Goldberg and Guthrie

I did not see Bush's speech, as I am stuck at work. However, I am tired of liberals demanding that Bush "level" with us about Iraq, and by "leveling" with us, they always seem to mean that the President should tell us how terribly everything is going.

I'm sorry, but this is just dumb. I agree that Bush should call for more sacrifice on behalf of the American people. I agree that Bush should absolutely stop making continued references to September 11 in speeches about Iraq - history will not look kindly on this. I agree that Bush should clearly explain why it is important that we stay in Iraq. However, I do not think it would be good for our soldiers there or for our image abroad if the President suddenly said, "we are really, really fucked in Iraq. We are getting our asses kicked. There is no hope. Have a nice day soldiers and families of soldiers!"

I'm sure a lot of people criticized this as a "pep rally," and to the extent that it was a GOP-love fest they are correct. But to the extent the President is trying to rally soldiers and people around the cause of winning in Iraq, then it's a good thing since we're there and we have to win, whatever winning entails. Of course, since this is an address to the American people, and since Bush has requested nothing of the American people (except the military) in the War on Terror other than continued shopping, budget deficits and tax cuts, it's not entirely clear what he is rallying the American people to do.


In other exciting news, I would not be surprised to see the Guthrie portion of Goldberg and Guthrie issue an official endorsement for the 2008 primaries in the next week or so. I know this doesn't make that much sense, but I think it might, and I think the answer might surprise some of you. (Or maybe it's someone you expect and I'm just telling you that I'll surprise you so you'll, in fact, be surprised.) Stay tuned.