The emperor has no clothes. George Bush is standing out there now with all the war costs, human and financial, coming crashing down on him. No flight suit. No body armor. No real clothes at all.
The Congressional Budget Office now states that the costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be as much as $2.4 trillion … yes, that is trillion. That is the naked truth that the White House lamely calls “speculation.” That, by the way, is three times the $800 billion that is already in the pipeline. Scary.
Oh, yes, and generals got fired for talking about a war that might run as high as $200 billion; Cheney and Rummy told us that Iraq oil revenues would fund the war; and we all know that The Mission Has Been Accomplished for several years now.
So what is this all about? How we can’t insure poor children to the tune of $7 billion a year? And why is it that we don’t have enough to fund the National Cancer Institute and must cut that budget by $50 million? And even those additional border guards or fully funding 100,000 cops on the beat or inspectors at our ports? And don’t forget education — Leave No Child Behind but leave all the money behind. This president’s newfound “fiscal discipline” makes Americans want to scream.
George Bush is the greatest budget buster of our time and the worst “decider” of our nation’s priorities. His view: There is no price too high for a hopeless war and no price too low to fund America’s real needs, including battling the real terrorist threats.
This president has no clothes and no shame.