On Bush, On Baseball and Iraq: "He's 0 for 2"

Delivered on the House floor:

Madam Speaker, in 1993, when professional-baseball owners were deciding how to rehabilitate the reputation of baseball, after the player's strike, they debated whether to enact a wild-card rule to allow a second-place team into the playoffs. Only one owner at the time voted against this: Texas Rangers general partner George Bush.

When the rule passed 27-1, at the time the President said, "I made my arguments and went down in flames...History will prove me right." [Associated Press, 9/9/93]

Since then, nearly a third of World Series champions have been wild-card teams, including the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox.

The rule helped saved baseball as history has shown.

And just like his baseball predictions, President Bush sings a very similar tune about Iraq, he says, "History will prove whether I'm right. I think I'll be right..."[Whitehouse.gov, March 29, 2006]

Really?

Five years today since his speech on "Mission Accomplished," and let's take stock.

More than 4,000 lives have been lost.

Tens of thousands of American men and women have been injured.

We've spent over $475 billion in taxpayer dollars, with the price tag continually going up.

History will be the judge of whether once again George Bush's record and America's reputation will go down in flames.

At this rate he's going to be 0 for 2.

Comments

[jackiekahane]

Um, Rahm, the rule didn't save basball in the least. The home run and the new, little parks did. Ir was McGuire&Sosa (then Bonds) playing in band-box stadiums (albeit they all seemed to be juiced). It was cable & satellite covering just about every game. It was no more labor strikes. As a point of fact, playoff and World Series games drastically fall in TV ratings every year. Last year a World Series game actually lost to Dancing With The Stars. The success of baseball is in the season.

Your overall point is well-taken. You just need to trade your speech writer for cash or a player to be named later.

[Hastings]

Gee Mr Emanuel, what is your plan for victory in Iraq? Oh that's right, you are a Democrat, you don't have one.

[roadrider]

I hate to admit it but the wild card is the ONE thing I can agree on with Pres. Chimpy.

Here's a better analogy:

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, Bush has only been right ONCE in 15 years!

[trollsbwild]

No kidding, Rahm. Now, how about getting your fellow Dems in the House to stop funding this fiasco? At least put a timeline on an orderly withdrawal.
Otherwise, your party in complicit in it as well. Better yet, have the large corps such as Halliburton, Bechtel, KBR, Lockheed Martin et. al. been giving your party money as well?

[NicoleAnonymous]

If you're a Senator then did you vote against the war when you had the chance? I don't remember many people in congress doing that.

That fact is that our government needs to be radically changed - we need to get rid of the Fed or at least make sure investment bankers aren't hired to bail our their buddies with taxpayer's money and we need to really think about just getting rid of Senators also - think about it. When was the last time a Senator in your state actually DID something to earn his salary?

And you know exactlly why you supported the war - it's not about Iraq. It's about Iran and Israel and making sure we have a military strategicially placed in a country near both of them.

[liberalloons]

Last time I checked the war lead to the end of a geneocidal dictatorship with the death of Hussein and a new democratic country in the middle east. Millions of people are now free with more freedoms then they could have ever imagined. Yes, it has come with great sacrifice, but pulling out now; I will guarentee you will be more costly then staying. There are too many "if's" when it comes to pulling out.

The war has greatly hurt terrorist groups who mean us harm and Bush has done a good job of protecting American soil as well. I know this article will be praised by those on this site only becuase you are preaching to the already converted.

[GoCheneyYourself]

Last I checked, we invaded Iraq to stop Sadam from anihilating the U.S. and our allies with all of those weapons of mass destruction he had pointed at us. Found any of those yet? Oh, yeah, he burried those way out in the desert some place, or he smuggled them into Syria, or.....

[NicoleAnonymous]

So why aren't we going to war against all the other countries in the world with dictatorships where millions of people are suffering? Why aren't going to war against South American countries? What about Africa? And let's not forget Asia where children are forced to work 20 hours a day in factories without air ventilation and girls are sold as prostitutes.

Apparently we only care about bad dictators in Iraq.

[liberalloons]

Umm maybe its becuase we wern't attacked by terrorists who were supported by any of those countries.

[Bushwillresign]

Check again: Was the mission accomplished when Hussein was hung? Where are the millions of free people? Are we counting the almost a million that are dead? Hussein was gone when they died. Maybe the free people are the ones (millions) that left the country (Iraq)? Does their freedom come with a job, electricity, food, water, a home, sewers that don't run into the streets? How about trash collection, schools, live children, places of worship? I think we already counted the "live children" in the dead category.

The terrorist groups have more people than ever before. We are always instructed to remember 911, and when we do remember 911, we remember how well Geo Bush protected America as well.

[eileen]

First of all, I wish trolls like you would at least run a spell and grammar check before you post. That would help your credibility immensely. Misspelled words and poor grammar make you look foolish.

Second of all, my dear, departed father used to say "The more freedom you have, the less freedom you have."

While I am sure he lifted it from somewhere, it rings terribly true in Iraq today. While there is "freedom" in Iraq for decent folks, there is also freedom for Muqtada al-Sadr and al-Qaeda to blow away those same folks . Perhaps that is why the educated class has fled Iraq in droves.

So much for "freedom" to enjoy a democratic existence in your own country.

Lastly, please learn the difference between "then" and "than."

You are "free" to do so.

