Troops and Taxes

It's anticipated that Bush will tell the country tonight, more than a little triumphantly, that the "surge" is working so well that we might be able to reduce the number of soldiers in Iraq by "next summer."

It occurs to me that this is the same sort ruse, oppositely employed, as is used by Republicans to deter talk of raising taxes on the fatcats.

In this case, raise the number of soldiers (the unpopular action), then promise "a reduction" later, which, at best, would only bring the number in country back to existing levels.

In the case of taxes, the President repeatedly reduces taxes on the wealthiest individuals (the unpopular action) and then, when threatened with having those taxes returned to previous levels on that segment of society to redress that unpopular action, Bush says he won't tolerate an "increase" in taxes.

It's apparent that in these rhetorical scams, Bush depends upon two things--that institutional memory fails, and that all of the people can be fooled all of the time.

Bush may succeed in these aims with the aid of a helpful press, but it's doubtful he's fooling anyone with this sort of rhetorical legerdemain. They're the sort of logical contortions that only an idiot like Bush thinks no one notices.