eliminates steel tariffs

Paul Krugman 
(New York Times)

Jonathan Chait 
(The New Republic)

Center for 
American Progress

Dwight Meredith
(Wampum)

C4

Confident in America's farmers and producers
- and the need to therefore reduce tariffs

[Bush]: "...I’ll work to end tariffs and break down 
barriers everywhere, entirely, so the whole world trades 
in freedom. The fearful build walls. The confident 
demolish them. I am confident in American workers and 
farmers and producers. And I am confident that America’s 
best is the best in the world..."

FLIP AGAIN
Once again confident (in Dec 2003) that U.S. steel 
producers can survive without tariffs

Tariffs should be imposed because industry growth 
and industry jobs are at risk

[Bush]: "...I took action [by imposing steel tariffs] to 
give the industry a chance to adjust to the surge 
in foreign imports and to give relief to the 
workers and communities that depend on 
steel for their jobs and livelihoods...The 
industry made progress increasing productivity, 
lowering production costs, and making America 
more competitive with foreign steel producers. Steel 
producers and workers have negotiated new 
groundbreaking labor agreements that allow 
greater flexibility and increase job stability"

[Bush]: "...There are economic isolationists in 
our country who believe we should separate 
ourselves from the rest of the world by 
raising up barriers and closing off markets...
'If we are to continue growing this economy 
and creating new jobs, America must remain 
confident and strong about our 
ability to trade in the world..."

Agricultural subsidies are a good thing

[Bush]: "...I am pleased to sign the Farm Security and 
Rural Investment Act of 2002...This bill is generous
, and will provide a safety net for farmers.  And it 
will do so without encouraging overproduction and 
depressing prices...The farm bill supports our commitment 
to open trade, and complies with our obligations to 
the World Trade Organization..."

[Bush]: "...When wealthy nations subsidize their 
agricultural exports, it prevents poor countries 
from developing their own agricultural sectors. So 
I propose that all developed nations, including our 
partners in Europe, immediately eliminate subsidies on 
agricultural exports to developing countries..."

Want young Americans to join Teach for America

[Bush]: "...I am proud to stand up and talk 
about the best of America and Wendy Kopp...
I hope young Americans all across the 
country think about joining Teach for America..."

10/3/00

[Bush]: "...Well, I tell you, we can make a huge 
difference by saying, "If you receive federal money, 
we expect you to show results." Let me give you 
a story about public ed, if I might, Jim. It's about KIPP
Academy in Houston, Texas. It's a -- it's a charter school 
run by some people from Teach for America, young 
folks that said, "Well, I'm going to do something 
good for my country. I want to teach." A guy named 
Michael runs the school. 
It's a school full of so-called at-risk children. 
It's how we, unfortunately, label certain children. 
It means basically they can't learn. It's a school 
of strong discipline and high standards. It's one 
of the best schools in Houston. And here 
are the key ingredients: high expectations, strong
accountability. What Michael says is, 
"Don't put all these rules on us. Just let us 
teach and hold us accountable for every grade."
And that's what we do. And as a result, these 
young, mainly Hispanic, youngsters are some 
of the best learners in Houston, Texas. That's my 
vision for public education all around America..."

D3

Believe in local control of schools, not 
control out of Washington

Schools should be given enough resources and authority

[Bush]: "...I believe in local control of schools..."

[Bush]: "...I believe education is a national 
priority, but it's also a local responsibility. I want 
to give schools -- I want to give schools the 
resources and authority to chart their own path 
to excellence. My opponent thinks Washington 
knows best..."

Additionally by underfunding NCLB he has 
NOT given schools the resources 
"to chart their own path to excellence".

As a result multiple states are either 
challenging or opting out of NCLB.

States should be forced to offer school vouchers

[Bush proposal]: "...[all states should] offer parents 
of these students [those in schools judged to be 
failing after three years] portable funds, which can be 
used to obtain for their child an education at a school 
of their choice or supplemental education services. 
These funds (worth an average $1,500 per child) will 
consist of the student's pro rata share of Title 1 
funds, provided by the Local Education 
Agency, and an equal amount provided by 
the state from its federal or state funds [italics added]...."

[Bush]: "...Vouchers are up to states. If you want 
to do a voucher program in Missouri, fine. 
See, I strongly believe in local control of schools. 
I'm a governor of a state, and I don't like it when 
the federal government tells us what to do...."

D6

Not in favor of pushing federally funded school vouchers 
since it could lead to a battle in Congress

[CNN]: "...President Bush told an intimate audience in 
Washington Thursday that he stands behind his 
campaign pledge to give parents more ability to remove 
their children from unsafe or academically inadequate 
public schools. Such ability, he said, could be 
in the form of school vouchers..."I campaigned vigorously 
on this idea, and I think it is right," he said. 
That was somewhat more direct than what he said 
Wednesday as he launched a reinvigorated push to 
persuade Congress to support his agenda to overhaul 
the nation's public school systems. 
He told a middle school audience in Concord, North 
Carolina, that he wanted to avoid some of the 
so-called choice issues, saying that choices such 
as vouchers would prompt an extended, spirited 
debate in Congress..."

FLIP-again

Will NOT push federally funded school 
vouchers in Congress

[WaPo]: "...On Jan. 2, The Post reported that the 
incoming administration had decided there was 
"insurmountable" Hill opposition to private school 
vouchers and would offer such a plan only as 
"a symbolic gesture to satisfy conservatives." 
Fleischer called the report "very puzzling and 
incorrect." But when a Senate committee took 
vouchers out of the education bill this month, 
the White House made no public protest. ..."

Howard Kurtz 
(Washington Post)

Eulogized Boys and Girls Clubs as role models
for children

[Bush]: "...I want to thank the Boys & Girls 
Clubs across the country…The Boys & Girls Club 
have got a grand history of helping children 
understand the future is bright for them, as well 
as any other child in America. Boys & Girls Clubs 
have been safe havens. They're little beacons of 
light for children who might not see light. And 
I want to thank them for their service to the country..."

Would ask OPEC to increase oil supplies to 
reduce oil prices

[Bush]: "...I would work with our friends in OPEC to 
open up the spigot, to increase the [oil] supply...Use 
the capital that my Administration would earn, 
with the Kuwaitis or Saudis, and convince 
them to open up the spigot."..."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

Will fully fund LIHEAP 

[Bush]: "...First and foremost, we got to make 
sure we fully fund LIHEAP, which is a way to 
help low-income folks, particularly here 
in the East, to pay for their high fuel bills..."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

Tax credits for owning hybrid-electric vehicles 
is no good and a joke

[Bush]: "..."How many of you own hybrid electric-
gasoline engine vehicles? Raise your hands.
” Not a hand in the crowd could be 
seen. “Well,” Bush said, “not too many of you 
are targeted for that tax cut. Now how many of you 
own a rooftop photo-voltaic system?” Again, no 
hands. “You’re beginning to get the drift of 
‘targeted,’ ” Bush said. “It’s always the same in 
my opponent’s plans - it sounds good until you 
read the fine print.”..."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

States should have the right to decide on gay marriage

[Bush]: "...The state can do what they 
want to do [on gay marriage]..."

University of Michigan's Affirmative Action Policies 
are fundamentally flawed and Supreme Court 
must find them illegal

[Bush]: "...I strongly support diversity of all kinds, 
including racial diversity in higher education...But the 
method used by the University of Michigan to 
achieve this important goal is fundamentally flawed..."
(stated when Bush filed against U. Mich. at the
Supreme Court) 

Will appoint judges who will not seek to legislate
and who will consider the Constitution sacred

[Bush]: "...I'll put competent judges on the 
bench, people who will strictly interpret the 
Constitution and will not use the bench to 
write social policy...I believe that the judges ought 
not to take the place of the legislative branch of 
government, that they're appointed for life and that
they ought to look at the Constitution as sacred. 
They shouldn't misuse their bench..."

EarthJustice

Partisanship 
and 
Responsibility

Will change the work ethic from blaming 
someone else, to taking responsibility. Will take 
full responsibility for decisions I make.

[Bush]: "...in stark contrast to the last few 
decades, which has clearly said, "If it 
feels good do it, and you've got a problem 
blame somebody else," our vision says each of us 
must understand we're responsible for the 
decisions we make in life..."

[Bush]: "...For too long our culture has sent this 
message: if it feels good, do it. And if you've 
got a problem, just go ahead and blame 
somebody else. Each of us must understand 
that's not right. Each of us must understand that 
we're responsible for the decisions and choices we
make in life..."

[Bush]: "...I think that people need to be held 
responsible for the actions they take in life...people 
in the highest office of the land must be responsible
for decisions they make in life. And that's the 
way I've conducted myself as governor of Texas. 
And that's the way I'll conduct myself as president 
of the United States, should I be fortunate enough 
to earn your vote..."

10/3/00

Will stop the finger-pointing in Washington
 and get things done

[Bush]: "...We need somebody who 
can come up to Washington and say, "Look, let's 
forget all the politics and all the finger-pointing 
and get some positive things done..."

EXAMPLES

1. When it was reported that national security 
was underfunded, Bush blamed the GOP-led 
Congress for it even though he played a full role in
the underfunding. 

2. When Democrats objected to lack of labor 
protections in the Homeland Security department 
that Bush initially opposed, he outrageously
claimed that Democrats are not interested in the 
security of Americans.

