I'm glad this is coming to light now. I'm sure the families of 2983 soldiers feel much better.
In fact where are all the other powerful politicos who staunchly opposed bu$h in his rush into Iraq? Oh yeah, they're finally coming out of the woodwork.
So, Kissinger is never wrong. Couple that with another man who is never wrong, and you get an war that can't be won. It appears that Bush and Kissinger have a lot in common. Never wrong, thin skinned, and can't stand criticism.
Posted by Judith at December 27, 2006 09:13 PMApparently Senators Reid and Durbin disagreed with Former President Ford and can't be bothered with attending his funeral. Seems their trip to South America is more important. Must be the summer sun and the girls in Peru getting their total attention. Bolivia, Peru, and Equador are more important than somebody Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter holds in so high regard to drop everything to be there. Priorities, these Democrats don't seem to be able to seperate duty from pleasure. Junkets are more important.
Turn the plane around Senators, find your duty and attend the rememberence. You wanted this new responsibility, now perform.
Posted by peter at December 27, 2006 09:14 PMSeven of six, although these chickens should have spoke out from the very beginning, we now know it would have made no difference. The die was cast and we were going to war regardless.
Posted by Judith at December 27, 2006 09:18 PMDuty and responsibility. Oh please Peter. Don't write about things you don't understand.
Posted by Judith at December 27, 2006 09:23 PMJudith, on another thread just the other day you told me "you're a Democrat". I guess I must be if I "don't understand". No Judith, these senators don't understand there newly won responsibilities. They wanted them, longed for them. Well now they have them, at least for the next two years, and they're making mistakes. Just like Rep. Pelosi has, Senator Reid is erroring in this one. With only three living former presidents, when one of them passes, you've got to be there. If, President Bush is there, obviously nothing that pressing is going on. LBJ honored Ike, Nixon honored LBJ, Clinton honored Nixon, you've got to be there.
Turn that plane around senators, your duty is calling you at home. People will remember your shercking your responsibilities to meet with that socialist head of state in Bolivia. Funny/sad where Senator's Reid and Durbin place importance.
Posted by peter at December 28, 2006 03:57 AMIs this some kind of a joke? State funerals are not the most important thing in a world at war. You are faulting the democrats for something they *haven't done yet* and may not be doing (we have only your word for it and your word is, to say the least, not reliable). In addition I'd like to point out that numerous important democrats were *not invited* to Reagan's funeral at all so we have no real information, at this point, about Ford's funeral guest list.
But this is really aclassic of republican disinformation and misdirection. Take a discussion thread on a given topic--what Ford thought about the Iraq war and about Dubya's failed administration in general, and turn it into a lame attack on Senators who are not yet in the majority for an act they may never commit (lese majeste? do we even have that in the US). Its really a twofer because it brings up the fantastic "Republicans tell Democrats how to mourn at funerals" trope that began at Wellstone's funeral and continues to this day whenever issues of life and death occur.
Judith's reponse was more eloquent and shorter. I'm just joining in here to remind other posters that the issue, as always, is bigger and more important than one trolls fearful posts. What was apparently the last living moderate republican strongly disagreed with bush and that information was kept from the US public until after his death.
aimai
Posted by aimai at December 28, 2006 04:16 AM"Reid, D-Nev., left Wednesday afternoon from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland with a bipartisan group of five other senators, including Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the incoming assistant majority leader, for what has been described as a weeklong visit to Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
The highlight of the trip is said to be separate meetings with the presidents of the three nations, with the last one scheduled in Peru on Tuesday morning.
"They would be difficult to cancel," Reid spokesman Jim Manley said via mobile phone as the congressional delegation took off in a U.S.
military plane." AP
http://www.examiner.com/a-477856~Reid_to_Miss_Ford_Funeral.html?cid=rss-Politics
Take Jim Manley's word if not mine, aimai. For the Reagan rememberence, the events in California were at the families descetion. The DC event even had the Minority Leader Reid attending as well as Pelosi. They knew their duty then...
This junket can happen another time. Turn the plane around Senator Reid!
