Bush's Iraq WMDs joke backfires

There is no website attached to this, i'm sorry if this goes against policy but i found it so funny i had to post it.

Bush's Iraq WMDs joke backfires


Opponents accuse Bush of being out of touch
US President George W Bush has sparked a political firestorm by making a joke about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
At a black-tie dinner for journalists, Mr Bush narrated a slide show poking fun at himself and other members of his administration.

One pictured Mr Bush looking under a piece of furniture in the Oval Office, at which the president remarked: "Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere."


After another one, showing him scouring the corner of a room, Mr Bush said: "No, no weapons over there," he said.

And as a third picture, this time showing him leaning over, appeared on the screen the president was heard to say: "Maybe under here?"

If George Bush thinks his deceptive rationale for going to war is a laughing matter, then he's even more out of touch than we thought

John Kerry
Democratic Party challenger for the presidency
The audience at Wednesday's 60th annual dinner of the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association obviously thought the quips hilarious - there were laughs all round - but the next morning, in the cold light of day, things looked far less amusing.

The joke about the fruitless search for Iraqi WMDs so far, Washington's prime justification for the US-led invasion, has been branded as tasteless and ill-judged.

'Undermining' sacrifices

Mr Bush's election challenger Senator John Kerry described the president's attitude as "stunningly cavalier".

"If George Bush thinks his deceptive rationale for going to war is a laughing matter, then he's even more out of touch than we thought," he said in a written statement.

"Unfortunately for the president, this is not a joke."


Mr Kerry's statement also included a comment from Iraq war veteran Brad Owens, who said: "War is the single most serious event that a president or government can carry its people into.

"This cheapens the sacrifice that American soldiers and their families are dealing with every single day."

More than 500 US soldiers have died in the war and thousands more have been injured.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked what he thought of this incident at a press conference on Friday, but he dodged the issue, saying that he couldn't comment as he hadn't been at the event.
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I guess them republicans in office that don't have family in Iraq will think it's pretty funny. Everyone else probably won't. Can we string Bush and his cronies up and burn them yet?...

I hope this will help some of the people who thought he was a good guy see just how crazy he really is. I think he just dug himself into a hole he can't get back out of.

How arrogant is that? Disrespecting the families who lost someone in Iraq and think he can still win the election after something like that. I hope this costs him the election.

[Edited on 26-3-2004 by Ranger]

There is more on this topic in this thread as well. I was surprised at the diversity of opinions...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

All those examples seem to me to be ones Ive heard countless times from others and no one is slamming them for making fun of him.

Just another excuse to Bush bash?

I watched this on the news last night and I thought it was absolutely hilarious, I'm glad he did it, hell, I might even have to vote for him now....

That is truly pathetic.



he sits there and jokes over the very reason thousands of [SOULS] lost their lives. that makes me boil inside.


nobody can defend this except maybe one person.


sean hannity. bush could blowup hannity's house and hed still defend it. im glad i stopped watching that show along time ago.



peace.

Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

You see the thing is, I don't joke about not finding WMDs, I joke about Bush himslef and how crazy he is. What he joked about is no laughing matter, not for him not for anyone.


[Edited on 26-3-2004 by Ranger]

Originally posted by tweedlede
Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

I can assure you that no one finds the fact that Bush lied about WMD a "Joke" or "poking fun at him", least of all the thousands of dead Iraqis and the families of dead soldiers, who are deeply angry and upset at his lies.
If you think that all we are doing is poking "fun" at him then you need to seriously take a deeper and more serious look at the situation.

Many comedians may use satire to get across that Bush is a liar, but that does not in anyway devalue that fact that what he has done is painfully wrong and it's certainly not making light of the situation. It's just another way of getting the message across to other people, which has proved very effective in the past e.g. Woody Allen, George Carlin, Bill Hicks e.t.c.

What Bush has done here is a huge slap in the face to many hurt and damaged families.

For me the reason he cannot joke? He is the one that sent the troops over there and they died. It is simply a matter of what is appropriate and what is not.

Yes I know "comedians" joke, that is their job though. He is the commander in chief and they should NEVER joke about something like that. Yes I am holding him to a higher standard than say Al Franken, but Al Franken is not the leader of this nation, in charge of the military and responsible for every single soldier that went to Iraq to "defend" our freedom...

Not Bush bashing just stating what I believe to be inappropriate. Again if he wanted to be funny (this event is setup this way) there were so many other things he could have made fun of. This was just really poor judgement...

Originally posted by tweedlede
Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

i think people expect a higher standard of decency from politicians - and quite rightly so. it doesnt really sit right hearing the president of america making lighthearted remarks about such a contentious issue. a british conservative MP made a joke about the cockle pickers who died a few days after the event and was rightly sacked. a labour MP was sacked for saying that 9/11 would be a good day to release bad news as it wouldnt receive much newspaper coverage.

it was a bad decision. no excuses.