3. When it was revealed that he used a false statement
in the 2003 SOTU (Uranium in Africa), he refused to take
responsibility for it initially, placing blame squarely 
on the CIA. Only after being reminded repeatedly of his
campaign pledge did he accept "responsibility".

4. Bush claimed someone in the navy was responsible
for the "Mission Accomplished" banner when in fact 
the White House played a key role in putting it up
in his aircraft carrier speech.

Josh Marshall 
(Talkingpointsmemo)

Compassiongate

J3

Controlling 
authority 
and
truth

Will bring honor to the office of the White 
House and repair the "bond" of trust with Americans.

Americans don't want a White House with 
"no controlling legal authority"

[Bush]: "...I will bring honor to the process and honor 
to the office I seek. I will remind Al Gore that Americans 
do not want a White House where there is 'no 
controlling legal authority.' I will repair the broken 
bonds of trust between Americans and their 
government..."

10/3/00

[Bush]: "...We need to have a new look about 
how we conduct ourselves in office. There's 
a huge trust. I see it all the time when people 
come up to me and say, "I don't want you to let 
me down again." And we can do better than 
the past administration has done. It's time for a fresh 
start..."

2/26/02

Will tell the American people the truth at all times

[Bush]: "...We'll tell the American people the truth..."
(responding to questions about whether 
the US would lie on defense policy)

On top of that he did nothing much when 
two of his senior staff illegally outed an 
undercover CIA officer in an act of revenge. 
Paul O'Neill's expose on TV about his 
administration, using legally cleared data prompted an
"investigation" immediately, while the Valerie 
Plame expose took months to even get to the 
Justice Department.

Time and again, his Cabinet members or officers make
offensive or contradictory statements or claims and
Bush rarely bothers to correct/dismiss them or show his
"controlling legal authority". (A recent example is Rod
Paige's labeling on the NEA as a "terrorist organization").

Murray Waas 
(The American 
Prospect)

John Marshall
(Talkingpointsmemo)

Too many to list

White House 
sleepovers

Will not entrust Government to the Lincoln 
Bedroom, but rather keep it in the Oval Office

[Bush]: "...I believe they've moved that sign, 
‘The buck stops here,’ from the Oval Office desk 
to ‘The buck stops here’ on the Lincoln bedroom, 
and that's not good for the country. It's not right. 
We need to have a new look about how 
we conduct ourselves in office..."
(referring to sleepovers in the Clinton WH)

CBS: President Bush and first lady Laura Bush 
have invited dozens of friends and relatives to 
sleep over at the White House, from Republican 
fund-raisers to Texas pals such as pro golfer 
Ben Crenshaw and country singer Larry Gatlin.

WaPo: It didn't take too long for the Bush White 
House to make the same discovery as its predecessors: 
the enormous money-raising potential of an incumbent 
administration. Vice President Cheney soon opened 
the vice president's mansion to big givers. Health and 
Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson briefed 
donors in his government office. Now, with the 
2004 campaign officially underway, and the president 
poised to vacuum up $170 million or more, a 
new lure is being dangled to those who can 
raise the big bucks: lunch with 
presidential adviser Karl Rove.

More from 2003

Washington Post

Nick Confessore
(TAPPED)

"Permanent 
Campaign"

Bush/Cheney Government will mark the end of the
"war room" mentality and the "permanent
campaign"

[Cheney for Bush]: "...The days of the 
so-called war room and the 
permanent campaign are over..."

John F. Harris 
(Washington Post)

J7

Uniter not 
Divider

Changing the 
tone in 
Washington

Will be a uniter not a divider. Will work to build 
bipartisanship and move away from bitterness.
Will be civil, fair and have respect and forgiveness.

[Bush]: "...I'm a uniter, not a divider..."

?/00

[Bush]: "...It requires a different kind of leadership 
to do it, though. You see, in order to get 
something done on behalf of the people, 
you have to put partisanship aside..."

10/3/00

[Bush]: "...I also want to go to Washington to get 
some positive things done. It's going to require 
a new spirit, a spirit of cooperation. It's going to require 
the ability of a Republican president to reach out 
across the partisan divide and to say to 
Democrats, "Let's come together to do what's
right for America." It's been my record as 
governor of Texas. It'll be how I conduct myself 
if I'm fortunate enough to earn your vote as 
president of the United States..."

12/13/00

"...I am optimistic that we can change the tone 
of Washington, D.C...I believe things happen for a 
reason, and I hope the long wait of the last five weeks 
will heighten a desire to move beyond 
the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past..."

1/20/01

[Bush]: "...A civil society demands from each of us good 
will and respect, fair dealing and forgiveness. Some 
seem to believe that our politics can afford to be 
petty because, in a time of peace, the stakes of our 
debates appear small... We must live up to the calling we 
share. Civility is not a tactic or a sentiment. It is 
the determined choice of trust over cynicism, of 
community over chaos. And this commitment, if 
we keep it, is a way to shared accomplishment..."

Bush bitterly campaigned against Democrats who 
worked with him setting aside partisanship. He 
forced Bills through Congress using the GOP leadership
without any qualms about "unity" - and watched 
without complaint as the GOP leaders used 
scotched-earth, uncompromising tactics to ramrod 
the Bills through Congress. He appointed
divisive, incompetent, haters as judges going
around the Democrats in the Senate even though the
Democrats confirmed far more of his nominees than
the GOP ever did in the case of Clinton's nominees. He 
watched and did nothing as Tom DeLay engineered the
nastiest redistricting in the country in recent history. He
instituted new rules requiring Democrats to get any
questions for the White House to be sent through 
GOP committee chairmen. He derides "liberals" and
"elite". He demonstrated vindictiveness to those who
dared criticize him - and in one case refused to do much 
about his senior staff who illegally outed an 
undercover CIA official.  He enraged allies in his
march to war against Iraq and continued to 
be vindictive towards them in the aftermath. 
Where to stop with all the compassionate conservatism?

Dana Milbank 
(Washington Post)

Alan Fram 
(AP/San Jose 
Mercury News)

Charles Babington 
(Washington Post)

David S. Broder 
(Washington Post)

E. J. Dionne 
(Washington Post)

E. J. Dionne 
(Washington Post)

The New Republic

John A. Farrell 
(Denver Post)

Dwight Meredith 
(P.L.A.)

Jonathan Chait 
(The New Republic)

Polls

Will govern based on principle not polls. Politicians 
who follow polls are doomed and don't lead.

[Bush]: ...endlessly insisted on the campaign trail 
that he governs "based upon principle 
and not polls and focus groups."

Bush

[Bush]: "...Politicians, by the way, who pay attention 
to the polls are doomed, trying to chase opinion 
when what you need to do is lead, set the tone."

10/3/00

[Bush]: "...We've got too much polling and focus 
groups going on in Washington today. We need 
decisions made on sound principles..."

In the aftermath of his declining approval ratings 
due to the mess in Iraq, Bush said that "There was a 
poll that showed me going up yesterday, not 
to be on the defensive" - proving he very much 
pays lot of attention to polls.

John Harris 
(Washington Post) 
via Bushwatch

Mike Allen and 
Claudia Dean 
(Washington Post)

Joe Conason 
(Salon)

Release of 
documents

Executive Privilege should be invoked to prevent
disclosure of documents relating to conversations
that the President or Vice President have with
individuals

This is important for all administrations and
it is to stop the decline of the power of the
presidency

[Cheney for Bush]: "..."What I object to, and what the 
President’s objected to, and what we’ve told the GAO we 
won’t do, is make it impossible for me or future vice 
presidents to ever have a conversation in confidence 
with anybody without having, ultimately, to tell a member 
of Congress what we talked about and what was said."..."

1/28/02

[Bush]: "...told reporters that his administration should be 
allowed to hold private consultations in order to 
“get good, sound opinions” while developing policies.
“This is part of how you make decisions,” Bush said. 
“We’re not going to let the ability for us to discuss 
matters between ourselves to become eroded. It’s not 
only important for this administration, it’s an important 
principle for future administrations.”..."

{Fleischer for Bush]: "...“I think it is to stop the decline 
of the power of the presidency that have taken 
place the last 35 years or so,” Fleischer said...."

[Link]: "...President Bush and Vice President Cheney 
have taken a different approach to the release of
records from the Clinton White House than they 
have taken to the release of their own records or
the records from the Reagan White House. In 
the case of records from the Bush Administration,
such as the records of the White House energy task 
force, the President and the Vice President have 
vigorously opposed release. President Bush has 
also interceded to block the timely release 
of records from the Reagan White House. In contrast, 
President Bush has approved the release of 
thousands of pages of records from the Clinton White 
House, including e-mails from the Office of the 
Vice President and records of presidential pardon 
decisions..."

527 groups

Ads by independent groups is freedom of 
speech and are part of the American process

[Bush]: "There have been ads, independent expenditures, 
that are saying bad things about me. I don't 
particularly care when they do, but that's 
what freedom of speech is all about...People have the right 
to run ads. They have the right to do what they want to 
do, under the -- under the First Amendment in America..."

Ads by independent groups is NOT freedom of 
speech and should NOT be part of the American process

[Link]: "...President Bush said Thursday that he wants to 
pursue court action against political ads from "shadowy" 
outside groups that have bankrolled more than $60 million 
in attack ads against him since March...The announcement also 
represents a reversal of Bush's position on 527s during his first 
presidential campaign, when he said the exchange of positive 
and negative television ads is "part of the American process."..."

