"President" Bush feigns a pensive moment while he talks to reporters at the White House today.
"Bring them on": Easy to say when your ass isn't on the line.
"There are some who feel like that conditions are such that they can attack us there," "President" Bush told reporters at the White House today, referring to the ongoing attacks, many of them deadly, upon U.S. military personnel in Iraq. "My answer is: Bring them on. We have the force necessary to deal with the situation."
His swaggering, Texas-style remark was quickly pounced upon -- as it should have been -- by Democrats:
"I am shaking my head in disbelief. When I served in the Army in Europe during World War II, I never heard any military commander -- let alone the commander in chief -- invite enemies to attack U.S. troops," Reuters quoted New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg.
Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri said, "I have a message for the president: Enough of the phony, macho rhetoric. We should be focused on a long-term security plan that reduces the danger to our military personnel."
Reuters reports that at least 23 U.S. military personnel have been killed by hostile fire in Iraq since May 1, when Bush declared major combat operations to be over while he was on board the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, trying to look as though he'd ever seen combat himself. (See awolbush.com.)
So far, more than 200 Americans have died in Iraq during Gee Dubya's War for Oil and Daddy and "Re"-election, the Associated Press recently reported.
Update (July 5, 2003, noon)
More criticisms of Bush's belligerent, unpresidential comment from Democrats:
Dick Gephardt: "We're losing soldiers every day, and he is not putting together the international help and the international coalition to deal with this problem. He doesn't deal with other countries well, and there's an arrogance, there's a state of mind in thinking that drives people away rather than bringing them in to help us." "He's president — you don't taunt the enemy. You try to keep our troops safe, you try to help them in what they're doing.... This phony, macho business is not getting us where we need to be."
John Kerry: Bush's "bring them on" remark was "unwise, unworthy of the office and his role as commander in chief, and unhelpful to American soldiers under fire. The deteriorating situation in Iraq requires less swagger and more thoughtfulness and statesmanship."
Howard Dean: Bush's comment was "incredibly reckless rhetoric." "These men and women are risking their lives every day, and the president who sent them on this mission showed tremendous insensitivity to the dangers they face."
Bob Graham: Bush's remark "may be appropriate for a referee in a Las Vegas boxing match, but not for the man we trust to lead our men and women who are in harm's way."
9:19:11 PM 
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