The NY Times has an article today with the headline: Bush Urges Democrats to Act Quickly on Bailout Plan. I thought to myself: Where have I seen that phrase "act quickly" before?
Oh, here it is, in this summaryof Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address:
In his first State of the Union address, Mr. Bush seemed to be outlining a rationale for future action, if he deems it necessary, not only against terrorists but against any hostile states developing weapons of mass destruction.
The president stressed the need to act quickly, when the country and the world are united against terrorism and the nations that support it.
''We will be deliberate, yet time is not on our side,'' he said. ''I will not wait on events, while dangers gather. I will not stand by, as peril draws closer and closer. The United States of America will not permit the world's most dangerous regimes to threaten us with the world's most destructive weapons.''
And on September 12, 2002: G.O.P. Presses Democrats to Act Quickly on an Iraq Vote
And the next day, September 13, 2002, and don't let the significance of those dates escape you: Bush Presses U.N. to Act Quickly on Disarming Iraq
And in this article from March 25, 2003: Bush Sees 'Steady Progress' in Iraq War:
To pay for relief and reconstruction and above all for the military operations themselves, Mr. Bush asked Congress today to move quickly to approve his request for $74.7 billion. That total includes foreign aid for countries affected by the war and money to bolster security in the United States.
"The need is urgent," Mr. Bush said. "I ask Congress to act quickly and responsibly."
Through the first week of war, Mr. Bush has sought to strike a careful tone in his limited public appearances. He has encouraged coalition troops, assured Americans that victory appears certain, but also warned that setbacks will come. American troops were facing brutal Iraqi tactics but responding with courage, the president said.
I guess those setbacks didn't arrive, considering this article from April 17, 2003, just three weeks later, which shows Bush has moved on to invading our economy with the same effectiveness he brought to Iraq: Bush's Next Test:
In the same speech in the Rose Garden on Tuesday when he declared that ''the regime of Saddam Hussein is no more'' and that ''our victory in Iraq is certain,'' Mr. Bush urged Congress to act quickly on his ''pro-growth economic package.''
Et al.
When Bush tells someone to "act quickly," he's really saying, "Call the number on your screen. This offer won't last long." And he's trying to sell his $700 billion dollar gift to Wall Street the same way he sold his $500 billion dollar gift to Halliburton et al. in the guise of the Iraq War. Don't forget, in the run up to the war, he also took Congressional leaders into a secret meeting and showed them information that horrified them. He let us into that meeting with Colin Powell's disgrace presentation before the UN.
The best thing for the wallets of Americans and the well-being of America would be to just ignore him.