Rachel Maddow perfectly described the Republican attempt to rewrite the history of the Bush years by comparing it to the poop cruise.
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Maddow said,
Americans have short memories. That’s idea number one from the business world. Here’s idea number two. This was the President of the United States on May 1st, 2003, ten years ago next week, President George W. Bush putting on a fake flight suit complete with the ejection harness and did a fake fighter pilot landing from an S 3 Viking Jet. the USS Abraham Lincoln was carrying soldiers return home after an 11 month deployment. Before they got to go home, they got lined up to watch as President Bush stripped off his flight suit, put on his suit and stood in front of a banner that said mission accomplished and gave a speech that said the Iraq War was over and wasn’t just over, it was awesome.
(Clip of Bush) “My fellow Americans, major combat operations in Iraq have ended and the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.”
That was day 43 of the Iraq War that would go onto last 8 1/2 more years. Idea number one, the poop cruise idea is Americans have short memories, idea number two is we are fast approaching the 10 year anniversary of the mission accomplished speech on May 1st, next week is the 10 year anniversary. these are two seemingly related ideas that offer the best help we have for the public onslaught where you have noticed the past 24 hours a very familiar face on your tv. like this one that featured either the most impressive segue ever or really strange edit.
….
(Clips of Bush’s softball network TV interviews, then Maddow concluded)
If that alone, Mr. Bush’s cadence and doctrine and style, if that alone is not enough to stir memories how it went for all those years, take note today was just the private opening, the first day the general public can visit the George W. Bush Library is next week. The first day the general public can go with specifically be May 1st, 2013, ten years to the day after this happened on May 1st, 2003, they are opening the George W. Bush Presidential Library 10 years after the mission accomplished speech either this is an inside joke, or this is some kind of crisis management business school test of the poop school thesis that Americans really do have shockingly short memories.
There is also the possibility that the Republican Party knows that until America gets the bitter taste of the Bush years out of its collective mouth, they have no chance of winning back the White House. Hence, this massive propaganda campaign to rewrite the presidency of George W. Bush. (Sadly, the mainstream media has been all too happy to go along with this. It’s like someone told them that there are WMD in Iraq all over again.)
Maddow was correct. Republicans are testing Americans to see how much they are willing to forget. If the initial response to the interviews and opening of the Bush library is any indication, people know that they are being fed a load of sh*t, and they would rather be on the poop cruise than relive a single second of the Bush years.
Once again, Bush has hung his Mission Accomplished banner and failed.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
