Griper Blade: George Pretends to Listen

Bush's advise-a-palooza tour continues today, with Bush meeting just about everyone on earth to get their take on 'the way forward' in Iraq. Today, he'll meet with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi and get his take on things. He's met with war critics. He met with his own State Department. He's met with retired generals and he's waiting on a report from the military -- there'll be advice there.

Here's the thing, all this adviseratin' can't be all that helpful. When he met with State, for example, that meant meeting with Condoleeza Rice -- a woman Bush works so closely with that she once slipped up and call the president, "my husband." You'd kinda think he already knows what she thinks. She's all for whatever it is Bush wants to do -- look up 'toady' in the dictionary and there's a picture of Rice. And Condoleeza, like Cheney and Rumsfeld, is a true believer.

What's the purpose of all of this listening? It's about what this White House is always about -- managing perceptions. They don't actually solve problems, they try to convince everyone the problem's been solved. I've become convinced that they think the two are the same thing. The house isn't on fire, you just think it's on fire...

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Tags: news | politics | Iraq | war | Bush | propaganda | disaster | Condoleeza Rice