(being very 
compassionate 
even though 
this category 
itself has 
numerous 
cases)

Sound 
Science

Policy decisions will be made based on sound science

[Bush]: "...We've got some regulatory policy in 
place that makes sense...we're going to 
make decisions based upon sound science, 
not some environmental fad or what may 
sound good -- that we're going to 
rely on the best of evidence before we decide..."

(Here's a recent addition via Atrios).

Rick Weiss 
(Washington Post) 
via Wage-Slave 
Journal

Nicholas Thompson 
(Washington 
Monthly)

Dwight Meredith 
(P.L.A.)

Campaign 
Finance 

Will veto McCain-Feingold campaign finance Bill

"...In early 2000, Bush was asked on ABC 
News whether he would veto the 
bill, and he replied, "Yes, I would."..."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

DailyKos

Free Speech

Love free speech and everyone has a right to it

[Bush]: "...We love free speech in America..."

10/22/03

[Bush]: "...I love free speech..."

10/11/02

[Bush]: "...Human beings should have 
the right to free speech..."

EXAMPLES:

Administration officials likened those who raised
legitimate questions about the administration's 
handling of 9/11 as helping terrorists.

Protesters usually not allowed anywhere 
within eyesight of Bush.

Press Conferences often scripted.

FBI keeps files on anti-Iraq-war protestors.

Troops not expressing support for the President
not allowed to participate in Thanksgiving dinner
with Bush in Iraq. Troops sometimes told to appear 
cheerful during Bush visits.

David Lindorff 
(Toronto Star via 
Common Dreams)

Buzzflash

Geraldine Sealey 
(Salon)

Accounting
and Corporate 
Reform

Corporate accounting is not always black and white

[Bush]: "...In the corporate world, sometimes things 
aren't exactly black and white when it 
comes to accounting procedures..."

[Bush 7/30/02]: "...The only risks, the only fair risks are 
based on honest information. Tricking an investor into 
taking a risk is theft by another name. Corporate 
executives must set an ethical tone for their 
companies. They must understand the skepticism 
Americans feel and take action to set clear standards 
of right and wrong..."

Stem cells

Stem cell research raises ethical problems because
embryos are destroyed

[Bush]: "...Research on embryonic stem cells raises 
profound ethical questions, because extracting the stem 
cell destroys the embryo, and thus destroys its 
potential for life. Like a snowflake, each of these 
embryos is unique, with the unique genetic 
potential of an individual human being..."

Medical 
Marijuana

Laws on medical marijuana should be set 
by the states and they can choose 
to do what they want

[Bush]: "...Campaigning in Seattle on Saturday, Bush 
answered questions about medical marijuana laws by 
saying, "I believe each state can choose that 
decision as they so choose."

L4

Patient's Bill 
of Rights

Against Patient's Bill of Rights

[Article]: "...Bush fought such a [Patient's Bill of Rights] 
tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill 
coauthored by Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 
1995. He had his insurance commissioner draft into 
law some of the less controversial bits of the bill -- 
like letting women choose gynecologists as their 
primary-care doctors -- but constantly opposed a 
patient's right to sue an HMO over 
coverage denied that resulted in adverse health effects. 
Faced with a vetoproof majority in 1997, he had his 
legislative aide, Vance McMahan, do everything he 
could to sabotage the bill, to the point that Republican 
legislators complained on the floor of the Texas Senate. 
Then, faced with a vetoproof majority, Bush let 
the bill become law without his signature..."

FLIP AGAIN
Against Patient's Bill of Rights in 2004

[Kevin Drum]: "...Is Bush for this or against this? 
Let's take a look:

• 1995: The Texas legislature passes PBOR 
  legislation. Bush vetoes it.

• 1997: PBOR comes up again, but Bush 
  declines to support it. "The governor is 
  concerned about opening a Pandora's box of 
  new lawsuits," says Karen Hughes. The Texas 
  legislature passes it anyway by a veto-proof 
  majority. It doesn't really matter at this point, 
  but Bush specifically refuses to sign the 
  right-to-sue portion of the law anyway.

Got it? Bush is against PBOR. It's bad for 
business. Now let's fast forward.

• 2000: Bush ads declare, "While Washington 
  was deadlocked, he passed a patients' bill of 
  rights. Under Gov. Bush, Texas enacted some of the 
  most comprehensive patient protection laws in the 
  nation." Bush himself brags, "We are one of 
  the first states that said you can sue an 
  HMO for denying you proper coverage."

Hey, suddenly Bush loves PBOR, especially the 
part about suing HMOs! In fact he showed leadership 
on the issue while he was governor. Now let's fast 
forward again. 

• 2004: Gregg Bloche writes today that Bush has 
  apparently changed his mind yet again: 
  The Texas law he championed is now before 
  the U.S. Supreme Court, and this week the 
  administration will ask that the justices strike it 
  down. More broadly, the administration will ask 
  the court to abandon a body of recent 
  precedents that expose the managed-care 
  industry in many states to negligence suits 
  for withholding of coverage and care. Legal 
  accountability for denying coverage, it 
  contends, could prevent the creation 
  of "innovative health plans."

Hmmm, bad for business again. Bush is once 
again opposed to PBOR. So what does Bush 
say about PBOR? Whatever will get him elected, 
apparently..."

Kevin Drum
(Washington 
Monthly/Political
Animal)

Will regulate carbon dioxide emissions

[Bush]: "...With the help of Congress, environmental 
groups and industry, we will require all power plants to 
meet clean air standards in order to reduce emissions 
of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and 
carbon dioxide within a reasonable period of time..."

Spinsanity

Spinsanity

Tim Noah 
(MSN/Slate)

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

Sam Parry 
(Consortium News)

Will provide $100M for protecting tropical 
forests via debt reduction

[Bush]: "...Expanding the aims of the Tropical 
Forest Conservation Act, I will ask Congress 
to provide $100 million to support the exchange 
of debt relief for the protection of tropical forests...
We will link debt reduction and the conservation 
of tropical forests...These forests affect the air we 
breathe, the food we eat, medicines that cure 
disease, and are home to more than half 
of earth's animal and plant species..."

For LESS stringent regulations on arsenic 
content in tap water

North 
Korea

Willing to engage with/talk to North Korea

[Bush]: "...said Wednesday that if North Korea responds 
"affirmatively" to improved relations, Washington 
would expand "efforts to help the North Korean 
people, ease sanctions and take other political steps..."

FLIP-AGAIN
Bush then said "...he is willing to commit to a 
written guarantee not to attack North Korea 
in exchange for steps by the country toward 
abandoning its nuclear weapons programs..." 

MWO:
"...April 2003: President Bush said North Korea was "back 
to the old blackmail game", and that the US would not be 
intimidated. "This will give us an opportunity to say to 
the North Koreans and the world we're not going to be 
threatened," he said. Story
August 2003: BEIJING, China (CNN) -- After six nations 
completed talks in Beijing over the Korean nuclear crisis, 
the Bush administration harshly criticized North Korea and 
made clear that it doesn't intend to bargain for peace. 
Joanne Prokopowicz, a spokeswoman for the State 
Department, spoke Friday from prepared remarks, saying 
North Korea's statement to negotiators in Beijing 
was "an explicit acknowledgment" that North Korea 
"has nuclear weapons, but the U.S. will not respond to 
threats or give in to blackmail." Story
Today: The Bush administration has dropped its 
insistence that North Korea meet U.S. nuclear disarmament 
demands before it can be offered economic assistance 
and other benefits. Story..."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

China 
spyplane 
incident

The U.S. will not apologize over the China
 spy-plane incident

[Fleischer for Bush]: "...The United States 
has nothing to apologize for..."

Duncan Hewitt, 
John Gittings, 
Martin Kettle 
(The Guardian)

John F. Harris 
(Washington Post)

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

Haiti

Democracy is not perfect but it is the ONLY 
path to national success and dignity

[Bush]: "...Champions of democracy...understand 
that democracy is not perfect, it is not the path 
to utopia, but it's the only path to national 
success and dignity...."

WE can and should remove "not perfect" 
Democratically elected Governments from power (Haiti).
We can and should support non-democratic regimes
and dictators, including those who boil their opponents.

(Not to mention that we celebrate "democracy" or 
lack thereof by inviting dictators like 
Musharraf (Pakistan), Prince Abdullah 
(Saudi Arabia), Zemin (Russia) to Crawford, Texas).

Arturo 
Valenzuela (Salon)

N5

Nation-
building

American troops should not be used for nation-building. 
American troops should only be used for fighting wars.

American troops should not be the world's policemen

[Bush]: "...I don't think our troops ought to be used 
for what's called nation-building. I think our troops ought 
to be used to fight and win war. I think our troops 
ought to be used to help overthrow the dictator 
when it's in our best interests. But in this case it was 
a nation-building exercise, and same with Haiti. 
I wouldn't have supported either..."

[Bush]: "...Maybe I'm missing something here.  
I mean, we're going to have kind of a 
nation-building corps from America? Absolutely not."..."

[Bush]: "...I don't want to try to put our troops in 
all places at all times. I don't want to be the 
world's policeman..."

American troops should be the world's 
policemen (in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, etc.) 

