Demagogue

During a taped interview Friday night with ABC's celebrity-gossip maven, Barbara Walters, President Bush reflected on his first term as president:

"I said some things in the first term that were probably a little blunt. 'Bring it on' was a little blunt. I was really speaking to our troops, but it came out and had a different connotation, different meanings for others."

Really? Let's rewind history for just a moment and see exactly whom Bush was addressing.

On July 2, 2003, this is what Bush said about increasing attacks on U.S. troops by Iraqi insurgents:

"Anybody who wants to harm American troops will be found and brought to justice. There are some that feel like if they attack us that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they are talking about if that is the case. Let me finish. There are some who feel like the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring 'em on."

You'd have to be a pet rock to think that Bush was issuing this challenge to anyone other than the Iraqi insurgents. It's bad enough to engage in deception about any issue (tax cuts, the existence of WMDs, environmental policy, etc.), but over something this?

Why even remind the public about your silly, macho-laden remark? Most Americans had long since forgotten about it. It wasn't just a lie, but to quote the immortal Addison DeWitt, "it was a stupid lie."

Trying to convince the public that Bush was addressing his "bring 'em on" remark to U.S. troops will require extraordinary assistance -- more than the gang at Ketchum can provide.

(Sigh.) Bush's second term seems destined to resemble the first one.