Reid Gets In Dig At Bush
Sigh…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday urged President George W. Bush to “swagger” less and show more honesty and humility in his annual State of the Union speech to the nation next week.
In a speech at a liberal think tank, Reid gave a scathing assessment of the state of the nation under Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress.
“Republicans run good campaigns, but when it comes to actually governing and protecting Americans, they have a record of incompetence,” Reid told an audience at the Center for American Progress.
Reid’s speech was part of an effort to lay the groundwork for the November congressional election in which Democrats hope to win control of Congress or at least shrink the Republican majority.
Reid took aim at the president’s national security record, saying Bush “must unite the nation behind our most important goal — keeping our people and way of life safe. We need to hear honesty and humility from the commander in chief, not swagger from the campaigner-in-chief.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Republicans suck. Bush is a swaggering cowboy. Blah, blah, blah.
You know what would be nice to hear from Democrat leaders for a change? Some substantice criticism. Something other than invective and subtle insults. Seriously, what have the Democrats offered by way of solutions in Iraq? Accusations of “Bush lied?” Murtha’s cut-and-run? Please. Another Vietnam-esque retreat is not what this country needs, and reviewing the pre-war intelligence yet again isn’t going to help us deal with the realities we are facing in Iraq now.
Reid did make one good point:
Noting that the government will breach the $8.184 trillion debt limit next month, Reid accused Bush of “bankrupting our country and placing an enormous tax on our children and grandchildren, simply so he can hand out tax breaks to special interests and the wealthy.”
The White House has asked Congress to raise the credit limit by mid-February, saying the Treasury would have to take extraordinary measures to keep paying bills for everything from Social Security and national defense. Since 2002, Congress has raised the debt ceiling by $2.2 trillion.
He’s right. We’re spending too much money. Of course, Democrats accuse Republicans of wanting to starve the poor and keep America’s kids stupid every time they try to cut back so it isn’t like they’re offering a lot of alternatives.
This country would be better served if we had a strong opposition party that cared more about the issues facing the nation than simply getting back in power.
