politics

Trust me??

You’ve gotta love President’s Bush’s perceived rational for nominating Harriet Meirs for Sandra Day O’Connor’s position on the United States Supreme Court.

In W’s mind, she is not necessarily the most qualified candidate to sit on the nation’s highest court. Rather, she is probably the most qualified woman or minority who George knows to sit on the Supreme Court. Maybe, George needs to expand his social circle or, better yet, his thought process.

“Trust me,” says the President on the nomination of his legal counsel from Southern Methodist University Law School—not exactly glistening resume fodder by serious law school reports (No. 52 by U.S. News & World Report)—whose greatest legal accomplishment is being the first woman commissioner of the Texas Lottery. Unlike John Roberts, who argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court, Meirs has never tried a case for the nation’s highest court. Well, she was close twice.

In addition, her knowledge of constitutional law is questionable, if a recently completed survey requested by Congress serves an any indication. Meirs apparently ascribed some provisions to the equal protection clause that are not mentioned in the 14th amendment.

Of course, she did offer that Bush is “the most brilliant man” she’s ever met. OK.

Many Americans trusted Bush on Iraq. In a radio address on October 5, 2002, Bush proclaimed, "Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons. We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons -- the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have."

On October 7, 2002 in Cincinnati, the President said,"The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas."

A report from U.N. weapons inspectors in March 2004 concluded that no weapons of mass destruction of any significance existed in Iraq after 1994, confirming the conclusion by David Kay, the former U.S. chief inspector, that Iraq had no banned weapons before the 2003 U.S-led invasion.

At a new conference with Iraq prime Minister Allawi on September 23rd, 2004, Bush said, "Nearly 100,000 fully trained and equipped Iraqi soldiers, police officers, and other security personnel are working today. And that total will rise to 125,000 by the end of this year. The Iraqi government is on track to build a force of over 200,000 security personnel by the end of next year. With the help of the American military, the training of the Iraqi army is almost halfway complete."

Documents at the time of the address indicated that of the nearly 90,000 currently in the police force, only 8,169 had the full eight-week academy training. Another 46,176 were listed as "untrained." Six Army battalions had "initial training," while 57 National Guard battalions, 896 soldiers in each, were still being recruited or "awaiting equipment." Just eight Guard battalions reached "initial (operating) capability." Even the Pentagon, at the time, acknowledged the Guard's performance has been "uneven."

Training had yet to begin for the 4,800-man civil intervention force, which was designed to help counter the deadly insurgency. Not a single member of the 18,000 border enforcement guards had received any centralized training, despite earlier claims they had, according to Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee.

Additional estimates proffered that 22,700 Iraqi personnel had received enough basic training to make them "minimally effective at their tasks," in contrast to the 100,000 figure cited by the commander-in-chief.

Bush campaigned in 2000 on a promise to “restore honesty and integrity to the White House.” Numerous books and articles offer exhaustive analysis of the deceptions, lies and misrepresentations that characterize this administration on a host of subjects from education to taxes to 9/11 to environment to women’s issues to Iraq.

And, now you want America to trust you on Harriet Meirs? Well, right now George we’re trying to “leap over the propaganda” to try and determine what is the truth.

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posted by dq @ 3:23 PM