It's not exactly news that Governor Carcieri is a more enthusiastic supporter of President George W. Bush than, say, Linc Chafee. Then again, the governor's backing for the war seemed to noticeably cool a bit over the last year or so. Now, Charlie Bakst tells us that Carcieri [is] higher than ever on Bush.
A recent dinner with the president and his wife seems to have ramped up the governor's outlook about the president.
“This is an immensely talented man whose compassion and caring for this nation is unparalleled, all right,” Carcieri declared. “His heart is so deep and so big in terms of his concern for this country. He’s got one concern … and that’s the safety and security of this country. That’s what his biggest concern is.” (Standing ovation [at the recent RI GOP convention].)
Carcieri continued, “He gave Sue and me and the six other governors and their spouses, a cook’s tour of the Oval Office and the cabinet room. After dinner, we walked down the back stairwell. I’ll never forget it as long as I live. This is the President of the United States. …
“This man is so misunderstood, so badly maligned by the media, it makes me furious at times. You can disagree with his policies, OK, but this man, this man, is dedicated to this country and the protection of this country. …
“Now this is the man that, if you listen to the media: ‘Oh, he’s not very knowledgeable. You know, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about, all right, doesn’t know, really, things in depth.’ I spent three hours with this man. If you want to know any issue — any issue — whether it’s Iraq, Iran, Korea, North Korea, anything, the depth of knowledge this man has is staggering.
Besides taking issue with the characterization of Bush as an incurious sort, Carcieri's main point seems to be that the president is very concerned with protecting the nation. Well, isn't that his job? And don't the objective results on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq indicate, at the very least, a strong amount of ineffectiveness in getting the job done?