October 30, 2003
I think this article from the NY Times represents my views well on the status of the effort in Iraq. A lot of the world, and half of Americans think Iraq is just a miserable mess. That it is another hopeless Vietnam. I continue to say that it certainly isn't perfect, and there's lots of problems, but it's not as bad as everyone says.
Posted by charr at 9:03 AM
Reader Comments
The problem is that the major media news outlets aren't reporting the good stuff that happens in Iraq. They're so intent on shouting "quagmire" that they're not seeing the good that Dubya's accomplished. Here's an article by Larry Elder that talks about Dubya's successes and how the media handles them. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/le20031030.shtml
I fully agree with what he says. I just read today that the quarterly growth for the US economy in Q3 just grew at an annualised 7.2%. That's phenomenal, but I'm sure they'll say it doesn't matter becuase somebody is still unemployed.
You notice that they're not saying that this is Bush's economy anymore? It's because it's improving and they know it.
Jan, I read that article, but they have another one where the Demos make two antagonistic points:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/31/politics/31BUSH.html?thThey mention:
"Faced with the prospect that the strong growth figure would undermine their campaign theme that Mr. Bush has the worst economic record of any president since Herbert Hoover, Democrats sought to focus attention on what they said were two of the administration's greatest political vulnerabilities.
One, they said, is that the upturn in economic activity has not yet translated into new jobs to offset those lost since Mr. Bush took office. Depending on what measure is used, the economy has shed 2.6 million to more than 3 million jobs since January 2001.
The other point, Democrats said, is that the surge in growth was a result of an unsustainable tax-cutting binge that mostly benefited the wealthy and drove the budget deficit to levels that will bedevil the nation for decades. Persistent large deficits, Democrats said, could undermine the expansion down the road by forcing interest rates higher and limit the nation's ability to address long-range problems like those with Social Security and Medicare. "Hmm, the first seems to resemble my statement above quite a bit.
Yep, you called it. Eh. I think that they're getting desperate. If we see job growth soon, they're gonna find something else to complain about. "No it doesn't matter that the number of unemployment recipients is lowering; it doesn't matter that the economy is growing. What matters is the, um.. the trees! Yeah the trees! Bush is cutting down trees! And don't forget the yellow-spotted, brown-tummy cotton warbler! He's hurting them too!" It may not be trees or warblers, but they'll find something; even if that something is weak. They'll probably blame the California fires on him. Bleah.
Lol. Well, you called it that they're getting desperate.
Here's an article from the NY Times on that.Apparently, their comeback is
"the Democrats now say that one good quarter does not erase three sluggish years. The growth has not caused a rebound in the job market, they note, and large budget deficits loom for years."
You almost have to feel sorry for the Democrats. First the Economy has a major surge, and now the job market is growing faster than they thought. What are they going to complain about now? Back to prescription drugs?
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The problem is that the major media news outlets aren't reporting the good stuff that happens in Iraq. They're so intent on shouting "quagmire" that they're not seeing the good that Dubya's accomplished. Here's an article by Larry Elder that talks about Dubya's successes and how the media handles them. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/le20031030.shtml
Posted by Jan at October 30, 2003 1:47 PM