Comments (104)

Farinata C wrote on April 2, 2007 2:51 PM:

I almost felt sorry for this twit, who is clearly out of her depth filling for Snowjob, until she popped out that line about Congress "not fully backing the troops." So she's just a liar like all the rest of them.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 2:51 PM:

Personal attacks. Avoid the issue. Standard MO.

Rove 101.

The sun sets in the west, too. I don't see a lot of reporting by the msm on that.

elrapierwit wrote on April 2, 2007 2:53 PM:

Sooooo, Dowd is being characterized as the male Cindy sheehan?

bwwwwahahahahahahahaha

code word: sticky

as in see what a sticky situation you end up in when you switch to carrying the GOP water cause you were so disenchanted with the Dems not 'winning'...,.Dowd just had to be part of the political 'IN-crowd"

Now he is a 'tar baby'....sticky is the right word

ocdemocrat wrote on April 2, 2007 2:59 PM:

"I almost felt sorry for this twit, who is clearly out of her depth filling for Snowjob, until she popped out that line about Congress "not fully backing the troops." So she's just a liar like all the rest of them."
Posted by: Farinata C

Farinata: WHO in the Bush Monarchy is Not out of depth in filling their job? I can't think of any!

Hmmmmmm wrote on April 2, 2007 3:00 PM:

So, the message is that it is okay to kill other people's kids?

illlich wrote on April 2, 2007 3:01 PM:

hmmm. . . "blame the messenger"?

NCBlueneck wrote on April 2, 2007 3:02 PM:

Is this "Personal Journey" the new term for wanting to "spend more time with my family"? Has this term been now "rendered inoperative"? Will Rove have his own "Personal Journey" too? Tune in tomorrow for another episode of "As the Worm Turns".

ocdemocrat wrote on April 2, 2007 3:02 PM:

So my previous message in not misunderstood: I agree 95% of with what Farinata said. However, none of the Bush Monarchy deserves our sympathy for the way they have ruined the America I grew up in.

rlogan wrote on April 2, 2007 3:04 PM:

Code word past. Like it's way past time for her to show us some tits if we're just having a burlesque show anyway.

There is some irony in the fact that once these hacks have their own offspring at risk in Iraq it suddenly doesn't seem like such a hot idea.

As long as you've got towel heads and minority trash from the U.S. getting killed there's no problem.

JimPortlandOR wrote on April 2, 2007 3:06 PM:

Farinata C said: I almost felt sorry for this twit, who is clearly out of her depth filling for Snowjob, until she popped out that line about Congress "not fully backing the troops." So she's just a liar like all the rest of them.

The Bush mouthpieces must stay up all night practicing the talking points from Karl. It must be hard to not grin when you know you are lying through your teeth, and you know the listeners know you are lying through your teeth - but also knowing that the media can be counted upon to never call you on your lies. Lies for Free! All you can publish!

My securtity code is smile, but I'm not smiling.

I keep harking back to the Army-McCarthy hearings decades ago when the attorney said to McCarthy: "Have you NO decency?"

desiree wrote on April 2, 2007 3:07 PM:

Shame, shame, shame on these people. They can never answer a rational position, rather, they must resort to innuendoes such as "oh, he's had personal problems" and "oh, he's worried about his son going to Iraq". All true, and irrelevant -- as they of course understand.

Like Farinata C, I did not get really p***ed until she trotted out the canard about Congress not supporting the troops. Guess what, shill: Congress has supported the troops by supplying funding. Bush has threatened to -- and almost certainly will -- veto the bill because Congress actually had the audacity to add some strings. So, who's supporting the troops again?

CarolSoprano wrote on April 2, 2007 3:07 PM:

"a war in which the Congress is not fully backing the troops"??? Oh, Dana, that is rich! The Congress has given the President MORE funds for the troops (for armor, ample rest time, etc.) and is demanding accountability from Bush and from the Iraqis so that we can get out of this damned mess. Boy, I'm surprised her head didn't spin off her body with that remark!

kentondem wrote on April 2, 2007 3:07 PM:

Seems pretty clear, if you don't agree with Bush , you must be nuts.

US8 wrote on April 2, 2007 3:12 PM:

What a bunch of condescending bull sh%#. While I'm no big fan of Dowd I can feel for the guy and his personal trials.

But for the Whitehouse to purport to know what is in his heart is insane. As to Dowd's motives I'm more inclined to believe he's read the tea leaves and knows there where to get his bread buttered this election cycle.

The guy could be a big plus to a Dem campaign. He's worked hand in hand with Rove and knows the playbook. Notwithstanding Bush, I'll always question why he signed on with Dick Devos in Michigan last year.

NCBlueneck wrote on April 2, 2007 3:13 PM:

As long as you've got towel heads and minority trash from the U.S. getting killed there's no problem.