Posted by peter at December 28, 2006 04:55 AMOnly hypocrites go to funerals of people they don't like.
Too bad Ford didn't speak his mind when he was alive. Another strike against his pardon legacy.
Guess he wanted it both ways. Don't be fooled. He probably left a second pro war interview to be used in case the war was going well at the time of his demise.
Posted by TIKI AL at December 28, 2006 05:28 AMpetey, at least be intellectually honest about this South American trip and recognize that it is a bipartisan group that includes two Republicans: Judd Gregg, R-NH and Robert Bennett, R-Utah. Would you care to make a snide comment about them as well?
Sheesh. They're doing their job which includes strengthening our relationships with other world leaders. Lord knows Bush can't do that. And it's quite a bit more important than putting in an appearance at an unelected former President's funeral.
Posted by ann at December 28, 2006 05:32 AMSorry, petey, but a meeting with a live president is much more important than the viewing of a dead demi-president. As you point out, 3 live presidents.
ann, you know the word "intellectual" and "honest" have nothing to do with troll-boy! And he's not trying to convince us, he's trying to convince himself that there's an issue. It was awkwardly done and as aimai says, just another "Dems don't mourn properly" variation.
Poor petey, he's not even a competent wingnut. Just another stupid prick, good only for a (small) laugh and a wag o' the finger.
Posted by iamcoyote at December 28, 2006 05:54 AMaimai has peter's tactics nailed. I have never seen anyone who is such a right wing talking point shill/stooge as peter. Simply incredible. The "duty" of attending presidential funerals...what a colossal "mistake" the Dems are about to make! it's almost as bad as invading Iraq!
peter, the material GOP Central gives you is so lame it couldn't persuade a single objective person of below average intelligence. I'd ask if even you are persuaded by the nonsense chow you dish out, but since your brain is poisoned beyond functioning, we know the answer.
I will say your spelling/grammar gaffes are quite hilarious, though.
Posted by euzoius at December 28, 2006 07:25 AMIn fact where are all the other powerful politicos who staunchly opposed bu$h in his rush into Iraq? Oh yeah, they're finally coming out of the woodwork.
You gotta safely die before you do that, Seven, otherwise it's a one way trip to Gitmo for you!
Posted by tempus at December 28, 2006 07:40 AMIt's interesting how these ex-presidents think. These interviews could not be used until after Ford's death, according to the article.
Ford apparently didn't care that his strong criticisms of invasion-happy Bushco would certainly become known, he just didn't want them known while he was still around to have to "deal" with the fallout.
I suppose when you're 92 you don't really want 40 reporters asking why you have no confidence in the GOP Clown-in-Chief's shit "judgment".
Posted by euzoius at December 28, 2006 07:50 AMThe only ex-president who consistently spoke out against Iraq policy is Jimmy Carter. Clinton spoke out only when he was asked about it. Bush Sr. did not speak out, for obvious reasons, even though he disagreed with his son. I think it is duty of an ex-president to inform American public if he sees something that is harmful to our nation. That way we must admire Teddy Roosevelt, who not only spoke against the president who was of his party but ran against him as an independent when he saw that the president is undoing whatever he had implemented against big business because of influence of lobbyists. His action caused the Republican president lose and a Democrat came to the Whitehouse. For that Roosevelt was in Republican Party doghouse for number of years. But he did make a comeback and became president again. (The two term rule was not there)
By the way, Carter is again speaking out against Isrel's policy of " Apartheild" in the occupied lands. This is the first of any American leader to say so. however, Carter has a poit that if Isrel treats the Palestinians as second class citizens in their own land, the Arab-Israel problem will never get resolved.
Posted by suresh at December 28, 2006 12:32 PMGosh, I just heard on the radio that Bush will not be attending the funeral. Can't wait for pete to come back and say "Turn that plane around, Mr. Bush!"
Posted by iamcoyote at December 28, 2006 04:34 PMThese recordings by Woodward...
Why are they so awefull, I mean... I think that Woodward would have enough money to afford a recording machine that wouldn't be so noisy?! This recording sounds like it is 20 years old. Why do you think this is?