The Dean of the Washington Press Corps Flunks Again
It may seem perverse to suggest that, at the very moment the House of Representatives is repudiating his policy in Iraq, President Bush is poised for a political comeback. But don’t be astonished if that is the case… Bush now shows signs of renewed energy and is regaining the initiative on several fronts.
What is perverse is that the so-called dean of the Washington press corps could write such patent nonsense. David Broder is supposed to be the guy who has covered it all, a sober-minded observer who calmly takes it all in and gives us the big picture. Except that he doesn’t - and hasn’t for a long time. My objection to Broder usually centers on his relentless advancement of mushy conventional wisdom. This time he challenges CW but is so wildly off-base as to border on the bizarre. Oh yeah, David Broder, Bush is on a roll. As the New York Times’ Frank Rich summarizes,
Congressional votes against his war policy, the Libby trial, the Pentagon inspector general’s report deploring Douglas Feith’s fictional prewar intelligence, and the new and dire National Intelligence Estimate saying that America is sending troops into the cross-fire of a multifaceted sectarian cataclysm.
Imagine if Bush weren’t “regaining the initiative.”