Posted by: rlogan
Date: April 2, 2007 03:04 PM

That was the horrific logic of the draft. If all the economic classes and races had to share equally in the death and maiming, this war would have already ended.

Dem-agog wrote on April 2, 2007 3:16 PM:

Dana Perino frightens me. It must be that combination of outer attractiveness and inner deceptiveness.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 3:21 PM:

It's interesting to watch her near the end, she has a bit of a distant stare, and a cadence to her speech that gives the impression she is repeating words that are somehow being fed to her. Notice how her left ear is covered - is there a hidden earpiece?

DB wrote on April 2, 2007 3:23 PM:

By the same reasoning, perhaps the reason Perino or the President (or the VP or whoever) support the war so mindlessly is because they have no personal or family skin in the game.

MarkAtl wrote on April 2, 2007 3:24 PM:

I would have liked to ask that twit if Bush would feel differently about the war if his boob-head twins were about to go over.

The Kid wrote on April 2, 2007 3:24 PM:

At least she's easy on the eyes....

cs wrote on April 2, 2007 3:26 PM:

jack abrahamoff's on a bit of a personal journey too

klyde wrote on April 2, 2007 3:26 PM:

That's good. He's emotionally unstable or a woman or both. Nice!

bobh wrote on April 2, 2007 3:27 PM:

Dowd is a democrat gone republican. Hes a quisling that allowed his personal beliefs to slide so he could serve in government - at the cost of his soul.

Quisling - burnin hell.

RBL wrote on April 2, 2007 3:35 PM:

Both Bartlett and Perino say Dowd is in personal turmoil in part because Dowd's son is about to be deployed to Iraq. They need to finish their thought: "...and few of us in the Whitehouse have sons or daughters making the same sacrifice, so we have no idea what it's like."

mdco wrote on April 2, 2007 3:36 PM:

So this guy switched to the GOP in 1999 and now just in time for 2008 elecctions he switches back. This guy is shameless.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 3:40 PM:

The president's position on the war is isolated, not the fact that he pretended to listen to contrary opinions after his party devastingly lost alot of seats in the 06 election due to the bungling of his war.

"The congress doesn't support the troops",.....this bullshit, still. The adminstration swaps the word "war" and "troops" interchangeably as if they were the same thing.

Dear Republican Talking Points Guru,
please stop repeating the same thing over and over again, you're driving everyone insane.

cevrero wrote on April 2, 2007 3:40 PM:

The president's position on the war is isolated, not the fact that he pretended to listen to contrary opinions after his party devastingly lost alot of seats in the 06 election due to the bungling of his war.

"The congress doesn't support the troops",.....this bullshit, still. The adminstration swaps the word "war" and "troops" interchangeably as if they were the same thing.

Dear Republican Talking Points Guru,
please stop repeating the same thing over and over again, you're driving everyone insane.

Dennis wrote on April 2, 2007 3:41 PM:

Oh, my Gawd! Another Ann Coulter!

You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

POed Lib wrote on April 2, 2007 3:45 PM:

Basically, I hope the entire crew, Perino, Dowd, etc, all rot in hell.

The sooner the better.

sammy wrote on April 2, 2007 3:51 PM:

" Farinata: WHO in the Bush Monarchy is Not out of depth in filling their job? I can't think of any!"

Easy: Ari Fleischer.

Fleischer was capable of passing on the most baldfaced and shameful of lies on behalf of this administration without so much as batting an eye. It was almost inspiring to watch.

Perino is a hack by comparison. And not the kind of hack they want, either.

Patrick wrote on April 2, 2007 3:54 PM:

The blather about personal journey is one thing but she also asserts that Dowd's irrational concerns arise from a situation "...where we are fighting a very determined enemy, in which the congress is not fully backing the troops..." there's the money shot. Parents should be concerned about there sons and daughters going to Iraq because the Democrats don't fully support them, making the mission all the more dangerous. Did any one challenge this in the briefing. I am floored.

biggerbox wrote on April 2, 2007 4:01 PM:

So, what's their implication here? That we shouldn't listen to the concerns of the parents of our soldiers? They're assumed to be emotional ninnies, by virtue of having raised the ones we send to fight? Therefore, whatever they say is invalid? Is that the point they want to make?

I was amused to hear Dana admitting that she can "only imagine" what it must be like to be a parent of a child scheduled for Iraq. Exactly the problem, Ms. Perino: All of the top decision-makers in this administration can only imagine sending their children. And, when it came time to imagine going themselves, when they're time was at hand, they managed to avoid it.

Talk about 'personal journey', let's not forget the one that went through the Alabama National Guard.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 4:03 PM:

Dana's a bottle-blonde, paid shill, and the message she's pushing smells the same as her masters'. Bush, Cheney, the neo-con men; the hate-shrieking evangelicals; the GOP Kool-aid drinkers in Congress; the Fightin' Keyboarders...all of them have retreated into their fantasy that reality can be willed into existance.

