Today is looking like a real scoldfest, with Bush getting it from all sides. The reports are just pouring in (a little something for everyone), but the bottom line is that for the terrible things Bush has done, we should all be ashamed.
"What has happened the last five years has brought discouragement and sometimes international disgrace to our great country," he said.
I guess he means the five years since 9/11. I think that what really would have been discouraging and disgraceful would have been to do nothing about the attacks, but that might mean I am part of the disgrace of which Carter complains; I'm not sure. I'm trying not to let it discourage me.
Presidential wannabe Hillary Clinton isn't quite as harsh in her judgment, but she reaches back further in time -- to six years:
"The damage that has already been done to our country in the last six years is incalculable," she said.
"It's going to take an enormous amount of effort to begin to repair and restore American values and to reinstate the kind of shared commitment to common values and common ground that we desperately need," Clinton added.
Oddly enough, there are Republicans who would say pretty much same thing. But they'd blame the Democrats for the lack of a shared commitment. I don't like the polarization that's occurred either. But the way she talks, you'd think the polarization resulted from a Republican invasion of Iraq, over her howls and protests.
Well, at least Oliver Stone sharpens the focus, and is more dutifully ashamed:
"The far greater conspiracy occurred after 9/11 when basically a neo-cabal inside our government hijacked policy and went to war. That was as broad a conspiracy as we can get and it was about 20, 30 people. That's all, they took over and all these books are coming out and they are pointing it out," said Stone.
"This war on Iraq is a disaster. I'm disgraced. I'm ashamed for my country," he said. "I'm also ashamed that America has attacked itself with its constitutional breakdowns. I'm deeply ashamed."
I may be a cold and aloof person, but none of these remarks work. They all fail to shame me.
Not even the huffings and puffings of Ayman al Zawahiri seem to have any effect:
CAIRO, Egypt - The deputy leader of al-Qaida called President Bush a failure and a liar in the war on terror in a video statement released Friday, and he compared Pope Benedict XVI to the 11th century pontiff who launched the First Crusade.
"Can't you be honest at least once in your life, and admit that you are a deceitful liar who intentionally deceived your nation when you drove them to war in Iraq," Ayman al-Zawahri said in a portion of the video released by the Washington-based SITE Institute.
The latter is what's called a rhetorical question, and if asked in court, it would probably not survive an objection on the basis that it was argumentative. Zawahiri's argument is so lame it sounds as if it might have been scripted by Cindy Sheehan. This is not to suggest that any of the other people I quoted are the moral equivalent of the terrorist leader Zawahiri; it's just that I'm so callused and insensitive that I thought maybe I could find someone who could manage to shame me, even if only a little bit. Because Castro's been sick, and Hugo Chavez already exhausted himself, I had to look.
There's a lot to absorb all in one day, but none of the remarks have instilled in me even the slightest feelings of shame. I already knew Bush wasn't perfect, but we were attacked, the war is ongoing, and I see no shame in trying to win it.
I am concerned about one thing, though, and I'm wondering...
Where's Michael Moore?
He hasn't been quoted on Bush since September 12, when he complained about roads in Iraq:
"Here we are three-and-a-half years [into the war] and we are not able to secure the road from the airport to downtown Baghdad. It's absolutely f***ing ridiculous,"
[...]
Moore added, "We don't want to secure that road, because we don't want that war to end yet because we want to bring a sense of fear to Americans."
Fear? But I thought the issue was shame. Maybe the idea is that "we" should all be ashamed of the fear that Bush has brought to America. Or is that afraid of the shame?
I may never know.
But at least I'm not the only one missing Michael Moore! Matthew Sheffield links to a report that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a huge Michael Moore fan, and has been drooling to meet the big boy:
Mr. Ahmadinejad held a 7:30 a.m. breakfast meeting, again at his hotel, with American academics and journalists. Earlier, he had expressed some interest in having Michael Moore attend, and although attempts were made to reach him (even by myself, since I was asked), they were unsuccessful. I was seated between Gary Sick (of Columbia University) and Jon Lee Anderson (of The New Yorker), and three hot issues were covered: nuclear power, Israel and the Holocaust.
How charming of the Iranian president. A sincere invitation, through more than one channel. Why Moore didn't rise to the occasion, I don't know.
When rich Americans snub people from Third World countries, shouldn't that be a source of shame?
Now I am finally ashamed! What Michael Moore has done might very well have set back international relations for decades.
Should I maybe write to President Ahmadinejad and apologize on Michael Moore's behalf?
(You know. "Dear President Ahmadinejad: Michael Moore made me feel ashamed to be an American...." Something like that.)
posted by Eric on 09.29.06 at 06:17 PM
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Comments
What on Earth is the problem with the military commissions bill?
Do these people not understand that the Geneva Conventions were partly designed to punish people for not wearing uniforms? Wear a uniform, and you get treated as a nursing home resident. Don't wear a uniform, and get treated as a pirate.
What was your definitive conclusion on the title "Big Balls In Cowtown"? I'm 67 years old and when I was growing up and Bob Wills was singing that song we all knew he was talking about a huge party (ball) up in the stockyards.
Jack Harris
Fort Worth, Texas
Jack Harris · September 30, 2006 09:56 AM
The estimate to recover from the Clintons was 20 years, later moved to 25.
The real anwer is to skip that generation. They are a loss.
oloj · September 30, 2006 01:56 PM
Michael Moore is full of crap: I figure it may be harder to do something for real, than to fake up something in one of his movies, leaving the unpleasant facts on the cutting room floor.
If the terrorists wanted to live in peace, they could disarm, stop fighting, stay home with their families, and the world would be far better off. That they do not stay home tell us much about them, so we will continue to play "wack-a-mole" when they polk their noses out, and search for their weapons caches at other times.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
What on Earth is the problem with the military commissions bill?
Do these people not understand that the Geneva Conventions were partly designed to punish people for not wearing uniforms? Wear a uniform, and you get treated as a nursing home resident. Don't wear a uniform, and get treated as a pirate.