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Botched When Every Word CountsBy Rick Horowitz
News from
the alternate universe... Washington, Right This Minute -- With only days remaining until voters go to the polls in hotly contested midterm elections, a botched attempt at humor threatens to dominate the national political landscape, and could even tip the balance of power in one or both houses of Congress. Analysts and longtime political observers were watching carefully for signs of last-minute voter shifts in the wake of controversial comments earlier this week by President Bush about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney. "Both those men are doing fantastic jobs and I strongly support them," the president was quoted as saying in an Oval Office interview with wire-service reporters. The president also indicated that he expected Rumsfeld and Cheney to remain at their posts until the end of his second term, in January of 2009.
Democrats have pounced on the president's words, calling them "insulting" and "demoralizing" to American troops taking increased casualties in their struggle to restore order in Iraq. Some Republicans, faced with tough re-election campaigns, have also sought to distance themselves from the president's remarks, with several reportedly furious about a needless -- and potentially fatal -- distraction in the critical hours leading up to Tuesday's balloting. The White House, meanwhile, continued to maintain that the president had merely stumbled over his words, and that a good-natured poke at his two senior advisers had simply veered off course. Pumped-up Democrats were having none of it. "This president owes an immediate apology to every one of our brave men and women putting their lives on the line in Iraq," declared Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in a news conference this afternoon, flanked by a dozen fellow Democrats. "To even suggest that Rumsfeld and Cheney are doing 'fantastic jobs,' when we see every day on our televisions the terrible results of their so-called strategy, is a slap in the face to every one of our troops." "What planet are you living on, Mr. President?" asked Charles Schumer (D-NY), citing not just the president's strong support for Rumsfeld and Cheney, but his further comment in the interview that "I'm pleased with the progress we're making." "Apologize now," Schumer demanded. "To our soldiers, to their families, and to all Americans." Administration officials, clearly thrown off stride by the sudden firestorm of criticism, attempted today to show that the president's intent had been humor, not hubris. They provided conservative talk-show hosts and selected journalists with what they said were talking points given to the president before his meeting with the reporters. According to these officials, the president had been instructed to say the following: "Both those men are in fantastically stressful jobs, and I strongly support them if they ever want to go open a restaurant or something relaxing." "Was it a great joke?" asked one senior official, speaking anonymously in order to provide a candid look at current White House thinking. "Certainly not. But did we ever think it would blow up like this? No way." Peppered with questions at his daily news briefing, White House spokesman Tony Snow offered a full-throated defense of his beleaguered boss. "Of course it was a joke," Snow insisted. "I mean, the same interview, he says the generals in Iraq have a troop level 'they can live with' -- he was just having a little fun. That's who he is." And beyond presidential playfulness, Snow argued, there were obvious political considerations. "With all those people out there calling for Rumsfeld's head, or at least expecting him to step down soon, do you really think the president would risk ticking everyone off right before Election Day by saying the guy's staying for another two years?" "This president," said Snow, "doesn't slip up like that." Posted 11/2/06. For
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Rick Horowitz