Tim Noah 
(MSN/Slate)

Peter Beinart 
(TNR)

Terry Neal 
(Washington Post)

Nation-
building

We are going to have a serious problem if we overextend
our troops with nation-building missions

[Bush]: "...The other day, I was honored to be flanked 
by Colin Powell and General Norman Schwarzkopf, 
who stood by my side and agreed with me. They said 
we could, even though we're the strongest military, that 
if we don't do something quickly, we don't have a 
clearer vision of the military, if we don't stop extending 
our troops all around the world in nation-building 
missions, then we're going to have a serious 
problem coming down the road. And I'm 
going to prevent that..."

[Confessore]: "...There are only about 27,000 more 
active-duty troops today than in 2000--and even with 
those additions, the military is more overstretched now 
than it was when Bush took office. During the first 
three months of this year, the United States had more 
than twice as many troops on overseas missions at 
any given time as it did in 2000. It's getting harder to 
recruit new soldiers, and, on the whole, harder to keep 
the ones we have. The Army is so short of some specialties 
that it has imposed stop-loss on about 50,000 troops--
that is, refused to let them retire or resign--while in 
January, the Marine Corps imposed a 12-month stop-loss 
order on the entire service. Large swathes of the U.S. 
military thus no longer meet the definition of a volunteer 
force. 
Nor, increasingly, do the reserves. Since September 11, 
thousands have been serving for long stretches, far 
from home, to meet the country's growing 
homeland-security requirements and to fill in the 
gaps left by active-duty soldiers deployed 
elsewhere in the world. Their employers are 
grumbling, and their families are griping. 
The average man in uniform, in other words, 
is more frustrated and overburdened today than he 
was two years ago--affecting not just the soldiers 
themselves, but their ability to protect the rest of us. 
"The great majority of Army combat units are not 
ready for combat without significant additional 
training," wrote Lt. Col. Tim Reese, a respected 
commander who led a U.S. tank battalion in 
Kosovo, in Armor magazine 
last summer...."

Buzzflash

N8

Israel/
Palestine

Clinton administration's work in the Middle-East to calm
the tensions is appreciated

[Bush]: "...I appreciate the way the [Clinton] 
administration has worked hard to calm the tensions
[in the Middle-East between Israel and the Palestinians]. 
Like the vice president, I call on Chairman Arafat to 
have his people pull back to make the peace..."

[Bush]: "...And therefore, the term honest broker
makes sense. This current administration's worked 
hard to keep the parties at the table..."

Israeli-Palestinian summits set up by Pres. Clinton were
ineffective and led to violence. 

[Bush]: "..Well, we've tried summits in the past, as 
you may remember. It wasn't all that long ago where a 
summit was called and nothing happened, and as a result 
we had significant intifada in the area..."

4/6/02 - FLIP AGAIN

Israeli-Palestinian summits set up by Pres. Clinton 
are to be appreciated and not to be blamed 
for the violence.

[Bush]: "...Somebody told me there's a story floating 
around that somehow I am blaming the Clinton 
administration for what's going on in the Middle 
East right now. … I appreciate what President 
Clinton tried to do. He tried to bring peace to 
the Middle East..."

Israel/
Palestine

U.S. policy on the Israel-Palestine situation 
should be more hands-OFF 

EXAMPLE
[Bush]: "..Well, we've tried summits in the past, as 
you may remember. It wasn't all that long ago where a 
summit was called and nothing happened, and as a result 
we had significant intifada in the area..."

(See links on the right)

DailyKos

Mexico

Fingerprinting and photographing under US-VISIT post 9/11 
policy applies to all Mexicans entering U.S.

DailyKos

N12

In our foreign policy humility is important and there
should be no arrogance

The U.S should not be walking into a country and 
telling them to do things the way the U.S. wants to do it

[Bush]: "...It really depends upon how our nation conducts 
itself in foreign policy. If we're an arrogant nation, they'll 
resent us. If we're a humble nation, but strong, they'll 
welcome us. And it's -- our nation stands alone right 
now in the world in terms of power, and that's why 
we have to be humble. And yet project strength in a way
that promotes freedom..."

[Bush]: "...I’m not sure the role of the United States is 
to go around the world and say this is the way it’s got 
to be. I want to empower people. I want to help people help 
themselves, not have government tell people what to do. 
I just don’t think it’s the role of the United States to 
walk into a country and say, we do it this way, 
so should you..."

12/19/99

We should not be paternalistic like an arrogant big
brother, but inviting and welcoming

[Bush]: "...Ours should not be the paternalistic leadership 
of an arrogant big brother, but the inviting and welcoming 
leadership of a great and noble nation..."

In our foreign policy we should walk into 
countries and forcefully tell their Governments 
what they should be doing [e.g., Iraq,
Afghanistan]

NOTE: Bush and his Cabinet alienated countries all 
over the globe with their arrogance and 
vindictiveness compassionate conservatism - the list
not only includes Rumsfeld's Old Europe, but other
traditional allies like Canada, Turkey, Mexico, etc.

[Example 1]: "...President Bush said Tuesday that there 
was no room for neutrality in the war against terrorism..." 
Over time it's going to be important for nations to know 
they will be held accountable for inactivity," he said. 
"You're either with us or against us in the fight 
against terror."..."

[Example 2]: 
"...Consider the Bush team's behavior over the 
past few weeks toward countries that opposed the 
war in Iraq. Almost as soon as the fighting stopped, 
the French government started trying to mend fences. 
Paris abandoned its long-standing opposition to NATO 
control over the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. 
In a surprise concession, and a break with Russia, it 
agreed to suspend (though not remove) U.N. sanctions 
on post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Jacques Chirac warned 
Syria not to harbor Iraqi officials and telephoned George 
W. Bush, breaking a months-long silence 
between the two men. Jean-David Levitte, 
France's ambassador to the United States, 
said his government wanted to "turn this bitter 
page and think positively about what we have 
to do together. "The Bush administration responded 
with a high-level meeting to decide how to 
punish Paris for opposing the war. 
According to reports in The New York Times and The 
Washington Post, the Bushies are considering 
downgrading France's status at international meetings 
and bypassing the North Atlantic Council, 
NATO's governing body, because 
France is a member. Bush officials noted that when the 
president attends the G-8 summit in Evian, France, 
this June, he will stay across the border in Switzerland. No 
pettiness here. And it's not only France. President Bush, 
who famously refused to place a congratulatory phone 
call to Gerhard Schroeder after he was reelected on an 
antiwar platform, has not spoken to the German leader 
yet this year. The White House recently canceled a Bush 
trip to Ottawa, leading one Canadian academic to tell 
the Times that relations between the two countries were 
at "the lowest moment since the early 1960s." 
The United States has pointedly refused to set a date for 
signing a long-planned free-trade deal with Chile, 
which refused to use its rotating Security Council seat to 
back a second resolution authorizing war. (There are also 
reports, denied by Bush officials, that the United 
States has slowed talks on a trade deal with Thailand as 
punishment for its lukewarm stance on the war.) White 
House Envoy to the Americas Otto Reich recently warned 
Caribbean countries that their antiwar stance might bring 
U.S. "consequences." And, in a slap at Mexican President 
Vicente Fox, the former Bush pal who refused to back the 
Iraq war, the White House has scrapped this year's Cinco 
de Mayo celebrations. Pettiness? Perish the thought.
This retaliation isn't just vindictive; it's deeply stupid...
governments across the world opposed the Iraq war 
to appease citizenries angered by perceived U.S. bullying. 
So now that the war is over--and our military 
victory gives us a chance to improve America's image--the 
Bush administration has responded with a fresh round of 
bullying. Sounds like a winning strategy to me."..."

CNN

Michael J. 
Jordan (Christian 
Science Monitor)

Paul Krugman 
(New York Times)

Gloria 
Galloway 
(The Globe 
and Mail)

Michael 
Tomasky 
(The American 
Prospect)

Paul Glastris 
(MSN/Slate)

Pew 
Research Center

Robin Wright 
and Dana Milbank 
(Washington Post)

eRiposte

We should not lend money to corrupt officials

[Bush]: "...We can lend money but we have 
to do it wisely. We shouldn't be lending 
money to corrupt officials..."

The Bush Administration not only funded convicted, 
escaped criminal Ahmad Chalabi of the "Iraqi 
National Congress" (INC) before the Iraq war, but
continues to fund him after the end of "major 
combat operations", even after it has become 
clear that Chalabi and his team peddled tons of
fabricated, false information to the US.  Chalabi's
relatives are also receiving hundreds of millions of
dollars of contracts in Iraq. The links on the right 
provide more details.

Jonathan S. Landay
(Knight-Ridder)

DCCC

French President Chirac is NOT welcome to the (Texas) 
ranch

[Bush on French President Chirac]: "...As Washington's 
anti-French rhetoric reached a particularly acrimonious 
pitch this year, Bush was characteristically blunt about 
the chances of French President Jacques Chirac making it to 
Crawford. "I doubt he'll be coming to the 
ranch any time soon," said Bush in a television 
interview last month..."

[Bush on 6/2/04]: "...At another point, Mr. Bush said: "I've 
never been angry at the French. France has been a 
longtime ally." Asked whether that meant that he would 
invite Mr. Chirac to the Bush ranch in Crawford, 
Tex., Mr. Bush replied, "If he wants to come and 
see cows, he's welcome to come out here and see some 
cows."
His warm words contrasted with his anger that 
built up last year, leading Mr. Bush to say that 
Mr. Chirac would not be a guest at the ranch soon 
and the White House and Pentagon to seek ways to 
punish France for what they considered traitorous 
behavior. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called 
France part of an "old Europe" that did not count any 
longer. French companies were excluded from 
reconstruction contracts in Iraq..."