The 'surge' *is* working in Iraq. The Democrats *are* aiding the enemy by denying funding for the troops. *No one* really cares about the performance-related firings of U.S. Attorneys. Afghanistan *is* stable and peaceful. Serving the President is *synonymous* with decency and honesty and *serving America*. Libby, Rove, Cheney, Gonzales, Doar and so many others are decent and honorable *because they serve the president*. Our economy is strong and only getting stronger more slowly...

Repeat over, and over.

They're contemptuous of us. All of us. To them, we're all cattle who need to be herded, bought, and sold.

Austin Cooper wrote on April 2, 2007 4:04 PM:

Dana's a bottle-blonde, paid shill, and the message she's pushing smells the same as her masters'. Bush, Cheney, the neo-con men; the hate-shrieking evangelicals; the GOP Kool-aid drinkers in Congress; the Fightin' Keyboarders...all of them have retreated into their fantasy that reality can be willed into existance.

The 'surge' *is* working in Iraq. The Democrats *are* aiding the enemy by denying funding for the troops. *No one* really cares about the performance-related firings of U.S. Attorneys. Afghanistan *is* stable and peaceful. Serving the President is *synonymous* with decency and honesty and *serving America*. Libby, Rove, Cheney, Gonzales, Doar and so many others are decent and honorable *because they serve the president*. Our economy is strong and only getting stronger more slowly...

Repeat over, and over.

They're contemptuous of us. All of us. To them, we're all cattle who need to be herded, bought, and sold.

fnordboy wrote on April 2, 2007 4:06 PM:

Wow - Here's one takling point that definitely has some backfire potential. Yes, one may very well assume that if a person has a son or daughter going into combat, they might very well see things differently. Jenna and Not-Jenna - where are you? How frickin crass: If you are a father/mother/sister/brother/relative of someone who - WHOOPS - volunteered to defend this country, you are WAY too emotionally invested to question the President.

ZappoDave wrote on April 2, 2007 4:09 PM:

How long will it be before the following happens to our Mr. Dowd, however made up or fabricated:

- Arrested for child porn on his computer

- Arrested for drugs

- Dies in a small plane crash or mystery suicide

- Some other sort of smear or lie

noshrub wrote on April 2, 2007 4:12 PM:

Congress not fully backing the troops. Fuck her. Congress wants nothing more than to see Matthew Dowd's son die in Iraq...that's why they set a timetable for an exit for him. What a moron. I'm so sick of the bushies' daily dose of bullshit kool-aid popsicles.

Rich wrote on April 2, 2007 4:12 PM:

Why do they pretend to be religious? They're not.

Arkansan wrote on April 2, 2007 4:15 PM:

Remember the last words anyone heard from dear old Paul O’Neill?

"..... Mr O'Neill served in the Nixon and Ford administrations before moving on to run the Alcoa aluminium corporation, where he dedicated himself to improving worker safety. He insists he continues to support the wider Republican cause but he is not going to be silenced. He declares: "I'm an old guy, and I'm rich. And there's nothing they can do to hurt me."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1120959,00.html

As it turns out, even the old and rich have an Achilles heel. The Bushites scour the earth to find the vulnerability which will silence critics. I’ve often wondered what they used to quiet O’Neill, family perhaps.

Cali4nian wrote on April 2, 2007 4:17 PM:

If only those soldiers didn't have pesky parents worrying about them everything would be fine.

Aaron wrote on April 2, 2007 4:19 PM:

Walter Reed. Every time the President, the aptly named Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and any of his demon spawn want to talk about Democrats being less than supportive of the troops, the simple retort is: Walter Reed. I fully support the troops. So much so that I want to see as many of them as possible brought home, alive, in one piece, immediately. And for those who make it back alive but not necessarily in one piece, I want to see them get every possible accomodation to tend to their injuries and get them back to full health. It would be nice if that could happen through their access to state of the art medical facilities, top notch health care and anything else that they need and deserve, having earned as much with their sacrifices. I wish the President, et al. felt the same way, but obviously, they don't. Walter Reed.

Smartypants wrote on April 2, 2007 4:20 PM:

It's outrageous! Dowd allowing his life experience and personal situation (a son about to be deployed to Iraq) influence his position on Bush and the war?

Another true-believer lost to the reality-based community. This is a deeply disturbing development and must be punished harshly, lest it become a precedent.

Arkansan wrote on April 2, 2007 4:22 PM:

In Dowd’s defense on the turn-coat charge, he was from Texas, where, like most of the south there is virtually no ideological difference between Democrats and Republicans. Down here, it’s just team colors-red or blue, a distinction without a difference.

