White House says it has paid a price for 'Mission Accomplished' banner five years ago

"And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner."

-dana perino

None of them personally, mind you.

Seriously, what "price" has anyone at the white house paid for this folly? Are halliburton stocks down? Oil prices taking a nose dive? Is Exxon in the red?

I hope Helen Thomas absolutely skewered perino on this one. It's a whopper.

Taka

Mission accomplished referred to the carrier mission being accomplished? I thought that quote came in the same speech where Bush talked about major combat operations being over or something. What a farce.

And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.

Only to sell newspapers and commercials. Never suspect that the Leftist MSM would try to shape public opinion.

Why does he even address it. We all knew then as we do now that it referred to Iraq.

george bush was so arrogant as to think that he could plan and execute a war in 90 days. his whole administration was so blind in their own self worth that they actually thought that they were going to get away with it.

Then when it backfired and the insurgents stood up and slapped the United States right between the eyes.

The MSM may be mindless but it isn't leftist. Even at that, however, its a step up from the blogosphere. I don't think there is any doubt that the quality of mainstream reporting could be improved, but until the model changes, the MSM gives people the material--news, information, opinions or otherwise--they pay for. Instead of criticizing the media, for shaping public opinion one might as well blame public opinion for shaping the media.

I think it is OK to give Bush's administration the benefit of the doubt when it claims that the banner referred to the carrier group's mission and not to victory in Iraq. But I think it is a stupid argument because this issue--as Perino points out--seems unlikely to go away. A "more specific" banner would have required a carrier the size of a Pentagon wet dream and the White House staff who commissioned the "more vague?" banner and who knew the contents of the President's speech were certainly willing to live with it at the time.

I guess you might say that, for the President, the criticism of his perceived arrogance and misjudgment is "difficult, but it is not endless."

"She said what is important now is “how the president would describe the fight today. It’s been a very tough month in Iraq, but we are taking the fight to the enemy.”"

The President has been describing the fight for 5 long years and it's still not working. In fact, he has botched his descriptions - not to mention strategy - of the fight so badly that more than 70% of Americans believe their country is on the "wrong track" in Iraq.

But at least Americans can rest assured that their Government is "taking the fight to the enemy" while simultaneously enriching oil industry fat cats, emboldening the enemy in Iraq, Iran, Syria, North Korea, China and Russia, and vaporizing any money that could be used for Americans' futures, schools, education, health programs and Social Security at the burn rate of $12-15 billion a month for negligible return to ordinary hard-working Americans at home.

Oh, and burning out America's middle class.

Mission Accomplished!

Even if the banner was meant to be intended for only the sailors on the ship (which I dont believe), the Bush and co are responsible for how they are perceived. It doesnt take much to realize the banner would be a bad thing to do. This is a cop out.

I think the government at the time honestly believed that that mission was accomplished, and miraculously peace and democracy would break out, under the enlightened leadership of the liberated Shiite majority. (Remember, they even had designed a new flag for the new, democratic Iraq, which was laughed out of town.)

That is what happens when you base policy on wrong premises. Alas,the opposition politicians are not different from the Bush government in that. Expecting that peace will happen if the US withdraws is just a idiotic as the original premise.

Sez,

A "more specific" banner would have required a carrier the size of a Pentagon wet dream Not necessarily. They could have just changed mission to profit. Voila!

Taka

Taka,

Yes, and what would they say now, those secret energy commission confabulators who never in their most cupiditous dreams could have imagined oil at $120 a barrel?

I'm not sure that the war was undertaken for profit. But I don't think the possibility escaped the planners that the war could be profitable--at least for some. Some of the half trillion may have trickled down, but I think a lot of it trickled out and a lot more defied gravity and trickled up.

How naive some posters are.

george bush is an arrogant jerk who figured his way out of Vietnam. george bush came into office aiming to be the war president. Going to reap revenge. Going to finish what his father so smartly refused to do. Between bush, cheney, rumpsfield, rice and don't forget feith they actually thought they'd see the troops coming home in 90 days.

The george bush administration is the absolute dumbest administration that this country has ever seen.

adaydream - "The george bush administration is the absolute dumbest administration that this country has ever seen."

I think you are being too hard on the Bush Administration.

Why? You completely failed to mention the triumphant achievement in hardball marketing that has been instigated by the Bush Administration in successfully convincing so many people for so long that "reappropriating" their hard-earned tax dollars into the pockets of oil and defence industry barons, Nepalese security personnel in Iraq, a stackful of bungled "rebuilding projects" that have either been cancelled or drastically downsized creating massive amounts of waste, etc. is actually well worth cheering for.

Wait! Some people are still cheering for it! They are the truly enlightened ones.....ahem! (sorry, hayfever)

Yes, the media bring the issuue up each year. But it could have been worse. Just imagine - and you are going to need a strong imagination - that bush had been right and the war/mission in Iraq had been accomplished. Then america and good parts of the rest of the world would have been bombarded for years to come with clips of bush landing on the carrier, emerging from the plane in his dress up suit, helmet under his arm and grinning like a little boy with his first bycicle. And then followed by him standing under the banner trying to look like a leader declaring mission accomplished and smiling at his own glory and magnificence as the crew applauded and whooped like trained seals. ANd let there be no doubt about it - that staged landing and banner was initially going to be a major part of bush's reelection advertising.

Maybe I'm wrong. Perhaps bush may have said even though we were succesful the banner was refering to the sailors mission so we cant use it.

