Lucky us: we hit the TRIFECTA - Krugman
"How can a man with honor and integrity use the deaths of thousands of Americans, a wounded economy and a frightening state of war as a punch line to earn laughs and money for the GOP?" - willPitt
Send your thoughts here (EMAIL)
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| by Brad Carlton
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Whenever someone is suspected of a crime, investigators look for a motive in addition to actual proof of guilt to determine, a posteriori, whether there was malice aforethought. In cases of criminal negligence, motive must also be deduced, a priori, to answer the question: were preventive failures due to craftiness or mere cluelessness?
The serial apologists of the Bush Is Not Stupid crowd are rather incongruously opting for the latter, this in the wake of the scandal about pre-9/11 failures to issue precisely the kinds of public warnings and security directives that accompanied the also "non-specific" Y2K threats. For now, it is difficult to say who knew what when because the administration is not exactly being forthcoming, preferring instead to use the scandal as an excuse to broaden the FBI's snoop powers. However: there was a potential motive for the administration to sit on perceived terrorist threats.
FeedBack:
http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/letters_trifecta_jun02.shtml - (Back Up Here)
Bush’s favorite joke about 9/11 is a lie. - (Back up)
or 'A gift from Allah' The Times Record, MAINE - (Back up)
Quotes:
June 13, 2002
President Discusses the Future Technology at White House Forum
Remarks by the President at the 21st Century High Tech Forum
Presidential Hall
Dwight David Eisenhower Executive Office Building
3:28 P.M. EDT
<clip>
I remember campaigning and somebody said, would you ever deficit spend? I said,
only if there was a war, or a recession, or a national emergency. (Laughter.)
I didn't think we were going to get the trifecta. (Laughter.)
<clip>
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020613-11.html>
June 14, 2002
Remarks by the President in Texans for Rick Perry Reception
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Houston, Texas
6:09 P.M. CDT
<clip>
You know, when I was one time campaigning in Chicago, a reporter said, would
you ever have a deficit? And I said, I can't imagine it, but there would be
one if we had a war, or a national emergency, or a recession. (Laughter.) Never
did I dream we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.)
<clip>
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020614-8.html>
"I remember -- I remember campaigning in Chicago, and one of the reporters
said, would you ever deficit spend? I said only -- only in times of war, in
times of economic insecurity as a result of a recession, or in times of national
emergency. Never did I dream we'd have a trifecta. (Laughter.)"
(President Discusses Importance of Homeland Security Department June 7, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020607-4.html
"You know, I remember campaigning in Chicago and somebody said, would you ever
spend a deficit? And I said, only if we're at war or we had a recession or there
was a national emergency. Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.)"
(President's Remarks at Iowa Republican Dinner March 1, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020301-6.html
"I remember in Chicago they said to me, would you ever have deficit spending. I said, only if there was a war, or a national emergency, or a recession. Never did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.)"
(Remarks by the President at Simon for Governor Luncheon
)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/05/20020501-2.html
"Obviously, we've got budget matters. You know, when I was running for President, in Chicago, somebody said, would you ever have deficit spending? I said, only if we were at war, or only if we had a recession, or only if we had a national emergency. Never did I dream we'd get the trifecta." (Laughter.)
(Taft for Governor Luncheon, May 10, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/05/20020510-3.html
"You know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit? I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.) But we're fine."
(GOP Luncheon, February 27, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/02/20020227-6.html
"I remember campaigning in Chicago one time, and the guy said, would you ever deficit spend? I said, well, only if we were at war, or the country was in recession, or there was a national emergency. (Laughter.) I didn't realize we were going to get the trifecta." (Laughter.)
(April 3rd, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020403-1.html
"The recession -- no question, I remember when I was campaigning, I said, would you ever deficit spend? And I said, yes, only if there were a time of war, or recession, or a national emergency. Never thought we'd get -- (laughter and applause.) And so we have a temporary deficit in our budget, because we are at war, we're recovering, our economy is recovering, and we've had a national emergency. Never did I dream we'd have the trifecta. (Laughter.)"
(Remarks by the President at Meeting of the Leaders of the Fiscal Responsibility Coalition Room 450 Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building April 16, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020416-8.html
"I was campaigning in Chicago one time and a fellow said, would you ever allow for deficit spending, would that ever enter your vocabulary? I said, well, under certain circumstances: only if we're at war or there was a national emergency or there was a recession. Little did I realize we'd draw the trifecta."
(Greenville, SC, March 27, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020327-5.html
"I'll never forget one time in Chicago when a reporter said, would you ever deficit spend? And I said, well, only -- only if we were at war, only if there were a national emergency, or only if there is a recession. Never did I believe we'd get the trifecta. But we're dealing with it."
(Remarks at Saxby Chambliss for Senate Dinner - Atlanta, GA, March 27, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020327-10.html
"You know, when I was campaigning in Chicago, in the general election, somebody said, would you ever deficit spend? I said, well, only if we were at war, or there was a national emergency, or we were in a recession. Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta."
(March 28, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020328.html
"You know, when I was campaigning in Chicago one time, they said, would you ever have a deficit? I said, I hope not. I said, I think it's important for us to make -- to work hard to have a balanced budget. But I said, yes, I'd have a deficit if I were the President only if we were at war, or in a recession, or in times of emergency. I didn't think I was going to draw the trifecta."
(Remarks at Heather Wilson for Congress Luncheon, April 29th, 2002)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020429-4.html
"He had always listed, throughout his campaign and since, the reasons why the nation might depart from this policy, reasons he had given as acceptable for running fiscal deficits: for war, recession, or emergency. As he said to me in mid-September, "Lucky me. I hit the trifecta."
(October 16, 2001)
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/daniels_conference_board_speech10-16-01.html
Audio:
trifecta.mp3