Steve Lovelady
(Campaign Desk)

Iraq

We don't know (as of October 2000) whether Saddam 
Hussein is developing weapons of mass destruction 
(WMDs)

[Bush]: "...The coalition against Saddam has fallen 
apart or it's unraveling, let's put it that way. The 
sanctions are being violated. We don't know whether 
he's developing weapons of mass destruction. He 
better not be or there's going to be a consequence 
should I be the president..."

[Bush on 7/2/03]: "...Saddam Hussein is no longer a 
threat to the United States because we removed him, but 
he was a threat. Such a threat that my predecessor, 
using the same intelligence in 1998, ordered 
a bombing of Iraq. I mean, so—he was a threat...."

Compassiongate Note: If the intelligence in 2003 was the
same as that in 1998, then surely the intelligence was the
same in October 2000

Iraq

If Saddam disarms that could be considered 
regime change and thus avoid war

[Fleischer for Bush]: "...The President's position is 
either he will disarm or we will remove him so 
Iraq is disarmed...If Iraq disarms and you have all the 
other products of the U.N. resolution obeyed 
and what President Bush called for in 
New York obeyed, then the regime 
will have effectively changed..."

Dwight Meredith 
(Wampum)

Iraq

We will ask the U.N. to vote on a second resolution
against Saddam regardless of the expected outcome
of the vote

[Bush]: "...No matter what the whip count is, we're 
calling for the vote. We want to see people stand 
up and say what their opinion is about Saddam 
Hussein and the utility of the United Nations Security 
Council. And so, you bet. It's time for people to 
show their cards, to let the world know where 
they stand when it comes to Saddam..."

Iraq

Not in favor of a non-Congressional panel for investigating 
the intelligence failures on Iraq

DailyKos

Center for 
American Progress

Iraq

The people of Iraq live in freedom

[Bush]: "...the people of Iraq are free..."

6/23/03

[Bush]: "...Fifty million people in those two 
countries [Afghanistan and Iraq] once lived 
under tyranny, and now they live in freedom..."

[7/1/03]: "...These groups [guerillas/terrorists in Iraq] believe 
they have found an opportunity to harm America, to 
shake our resolve in the war on terror and to cause 
us to leave Iraq before freedom is fully established," Bush 
said. "They are wrong and they will not succeed."..."

Compassiongate

Iraq

Iraqi looting and rioting is acceptable because 
it reflects the fact that people are free and 
are releasing "steam"

[Bush]: "...I'm also pleased by the fact that that 
level of — those riots, or whatever you want to 
call them, released some steam, and now life is 
returning to normal. Things have settled down 
inside the country..."

4/03
[Rumsfeld]: "...It's untidy. And freedom's untidy. And 
free people are free to make mistakes and 
commit crimes and do bad things."

[6/5/03]: "...The troops are trying to thwart a wave of 
crime that Bush blamed on Saddam, who he said 
emptied jail cells of "common criminals" just before 
the war and left his people hungry and desperate.
The criminals "haven't changed their habits 
or their ways," Bush said. "They like to rob, 
loot. ... "We'll find them. Day by day the United States 
and our coalition partners are making the 
streets safer for the Iraqi citizens."..."

Compassiongate

Iraq

Combat operations in Iraq have ended

[Link]: "..."President Bush Announces Combat Operations 
in Iraq Have Ended." -- Headline on the White House 
Web site over May 1 speech by Bush..."..."

[8/25/03]: "...we still have combat operations going on..."

Compassiongate

NA9

Iraq

Mission in Iraq Accomplished

[Bush]: "...I am happy to see you, and so are the 
long-suffering people of Iraq. America sent you 
on a mission to remove a grave threat 
and to liberate an oppressed people, and 
that mission has been accomplished..."

[Bush on 10/28/03]: "...The "Mission Accomplished" 
sign, of course, was put up by the members of the 
USS Abraham Lincoln, saying that their mission was 
accomplished. I know it was attributed some how to 
some ingenious advance man from my staff -- 
they weren't that ingenious, by the way..."

[Compassiongate NOTE: The above statement 
itself was false. See here].

FLIP AGAIN
Mission in Iraq was accomplished

[Bush on 4/30/04]: "A year ago, I did give the speech from the 
carrier, saying that we had achieved an important objective, 
that we'd accomplished a mission, which was the removal of 
Saddam Hussein. And as a result, there are no longer 
torture chambers or rape rooms or mass graves in Iraq."

Compassiongate

Iraq

We've got the forces needed to secure Iraq

[Bush]: "...There are some who feel like -- that the 
conditions are such that they can attack us there. 
My answer is, bring them on. We've got the force 
necessary to deal with the security situation..."

7/2/03

[Bush]: "..."Anybody who wants to help, we'll 
welcome the help," Bush said. "But we've got 
plenty tough force there right now to make sure the 
situation is secure."..."

[9/7/03]: "...Two multinational divisions, led by the British 
and the Poles, are serving alongside our forces -- and in 
order to share the burden more broadly, our commanders 
have requested a third multinational division to 
serve in Iraq..."

We need more forces in Iraq

[6/3/04]: "...Because the U.S. military intends to keep 
about 140,000 troops in Iraq through 2005 to 
fend off an insurgency -- instead of scaling down significantly, 
as originally planned -- officials have extended the tours of 
20,000 troops and recently announced that they will 
draw more than 3,500 troops from South Korea 
to support the mission. A few units are scheduled to 
deploy this summer to relieve the extended troops, and 
a full-scale rotation of troops is scheduled for this fall...."

Billmon/
Whiskey Bar

NA12

Iraq

Iraq will not require sustained aid 

There is not much to do for the U.S. 
by way of reconstruction in Iraq

[Daniels for Bush]: "...Iraq will not require sustained aid..."

[Rumsfeld for Bush]: "...I don’t know that there is much 
reconstruction to do..."

[Wolfowitz for Bush]: "...we are dealing with a country 
that can really finance its own reconstruction, 
and relatively soon..."

[Rumsfeld for Bush]: "...I don't believe that the United 
States has the responsibility for reconstruction, in a 
sense..."

[Rumsfeld for Bush]: "...I don't believe it's our job to 
reconstruct that country after 30 years of 
centralized, Stalinist-like economic controls 
in that country..."

[Natsios for Bush]: "...The American part of this [Iraq 
war] will be $1.7 billion...we have no plans for any 
further-on funding for this."

[An example link (WP)]: 
"...On April 23, 2003, Andrew S. Natsios, head of the 
U.S. Agency for International Development, laid out 
in a televised interview the costs to U.S. taxpayers of 
rebuilding Iraq. "The American part of this will be $1.7 
billion," he said. "We have no plans for any further-on 
funding for this." That turned out to be off by orders 
of magnitude. The administration, which asked Congress 
for another $20 billion for Iraq reconstruction five 
months after Natsios made his assertion, has said it 
expects overall Iraqi reconstruction costs 
to be as much as $75 billion this year 
alone. The transcript of that interview has been 
pulled from the USAID Web site, the agency said, 
"to reflect current statements and testimony on Iraq 
reconstruction." The earlier $1.7 billion figure was "the 
best estimate available at the time, based on very limited 
information about the conditions inside of Iraq." 
Natsios was far from the only one to offer low-ball figures. 
Similarly, a report by the White House Office of 
Management and Budget in late March 2003, said: "Iraq 
will not require sustained aid." Deputy Defense 
Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, in February 
2003, dismissed reports that Pentagon budget 
specialists had put the cost of reconstruction at $60 
billion to $95 billion during the first year -- in 
retrospect, relatively accurate forecasts. In testimony to 
Congress on March 27, 2003, Wolfowitz said Iraq "can 
really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." 
In fact, the administration has already sought 
more than $150 billion for the Iraq effort..."

Compassiongate

Iraq

Iraq is free and will no longer serve as a haven for 
terrorists or for them to get arms

[Bush]: "...I like to remind people that a free Iraq 
will no longer serve as a haven for terrorists 
or as a place for terrorists to get money or arms..."

Billmon/Whiskey Bar:
"...Today in Baghdad terrorists turned their violence 
against the United Nations.
George W. Bush Press Remarks
August 19, 2003, 11:05 AM

Iraq is turning out to be a continuing 
battle in the war on terrorism. 
George W. Bush Press Remarks
August 22, 2003 ..."

Compassiongate

Iraq

We found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

[Bush]: "...We found the weapons of mass destruction. 
We found biological laboratories…for those who 
say we haven't found the banned manufacturing 
devices or banned weapons, they're wrong, 
we found them..."

[Bush 2/7/04]: "...David Kay has found the capacity to 
produce weapons. And when David Kay goes 
in and says we haven't found stockpiles 
yet, and there's theories as to where the weapons 
went. They could have been destroyed during 
the war. Saddam and his henchmen could 
have destroyed them as we entered into 
Iraq. They could be hidden. They could have 
been transported to another country, and we'll find out..."

[Powell 4/3/04]: "...told reporters at a press briefing 
that his testimony about Iraq possibly using 
mobile biological weapons labs "was 
presented to me ... as the best information and 
intelligence that we had" but "now it appears 
not to be the case that it was that solid."..."

