- Jul 25, 2002
- 10,053
- 0
- 71
Puppet Government Loves Me !
You know - I keep seeing Dubya on the bow of the Titanic (in the role of Leanardo DiCaprio) standing
there with his arms spread out like he's flying - saying, "Look at Me ! I'm the King of the World !" -
never knowing that there's an iceberg out there with his zip code on it, until it's too late.
New York Times
<CLIP>
President Bush said in an interview on Thursday that he would withdraw American forces from Iraq if the new government that is elected on Sunday asked him to do so, but that he expected Iraq's first democratically elected leaders would want the troops to remain as helpers, not as occupiers.
"I've, you know, heard the voices of the people that presumably will be in a position of responsibility after these elections, although you never know," Mr. Bush said. "But it seems like most of the leadership there understands that there will be a need for coalition troops at least until Iraqis are able to fight."
He did not say who he expected would emerge victorious. But asked if, as a matter of principle, the United States would pull out of Iraq at the request of a new government, he said: "Absolutely. This is a sovereign government. They're on their feet."
Some members of the administration had made similar pledges, but this was the first time Mr. Bush did so.
In a 40-minute conversation in the Oval Office with correspondents from The New York Times, Mr. Bush, seated in front of a crackling fire, ranged across a number of issues that he is expected to discuss in his State of the Union address next week.
Yet Iraq was clearly foremost in his mind, and he said that with the coming election, "We're watching history being made, history that will change the world." That has been Mr. Bush's message in a series of interviews he has given in the days before and since his Inaugural Address on Jan. 20.
He later drew Iraq into a broader plan for democracy in the Middle East.
"I think two of the great ironies of history will be that there will be a Palestinian state and a democratic Iraq showing the way forward for people who desperately want to be free," the president said. He particularly praised Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian leader, as a man who has "the will of the people with him, and that inspires leaders."
On domestic policy, Mr. Bush sidestepped a question on whether he agreed with a Florida law barring gay men and women from adopting children, saying he was not aware of it. But he said that while "children can receive love from gay couples," he believed that "studies have shown that the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman."
He said that his plan to overhaul Social Security would be a centerpiece of his State of the Union address and acknowledged that his approach would demand politically difficult decisions of Congress.
You know - I keep seeing Dubya on the bow of the Titanic (in the role of Leanardo DiCaprio) standing
there with his arms spread out like he's flying - saying, "Look at Me ! I'm the King of the World !" -
never knowing that there's an iceberg out there with his zip code on it, until it's too late.
New York Times
<CLIP>
President Bush said in an interview on Thursday that he would withdraw American forces from Iraq if the new government that is elected on Sunday asked him to do so, but that he expected Iraq's first democratically elected leaders would want the troops to remain as helpers, not as occupiers.
"I've, you know, heard the voices of the people that presumably will be in a position of responsibility after these elections, although you never know," Mr. Bush said. "But it seems like most of the leadership there understands that there will be a need for coalition troops at least until Iraqis are able to fight."
He did not say who he expected would emerge victorious. But asked if, as a matter of principle, the United States would pull out of Iraq at the request of a new government, he said: "Absolutely. This is a sovereign government. They're on their feet."
Some members of the administration had made similar pledges, but this was the first time Mr. Bush did so.
In a 40-minute conversation in the Oval Office with correspondents from The New York Times, Mr. Bush, seated in front of a crackling fire, ranged across a number of issues that he is expected to discuss in his State of the Union address next week.
Yet Iraq was clearly foremost in his mind, and he said that with the coming election, "We're watching history being made, history that will change the world." That has been Mr. Bush's message in a series of interviews he has given in the days before and since his Inaugural Address on Jan. 20.
He later drew Iraq into a broader plan for democracy in the Middle East.
"I think two of the great ironies of history will be that there will be a Palestinian state and a democratic Iraq showing the way forward for people who desperately want to be free," the president said. He particularly praised Mahmoud Abbas, the new Palestinian leader, as a man who has "the will of the people with him, and that inspires leaders."
On domestic policy, Mr. Bush sidestepped a question on whether he agreed with a Florida law barring gay men and women from adopting children, saying he was not aware of it. But he said that while "children can receive love from gay couples," he believed that "studies have shown that the ideal is where a child is raised in a married family with a man and a woman."
He said that his plan to overhaul Social Security would be a centerpiece of his State of the Union address and acknowledged that his approach would demand politically difficult decisions of Congress.