Bush's mission to be the worst president in US history and a known scum of the earth was accomplished long before that banner displayed it for the media.

adaydream:

" Between bush, cheney, rumpsfield, rice and don't forget feith they actually thought they'd see the troops coming home in 90 days. "

Actually, Bill Clinton (who also bombed more countries than any other president) promised that the troops in Bosnia would be "home by Christmas". That was Christmas '94, in case you forgot. They are still there.

So, in that particular pissing contest, Bush is not even close to the top.

"Bush's mission to be the worst president in US history and a known scum of the earth was accomplished long before that banner displayed it for the media."

Really making sense there, smith.

Bush is one of only 15 men elected to two terms as president of the most powerful nation on earth and probably in all of history.

I personally can't say I am one of those voters who put him in that category, but I do enjoy the effect he has on the America-obsessed.

Bush is one of only 15 men elected to two terms as president of the most powerful nation on earth and probably in all of history.

Elected? Hmmm what was that thing with florida and the supreme court again? Most powerful nation in history? Hmmm lol... too many empires to mention

"Hmmm lol... too many empires to mention"

I'll settle for one.

Zaphod - "So, in that particular pissing contest, Bush is not even close to the top."

Errhhrr.. how many innocent lives did Clinton's escapade in Bosnia take?

redacted - "So, in that particular pissing contest, Bush is not even close to the top."

Heh, they must be the ones on the same ide as an odd 70+% of your own people.

Why do intlliget people like you continue to lock yourselves into the ever shrinking minority?

Sorry, that came out wrong. -

redacted - "but I do enjoy the effect he has on the America-obsessed."

Heh, they must be the ones on the same side as the 70-odd% of your own people.

Why do intelligent people like you continue to lock yourselves into the ever shrinking minority?

Ps-s-s-s-t Sushi there are those who still believe that Ronald Reagan was a wonderful president also. They still talk about him as if he was some kind of Republican god.

They can believe that george bush was wonderful all they want. History will tell the truth. History will show how he allowed and used fabricated (photoshop) evidence to attack a virtually defenseless country. It will show that george bush was so arrogant as to instigate even more problems with his "Bring'Em On!!"

Yep the insurgents, the deadenders, the true Iraqi patriots who refuse to allow the US to steal their country. And will con tinue as long as we stay as an occuping presence.

The "Mission Accomplished" banner was just the tip of the iceberg of the ignorance and arrogance that george bush has shown the country and the world.

"Mission Accomplished"

At that time, the mission to liberate Iraq from a ruthless dictator was indeed accomplished - with minimum civilain casualties.

That's minimum civilian casualties.

"the insurgents stood up and slapped the United States right between the eyes"

And they still control zero towns in Iraq, because they've been slapped upside the head by the United States.

Sarge:

U. S. Forces up to 160,000 strong and can't stop the insurgents. Who controls who?

Bush "uh no, I didn't mean the war I meant the carrier's 10 month mission was accomplished" You liar, incompetent failure what else can I throw out. The only price I'm willing to accept from this administration is a pound of flesh. They should all be rounded up and stoned in the town square.

More to the point I am not a pacifist the reason I won't forgive the foray in Iraq is because it has weakened America. I personally am for anything even if it's not so nice that builds America's fortunes and power and Iraq doesn't pass the test. A commander in chief who diminishes the country needs to be held to account.

And remember the grand Fly-In of george bush. Strutting around in the flight suit on the deck of the USS Lincoln.

News media just going gah-gah. The same news media who failed to do their job of investigative reporting and courted the administration for all the WMD information that was fabricated.

All the republicans drooling as their war leader made an ass out of himself.

Don't feel bad, adaydream, that same news media failed to do their job of investigative reporting when Clinton, Gore, Kennedy and every other democrat in the senate were saying the exact same things about Iraq's WMDs when Clinton was president.

Same...same.

Bush says mission accomplished, Israel say 911 good. At one point the majority of Americans though Saddam was behind 911. Nearing the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, seven in 10 Americans continue to believe that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had a role in the attacks,

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32862-2003Sep5?language=printer

Who is dumber the president or the people?

rjd -

Not farce. Tragedy.

"Who is dumber( , ) the president or the people?"

Yeah, well, these dumb people will continue to drive the world's #1 economy and continue to be the leading light and hope of the world.

the people who voted for bush were duped, and those that still believe that the worse president in mondern times is OK are dumb.

Bush did accomplish his mission, his only mission in life, and that is to fail at everything he does.

"the people who voted for bush [Bush] were duped, and those that still believe that the worse [worst?] president in mondern [modern] times is OK are dumb."

Not exactly making a very good case there...

zurcronium - Bush didn't fail to get re-elected a year and a half after the start of the Iraq war, did he?

As the NYT's observes today, "President Bush will never live down 'Mission Accomplished' — and should not. When the White House’s spinners spun that claim five years ago (remember the aircraft carrier?), it seemed cocky and premature. As Mr. Bush continues his $526 billion war-without-end in Iraq, it seems stunningly deceitful.

The only mission that needs to be accomplished is an orderly exit from Iraq, and Mr. Bush is no closer to acknowledging that reality. Neither is Senator John McCain....."

Regardless of who wins in November, the troops will come home. An ailing economy cannot support a $3 billion a week outlay for a war the American public became indifferent to long ago. The Iraqi government is now flush with petrodollars. Yet there has been no accountability on how that money is spent (or where it ends up). Americans should be engaged in efforts the minimize the potential for expanded conflict after we leave and cease spouting the "we won't settle for anything less than total victory" slogans.

zurcronium - Bush didn't fail to get re-elected a year and a half after the start of the Iraq war, did he?

He didn't fail to get 71% disapproval ratings in recent opinion polls either (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/01/bush.poll/index.html), if anything those liberal media people say matters to you. That election was the Democrats' to lose, which they did in their usual fine style.