Iraq

Iraq/Saddam is an imminent, immediate threat

See quote collection from the Center for 
American Progress and Josh Marshall (via eRiposte)

(See for example here and here)

-

NA17

Iraq

We will never retain Saddam's Baath party officials
in positions of power

The Baath regime of Saddam is gone forever

[Perle for Bush]: "...Reports claiming that a US 
military governor would keep most of Saddam's 
Baath Party officials in place and run the country 
on existing administrative structures were 
inaccurate and absurd, Perle said. 'The idea that the 
US would simply issue orders to the same mob 
that served under Saddam is ridiculous. This 
is not simply about switching one mafia family 
for another. American policy after Saddam's removal 
will be to assist the Iraqis to move as quickly 
as physically and practically possible into positions of 
power.'

[Bush]: "...Yesterday, in the city of Mosul, the careers 
of two of the regime's chief henchmen came to an end. 
Saddam Hussein's sons were responsible for torture, 
maiming and murder of countless Iraqis. Now more than 
ever all Iraqis can know that the former regime is gone 
and will not be coming back..."

You're either with the civilized world, or you're 
with the terrorists

[Bush]: "...Since September the 11th, I've delivered this 
message: everyone must choose; you're either with 
the civilized world, or you're with the terrorists..."

The Baath regime of Saddam is not gone forever 

We can be with the civilized world and with terrorists

[Article]: "...Thousands of Iraqis who swore allegiance to 
Saddam Hussein's political party may be getting jobs 
under the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad as the 
Bush administration - struggling to put down 
resistance - undertakes a major shift in policy...."

[Article]: "...Eleven months after it swept all high-ranking 
members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party from Iraq's 
government and military, the United States said yesterday 
that it will let many of them return to official jobs..."

[Billmon]: "... Meet the New Boss III
The new Marine-approved Iraqi force began taking up 
positions on Saturday on a few quiet street corners in this 
embattled city amid reports that some residents were 
celebrating its arrival as a victory over the Americans. 
But the record of the man chosen to lead the force — 
a commander in Saddam Hussein's feared Republican 
Guard — appeared to be raising questions in the American 
command, which has appeared somewhat confused over 
the sudden turnabout here in which old enemies have become 
new allies. Although some officials in the Pentagon told 
reporters on Friday that Maj. Gen. Jasim Muhammad Saleh 
had not been a member of the Republican Guard, intelligence 
and other Marine officers here reconfirmed their own Friday 
comments that General Saleh had been a ranking officer in 
the guard, one of the special units close to Saddam Hussein, 
before being chosen to command the Iraqi Army's 
38th Infantry Division. (emphasis added)..."

Also see Billmon here and here.

Iraq

Decisions relating to national security of the U.S. should 
not be based on waiting for the U.N. to act

[Bush]: "...Democrats waiting for the U.N. to act?...Seems 
like, to me, that if you're representing the United States, 
you ought to be making decisions based on what's best 
for the United States...If I were running for office...I'm not sure 
how I would explain to the American people. You know, 
'Vote for me, and oh, by the way, on a matter of national 
security, I'm going to wait for somebody else to act.'"..."

8/15/03

We don't need the help of the United Nations for 
securing or governing Iraq

[Article]: "...The Bush administration has abandoned the 
idea of giving the United Nations more of a role in the 
occupation of Iraq as sought by France, India and other 
countries as a condition for their participation in 
peacekeeping there, administration officials say. 
Administration officials said that in spite of the difficult 
security situation in Iraq, there was a consensus in the 
administration that it would be better to work with these 
countries than to involve the United Nations or countries 
that opposed the war and are now eager to exercise 
influence in a postwar Iraq..."

Decisions relating to national security of the U.S. COULD 
be based on waiting for the U.N. to act

We do need the help of the United Nations for securing and 
governing Iraq

[Bush]: "...We welcome the proposals presented by the 
U.N. special envoy, Brahimi. He's identified a way forward to 
establishing an interim government that is broadly acceptable 
to the Iraqi people. Our coalition partners will continue to 
work with the U.N. to prepare for nationwide elections 
that will choose a new government in January of 2005. 
We thank the U.N. and Secretary General Annan 
for helping Iraqis secure a future of freedom. We're 
grateful that Mr. Brahimi will soon return to Iraq to continue 
his important work...
[Responding to a question on who power will be transferred 
to in Iraq on July 1st] That's going to be decided by Mr. Brahimi. 
That's the recommendation of Brahimi. He's in the process. 
You are watching a process unfold, and you won't have 
to ask that question on July the 1st..."

[Article]: "..."That's going to be decided by Mr. Brahimi," 
President Bush said Friday when asked what the [Iraqi] 
transition government will look like on July 1...."

Iraq

U.S. is not going to let U.N. inspectors come back inside Iraq

[Fleischer for Bush]: "...The United States will not permit 
United Nations weapons inspectors to return to Iraq, 
saying the US military has taken over the role of 
searching for Saddam's weapons of mass destruction. In 
simultaneous briefings in New York and Washington, 
both the White House and the US ambassador to the UN 
said they saw no role in postwar Iraq for the UN weapons 
inspection teams. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer 
told reporters in Washington to "make no mistake about it. 
The United States and the coalition have taken on 
the responsibility for dismantling Iraq's WMD 
[weapons of mass destruction]".
Asked if the White House saw any role at all for the 
UN's weapons teams and, in particular, for chief 
inspector Hans Blix, Mr Fleischer said: "Well, the 
President is looking forward, not backward."..."

U.S. will let U.N. inspectors come back inside Iraq

[Article]: "...At a Pentagon briefing yesterday, Defense 
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the U.S. military does 
not object to the return of UN inspectors to Iraq. 
Rumsfeld said that General Tommy Franks, in charge of 
U.S. forces in Iraq, has "no problem" with inspectors 
returning. "I have checked with General Franks, the combatant 
commander, and his attitude is that he has no problem with 
their going in. And that's been communicated within 
our government," Rumsfeld said...."

NA21

Iraq

The U.S. will not occupy and exploit Iraq. We want to 
return home after the battle.

[Bush]: "...Other nations in history have fought in foreign 
lands and remained to occupy and exploit. Americans, 
following a battle, want nothing more than to return home..."

[Article]: "...Any movement serious about Iraqi 
self-determination must call not only for an end to Iraq's 
military occupation, but to its economic 
colonisation as well. That means reversing 
the shock therapy reforms that US occupation chief Paul 
Bremer has fraudulently passed off as "reconstruction", and 
cancelling all privatisation contracts that are flowing from these 
reforms. How can such an ambitious goal be achieved? 
Easy: by showing that Bremer's reforms were illegal to 
begin with. They clearly violate the international convention 
governing the behaviour of occupying forces, the Hague 
regulations of 1907 (the companion to the 1949 Geneva 
conventions, both ratified by the United States), 
as well as the US army's own code of war. 
The Hague regulations state that an occupying power 
must respect "unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force 
in the country". The coalition provisional authority has 
shredded that simple rule with gleeful defiance. Iraq's 
constitution outlaws the privatisation of key state assets, and 
it bars foreigners from owning Iraqi firms. No plausible argument 
can be made that the CPA was "absolutely prevented" from 
respecting those laws, and yet two months ago, the 
CPA overturned them unilaterally. On September 19, 
Bremer enacted the now infamous Order 39. 
It announced that 200 Iraqi state companies would be 
privatised; decreed that foreign firms can retain 100% 
ownership of Iraqi banks, mines and factories; and allowed 
these firms to move 100% of their profits out of Iraq. 
The Economist declared the new rules a "capitalist dream"..."

[Article]: "...according to a closely held Coalition Provisional 
Authority (CPA) memo written in early March, the 
reality isn't so rosy. Iraq's chances of seeing democracy 
succeed, according to the memo's author—a U.S. 
government official detailed to the CPA, who wrote this 
summation of observations he'd made in the field for a senior 
CPA director—have been severely imperiled by a year's 
worth of serious errors on the part of the Pentagon and the 
CPA, the U.S.-led multinational agency administering Iraq. 
Far from facilitating democracy and security, the memo's 
author fears, U.S. efforts have created an environment rife 
with corruption and sectarianism likely to result in civil war...
it is particularly pointed on the subject of cronyism and 
corruption within the Governing Council, the provisional Iraqi 
government subordinate to the CPA whose responsibilities 
include re-staffing Iraq's government departments. 
"In retrospect," the memo asserts, "both for political and 
organizational reasons, the decision to allow the Governing 
Council to pick 25 ministers did the greatest damage. Not 
only did we endorse nepotism, with men choosing their sons 
and brothers-in-law; but we also failed to use our 
prerogative to shape a system that would work . . . 
our failure to promote accountability has hurt us."...
the memo asserts that the U.S. "share[s] culpability 
in the eyes of ordinary Iraqis" for engendering Iraq's 
currently cronyistic state; since "we appointed the Governing 
Council members . . . their corruption is our corruption."...
"...[Gardiner:] Frankly, if we had just given the Iraqis some 
baling wire and a little bit of space to keep things running, 
it would have been better. But instead we've let big US 
companies go in with plans for major overhauls."..."

Naomi Klein 
(The Guardian)

Iraq

We will not impose a Government on Iraq. 
Iraqis will choose their own Government.

[Bush]: "One thing is certain: We will not impose a 
government on Iraq," Bush said. "We will help that 
nation build a government of, by and for the Iraqi people."

4/28/03

[Bush]: "..."As freedom takes hold in Iraq, the Iraqi people 
will choose their own leaders and their own government," 
Bush told a crowd that repeatedly interrupted him 
with chants of "USA! USA!"..."

