Delay in Bush Iraq Policy Speech - My Take

Official and unofficial sources have squelched the notion that Pres. Bush will issue a major speech prior to Christmas to signal changes to policy in Iraq. The aforementioned speech is now expected early in the new year. My read is that the speech is being delayed for practical political and policy reasons. I expect Bush to accede to the McCain approach, ignored by the Iraqi Strategy Group (because they were told that such an approach was practically a non-starter), and call for a significant increase in troop levels in Iraq. I expect that he may also propose a significant increase in the number of active military personnel.

The President will cite Iraq, Afghanistan and the worldwide threat of terror, but perhaps he could just skip that and offer more succinctly "and you know, yada, yada, yada." Expect to hear the catchphrase of the moment "surrender is not an option," sandwiched with nonsensical claims that leaving Iraq dishonors those soldiers that have died in Iraq, a none to subtle, and well-worn attack on the patriotism of those that may disagree.

Arguments certainly exist as to why out troops should continue to operate in harm's way, but the President is either unwilling or incapable putting forward a compelling and/or honest argument to the American electorate. Instead he continues to petulantly offer the intellectual equivalent of "I fuckin' know better than you - don't you realize I'm the President."

Anyone expecting a more dramatic change in direction are either deluded or simply not paying attention.

Update on My Bill O'Reilly Post

Initially, I somehow missed the portion of the interview with President Bush where Bill first laments that he is the most attacked individual on the planet after Bush. Wow, great men bonding! But "Loofah Bill" wasn't done, he went on to shamelessly plug his book Culture Warrior to the President strenuously encouraging the President to "read the free copy I sent you." Bush was stunned - I honestly can't blame him.

I was embarrassed and I was watching a clip on TV. This guy is certifiable, he is like watching the proverbial train wreck - you want to avert your eyes but you're drawn to the carnage. BTW the reviews of the book echoed my assessment, that O'Reilly is a paranoid megalomaniac. In one interview hawking the book he even claimed to having been told by the FBI that he was on an al Queda hit list (YES, I AM SERIOUS, Fox staffers said they were unaware of any such threat). The man is simply just too much.