Andy Card: A Tale Of Two Quotes

George Bush minions are doing quick damage control in the wake of Tom Ridge's revelation that he smelled a rat in White House efforts to raise the terror threat level on the weekend before Bush's '04 reelection.

Andrew Card, former Bush chief of staff, tells Politico that "We went over backwards repeatedly and with great discipline to make sure politics did not influence any national security and homeland security decisions."

That's fascinating, and false.

Back in September of 2002, six months before the invasion of Iraq, the White House acknowledged a planned strategy to get Congress and the public on board. The "rollout" of this strategy was purposely delayed until after Labor Day, and Card himself explained why to Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times:

''From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August.''

So, ginning up support for war in the Middle East and overthrowing Saddam Hussein -- which Bush insisted was a national security decision -- did require politics, by Card's own flippant admission.

Was he lying then, or is he lying now?

Comments

[raker]

My favorite Card lie is that he claims to have said to Bush during My Pet Goat: "Mr. President, the nation is under attack." Oh, brother. That's what the chief of staff in a cheesy old Ronald Reagan movie might have said, but it's not something a real person with a real brain would ever say. I'd sure love to know what he really said.

[Jackson Williams - Huffpost Blogger]

Along those lines, I'm reminded of what Poppy Bush once said about being shot out of the sky in World War Two. He was asked what went through his mind as his plane was going down in smoke and he parachuted into the ocean, waiting to be rescued.

His answer was inane. I'm paraphrasing, but he said he thought about what a great country America is, and he specifically remembered thinking about the separation of church and state. Yeah, right.

Contrast that to the honesty of Sully Sullenberger, who safely landed his jet in the Hudson. Asked if he thought about the 155 passengers as the near-tragedy unfolded, he told 60 Minutes, "Not specifically....I knew I had to find a way out of this box I found myself in." Asked if he prayed at any point, he said, "I would imagine somebody in back was taking care of that....My focus at that point was so intensely on the landing, I thought of nothing else."

What, no reflections on how great America is, or on famous Supreme Court decisions like Marbury vs. Madison?

[brijit]

Amazing! So many of these government types seem blissfully unaware that much of what they say or do especially in public is being recorded.

[citizensrus]

Time for a special prosecutor. Put Andy Card under oath. Special Prosecutor should be Vincent Bugliosi or John Dean.

[citizensrus]

Damage control for what reason? We all know that Bush administration did not regard the constitution..and the end always justified the means...and no one seems to think it merits more than a yawn.
So what if he did knowingly do all those things the left accused him of doing? There will be no consequences. If anything it either leaves the left vindicated..or even more despondent knowing that it was a matter of fact and those in power are still going along with it.

[ilse]

Hopefully all the truth will come out eventually. The first election, Iraq and 9/11. The Bush and Bin Laden families were well aquainted.

[rich misty]

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS331&q=935+lies&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g2

They told 935 lies to trick America into the Iraq war. People who lie in order to take a country into an illegal war will do anything, and they will lie about that too.

[Mike Barden]

So the jingos hadda wait intil they came up with a jingle?

[normathumb]

No one should be surprised. Their whole plan was published before the 2000 election. Overthrowing Hussein and starting their own little middle eastern domino plan, including setting it all off with a "Pearl Harbor type event" was on the "Project For A New American Century" website before Bush even had the nomination. That is why they weren't concerned with a PDB titled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike Within The United States". They didn't have to collude with Al Qaida. They didn't have to know the details. They knew it was coming. Letting it happen was crucial to their plan. Chickenhawk armchair warriors quite happy to swill expensive brandy, smoke their cigars and send others off to die and then claim they were being brave. This was as much about making up for what they didn't do 40 years ago as anything.

[realpolitic]

Bush sure had a talent for picking those with the least ethics to run government. Andy Card is but one example!

[ThinkCreeps]

The brotherhood of the blazing pants

[SewaneeLeftist]

Good one, Think!

[Luigi53102]

"Was he lying then, or is he lying now?"

Doh! He's still lying.

[JRsNana]

Who cares when he lied? Will that do anything to bring back the over 4000+ Americans who have died in Iraq? No. They lied, American's died.