Demagoguery And Hypocrisy

First Lady Laura Bush, who typically avoids giving her opinion on political matters, opted to jump in with both feet during an interview with Fox News Sunday. From The Hill:

Calling the state children's health insurance program (SCHIP) "a perfect issue" for Democrats to demagogue on, Bush waded into largely uncharted public territory for her by taking exception to the party that opposes the president.
The first lady appeared genuinely upset about the Democrats' tactics on the issue.
"It's really easy to blame people for so-called voting against children," Bush said in an interview on Fox News Sunday. The first lady went on to say that the bill would cover children who are not poor and added that the program is often used to cover adults.
"The president is very anxious to work with Congress and to come up with something that both he and they can be proud of," she said.

Demonstrating a Lynne Cheney-esque ability to twist an issue and misrepresent the facts of a situation, Mrs. Bush had the audacity to cry foul on Democratic demagoguery. The accusation seems rather pathetic given the fact that her husband's administration has been built around the politics of fear, prejudice, and emotion.

Perfected: The Ann Coulter Song

From the people who brought Obama Girl:

Judging Bush

From the AP:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says history will remember President Bush's foreign policy favorably despite current troubles in Iraq, Iran, North Korea and the Middle East.
"History's judgment is rarely the same as today's headlines," she said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.
Rice said she believed the world was more dangerous before Bush took office in January 2001 than it is now.

This has become a common refrain for defenders of the Bush administration.

History may indeed reflect kindly on the Bush administration. This crowd likes to compare Bush's presidency with that of Harry Truman, a president unpopular in his own time, who also established an aggressive foreign policy, and was ultimately deemed one of our nation's greatest presidents. Of course, in order for history to deem Bush a success, we would have to overlook the fact that his administration is largely responsible for a mismanaged (at best) war embarked upon at an inopportune time, the destruction of civil liberties and a complete disrespect for the limiting powers of the Constitution, six years and counting of some of the most intense partisanship in our history, an education plan that is universally abhorred by our nation's educators, the destruction of America's reputation around the world, a massive debt that will haunt future generations, and a second term that has since little accomplished domestically (that doesn't appear likely to change in the next year and a half either). That's just off the top of my head.

But who knows? Maybe history will overlook such indictments. I doubt it though.

At The Movies: Sicko

From Andy, my blogging partner at Political Realm:

Michael Moore's Sicko is a stunning indictment of America's health care system that is sure to stir up just as much controversy and conflicting opinion as his previous works, Fahrenheit 9/11 or Bowling For Columbine. Sicko is at times funny, sad, upsetting, and outrageous, while Moore questions the American identity. "Who are we?" he asks. Good question.
Though Moore's obvious enemy is the health care industry--the insurance companies and HMOs--he does not leave Washington without blame. He attacks the lobbyist culture in the capital for failing to fix a system that is clearly broken. He points out politicians who have seemingly been bought by the health care industry, including Hillary Clinton, once a champion for universal coverage.
Perhaps Moore manipulates too much or is idealistic when some demand realism, but he accomplishes his goals with Sicko. A dialogue has been started and for that it is a film worth seeing.

I know I'll be checking out Sicko when it is released this weekend. It's about time someone starting advocating the needs of the people when it comes to health care. It's clear that those in Washington are not up to the task. It's just too bad that some will not see the film simply because it carries Michael Moore's name. You'll surely see Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly rail against Moore--calling him a socialist or anti-American. I urge you to see it and judge for yourself.

About Leftward Bound

Hi, I'm Jamie and welcome to Leftward Bound. This site was created to serve as an outlet for my left-leaning political thoughts, emotions, and rants.

I encourage you to leave me comments, whether you agree or disagree with whatever I've posted. I enjoy a healthy debate and am open to your thoughts and opinions. Please keep the discourse clean, however, and avoid petty, personal attacks.

You can also find me blogging over at Political Realm.