So, today, as the President was giving a press conference on the new S-CHIP legislation. During the Q&A, he was asked about the progress in Iraq. Part of his response?
Part of the reason why there is not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein’s brutal rule. I thought an interesting comment was made when somebody said to me, I heard somebody say, where’s Mandela? Well, Mandela is dead, because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas. He was a brutal tyrant that divided people up and split families, and people are recovering from this. So there’s a psychological recovery that is taking place. And it’s hard work for them. And I understand it’s hard work for them. Having said that, I’m not going the give them a pass when it comes to the central government’s reconciliation efforts.
More proof? Here’s video of the press conference:
WHAT? Mandela’s dead??? Seriously, I think the President is just starting to make things up now. I mean, come on. The WORLD knows the whereabouts of Nelson Mandela, just because he’s an international figure after his movements against Apartheid. But, how do you just say something like Mandela’s dead? I believe that it’s because he has no clue of what is going on, other than what people tell him. If you ask me, he should be hiring smarter folks to check out the news across the world… keep him updated of who exactly Saddam Hussein murdered, as far as international leaders are concerned. Bush claims to refuse to watch polls, so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read the news. In fact, some wonder if he can read at all. Of course, he majored in history, and he makes most of us cringe at the fact that he claims history at all. We all know that he hasn’t learned anything from it: see ‘war with Iraq that his father couldn’t complete’.
This is just another reason why, as a historian, I believe that before you make any kind of presentation to anyone with any kind of knowledgeable background (i.e. the press, colleagues, a kindergarten class), that you should make sure that your facts aren’t contradictory. And, you better have comprehensive research to back up your claim. I mean, come on… if you’re a student of history, that’s drilled into your head, and it’s regurgitated just to save your hide before a professor. And, knowing that Bush has nothing to back up his statement [or actions for that matter], I’d say he’s no student of history.
When did it become such a horrible thing to say, ‘I don’t know.’ My professors say it… preachers say it… and even past presidents have said it. And I fully believe that if ‘W’ were to say that he has taken some wrong moves and didn’t know everything, his ratings wouldn’t be near as low as they are.
But, what do I know… I just study these kind of patterns of political figures. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the really disturbing. And right now, given the actions of the president, I’m really disturbed knowing that he willingly risks lives for a personal vendetta, and just makes up statements out of the air for fear tactics.
On my presidential rankings list of best to worst, Harding may start looking better and better compared to George W. Bush.