Month: November 2004

Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture: Um, again.

While it may be unrealistic to have expected former Clinton White House aide Sidney Blumenthal to be anything but partisan when he was asked to write a behind-the-scenes “commentary” on the recent opening of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock earlier this month, some of the various quotes and anecdotes which appear in the resulting piece in the UK’s Guardian Observer are, well, rather incriminating in their indictment of the current Bush administration, to say the least.
So, here we are then…reporting from the library’s opening ceremonies, Blumenthal puts forth the following top-notch, choice, and oh-so-prime snippets (in that order):
Scene 1, in which the President tips us off to his penchant for reading Ian Fleming spy novels before going to bed at 9pm each night:

Bush appeared distracted, and glanced repeatedly at his watch. When he stopped to gaze at the river, where secret service agents were stationed in boats, the guide said: “Usually, you might see some bass fishermen out there.” Bush replied: “A submarine could take this place out.”

Scene 2, in which the President reveals his disregard for Israeli politicos not named “Sharon”, as well as his adherence to a low-calorie drink diet:

At the private luncheon afterwards, in a heated tent pitched behind the library, Shimon Peres delivered a heartfelt toast to Clinton’s perseverance in pursuing the Middle East peace process. Upon entering the tent, Bush, according to an eyewitness, told an aide: “One gulp and we’re out of here.” He had informed the Clintons he would stay through the lunch, but by the time Peres arose with wine glass in hand the president was gone.

Scene 3, in which the President’s chief adviser (née “Brain”) shows off his sardonically conservative mindset, all while failing to make anyone laugh (because, frankly, this shit’s not that funny, and it’s really quite sad that this nation’s going to hell, but, hey, who are we to judge, and let’s just get on with the Blumenthal documentation, shall we?):

According to two eyewitnesses, Rove had shown keen interest in everything he saw, and asked questions, including about costs, obviously thinking about a future George W Bush library and legacy. “You’re not such a scary guy,” joked his guide. “Yes, I am,” Rove replied. Walking away, he muttered deliberately and loudly: “I change constitutions, I put churches in schools …”

“The International Committee of the Red Cross has charged in confidential reports to the United States government that the American military has intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion “tantamount to torture” on prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba…”
–Red Cross Finds Detainee Abuse in Guantánamo, by Neil A. Lewis, The New York Times, Nov. 30, 2004.
Not cool, Red Cross. Well, there’s always my backup band name: The Motoboys.

Buried within a much larger discussion of the reconfiguration of President Bush’s second-term economic program, comes this ominous little nugget of semantics regarding future cabinet shake-ups, from “Bush to Change Economic Team”, the Washington Post, November 29, 2004:

One senior administration official said Treasury Secretary John W. Snow can stay as long as he wants, provided it is not very long.