fpb | Bush at his worst (Reply)

If only Dean, Kennedy and the other idiots would shut up, G.W.Bush might well ruin himself. Has there ever been a more atrocious example of not knowing when to shut up, than his public congratulations to the Iraqi public for a constitution that, a) seems to be rejected by the one group that the Americans wanted in, the Sunnis, b) enshrines the illiberal Sharia law in the fundamental law of the State, c) clearly shows that Shias and Kurds want to keep oil revenues to themselves instead of letting the whole nation benefit? At the very least, this constitution is a gamble, and optimistic rewritings of history just do not cut it. Bush's immense good luck might still see him through, but he has, in the Italian expression, wasted an excellent opportunity to keep his mouth shut. Presidential silence might also have signalled to the Shias and Kurds that the Americans were displeased with their inflexibility - which by all accounts they were, having pushed hard to placate the Sunnis. Instead, the Shias and Kurds will feel secure, even vindicated. And unless they manage to win the coming referendum, uncertainty and politics by bombing will stretch out into the future.