If political scientists or people outside of the United States are puzzled why this administration is losing support from all but Sean, Rush and the rip-and-read administration backers, here’s a prime example.
Now Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, perhaps realizing the word “surge” has been rejected by the public at large, is trying out a NEW word to insist that the war in Iraq is not being escalated:
“I think that I don’t see it, and the president doesn’t see it, as an escalation,� Rice told an incredulous Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE). Hagel responded, “Putting 22,000 new troops, more troops in, is not an escalation?� “I would call it, senator, an augmentation,� Rice said.
CLICK HERE to watch her.
Several things about this:
(1) It is ironic that an administration that came to power ridiculing President Bill Clinton for saying “it all depends on what is is” has become the “it all depends on what is is …WAIT! Find us a Thesaurus!” administration. The refusal to use the word that a loaf of pumpernickel on the shelf at DZ Akin’s deli in San Diego would know is “ESCALATION” and try to find another word and get into word games has one net effect: it further suggests that thinking Americans of all (or no) parties must question everything this administration says. Because it’s clear that even in how officials compose a sentence they are not speaking FRANKLY. The White House is lawyering up; do all Americans now have to go out and hire lawyers to study the words of Bush administration officials?
(2) Rice is quickly eliminating herself from serious consideration as Presidential material by such a tepid performance — one that is sure to give late night comedians and left-wing talk show hosts material. And we’d bet there are members of Bush 41’s administration that are already shaking their heads right now. Robert Novak reports that some GOPers in Congress are already concerned about Rice:
Republicans in Congress who do not want to be quoted tell me that the State Department under Condoleezza Rice is a mess. This comes at a time when the U.S. global position is precarious. While attention is focused on Iraq, American diplomacy is being tested worldwide — in Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Korea and Sudan. The judgment by thoughtful Republicans is that Rice has failed to manage that endeavor.
Rice’s previous government duties had been as an analyst and staffer rather than as a manager. That made it important for her to name a strong deputy secretary to run the building.
HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTED WORDS AND PHRASES MS. RICE MIGHT TRY AND USE IN PLACE OF “ESCALATION:”
an enforceatoriable boost
un poco-ito mas
neocon Viagra
an enlargement
fleshing out
a little bit more than a little bit more
expansion of the American franchise
offering more foreign travel opportunities for more military
providing more opportunities for our fighting men and women to experience Iraqi culture
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.