Bush used the occasion of
announcing pre-emptive disaster relief (which I do approve of) for Louisiana to also praise the Iraqis for the bungled, sexist, fundamentalist constitution:
On another matter, today Iraqi political leaders completed the process for drafting a permanent constitution. Their example is an inspiration to all who share the universal values of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
Check your reality at the door, folks. And don't forget your rose-colored glasses (on sale now below the fold).
[editor's note, by Dan K] Fixed al-Sadr reference - should have been Shi'ite.
We recognize that there's a split amongst the Sunnis, for example, in Iraq. And I suspect that when you get down to it, you'll find a Shiia who disagrees with the constitution and Shiia who support the constitution, and perhaps some Kurds who are concerned about the constitution. Some Sunnis have expressed reservations about various provisions of the constitution, and that's their right as free individuals living in a free society. There are strong beliefs among other Sunnis that this constitution is good for all Iraqis and that it adequately reflects compromises suitable to all groups.
A split among the Sunnis??? Not a single Sunni member of the constitution committee signed the document, but he calls it a split.
It's also easy to find a lot more than "a few Shi'as" who disagree. A hundred thousand Shiites answered al-Sadr's call to demonstrate against the new charter (Reuters 26 Aug 2005)."
Bush tried to compare the Iraqi disagreements to our own experience:
I want our folks to remember our own constitution was not unanimously received. Some delegates at the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 refused to sign it, and the draft was vigorously debated in every state, and the outcome was not assured until all the votes were counted.
Of course, our "vigorous debate" was conducted with words, not guns. But even that's not entirely true; our constitution contained structural flaws (slavery and states' rights) that we had to fight a civil war to resolve. That war was the bloodiest conflict the US has ever waged, and the scars are still with us today. Iraq's constitution contains such flaws that just trying to ratify it will provoke a civil war that will make ours look like a picnic.
There is some evidence that Bush doesn't quite buy his own PR, even if he can't bring himself to trust the American people to handle the truth.
Sunni support was also seen by the White House as crucial to taking the steam out of the violent Sunni-led insurgency and thus allowing a drawdown of U.S. forces there. The United States worked furiously to gain Sunni backing -- even engineering Sunni presence on the constitution-writing panel and putting Bush on the phone earlier in the week -- to no avail. (SF Chronicle, repreating an AP wire story from about half an hour ago)
More from the Chronicle: Seems some Dems and even some Repubs found the Bush line too hard to swallow:
Democrats expressed little optimism.
"I hope events unfold as he suggests, but I'm not yet there. I heard the president, for example, say that some Sunnis were in support of this," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore, on CNN's "Late Edition.""My sense is that there is a lot of opposition among Sunnis, that this is going to be a very heavy lift to bring them on board."
Added Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., on NBC's "Meet the Press": "They still have no concrete plan as to how we're going to proceed other than hope and pray that this constitution is accepted by the Iraqi people, which seems to me like a tough bet."
Republicans took hope in signs of progress, but without much enthusiasm.
"We really don't know right now what's going on, on the ground over there. It changes by the hour, with respect to this constitution," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said on ABC's "This Week.""I think we're making what I believe is progress."
At least Bush made a mention of Sunni concerns. The fact that women are also screwed ("Bush Abandons Iraqi Women" Tom Paine) didn't even rate that much.