Witness the “Democratic” Senators Pryor and Lincoln.

Security code: regret

jeffgee wrote on April 2, 2007 4:25 PM:

It seems like it takes some serious adversity for republican attack dogs to feel remorse for their previous acts of personal destruction. When he was dying of cancer, Lee Atwater showed remorse for his attacks on political opponents.
Rove has not had enough adversity in his life. Let's give him some.

At least Perino is better looking than the scrawny meth freak Coulter.
Better looking, same evil agenda.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 4:25 PM:

If only everyone in the Bush administration had the concern's of Mr. Dowd, a child going off to serve in Iraq.

Congress could draft the Bush twins, they have the constitutional power under Article I Section 8. I guarantee the war would end if Jenna and Barb had to serve alongside Prince Harry.

Peter Principle wrote on April 2, 2007 4:26 PM:

The White House spin is just Totalitarianism 101: Every good inner party member knows that internal dissidents are mentally unbalanced.

O'Brien: "I am taking trouble with you, Winston, because you are worth trouble. You know perfectly well what is the matter with you. You have known it for years, though you have fought against the knowledge. You are mentally deranged. You suffer from a defective memory. You are unable to remember real events and you persuade yourself that you remember other events which never happened. Fortunately it is curable."

I hope Dowd doesn't mind rats.

Virginian wrote on April 2, 2007 4:34 PM:

"So, what's their implication here? That we shouldn't listen to the concerns of the parents of our soldiers? They're assumed to be emotional ninnies, by virtue of having raised the ones we send to fight? Therefore, whatever they say is invalid? Is that the point they want to make?"

There one other implication, that's even worse: They might be saying that the judgment of people who are undergoing profound challenges or coping with profound personal losses in their personal lives shouldn't be trusted on any matter. After all, although Dowd has a child going to Iraq, that's not what the talking point was limited to.

Geez, does this argument mean that such people should not be permitted to vote because they will not be doing so responsibly?

Amazing. Shameless.

bobh wrote on April 2, 2007 4:37 PM:

In Dowd’s defense on the turn-coat charge, he was from Texas, where, like most of the south there is virtually no ideological difference between Democrats and Republicans. Down here, it’s just team colors-red or blue, a distinction without a difference.

Witness the “Democratic” Senators Pryor and Lincoln.

Security code: regret
Posted by: Arkansan

Hey Arkansan, stay the fuck in Arkansas. you obviously know nothing of Texas. This 'red' state is nothing of the sort. Ideology is a clear razor edge down here. Fuck you.

slb wrote on April 2, 2007 4:41 PM:

Like many other comementers here, I am tired of this meme about Congress not fully supporting the troops. We all know how loyal Bushies "support" the troops:

"Jon Town has spent the last few years fighting two battles, one against his body, the other against the US Army. Both began in October 2004 in Ramadi, Iraq. He was standing in the doorway of his battalion's headquarters when a 107-millimeter rocket struck two feet above his head. The impact punched a piano-sized hole in the concrete facade, sparked a huge fireball and tossed the 25-year-old Army specialist to the floor, where he lay blacked out among the rubble.

"'The next thing I remember is waking up on the ground.' Men from his unit had gathered around his body and were screaming his name. 'They started shaking me. But I was numb all over,' he says. 'And it's weird because... because for a few minutes you feel like you're not really there. I could see them, but I couldn't hear them. I couldn't hear anything. I started shaking because I thought I was dead.'

"Eventually the rocket shrapnel was removed from Town's neck and his ears stopped leaking blood. But his hearing never really recovered, and in many ways, neither has his life. A soldier honored twelve times during his seven years in uniform, Town has spent the last three struggling with deafness, memory failure and depression. By September 2006 he and the Army agreed he was no longer combat-ready.

"But instead of sending Town to a medical board and discharging him because of his injuries, doctors at Fort Carson, Colorado, did something strange: They claimed Town's wounds were actually caused by a 'personality disorder.' Town was then booted from the Army and told that under a personality disorder discharge, he would never receive disability or medical benefits.

"Town is not alone. A six-month investigation has uncovered multiple cases in which soldiers wounded in Iraq are suspiciously diagnosed as having a personality disorder, then prevented from collecting benefits. The conditions of their discharge have infuriated many in the military community, including the injured soldiers and their families, veterans' rights groups, even military officials required to process these dismissals.

"They say the military is purposely misdiagnosing soldiers like Town and that it's doing so for one reason: to cheat them out of a lifetime of disability and medical benefits, thereby saving billions in expenses."

(From the cover story in the April 9 issue of The Nation - click link on signature)

If "support" is a euphemism for "fuck," than yeah, I guess you could say the Bushies "support" the troops.

