[Peace-discuss] Reflexivity alert

[C. G. Estabrook]

Bush's interview on Meet the Press today was so bad that right-wing
pundits are aghast <www.calpundit.com/archives/003217.html>. (Peggy Noonan
in the WSJ: "...his performance was not impressive ... It reads better
than it played ... The president seemed tired, unsure and often bumbling.
His answers were repetitive, and when he tried to clarify them he tended
to make them worse. He did not seem prepared. He seemed in some way
disconnected from the event.")

But often Bush says things meant to be about others that on reflection
seem to be about himself, as when he exclaims that he doesn't want the
world ruled by nuclear-armed thugs. The Unconscious is a supreme ironist.
Herewith some quotes from our chief magistrate today:


CHENEY IN AN 'UNDISCLOSED LOCATION'? â"...the war against terrorists is a
war against individuals who hide in caves in remote parts of the world,
individuals who have these kind of shadowy networks, individuals who deal
with rogue nations."

OCTOBER SURPRISE? â"...lessons learned in Iraq and lessons learned in
Afghanistan prior to us going in [are] lessons learned that we can apply
to both Iran and North Korea ... I'm a war president. I make decisions
here in the Oval Office in foreign policy matters with war on my mind."

WHY HISTORY IS SECRET "...the danger of allowing for information that I
get briefed on out in the public arena is that it could mean that the
product I receive or future presidents receive is somewhat guarded for
fear of it being revealed..."

WHOM ARE WE PREPARING, AND FOR ATTACKS BY WHOM?  "I want there to be a
full analysis done so that we can better prepare the homeland, for
example, against what might occur. And this is all in the context of war,
and the more we learn about, you know, what took place in the past, the
more we are going to be able to better prepare for future attacks."

THE REAL DANGER. "These are people that will kill on a moment's notice,
and they will kill innocent women and children."

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