Bush's Best Moment As President

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

At least he and I agree on his finest moment in office.

Amen.

[Griff]

If Bush allows the next President to be sworn in, that will be his finest moment.

[Tonchi]

Actually, I believe W's finest moment was his press conference with Tony Blaire today. Did anybody else see it? Asked what was his greatest mistake, the guy actually said his language and attitude at the beginning of the conflicts in the Middle East was immature and inappropriate. He stated that he deeply regretted saying "Bring it on!" and other "cowboy attitude" comments which gave a poor impression of the USA. I mean, WOW! Sure, somebody else told him he had to say it, but at least he DID say it in front of God and everybody. Wow.

[BigV]

Originally Posted by Tonchi

Actually, I believe W's finest moment was his press conference with Tony Blaire today. Did anybody else see it? Asked what was his greatest mistake, the guy actually said his language and attitude at the beginning of the conflicts in the Middle East was immature and inappropriate. He stated that he deeply regretted saying "Bring it on!" and other "cowboy attitude" comments which gave a poor impression of the USA. I mean, WOW! Sure, somebody else told him he had to say it, but at least he DID say it in front of God and everybody. Wow.

Actually, he was asked what he regretted the most, nothing at all about his mistake. You and I *both* heard "what was your biggest mistake" via the awesome power of wishful hearing...

I was impressed and surprised too by hearing those words in that voice (radio only). I didn't hear the smirk, but I did hear the now common structure of saying "I'm sorry you took my words wrong" "apology". Let me see if I can recall the words...(decided to look up the transcript instead)

Regrets

President Bush was asked: "...Which missteps and mistakes of your own [do] you most regret?" He replied:

Originally Posted by President George W Bush

“Saying "Bring it on." Kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. That I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner. You know, "Wanted dead or alive," that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted. And so I learned -- I learned from that. And, you know, I think the biggest mistake that's happened so far, at least from our country's involvement in Iraq, is Abu Ghraib. We've been paying for that for a long period of time. And it's -- unlike Iraq, however, under Saddam, the people who committed those acts were brought to justice; they've been given a fair trial and tried and convicted.”

Emphasis mine.

In the first case, it's the classic, "I regret you misunderstood me". That is very different from an apology. In the second case, it's "I hate standing in the corner/being fined/being caught and punished". Not an apology. Not contrition. It's a start. But it's only words now. I'll be more impressed as suitable actions support these words.