Vergil wrote on April 2, 2007 4:43 PM:

"Personal journey..." etc.
Translation: "He's crazy."

Recall that under Brezhnev, the Soviets began sending dissidents to insane asylums after having Soviet shrinks declaring them crazy. Many were given "cures" right of of the 18th Century which were effectively a form of torture.

I've seen it in Fortune 500 companies. A disgruntled employee is labeled as crazy, but it was usually done via carefully cultivated rumors.
I've also seen such people sent off to the company doctor who diagnosed them as nutty in some way that would allow their dismissal or indefinite "leave of absence." I've also seen such people put on "special assignments" -- some sort of work that drives the victim to resignation.

Other posters here today suggested he might be framed for something loathsome. Nothing is beyond a party that hires burglars, vandals, hackers, vote riggers, libelers.

Hedley Lamarr wrote on April 2, 2007 4:44 PM:

One wonders what Rove has on Andy Card that prevents him from speaking or writing on his experiences at the White House.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 4:48 PM:

The WH has immediate access to the best people in the MSM; half of Mr. Bush's appointees have PR credentials. If Ms. Perino conveys her trademarked "deer in the headlights" feel, its because that's expressly what this WH wants to convey. The White Korps should not be so easily distracted from its job.

Mr. Dowd may have "personal issues", but so does every voter in America, from homemaker dad to woman CEO, from every busboy with a brother in the infantry to every general with a daughter flying a helicopter. That doesn't necessarily distract you from your job. It usually concentrates your effort and improves your priorities.

Mr. Bush can't out Mr. Dowd's wife, so he's going after his credibility directly. Nothing new after the Wilsons, except the President's heightened anxiety that the truth may come out.

Peter Principle wrote on April 2, 2007 4:48 PM:

"One wonders what Rove has on Andy Card that prevents him from speaking or writing on his experiences at the White House."

He doesn't need anything. Card has been a faithful and obedient Bush family servant for many years:

"Bush, as O'Neill tells it, kind of snaps up from the conversation and says, 'Where are the cheeseburgers?' Andy Card, the new chief of staff, is summoned, and he says to Card, 'You're the chief of staff. You think you're up to getting some cheeseburgers?' You know, not friendly. Card all but runs out of the room..."

Or, as the warden in Cool Hand Luke might put it: "Andy's got his mind right."

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 5:09 PM:

More like the Sheriff in Cool Hand Luke saying, "What we have hear, is a failure to communicate." Spoken by an enforcer who only hears the Party Line; spoken to suggest that it is the victim's failings that led to his demise, not a corrupt government.

In the Second World War, everyone knew someone killed in the war, wounded by the war, orphaned or widowed by the war. In Viet Nam, everyone had that experience, or knew someone else who had it - a neighbor, colleague, a friend from school, the club or the team. They saw what was happening through and acted accordingly.

Mr. Bush's decisions are increasingly like the World War One generals who prohibited their pilots from wearing parachutes. The planes were too expensive; they wanted them brought back. Hell with the pilots.

DallasNE wrote on April 2, 2007 5:16 PM:

Bush seems to be a magnet for the morally depraved. They are all as cold and calculating as a stalker in the night. They will let nothing stand in the way of their mission. They clearly have no honor nor dignity. How did they all go so wrong?

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 5:17 PM:

Mr. Bush dismisses Mr. Dowd's conversion on his road to Damascus. He wants to treate his vision as an experience worthy of psychiatric analysis or mental retreat, not the stuff of a new religion. How frightful that a president should so loathe self-knowledge.

Anonymous wrote on April 2, 2007 5:21 PM:

General Broulard: "Colonel Dax, we think we're doing a good job running the war. You must be aware the general staff is subject to unfair pressures from newspapers and politicians. Maybe the attack against the Ant Hill was impossible. Perhaps it was an error of judgment on our part. On the other hand, if your men had been more daring, they might have taken it. Who knows? In any case, why should we have to bear any more criticism than we have to?"

Paths of Glory

code word: pain

SocraticGadfly wrote on April 2, 2007 5:25 PM:

I, on the other hand, have reason to somewhat excoriate Dowd for other reasons.

As a Texas newspaper editor of more than a decade's standing, I can't believe he was naive or self-delusional enough to have put "faith" in Bush to this degree in the first place.

When he apologizes for THAT (like other ppl being asked to apologize for their Iraq war votes, not just feeling sorry about it now), then we'll know it's an apology with lesson learned.

patgilford wrote on April 2, 2007 5:27 PM:

Can't wait to hear how they slime his dad's old pal, Vic Gold, who has a new book coming out along the same lines called "Invasion of the Party Snatchers: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP."

The Post's Michael Abramowitz profiled him today: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/01/AR2007040101211_pf.html

A few choice quotes: "For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times...Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."