Patrick Tyler (New York Times) 5/17/03: "...In an abrupt 
reversal, the United States and Britain have indefinitely put 
off their plan to allow Iraqi opposition forces to form a national 
assembly and an interim government by the end of the month. 
Instead, top American and British diplomats leading 
reconstruction efforts here told exile leaders in a meeting tonight 
that allied officials would remain in charge of Iraq for an 
indefinite period, said Iraqis who attended the meeting..."

Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Washington Post) 6/1/03: "...The 
U.S. occupation authority has decided to handpick between 
25 and 30 Iraqis to serve on an interim political council to 
advise U.S. officials on day-to-day governance issues rather 
than convene a large assembly where Iraqi delegates would 
debate the form and membership of their transitional 
administration, a senior U.S. official said today..."

Patrick Tyler (New York Times) 6/2/03: "...Mr. Bremer 
for the first time laid out an explicit proposal to appoint a 
"political council" of 25 to 30 Iraqis to assist the allies 
in administering the country. He said he would appoint the 
Iraqis to advisory jobs in government ministries, according to 
an official who briefed reporters after the meeting...a senior 
American official here made clear that whatever role the Iraqis 
played during the period of occupation, "the ultimate authority" 
would remain with the allies until they were ready to turn over 
power to an elected Iraqi government..."

William Booth and Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Washington Post) 
6/27/03: "...U.S. military commanders have ordered a halt to 
local elections and self-rule in provincial cities and towns across 
Iraq, choosing instead to install their own handpicked mayors 
and administrators, many of whom are former Iraqi military 
leaders..."

Iraq

No more money is needed for Iraq and Afghanistan in 2004

[Article]: "...Since Congress approved an $87 billion 
defense request last year, the administration has 
steadfastly maintained that military forces in Iraq 
will be sufficiently funded until early next year. 
President Bush's budget request for the fiscal year 
that begins Oct. 1 included no money for Iraqi 
operations, and his budget director, Joshua B. Bolten, 
said no request would come until January at the earliest. ..." 

[Article]: "...US President George W. Bush on Wednesday 
asked Congress for an additional US$25 billion 
to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, 
breaking a pledge not to seek more money before the 
November election. The White House had long 
insisted it would not need extra money until next year..."

Alan Fram 
(Boston Globe)

Iraq

There will not be any more rape rooms or 
torture rooms in Iraq

[Bush quotes]: "
..."Iraq is free of rape rooms and torture 
chambers" Oct. 8, 2003...
"One thing is for certain: There won't be any more 
mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms."
Jan. 12, 2004...
"Iraqi men and women are no longer carried to 
torture chambers and rape rooms …" Feb. 4, 2004..."

[Article]: "...According to a classified Pentagon investigation 
obtained by CNN, U.S. Army soldiers have committed 
"egregious acts" and "grave breaches of international law" 
at the Abu Ghraib prison, once used to torture Iraqis during the 
regime of Saddam Hussein. (Widespread reactions to news of 
abuse) The allegations include threatening males with 
rape; sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light 
and perhaps a broomstick; attaching wires to prisoners' 
extremities, including the penis; and forcing detainees 
into compromising positions while naked..."

[Billmon]: "...More than 400 Iraqi women have been kidnapped 
and raped amid the lawlessness gripping the country 
since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the Organisation 
of Women’s Freedom in Iraq said Sunday. 
“This violence is still a daily occurrence, especially 
on the streets of Baghdad, without attracting 
the least attention of the (US) soldiers.”..."

Finding Osama bin Laden is important and our #1 priority

[Bush]: "...The most important thing is for us 
to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one 
priority and we will not rest until we find him..."

[3/13/02]: "I don't know where bin Laden is. 
I have no idea and really don't care. 
It's not that important. It's not our priority."
[4/8/02]: "...I am truly not that concerned about him."

Karen 
(Buzzflash)

DailyKos

Against a Homeland Security Department

Initially opposed the creation of the Homeland 
Security Department

John Marshall
(Talkingpointsmemo)

DailyKos

Center for 
American Progress

Against an Independent Commission to investigate 9/11

[Rice for Bush]: "...appearing on "Fox News Sunday," 
said the administration opposed any probe outside 
the congressional intelligence committees because a war 
against terrorism was still underway. "We worry 
about anything that would take place outside of the 
intelligence committees, and indeed, we think 
the intelligence committees are the proper venue 
for this kind of review."..."

Joe Conason
(New York Observer)

Washington Post

DailyKos

Center for 
American Progress

Against an extension of the 9/11 Commission's deadline

[Article]: "...President George W. Bush and House 
Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose 
granting more time to an independent commission 
investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, virtually 
guaranteeing that the panel will have 
to complete its work by the end of May, officials 
said last week..."

Washington Post

Center for 
American Progress

Will only meet with the 9/11 Commission chair/
co-chair for ONLY 1 hour

[Article]: "...Bush team...insisted that Bush himself 
will meet with the panel's chair and co-chair 
for only one hour..."

Washington Post

Matthew Yglesias
(TAPPED)

Center for 
American Progress

[Bush] Will only meet with the 9/11 Commission chair/
co-chair

[Article]: "...Bush team...insisted that Bush himself 
will meet with the panel's chair and co-chair 
for only one hour..."

National Security Adviser will not testify to 9/11 
Commission in public and under oath because an 
important principle is involved

[Rice for Bush] "...Nothing would be better from my point 
of view than to be able to testify, but there is an 
important principle involved here it is a longstanding 
principle that sitting national security advisors do 
not testify before the Congress..."

National Security Adviser WILL testify to 9/11 
Commission in public and under oath

O9

Want 9/11 Commission to investigate EVERY DETAIL
and EVERY BIT of evidence and ACT QUICKLY
in revealing what went wrong

[Bush]: "...investigation should carefully examine all 
the evidence and follow all the fact, wherever they 
lead. We must uncover every detail and 
learn every lesson of September the 11th...We have 
a duty -- a solemn duty -- to do everything we 
can to protect this country...I also hope that the 
commission will act quickly and issue its report 
prior to the 18-month deadline embodied in the 
legislation. After all, if there's changes that need to 
be made, we need to know them as soon as 
possible, for the security of our country. The 
sooner we have the commission's conclusions, the 
sooner this administration will act on them..."

Indeed, as this article says:
"...Complaining that the FAA's delay had "significantly 
impeded" their progress, the commissioners for the 
first time suggested the panel might not be able to 
complete its investigation by its May 2004 deadline..."

CBS

It is A-OK to provide access to classified PDBs
(to commoners like a journalist)

[Article]: "...The extraordinary access that top 
Bush administration officials gave Washington Post 
reporter Bob Woodward more than two years ago for 
his book, “Bush at War”...The best selling “Bush at 
War” is sprinkled with a number of precise references 
to the PDBs. On page 40 of the book, for example, 
Woodward quotes from the Sept. 12, 2001 PDB 
that CIA director George Tenet gave Bush linking the 
terror attacks to Al Qaeda. On page 132, Woodward 
gives the exact title—“Trying to Anticipate the Next 
Attack” -of a “highly classified, three-page briefing 
paper” that was provided to Bush on Sept. 25 as 
part of that morning’s PDB..."

Michael Isikoff 
and Mark Hosenball
(Newsweek)

Will NOT provide the 9/11 Commission access to 
Presidential Daily Briefs (PDBs)

[Article]: "...the White House has consistently refused 
to turn over any PDBs to outside investigators. White 
House counsel Alberto Gonzales and his staff have 
portrayed the documents as the "crown jewels" of 
executive privilege and argued that sharing them with 
anybody would jeopardize the ability of all future 
presidents to receive briefings on highly sensitive 
intelligence matters in confidence..."

Michael Isikoff 
and Mark Hosenball
(Newsweek)

David Corn 
(Tom Paine)

Will NOT declassify Aug 6, 2001 
Presidential Daily Brief (PDB)

[Article]: "...the White House has consistently refused 
to turn over any PDBs to outside investigators. White 
House counsel Alberto Gonzales and his staff have 
portrayed the documents as the "crown jewels" of 
executive privilege and argued that sharing them with 
anybody would jeopardize the ability of all future 
presidents to receive briefings on highly sensitive 
intelligence matters in confidence..."

Will declassify Aug 6, 2001 
Presidential Daily Brief (PDB)

David Corn 
(Tom Paine)

Those responsible for the U.S.S. Cole bombing 
in Yemen will pay a serious price and 
face serious consequences

[Link]: "...Letterman then asked Bush about the terrorist 
murder of 17 U.S. sailors [serving aboard the USS 
Cole] in Yemen. Seriously. 
"If I find out who it was, they'd pay a 
serious price," Bush said of the bombing. "I mean a 
serious price." "Now, what does that mean?" 
Letterman asked...
"That means they're not going to like 
what happened to them," Bush said, and 
the crowd went wild. 
"Now are you talking about retaliation 
or due process of law?" Letterman asked.
"Heh-heh," Bush said. "I'm talking about gettin' the 
facts and lettin' them know we don't appreciate 
it and there's a serious consequence ... And 
I'll decide what that consequence is."..."

Violent crime and drug prosecutions more important 
than inflicting serious consequences on those 
responsible for U.S.S. Cole bombing (Al Qaeda).
Funding cuts proposed for counterterrorism operations 
on Sep 10, 2001.

