Bush: ‘I’m the Commander Guy’
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James Joyner | Thursday, May 3, 2007 |
Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports,
President Bush coined a new nickname for himself — ‘’the commander guy” — on Wednesday, as he criticized Congressional Democrats in a speech to the annual gathering of the Associated General Contractors of America, a construction industry trade group.
The man who last year proclaimed “I’m the decider,’’ in response to a question about whether he would fire Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary, came up with this latest moniker in explaining why he vetoed an Iraq war spending bill that dictated a timeline for troops to withdraw from Iraq.
“The question is, ‘Who ought to make that decision, the Congress or the commanders?,’’ Mr. Bush said. “As you know, my position is clear – I’m the commander guy.”
He is, of course, the commander guy. But that’s a funny way of putting it. While his political style and foreign policy judgment is almost the polar opposite of his dad’s, their speech patterns are getting more and more similar.
Stolberg’s commenters think Bush is just a moron. Not much reaction so far in the blogosphere.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Yep, he is the "commander guy". And he is welcome to say it any way he pleases to make Congress understand why in his position he felt compelled to veto the Iraq appropriations bill.
Whatever cheers him up.
When I heard this yesterday, I had the same reaction I had this morning when reading it here. I read it as the President saying, "you can believe that Congress should make that decision (making you a Congress guy) or you can believe the commanders should make that decision (making you a commander guy)."
And while I went from a definite article to an indefinite one, I believe the President is a bit more cavalier about these things than I am.
As I mention in another thread, this just shows one of Bush's biggest character flaws - he really believes that simply having a title magically grants him the wisdom & skill to perform the job better than anyone else...
I'll admit this issue makes some Lefties dislike Bush personally. It's embarrassing to have him as our President. Who talks like that? Is he 14 years old?
Full quote here:
http://media.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NTAwNzNhNjBhODQ3ZDU3N2E4NGNiMWI4N2Q2MDllMTg=
MSM butchers it for maxBDS effect, natch.
MSM butchers it for maxBDS effect, natch.
Hrrrm, let's see.
From your source:
The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear — I'm the commander guy.
From the MSM butchery:
“The question is, ‘Who ought to make that decision, the Congress or the commanders?,’’ Mr. Bush said. “As you know, my position is clear – I’m the commander guy.”
Wow, what a butchery! The MSM account adds quote marks and a "Mr. Bush said." Oh and they cleaned up the grammar. I see why the right has been claiming a left bias in the news now. This is just totally unacceptable!
Are you guys just phoning in your act or what?
Tlaloc,
My point is that the full quote of the President, from the question first asked to the "commander guy" end, is much more considered, reasoned, and "nuanced" (per Jawhn F. Carry).
However, if one willfully chooses to judge from what Stolberg gate-keeps or is capable only of digesting one paragraph or less, yeah, "commander guy" sounds goofy.
Click the Media Blog link in my comment (warning: it's 14 whole paragraphs). Or ("The Horror!") go here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070502-2.html
Bush could quote 10 pages of verse from the Iliad from memory, but if he dances around in a circle and says "doodle-doodle-dee wubba-wubba-wubba" afterwards, he still looks like a fruit loop.
My point is that the full quote of the President, from the question first asked to the "commander guy" end, is much more considered, reasoned, and "nuanced" (per Jawhn F. Carry).
You mean in the news they look for sound bites? That's crazy. I'm sure they only do that to bush (hence your "MSM butchers it for maxBDS effect" statement). It's not like everybody knows that they aren't quoting the entire interview in a paper but selected excerpts.
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