And regarding Darth Cheney: "A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."

djcrow22 wrote on April 2, 2007 5:36 PM:

I like James Moore's take on Dowd over at Huffington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-moore/more-craven-than-karl_b_44741.html

Les Ismore wrote on April 2, 2007 5:42 PM:

Talk about a condescending put down.

slb wrote on April 2, 2007 6:04 PM:

"Dan Quayle in cowboy boots" -- LOL! I love that picture!!

Mike Conwell wrote on April 2, 2007 6:06 PM:

Since Texas has now been drug into the discussion, here's a post of mine from TheWashingtonNote.com regarding Dowd's "love" for GW, with a little bit of language cleaned up.

There was nuthin' to love about George Bush in Texas. He was an embarrassment to us then. And all of the politicos in Austin knew one thing: George W Bush had a name, his father's name, And that was enough to run on.

W spent his entire time in the governorship in Texas positioning himself to become President, while hiding behind the skirts of his twin daughters. You remember his press conferences where he kept repeating that his daughters didn't want him to run, don't ya?

At the same time, his grooming team was bringing former high-ranking govt officials and RNC heavies through the back door of the governor's mansion to assist in the educatin' of boy George. (See Molly Ivin's** book "Shrub")

He didn't like to work hard, he didn't like to think hard. He loved his morning run and only glanced at the morning papers.

The only thing that Dowd should have "loved" about George Bush, the same thing that many Texas reporters loved about him. He was their ticket to the Big Show in D.C. Hitch your wagon to him and he'd take you far.

Well apparently, much further than you ever wanted to go.

Mike in Austin

** God Bless and Keep Molly Ivin

Jim Pharo wrote on April 2, 2007 6:14 PM:

I thought it was an outrage of the first order to suggest that a person's own life experience would have any bearing on their views of this war.

Shame on you, Senator Boxer! Shame on you, Dana!

Shame!

Mark F. wrote on April 2, 2007 6:14 PM:

I couldn't possibly have less respect for Matt Dowd. Just another unprincipled creep who's willing to do just about anything for a paycheck and then thinks it's all good once he's publicly expressed remorse (of course that never happens until the cash is safely in the bank).

Reminds me of the old Emo Phillips joke:

"When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle, but I never got one. Then one Sunday in church the preacher said, "The Lord works in mysterious ways." And I knew he was right. So I stole a bike and prayed for God to forgive me."

Fred wrote on April 2, 2007 6:21 PM:

"can only impact a parent's mind as they think through these issues."

Yes Mr. Bartlett that is what sending a child off to war does. It's also something the administration you work for should have done BEFORE sending children off to war.

No Blood for Hubris wrote on April 2, 2007 6:55 PM:

Too little, too late, Mr. Dowd. Can't wash that blood off your hands.

God wrote on April 2, 2007 6:59 PM:

So, if the Bush twins were to be heading off to Iraq would it be possible for George W. Bush to have a so-called personal journey too?

Loyal Bushies like Dana Perino deserve to be rendition to Iraq where they will be welcomed with showers of shrapnel and blood, where they can spend the rest of their lives while Freedom is on the March!

Assholes!!

jeffgee wrote on April 2, 2007 7:05 PM:

It's sort of like the velvet hammer Southern expression "bless his heart" to soften a critique- "he's really dumb, bless his heart" or "she's ugly, bless her heart"
Dowd can't be thinkin' straight 'cause of all of his problems. That's why he says these things about the president.

Dano wrote on April 2, 2007 7:34 PM:

I just have to say that the phrase "death spiral of talking points" totally made my day. Nicely put. Makes me want to watch the entire briefing--something I haven't had the stomach for in many moons indeed. Hee.

enough wrote on April 2, 2007 7:49 PM:

Let me explain it this way. The man has not fallen into psychosis. It's more like being (excuse my French) being "born again." He understands that he sold his soul and he's trying somehow to redeem it.

Scott L wrote on April 2, 2007 7:52 PM:

Amazing a Republican with a kid going over to a war zone and he has a change of heart. Wonder if Bush and co had kids over there how thing would be now.

aqualung wrote on April 2, 2007 8:36 PM:

This blonde Bushbot and Bartlett use the same exact phrases in trying to spin this: personal journey, war impacts one's thinking, etc. etc. I can see them rehearsing this ad nauseum. Jesus, such CRAP! These people will stoop at nothing, They are lying shills, everyone knows they are lying shills. It's such a joke to actually pretend to respect this load of BS. The press should call Perino on this swill. The press corps should say: "C'mon, what you just said is a load of crap and everyone on the PLANET knows it!" And then they should just turn and walk out, and leave blondie with an empty press room to blather to.

enough wrote on April 2, 2007 8:37 PM:

Next you know, we'll have Zell Miller apologizing and trying to make nice with Chris Matthews.

