Bush: Man of Fiscal Responsibility?

``Now it's time to bring this important tool for fiscal discipline to Washington,'' said Bush. Fiscal discipline and George Bush are two completely different animals. According to Bloomberg.com,"While Bush often cites the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and subsequent military campaigns along with natural disasters as the cause for the spending, increases aren't confined to those areas. From 2001 through 2005, discretionary outlays -- those set by Congress each year -- surged 49 percent, to $969 billion from $649 billion."

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Bush in Denial

It is interesting how the same man who could be so insistent that there were WMD's in Iraq can now be in such denial about the potential civil war there. Maybe he should stop getting his information pre-filtered through his panel of experts and actually watch (or read) the news for himself someday.

Bush denies Iraq heading toward civil war

Feb 28, 2006 — By Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush, hit by polls showing America's support for the Iraq war at an all-time low, denied on Tuesday Iraq was sliding into civil war, despite the worst sectarian strife since a U.S. invasion.
The decline in Bush's public approval ratings came as he told Iraqis they faced a choice between "chaos or unity" amid violence that has dented U.S. hopes for the stability needed to pave the way for a U.S. troop withdrawal.
At least 60 people were killed in Baghdad on Tuesday in the latest in a series of deadly attacks following the bombing of a major Shi'ite mosque last week.
Asked what Washington would do if civil war broke out in Iraq, Bush told ABC News: "I don't buy your premise that there's going to be a civil war."
He said he had spoken to leaders of all Iraqi sects and "I heard loud and clear that they understand that they're going to choose unification, and we're going to help them do so."
Despite that, sectarian bloodshed has complicated efforts to forge a new unity government.
At home, pessimism over Iraq, and Bush's support — despite bipartisan objections — for letting a state-owned Arab company take over operations at six U.S. ports, appeared to be major factors driving his job performance rating down to 34 percent.
They were the lowest CBS News poll numbers of his presidency, creating a grim picture in a midterm election year.
Bush brushed aside the findings, saying ups and downs in the polls were not worth worrying about.
"I've got ample capital and I'm using it to spread freedom and to protect the American people," he told ABC before leaving on an trip to South Asia that offered a breather from problems and miscues that have recently plagued him in his second term.
U.S. TROOPS WANT OUT
The same CBS poll showed public approval for Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, once among his strongest suits, falling to 30 percent from 37 percent in January.

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