bush has no regrets!

From an article in the Review Journal (no link on their site):

Bush notes sound bites from first term
President says “bring ‘em on”, “dead or alive” comments had unintended consequences

Washington – In a rare, reflective look back on his first term, President Bush said Thursday that he learned a lesson about “the unintended consequences of my words,” recalling two famous expressions: “Bring ‘em on” and getting Osama bin Laden “dead or alive.”

After he made the bin Laden remark at the Pentagon six days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Bush said: “I got back to the White House, and Laura said, ‘What did you say that for?’ Well, it was just an expression that came out. I didn’t rehearse it.”

Bush said his “bring ‘em on” comment, directed at Iraqi insurgents who were attacking U.S. forces in July 2003, was meant “to rally the troops. …Some interpreted it to be defiance in the face of danger, but that certainly wasn’t the case.”

Bush’s comments came during a wide-ranging White House interview with 15 reporters one week before his inauguration for a second term.

When Bush was asked about his biggest regret during his first term and his greatest hope for his second, he said peace was his most fervent hope, citing Iraq and the Middle East. But he deflected the first part of the question.

“I’m not a regretful person,” he said. “I’m a look-forward, get-things-done type of person.” At the end of the interview, Bush was asked again about any regrets.

“One of the things I’ve learned is that sometimes words have consequences you don’t intend to mean,” he responded, leaning back in his chair in the Roosevelt Room. “The classic example was ‘bring ‘em on.”

Some former military leaders had criticized the president’s remark, saying it might goad Iraqis and put soldiers at risk. Bush opponents often used the “dead or alive” comment against him, pointing out that bin Laden was still on the loose.

“I don’t know if it’s a regret, but certainly a lesson, to be mindful of what you say, to be mindful of the consequences of your words,” he said. “What would you call it? Confession? Regret? A something.”

Asked about many issues, Bush was most animated in defending his campaign to overhaul Social Security by allowing younger workers to set up private investment accounts using part of their payroll taxes.

“I’m only going to be here four more years,” Bush said. “You can mark time or take the responsibility for making life better for the next generation.”

He pledged to lay out a detailed plan in the coming weeks for Social Security changes, with ways to pay for the transition costs.

Bush was upbeat and relaxed through much of the interview as he discussed his second-term agenda.

He called for making tax cuts permanent, limiting medical malpractice awards, and revamping immigration laws to help some undocumented aliens stay and work in the country.

Bush defended his policy on the treatment and interrogation of prisoners in the war on terrorism, saying he was “concerned” about reports of abuses “that will be investigated.” He said he was “adamant” in opposing any use of torture.

But he didn’t say whether he agreed with his White House counsel, Alberto Gonzales, who said at his congressional hearing last week to become attorney general that the president, as commander in chief, had the wartime power to override laws and order harsh interrogation, possibly even torture, in the name of national security.

“I’ll have to talk to Al about that and make sure where he’s coming from,”
Bush said.

Asked whether he’d ever authorized the transfer or “rendition” of prisoners to countries that practice torture, Bush said that he wouldn’t answer: “this administration will not talk about intelligence-gathering matters.”

Wow! Not only will he reuse to admit any mistakes – of which there are millions – but he will not even say that he regrets anything that he has done!!!! Is this the most arrogant jackass that has ever lived or what?!

He doesn’t “regret” the idiot things that he has said, even though even his wife thought that they were stupid!

A “look-forward, get-things-done type of person”?!?! I don’t think he looks forward any more than he looks back! He certainly doesn’t plan anything and he admits that he doesn’t anticipate the consequences of his words and deeds. He obviously isn’t planning for the consequences of his destruction of Social Security, or the continued tax cuts or the lawsuit limitations, and obviously, not of the war!

Also interesting that he refused to comment on the transfer of prisoners to countries that practice torture….

In yet another example of the “liberal media”, AOL News now has a headline in regards to these comments that bush said he was “sorry” for these comments. No, he very distinctly does NOT say he is sorry, something that I don’t think he has ever done. Nice spin, though!