RickinSF wrote on April 2, 2007 8:39 PM:

Clearly, having no kids of their own going to Iraq is part of the Bushites' steady resolve on the occupation.

code: potato

mainame wrote on April 2, 2007 9:46 PM:

When David Brock made his about turn face I didn't take to it right away. IMHO Brock had to repent and repent again because I thought he may be going another paycheck. I feel the same of Dowd except in a stronger way. And helping Dick Devos doesn't exactly cotton me to Dowd.

amberglow wrote on April 2, 2007 10:33 PM:

there are an awful lot of Bush people leaving all of a sudden, no?

lyle wrote on April 2, 2007 11:30 PM:

"the president is not isolated... the president certainly has been listening to a lot of dissenting voices, a lot of dissenting opinions."

by listening to dissenting voices, you mean so he can mock them in return, slander them as traitors, blame them for everything that is wrong with this country's will to fight terrorism, and basically castigate to the scrape heap of history?

okay, well, if that's what you mean by him listening to dissenting voices, than i'd have to agree with you, dana.

good point.

achilles wrote on April 2, 2007 11:40 PM:

What irritates and depresses me about this press gaggle with Perino is how vulnerable her lies make her and the President. Yet, no one exploits these, even when there's an opening big enough to drive a truck through.

For example, Perino says Dowd is having "personal turmoil" because his son is going to Iraq, as though this somehow nullifies critiscism of the President. But, if that's the case, who sent Dowd's son to Iraq? Bush, of course. Then how can having his son go to Iraq have nothing to do with Dowd's opinion of Bush????

Perino herself said Dowd's opinions are based on turmoil caused by his son going to Iraq. But if Bush is responsible for the war that's causing Dowd's son to be deployed, then how can Perino argue that Dowd's turbulent feelings have nothing to do with the President?

If Perino continues to deny that it does, then what she's really saying is that Bush doesn't take responsibility for the feelings and turmoil of any American parent who's son or daughter is facing deployment or currently serving in Iraq. Is this what the President wants the American people to know about him?

If Bush cares about American military parents, why isn't he taking Dowd's critiscisms seriously? If they aren't to be taken seriously, how can Perino continue to say they're connected to his son being deployed to Iraq? Either Dowd's feelings are valid because the deployment situation is valid, or the feelings and concerns of American military parents don't matter to Bush.

Which is it?

Why is this such a difficult argument to make? This is basic logic 101. Dowd is a military parent. Bush takes military parents seriously or he doesn't. Duh.

Spoon fed and stupid....... the definition of the American press corps.

Wretched Refuse wrote on April 3, 2007 12:09 AM:

So, what's their implication here? That we shouldn't listen to the concerns of the parents of our soldiers? They're assumed to be emotional ninnies, by virtue of having raised the ones we send to fight? Therefore, whatever they say is invalid? Is that the point they want to make?

I was amused to hear Dana admitting that she can "only imagine" what it must be like to be a parent of a child scheduled for Iraq. Exactly the problem, Ms. Perino: All of the top decision-makers in this administration can only imagine sending their children. And, when it came time to imagine going themselves, when they're time was at hand, they managed to avoid it.

Talk about 'personal journey', let's not forget the one that went through the Alabama National Guard.
Posted by: biggerbox

Yes, this is why Mann Cunter complains about the Wifes of the 9/11 victims. They do not deserve the respect. Similar to the shrubyas disrespect of the troops.

================
Walter Reed. Every time the President, the aptly named Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and any of his demon spawn want to talk about Democrats being less than supportive of the troops, the simple retort is: Walter Reed. I fully support the troops. So much so that I want to see as many of them as possible brought home, alive, in one piece, immediately. And for those who make it back alive but not necessarily in one piece, I want to see them get every possible accomodation to tend to their injuries and get them back to full health. It would be nice if that could happen through their access to state of the art medical facilities, top notch health care and anything else that they need and deserve, having earned as much with their sacrifices. I wish the President, et al. felt the same way, but obviously, they don't. Walter Reed.
Posted by: Aaron

Yes and make sure that the Military healthcare is UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. IT IS WHAT THE DEMS ARE TRYING TO GET FOR ALL AMERICANS.

CODE word = right

Peter wrote on April 3, 2007 12:53 AM:

Dowd says he loved Bush as Governor of Texas. Guess he couldn't get enough of laughing over executions and denying federal aide to the poor. Let's make Bush president! Talk about a bad judge of character. Sorry but he still likes the guy. People talk about wanting to have a beer with W. I'd much rather see him in prison. Don't care for criminals.

