MIXED BAG???

I don't watch the Sunday morning talking heads shows; I watch clips at Crooks & Liars. The exception for me is always when I hear Arianna Huffington will be on. This morning Arianna was a guest on Corporate News Network with media hack Howard Kurtz. She tried explaining to Kurtz and whomever that right-wing kook with them was, that by the corporate media pronouncing Bush's Iraq agenda "a mixed bag," it was doing the Regime's propaganda work for them. Let me see if I can remember how Arianna phrased it:

"It was like a mother taking her child to the doctor and the doctor saying the child has nice shiny hair and a brain tumor. Is that a mixed bag?"

Arianna wrote something up about the slippery way the Regime presented this last week.

According to Bush's scorecard, progress on eight of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress in May has been "satisfactory," on another eight it has been "unsatisfactory," and two are too close to call.

And this, according to the president, "is a cause for optimism."

That's like a doctor telling you that while your child has shiny hair he also has a brain tumor-- and you coming away thinking the doctor's report is "a mixed bag." That's insane. Trust me, if your kid has a brain tumor, the fact that he has nice hair or is a good speller or has made progress towards playing well with others is not going to even things out and leave you feeling upbeat and optimistic.

...In June, the White House labeled progress in Iraq a mixed bag. They say it's a mixed bag now. Does anyone doubt that it will still be a mixed bag in September or December or April 2008 or as long as Mr. Bush is in the White House?

We need to face up to the brain tumor, Mr. President. And we need to do it now.

UPDATE: TOO HOT IN BAGHDAD FOR BUSH'S PARLIAMENTARY PUPPETS BUT NOT TOO HOT FOR OUR TROOPS?

Talex over at Kos was watching Bob Shieffer this morning. Looks like Schieffer has had it with the Bush Regime and their lies and lame excuses too.

I am still not sure that I believe it: The Iraqi parliament is going on vacation during the month of August.

The White House offers the lame excuse that, after all, Baghdad is hot in August-- sometimes 130 degrees.

May I ask a follow-up?

How much hotter do you suppose it is if you are a wearing a helmet, full body armor, carrying ammunition and walking foot patrols through Baghdad?

The last I heard, that is how American troops are spending their August in Iraq. For me, this does it.

God help the Iraqi people because there is not much America can do to help a government that leaves Americans dying in the streets while the parliament escapes to cooler climes. Does this mean we should pull out immediately?

No. A sudden withdrawal could set the entire region aflame. The truth is there are no good options left. But from here on, we need to put aside the dream of building a democracy in Iraq and focus solely on what is in our national interest.

It won't be pretty, but for all our good intentions, about all we can do now is try to contain this mess, pull our troops back from the middle of this civil war, and concentrate instead on the terrorist threat that this country faces around the world.

As for what kind of government Iraq needs, let their parliament figure it out. They can get right on it when the Baghdad weather turns cooler. - Bob Schieffer July 15, 2007