[ErnestineBass]

Blah...bla­h...blah..­.hundreds of thousands dead and what does Rahm trot out? A baseball metaphor.

Impeach Cheney yet, Rahm?

Impeach BOOOsh yet, Rahm?

Still funding mercenary armies like Blackwater and Triple Canopy, Rahm?

Thanks to the DLC and DINOs like you, Congress is 0 for 3, Rahm. STFU.

[GPRogueCowboy]

According to US Intelligence Estimates the PEAK number of Al Qaeda in Iraq was about 10,000 and as of March 15th, 2008 there were about 6000.
Petraeus reported in April 2008 that there are 540,000 Iraq Security Forces,
the US has 140,000 Troops, Allies have 10,000. That is 690,000 and I think you have to add the Awakening Force (Sons of Iraq) which was reported to be 80,000 at $16 Million/Month which would bring the total to 770,000 Good Guys vs. 6000 Bad Guys. We have have lost over 4063, they have lost about 4000, we have had 30,000 wounded, Al Qaeda have had ??? wounded. Allies have lost 310, Allies have over 1000 wounded, Iraqi Security Forces killed ????? (top secret), over 100,000 Iraqi Security Forces Wounded, over 100,000 Iraqi Civilians have died due to War related incidents, 300,000 - 500,000 Iraq Civilians have been wounded, over 4 Million Iraqi's have been displaced from homes in the FIRST FIVE YEARS.
If we continue this TERRIFIC PROGRESS it will take at least another 7 years to kill or capture the remaining 6000 Al Qaeda. ALL the other metrics will most likely follow i.e. another 4000 Dead GI's.
OOOPS I forgot, we have to continue fighting the CIVIL WAR until there is only ONE PARTY remaining. Then we will have come FULL CIRCLE.
Of course as a result of this great track record General Petraeus will be promoted to Head of CENT COM and awarded the 5th Star by June 2008.

[bobo209]

The attack on the WTC and the Pentagon on 9/11 was good news for Israel, as former Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu recently observed, as Ariel Sharon convinced Bush that both the US and Israel were fighting the same battle, that terrorism was the common enemy, and that Israel’s enemies were America’s enemies.

The subsequent Bush years evolved into an American foreign policy indistinguishable from Israel’s, and American resources, capital and personnel were placed at the disposal of Israel strategists. The aim and focus of the planners in the Pentagon and the White House became blurred as they were some of the same people who, just a few years earlier, as members of the American Enterprise Institute and other think tanks financed by Israel and charged with providing policy analysis for Israel instituted plans which were identical to those provided previously to the government of Israel. Those plans included the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq which had been a long standing objective of Israel strategists. The Saddam Hussein government of Iraq had long been deemed to have been a regional threat to Israel, but it was not a threat to the United States, though Bush convinced the American people otherwise and also that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

[rbenjamin]

Dubya pulled off exactly one good decision in his life. He decide to be born the son of George and Barbara Bush. It's complete speculation on my part, but I suspect Dubya asked to be Son of God, and was turned down on the grounds it had been done before and better. Past the seminal event, if you'll pardon my awkward turn of phrase, it's been a case of "lights on, nobody home." I keep score at home and figure his lifetime stats to be a dismal 1 for 63.

[claytongrayum]

I read Rahmn's book (Big Ideas) and fell in love with many of his proposals. Im just wondering why he and the party is waiting? They want to let George make as many mistakes as he can and then the Democrats will run against those failures. This logic has one big miscalculation in it... the American people are not stupid and can see the Democrats are more interested in POWER than standing up for and representing the American people.

The Democrats' leadership has been pathtic since 2000 and especially since 2006. They've had the country behind them and still cower to George Bush. Bush has run all over the American people and the Democrats have enabled him to do so.

Our Election process is America is broken, the 2 party system has no credibility- We need a 3rd party-

[rbenjamin]

I'd say we need one less party, the GOP, Something else will fill the vacuum, maybe the Libertarians or Sponge Bob.

[rkrenke]

We definitely need a third party. . .been long overdue.

[Dingoangst]

The flaw in your argument? The American people ARE quite stupid. Look who's president. Twice!

[rkrenke]

Sorry, Congressman Emanuel, but you've played a very big role in allowing Bush to commit the crimes he has against Americans and all of humanity.

Much like the Bush administration, the Pelosi era will go down as being one of the most ineffective Congress' this nation's ever seen.

[shanghaislim]

Holy Cow. I have read the insulting delusional and bigoted posts in response to your article. What a shameful display of what has become of the democratic party.

Congressman Emanuel...­.......ple­ase do your best in righting this country. That is all we can ask of our representatives. This tone of negativity, vitriol and angst has to stop. This site has become a sick sick place where issues take a back seat to personal insult.

Please, sir, keep up your articles and ignore the filth directed at you. While I do not agree with all your opinions I can respect them.

[drumz]

Oh save it troll. If you are so disgusted why are you here? I think you would be better off where everyone kow tows to this loser, criminal.

[thebassguy]

again, I think when it comes to this war, we're just Sittin On a Timebomb.....can't get out & can't stay.

Just like this anti-war song says:
http://www.thebassguy.com/sittinonatimebomb.mp3

"the president's on TV, playin Lets Make a Deal....his friends are on the golf course, while OURS are in the field.....

[po]

Spare us, please. What has Congress done to stop W's lawlessness? Nothing. Not One Thing. At every turn, a cave, a concession, a giving in.