The Soft Bigotry of Low Expectations

TECHNORATI TAGS: Pres., Bush, war, Iraq, , Washington+Post, military, constitutional democracy

Steve Benen's take on Pres. Bush's sort-of acknowledgment that the U.S. is not winning in Iraq, and the fact that it's front-page news:

It strikes me as rather unfortunate that we've reached a point in which it's literally front-page news when the president is willing to acknowledge that we are not winning the war in Iraq. Talk about your soft bigotry of low expectations.

Indeed, it's now considered progress when Bush dodges the question. Consider this exchange during the president's lengthy Washington Post interview.

WP: Are we winning in Iraq, in your estimation?

Bush: You know, I think an interesting construct that General [Peter] Pace uses is, "We’re not winning, we’re not losing." There's been some very positive developments. And you take a step back and look at progress in Iraq, you say, well, it's amazing -- constitutional democracy in the heart of the Middle East, which is a remarkable development in itself.

Asked about the fact that Bush, just a month ago, announced that we're "absolutely" winning in Iraq, the president explained, "Yes, that was an indication of my belief we're going to win."

So, this is the big news. After nearly four years of this disastrous war, Bush has gone from total confidence that we're winning, to the equivocating "we're not winning, we're not losing.” This is progress?

I'm afraid this isn't impressive. In fact, over the course of [a] 4,000-word interview, the president gave no indication that he has any idea what to do about the nightmare he created.