Via Andrew Sullivan comes this Ryan Lizza observation on the Bush campaign:
[F]or the most part, spending time on the trail with Bush is like being transported to a parallel universe. The only music is Christian rock and country tunes about plain-talking everymen. The only people who ask the president questions are his most feverish supporters, never the press. In this alternate universe, Iraq and Afghanistan are marching effortlessly toward democracy. The economy is, in the words of former Broncos quarterback John Elway, who introduces Bush in Greenwood Village, “the best in the world.” John Kerry, whose platform is to the right of Clinton’s in 1992, is calling for a massive expansion of government.
Is Bush out of touch with reality? Well, let’s compare and contrast. Here’s what Bush had to say yesterday on Iraq:
In Iraq, there’s ongoing acts of violence. This country is headed toward democracy. There’s a strong Prime Minister in place. They have a national council. And national elections are scheduled for January. It wasn’t all that long ago that Saddam Hussein was in power with his torture chambers and mass graves. And today, this country is headed towards elections.
Freedom is on the march.
A beautiful sight, isn’t it–freedom is blossoming in Baghdad.
But here’s the contrasting view Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) offered yesterday:
“We’ve gotta be honest with ourselves … the worst thing we can do is hold ourselves hostage to some grand illusion that we’re winning,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“Right now we’re not winning. Things are getting worse,” Hagel added. “Measure that by any measurement you want. More casualties, more deaths, more oil pipeline sabotage, I mean you pick the measurement standard and it’s worse than where it was six months ago or 12 months ago.”
Hmm, two vastly different assessments. Which one do you think is more attuned to reality?