Chait Gets Taken

I didn't watch Bush's speech last night. Nor did I watch his news conference today. I just can't stomach watching the man. Besides, I read incessiantly so I get the content without the nauseating image of Scrub.

Anyway, I guess the media spin is that Bush's speech was a bit of "fresh air". The content looked no different to me. But, The New Republic's Jonathan Chait may be representative of some reactions:

I am not, to say the least, a fan of President Bush. But a portion of his speech tonight genuinely moved me and made me think more highly of him. It was the part where he addressed opponents of the Iraq war, said he understand their passion but asked that they think of the stakes of defeat now that the war had happened and asked that they not give in to despair. I cannot remember this president ever speaking to his political opponents except to mischaracterize their views and use them as a straw man. (His post-Florida speech did to some extent, but it was so vague and struck me as so patently disingenuous that it didn't produce any similar reaction in me.)

Some people never learn.

P.T. Barnum (or more correctly, David Hanum, a circus rival) had it right, "there's a sucker born every minute". Despite nearly six years of the message NEVER equaling the behavior, there are still some on the left who just don't get it.

Bush will say absolutely anything, anytime, with as much sincerity as his horse sized brain can muster in order obscure the fact that he is going to do exactly what he wants to do....no matter what. It's really quite distrubing to find out just how many people are prey to con men.