[bush bashing]



yea [we] make jokes, not me personally because i know its a serious matter.



he should be alot more sincere since he put souls on the line.



go tell moms who lost kids and troops that they are crying and fighting over a [joke]





pretty easy to sit back and defend him.



peace.

Originally posted by Ranger

Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

You see the thing is, I don't joke about not finding WMDs, I joke about Bush himslef and how crazy he is. What he joked about is no laughing matter, not for him not for anyone.


[Edited on 26-3-2004 by Ranger]

your right ..its not a laughing matter..however people slamming him for the very same thing others are poking fun at him for is ridiculous when everyone else get laughed at. Since its not a luaghing matter we shouldnt laugh when others do it either.

I happen to agree that it was in bad taste on his part..but I also believe its in bad taste on all sides

WMD's are not the reason thousands of people have died there..they had a evil monster for a leader he is the reason for the many deaths in that country .. and now hes not there, good for them.

Originally posted by nativeokie

Yes I know "comedians" joke, that is their job though. He is the commander in chief and they should NEVER joke about something like that. Yes I am holding him to a higher standard than say Al Franken, but Al Franken is not the leader of this nation, in charge of the military and responsible for every single soldier that went to Iraq to "defend" our freedom...

Everyone should be held to a higher standard.. Thats like looking at your boss and saying its okay you can cheat and steal..because it will benefit you somehow but then looking at you neighbor and saying how dare you steal my lawnmower, thats my lawnmower.

Politicians have proven themselves untrustworthy and they have set their own standards to what is or isnt acceptable regardless of what you think.

To me the difference is still...

My Boss or neighbor is not the commander in chief and the only person in the world that can officially send US troops into action.

All of us should be held to a higher standard, I agree. Except these people are not trying to be the President of the most powerful nation in the world, with all the rights and power that goes with that job.

If we don't hold our leaders to a higher standard how can we ever hope to hold ourselves to one.

To me this has nothing to do with right or wrong about going to Iraq, simply about right or wrong for the man who sent them to joke about the main reason he sent them. All we heard in the march to war was the WMD issue (regardless of the spin we hear today). To joke about looking for them, bad taste. Maybe not as impeachable as getting head in the hallway of the whitehouse but certainly worthy of an apology to those who have lost their lives.

Whats really funny, is that we Americans will be paying for all this mess for years to come.

Every state will have to pay out over $3,000,000,000.00 for this war. Just think what each state could have done with all that money. The roads and infastructure improvements, education, you name it. That money would have created MILLIONS of jobs and eraced the defict.

this does not at all surprise me as #ing wrong as it all is. just further proof he could give a rats ass about all the soldiers and innocent civillians that have died for his "war on terror".

Originally posted by tweedlede
Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

All those examples seem to me to be ones Ive heard countless times from others and no one is slamming them for making fun of him.

Just another excuse to Bush bash?

As I put it in another thread: How can he make light of the reason he used to go to Iraq that sent 500+ American kids and 10,000 Iraqis to their deaths???

Real funny.

Do you think the double amputees sitting in Walter Reed or the kids getting shot at in Iraq found the jokes funny?

I doubt it.

Whatever little respect I had for Bush was erradicated when I heard those comments. He showed a complete lack of humanity and taste when he made those remarks.

Originally posted by Facefirst

Originally posted by tweedlede
Explain to me how everyone and thier neighbor can make fun of joke about and poke fun at Bush for the very same thing and yet he cant make fun of himself?

All those examples seem to me to be ones Ive heard countless times from others and no one is slamming them for making fun of him.

Just another excuse to Bush bash?

As I put it in another thread: How can he make light of the reason he used to go to Iraq that sent 500+ American kids and 10,000 Iraqis to their deaths???

Real funny.

Do you think the double amputees sitting in Walter Reed or the kids getting shot at in Iraq found the jokes funny?

I doubt it.

Whatever little respect I had for Bush was erradicated when I heard those comments. He showed a complete lack of humanity and taste when he made those remarks.

First of I was in no way condoning Mr Bushes comments as I believe them to be in bad taste..I was simply pointing out the double standard we seem to have set. Its okay for comedians to make fun of it? No I dont think so.

No its not funny, its a sad day when people can laugh about others dieing. Even when its comedians cuz its their "job".


No sir, no one should make light of this war and Im not suggesting they do.

I personally think that it is hilarious about how he seems to be getting dumber with every passing day. I know that the subject matter offends some people, but this is the sort of thing that people need to see in order to get the moron out of office.

I am just waiting for him to start telling 'fart' jokes. Someone should really just give him a pair of scissors and tell him to run up and down the hallway.