(Bush made it clear that the price to be paid by Al
Qaeda was NOTHING)

[Newsweek]: "...The day after the Oct. 12, 2000, attack 
on the USS Cole, the then candidate Bush said “there 
must be a consequence.” An FBI document dated 
January 26, 2001—six days after Bush took office
—shows that authorities believed they had clear 
evidence tying the bombers to Al Qaeda. 
Yet the new administration mounted 
no retaliation of its own...."

Center for 
American 
Progress

Intelligence spending on counter-terrorism is wasteful

Cuts proposed to intelligence budgets on 
counterterrorism before and after 9/11/01 
(after U.S.S. Cole bombing by Al Qaeda and 
after repeated messages of threats of massive 
terrorist act by Al Qaeda in summer 2001 and
after 9/11)

[CAP]: "...In its final budget request for the fiscal 
year 2002 submitted on Sept. 10, 2001, the 
Administration "called for spending increases in 
68 programs, none of which directly involved 
counterterrorism...In his Sept. 10 submission to the 
budget office, Mr. Ashcroft did not endorse F.B.I. 
requests for $58 million for 149 new counterterrorism 
field agents, 200 intelligence analysts and 54 
additional translators. Mr. Ashcroft proposed cuts 
in 14 programs. One proposed $65 million 
cut was for a program that gives state and 
local counterterrorism grants for equipment, 
including radios and decontamination suits and 
training to localities for counterterrorism 
preparedness." The WP reported that in its first 
budget, the White House left "gaps" between 
"what military commanders said they needed to 
combat terrorists and what they got." Newsweek 
noted that, among other things, Defense Secretary 
Donald Rumsfeld elected not to re-launch a Predator 
drone that had been tracking bin Laden. When the Senate 
Armed Services Committee tried to fill those gaps, 
"Rumsfeld said he would recommend a veto" on 
September 9..."

[WP]: "...In the early days after the Sept. 11, 2001, 
attacks, the Bush White House cut by nearly 
two-thirds an emergency request for 
counterterrorism funds by the FBI, an internal 
administration budget document shows. The 
document, dated Oct. 12, 2001, shows that 
the FBI requested $1.5 billion in additional funds 
to enhance its counterterrorism efforts with the 
creation of 2,024 positions. But the White House 
Office of Management and Budget cut that request 
to $531 million. Attorney General John D. 
Ashcroft, working within the White House limits, 
cut the FBI's request for items such as computer 
networking and foreign language intercepts by 
half, cut a cyber-security request by three 
quarters and eliminated entirely a request 
for "collaborative capabilities." ..."

Senator Kerry is irresponsible and cannot lead 
because he voted to gut intelligence budgets 2 years 
after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
[CG: Note that this is a false charge in itself]

[MSNBC/WP]: "...Once again, Senator Kerry is 
trying to have it both ways. He's for good 
intelligence, yet he was willing to gut the 
intelligence services. And that is no way to lead 
a nation in a time of war...
Intelligence spending is necessary, not wasteful..."

Center for 
American 
Progress

Atrios

Dana Milbank 
(Washington Post)

We should not be hastily using military equipment
without first verifying that they work well

[Rice for Bush in NBC interview defending 
administration's not using the Predator drone to 
nab/attack bin Laden pre-9/11]: 
"...There were tests done on the armed Predator.  
It was a developmental system.  The tests were 
-- not conclusive.  In fact, there were problems with 
the operational capability of the warhead.  And we 
wanted to be sure to marry the right ordinance, 
the right warhead with the Predator.  Because if 
you've ever used it and, in fact, didn't fire, 
they would know from then on what 
it was that you were doing...we did think 
about how fast we could accelerate the work on 
the Predator.  But you always have to be careful 
to make sure that you're going to have 
something that works..."

[MSN/Slate] : 
"...Bush's budget for next year includes $10.7 billion 
for missile defense—over twice as much money as for 
any other single weapons system. This summer, 
he's planning to start deploying the first components of 
an MD system—six anti-missile missiles in Alaska, 
four in California, and as many as 20 more, in locations 
not yet chosen, the following year. Yet, except by 
sheer luck, these interceptors will not be able to shoot 
down enemy missiles. Or, to put it more precisely, 
Bush is starting to deploy very expensive 
weapons without the slightest bit of evidence 
that they have any chance of working..."

Will NOT let the 9/11 Commission review thousands 
of documents from the Clinton administration 

[McClellan for Bush]: "...said some Clinton administration 
documents had been withheld because they were 
"duplicative or unrelated," while others were withheld 
because they were "highly sensitive" and the 
information in them could be relayed to 
the commission in other ways...."

DailyKos

9/11 will and should not be used as a political issue

[Bush]: "...I have no ambition whatsoever to 
use this [9/11] as a political issue..."

Examples: Rove tells GOP that they should exploit
9/11 in the elections; Bush falsely accuses Democrats of
not being interested in the "security" of the American 
people; Bush supports misleading, nasty
ads against previously supportive Democrats accusing 
them of being weak on security; Bush runs campaign ads 
exploiting 9/11 dead and firemen; etc. etc.

Center for 
American Progress
via Alternet

Misleader.org

Caskets of war dead should not be photographed 
or televised out of respect for them and their families

[Bush admin]: "...We respect and protect their 
privacy diligently," Pentagon spokesman 
Bryan Whitman says. "We're going to do 
everything in our power to ensure reverence 
for their fallen loved one."..."

[Link]: "...As the nation headed for war 
last year, President Bush "clamped down" on the 
media, extending and expanding a controversial policy 
that banned reporters from photographing 
flag-draped caskets of soldiers killed in combat ¹. 
The White House said the policy was enforced to 
"spare the feelings of military families." ² Yet, in the 
very first television advertisement of his 2004 campaign, 
the president has blanketed the nation's airwaves 
with an image of "firefighters carrying a flag-draped 
body" from the 9/11 wreckage at Ground Zero ³.
The hypocrisy of preventing Americans from receiving a 
"reminder of the toll of war" at the very same time 
the president exploits an image of a dead body for his 
own political gain has caused an outrage among 
victims' families ⁴. Chris Burke, whose brother Tom died in 
the attacks, said, "Using my dead friends and my dead 
brother for political expediency is dead wrong. It's wrong, 
it's bad taste and an insult to the 3,000 people who 
died on Sept. 11." ⁵..."

Statistics on how the Government is using secret 
PATRIOT ACT related powers cannot be released since
that will compromise national security

[ACLU]: "...in October 2002, the ACLU and other groups 
filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit asking 
a federal court to order the Department of Justice 
to account for its use of the extraordinary new 
surveillance powers under the Patriot Act, including 
Section 215.  The Department of Justice has not only 
refused to release basic statistics about how often 
these powers are being used, it has reacted to increased 
public concern about sensitive records, such as library 
and bookstore records, by falsely claiming these new 
powers apply only to foreign spies or terrorists.  In 
actuality, this limit is one of the safeguards that 
the USA PATRIOT Act lifted...."

[Article]: "...The Bush administration is coming under fire for 
allegedly allowing political concerns to determine what it 
deems to be sensitive national security material after a 
series of document declassifications that critics contend 
were timed for strategic advantage. In several recent 
cases, the administration first refused requests for information 
by saying that releasing it would jeopardize national security, 
then released that same information itself at a moment when 
it became politically convenient to do so -- leaving the 
impression that it was safe to release all along. 
After first refusing to allow Congress to see a memo 
about Al Qaeda from a month before the 2001 attacks, 
and then letting only some of the 9/11 Commission 
see it in private, the White House released the entire 
document to quell rising public pressure. After the Justice 
Department fought the American Civil Liberties Union in court 
to suppress statistics on how often it used the Patriot Act, 
Attorney General John Ashcroft called a news conference 
and announced them..."

ACLU

O21

We will win the war on terrorism

[Bush]: "Let me be clear about this: 
We will win the war on terrorism"

[Bush]: "...Asked "can we win" the war on terror, Bush said, 
"I don't think you can win it."..."

FLIP AGAIN - 8/31/04

[Bush]: "...But the very next day, the steady, resolute Bush 
had gone back to his earlier position, declaring: 
"We will win" the war on terror...."

P2

Harken

Delayed reporting of 1990 stock sale to the SEC 
was the SEC's fault

[Link]: "...In his 1994 race for governor of Texas, 
Mr. Bush said that he thought he had 
filed on time but that the S.E.C. had misplaced 
the proper disclosure forms..."

Delayed reporting of 1990 stock sale to the SEC 
was NOT the SEC's fault but because of 
Harken's lawyers' mix-up

[Link]: "...Last week, Ari Fleischer, the White House press 
secretary, attributed the late filing to a "mix-up" 
with Harken's lawyers..."

2nd week of July 2002

Reason for delayed reporting of 1990 stock sale to 
the SEC is UNKNOWN

[Bush 7/8/02]: "...Mr. Bush repeatedly dismissed 
assertions that he had failed to properly disclose 
a 1990 stock sale, saying the criticism was nothing 
more than a political attack, although he 
acknowledged that he still did not know why 
the sale had not been disclosed as promptly 
as required by law. "I still haven't figured 
it out completely," Mr. Bush said..."

Dana Milbank 
(Washington Post)

NASA visit

Visited Johnson Space center during Governorship of Texas 

Did NOT visit Johnson Space center during 
Governorship of Texas 

Bob Jones U.

Bob Jones University is worth visiting and its 
views are not worth condemning
(Bob Jones - a University that banned homosexuality 
and interracial dating among other things)

CNN

Drinking

For drinking alcohol