Anonymous wrote on April 3, 2007 2:00 AM:

This is off-topic, but I love that pic of McCain on the front page of TPM right now. He looks so doofus-y. That apron or whatever it is looks so baggy. I feel like I'm watching my doddering grandfather in diapers.

steambomb wrote on April 3, 2007 7:49 AM:

Anyone who knows just a smidgen about physics or even has any common sense at all knows about the law of cause and effect. So Mr. Dowd can go fuck himself.

efc1918 wrote on April 3, 2007 8:37 AM:

Maybe someone should ask Sentaor Jim Webb or Rep. Patrick Murphy, among others, if they think a personal journey involving Iraq invalidates criticism of the President.

Code word is "crime." Oh it's too easy.

Agjobs wrote on April 3, 2007 9:19 AM:

During the Communist Tyranny of Russia, disenters were actually not arrested for crimes against the state. They were declared insane because you had to be mentally defective to disagree with the government, and they would be sent to asylums that looked alot like Gulags. Looks like Rove and Bush are following the totalitarian playbook pretty closely.

Arkansan wrote on April 3, 2007 9:25 AM:

"the president is not isolated... the president certainly has been listening to a lot of dissenting voices, a lot of dissenting opinions."

More likely hearing voices because he's off his meds again.

Miggsathon wrote on April 3, 2007 10:08 AM:

Sorry to be the wet blanket here, but the White House has been less harsh to this guy than to anyone else who has broken from them. They didn't mention anything that Dowd didn't ALREADY CITE as a reason for his changing views. So, the White House seized on the most convenient of Dowd's reasons; big deal.

Kate Henry wrote on April 3, 2007 11:04 AM:

The only personal crisis Mr. Dowd went through was an attack of conscience. Unfortunately he is a slow learner. He stuck with Bush for 6 years and then finally found his conscience. But, I guess it's a good thing that he finally found it. I wish his son well and hope that he stays safe.

Kate Henry wrote on April 3, 2007 11:09 AM:

Here's what this administration needs to do for a press secretary. Make a talking dummy who stands at the podium. Then, when someone asks a question, the man behind the curtain presses a button for the appropriate talking point. Then the talking dummy says the talking point ending with "next question". Since that's pretty much what happens at these press conferences, why pay a human being to recite the talking points. Having a dummy do it would be more honest.

Vulture Breath wrote on April 3, 2007 11:11 AM:

Dowd is quoted several times in the NYT article saying he "fell in love" with Bush in 1999. Not liked, not was fond of, not admired, but fell in love with. The man is clearly a little psychotic. I'm glad he now sees some of the errors of his ways, but to embrace him as some kind of Prodigal Son is ridiculous. He began seeing Bush in a different light back during Katrina, and when Bush wouldn't meet with Cindy Sheehan. If his conscience began bothering him back then, he should have come forward back then. Why the long silence, except out of a sense of loyalty?

Kate Henry wrote on April 3, 2007 11:13 AM:

I'm still waiting for someone in the White House press to ask the press secretary "Do Bush's daughters support his stance on the war and if they do, why have they not enlisted?" I wonder why no one has ever asked that. It would be even better if someone asked Bush directly at one of the press conferences. I would love to see him answer that question.

pre-amerikkkan wrote on April 3, 2007 1:22 PM:

Somebody remind me why this is NOT scripted. i swear, someone mentioned "aptly named" for dick cheney in an earlier post and i laughed, then cried because this whole script is getting sicker and sicker. who's Writing this madness?

us? then how did WE let this happen? with dana, is it something about the great unwashed? is it that we always believe the lies or are so apathetic that the lies don't even have to be clever 'cause we'll just lap it up and worry how to make the car payment?

the great meme must be "stop whining" "we know best" "it's a meritocracy" "we didn't steal it from Native nations" "we didn't build it on slavery and corporate malfeasance" and the most lying of all,

"we are YOUR government"

true madness we didn't think could really happen. who's writing this stuff!?

WE are, don't get over, act on it. take the damn pen out of their twisted fingers. it's up to us.

ohiomeister wrote on April 3, 2007 8:09 PM:

Shorter GOP: it's good for other people's children to volunteer for the military, but when they do so and face death in our Iraqi misadventure, we reserve the right to call their parents delusional idiots with personal problems if they betray any concerns about their children being deployed.

New depths. Always sinking to new depths. This one really hits home in ways that other things don't. Attacking Dowd for being concerned about his kid going to Iraq is simply despicable, and I think something every American can understand on a gut level.

The main personal problem Dowd seems to have is that he doesn't want his kid to be the last one to die for a mistake. I just think that's something that any parent can understand, regardless of how closely they follow the news.

Code word: flag, as in, what the GOP constantly hides behind but only understands as a prop for meaningless sloganeering.

Anonymous wrote on April 4, 2007 12:23 AM:

Security code: "Degree"

As in, "White House and DoJ Staff counsel, did you really get a degree; or are you just stupid lawyers by training?"

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