FRAMESHOP:FRAMESHOP: BUSH SET TO BLAME U.S. PUBLIC FOR IRAQ

According to the recent statements from the White House Press Secretary, the frame for the President's long-awaited speech on Iraq (Wed 9pm EST) will be: If we lose in Iraq, the American public is to blame.

Amidst the usual flurry of vague statements from Tony Snow, he made sure to repeat very clearly what President Bush's believes is the only reason for failure in Iraq (emphasis mine):

MR. SNOW: I think millions of Americans believe that this war is winnable, and I think, furthermore, that it's important to rebuild the sense of political unity. One of the things the President has often said is, the only way we lose if we lose our will.

Now, in addition to all the usual recycled leftovers we can expect in the speech--the old familiar refrains of "a world after September 11" that is "safer without Saddam Hussein" and where we must "fight the terrorists over there so we don't have to fight them over here" (yawn...)--we can expect Bush to say "...the only way we lose if we lose our will." Whether he says it one time or ten times remains to be seen, but he will say it.

And so the theme of Wednesday's speech will be Bush's ever-popular "blame-the-American-public-for-problems-I-created." Did we really think President Bush was going to listen to the people after we voted so decisively against his Iraq policy in the elections of 2006? Well...in a moment of idealism, may be we did think he would listen. After all, he did say on many occasions that he was considering many points of view. And yet, it was clearly all just a bunch of nonsense.

Millions of voters turned out to tell Bush he need to change direction in Iraq. And in response, President Bush is going to ignore us and tell us that if we do not listen to him then we have lost "our will." This war, this Presidency--it has become an endless and dangerous farce.

People die in Iraq, the President does nothing and then blames the American people.

People die in hurricane Katrina, the President does nothing and blames the American people.

But what can Americans say in anticipation?

Bush Ignoring the American People
To reframe the idea that we the American people lack "will" to win in Iraq, one thing Americans can do between now and Wednesday's speech is to repeat this phrase:

"Bush ignores the American people."

Use your own variation on "ignore" if you choose:

slight
spurns
shuns
disdains
gives us the brush-off
gives us the cold shoulder
pays no attention to
takes no account of
disregards
disobeys
breaches
defies
flouts

I am sure the list goes on and one. The problem is far greater than President Bush just choosing to do the exact opposite of the people have called for--he has chosen to escalate rather than scale down U.S. forces in Iraq. The problem is that President Bush has tossed in the gutter the most basic, enduring principle of the American system:

government for the people, by the people, of the people.

That principle will not die because we the American people lack some mythical "will" to send more young men and women into the burning building of Iraq so they can die under the fiery collapsing roof of President Bush's failed policy. The principle cannot die, but can only be temporarily tossed aside like garbage by an errant executive who has long since lost touch with ideals that drive this country--lost touch, that is, if he was ever in touch with them at all.

"Bush ignores the American people."

My fantasy is that over the next 24 hours, Americans will ready themselves to drown out President Bush's voice with a nationwide chorus of, "BUSH IGNORES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!"

When the President's speech comes on TV, do not turn your set off. Instead, turn the volume up to full blast, but then open your window and shout at the top of your lungs, "BUSH IGNORES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!"

Shout it so loud until you cannot hear your own television. Shout it so your neighbor cannot hear their television either.

Shout it from your home, from your apartment, from your office.

Shout it from your car, from the train, from the bus.

Shout it from the sidewalk.

Shout it from a park bench.

Shout it from your front lawn.

As President Bush blames America for a lack of will, we Americans will be drowning out his voice with our own voices, "BUSH IGNORES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!"

And by making ourselves heard, we will not be ignored.

© 2007 Jeffrey Feldman, Frameshop