President Bush has been ratcheting up his rhetoric recently against opponents of the Iraq
war Freedom Fiesta, not least among whom is the so-considered front-runner in the battle to oppose the president in 2004, Howard Dean. In his "gracious welcome" to Australia's parliament, where he was jeered and heckled inside and out, the president portrayed the opponents of the Iraq war as "mourning" the loss of the Saddam regime.
(Click below for excerpt and analysis.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Who can possibly think that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein still in power? Surely not the dissidents who would be in his prisons, or end up in his mass graves. Surely not the men and women who would fill Saddam's torture chambers and rape rooms. Surely not the families of the victims he murdered with poison gas. Surely not anyone who cares about human rights and democracy and stability in the Middle East. Today, Saddam's regime is gone, and no one - (audience interruption) -
SPEAKER ANDREW: Senator Brown, I warn you - Senator Brown will excuse himself from the House. Senator Brown will excuse himself from the House. The Sergeant will remove Senator Brown from the House.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Surely no one who cares about human rights and democracy and stability in the Middle East. Today Saddam Hussein's regime is gone, and no one should mourn its passing.
Review the full transcript here.
When Bush makes this suggestion, he is not simply offering Dean an easy opportunity to portray the president as a prick. ("Press Release: Howard Dean responds to Bush assertion that Dean mourns Saddam's passing.") What Bush really is doing is saying what the polls tell him to say. Look at the results of a recent CBS News poll:
Was the the Iraq war worth it?
Worth it: 42%
Not: 52%
Was the removing Saddam worth it?
Worth it: 52%
Not: 39%
Now, President Bush doesn't lead based on polls and focus groups. As any Bush pollster knows, that's one of the things Midwest and Southern American men ages 30-64 like most about him. But clearly Bush is tailoring his message so that it is best received by the American public. How can we oppose this message? That's where you come in.
Q: What is the most effective response an Iraq war opponent can make when accused of really being a Saddam Hussein supporter?