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Look, anybody in the public eye as much as an elected official ends up saying lots of stuff over and over again. And sometimes they slip up and say the wrong thing. In some instances this can give a glimpse into the inner workings of the decision making process. I bet this is one of those times - and it tells us something that makes us uncomfortable, even though it's stupidly obvious.
Bush, Cheney, et al are making this up as the go along. This sounds a lot more damning than it is. Hell, I'm making things up as I go along in my life too. In fact, that's pretty much what we do. I know we expect our officials to be perfect and get things right constantly, but with some big stuff, they just have to go with their gut. I bet the idea of making the captured combatents POWs was discussed - a lot. And I bet the decision not to do so was made and some of the ramifications only became clear after the fact. Now I think I'd have made a different decision in this case (but how can I know since I wasn't in the position to make such a decision?), but I certainly don't blame these guys for improvising. Politics is fake it 'till you make it. Sometimes you pick the wrong course.
Now, it wouldn't be such a horrible thing for them to admit this every once in a while and issue a public mea culpa, but that's not their style. This slip of the tounge isn't so revealing to me.
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Cogito ergo spud -- I think, therefore I yam
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