Tony Snowjob Can't Handle The Truth

Not that that's any surprise where he is concerned, after all he did come to the WH from that bastion of truth Fox News. Sunday in an interview on ABC's "This Week", Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) slammed the Bush policy and its' actions in Iraq.It looks as though the Pretend President's press secretary doesn't much care for his own party's Senator Smith and went so far as to call him "emotional", and had this to say when he was asked if he was saying Smith didn't support democracy he responded “I don’t know.” Now it is to be expected that when the public or any progressive dares to question George's policy that their patriotism and support for democracy is questioned. But a Senator from his own party? That says to me, the whole lot of them are running scared since the election and the ISG report came down. Here is the part of the transcript that refers to Senator Smith: Q Okay. Republican Senator Gordon Smith, last week, said, "Our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way, being blown up by the same bombs day after day, it's absurd. It may even be criminal," and that he can no longer support this. What is your reaction to a Republican senator saying that what's going on right now in Iraq is criminal? MR. SNOW: Well, we dispute the "criminal" part, obviously, and at the same time, understand the senator's concern. We share the concern about not doing well enough fast enough. But do not assume that people are simply being blown up. They are on missions. And as General Corelli said last week, "There's not an engagement our people have lost, but it is still important to continue the work of building greater capability and capacity on the part of the Iraqi government and helping them out." People on both sides are going to have disagreements, much as Joe Lieberman, formerly a Democrat, apparently run out of his party for disagreeing with what was seen as orthodoxy at that time, but Gordon -- Q Republican Senator Smith is challenging the strategy. What he basically said yesterday, as well, was, when you do the same thing over and over again without a clear strategy for victory, that is dereliction, that is deeply immoral. Such is the dispute. He's saying what the President is doing is immoral. MR. SNOW: Well, then we disagree. Q Tony, first of all, the -- Q You're just going to blow it off? A Republican senator is saying the President's policy may be criminal and it's immoral, and you're just saying, we just disagree? MR. SNOW: And what would you like me to say? Should I do duels at 10 paces? Q Don't you think you should answer for that? You're saying -- you've said from this podium over and over that the strategy is a victory, right? And you have a Republican senator is saying there is no clear strategy, that you don't have a strategy. MR. SNOW: Well, let's let Senator Smith hear what the President has to say. We understand that this is a time where politics are emotional in the wake of an election. And you know what? Senator Smith is entitled to his opinion. But I'm not sure exactly what you would like -- Q Well, how about answering the central thrust about the strategy, not about, like, politics -- MR. SNOW: Okay, the strategy is pretty simple. If you take a look, for instance -- if you take a look at the Baker-Hamilton commission report, what do they talk about? They talk about building greater capability on the part of the Iraqis so that you can have an Iraqi government that governs itself, sustains itself, defends itself, who's ally in the war on terror is a democracy. I don't think it's immoral to be a democracy. I don't think it's immoral to have a state that is able to stand up and defend itself against acts of terror. I don't think it's immoral to defend the Iraqi people against acts of terrorism aimed at Muslims. Q The Senator is not saying that's immoral. He's saying that the U.S. -- he's saying, of course democracy is a great goal -- MR. SNOW: You know what, Ed? Ed, I'll tell you what. You're engaging in an argument and you're trying to fill in the gaps in a -- Q It's not an argument. It's a Republican senator saying it, not me. It's a Republican senator saying it, and he's not -- MR. SNOW: Then tell me exactly what -- Q -- of course he's in favor of democracy. MR. SNOW: Tell me -- Q Are you saying Republican Senator Smith is not in favor of democracy? MR. SNOW: Well, I don't know. You just said he said it's immoral; when I listed the elements of the policy, you said that's not what he was talking about. So please tell me what he was talking about. Wow!! There appears to be quite an implosion going on in the halls of the White House. I don't relish this taking place, because it seems to me that when this administration is imploding, that is when they are the most dangerous. Let's hope they don't choose to use Iran as a way to prove that they're in favor of democracy. The entire transcript of the press briefing is available HERE.... Senator Smith's previous statement on the Iraq policy when he referred to it a "criminal",is available for viewing at Think Progress