Story of the Day:Media Continues to Hype Phony Bush Humility

If an abusive alcoholic father suddenly acknowledges he's made a few mistakes along the way - reflecting only on a verbal shot here and a crack across the jaw there - yet has no plans to put down the bottle and alter the pattern that leads to his vicious behavior, is he worthy of praise?

Many in our mainstream media apparently think so.

Reacting to Bush's choreographed statement of regret during the joint press conference with Tony Blair, Chris Matthews (who had previously likened Bush to Atticus Finch) last night compared him to Abraham Lincoln. Today, the mainstream media continued to do this administration's bidding, hyping George's faux humility as genuine. And, as equally irresponsible, they've applauded this feeble show of contrition as strategically shrewd. 

Today's story from Reuters leads with the headline "Bush Adopts Humility on Iraq; Policy Unchanged." The subhead, midway through the article, is "Catching Up to Public." Together, they work to give the impression that Bush has learned something from his failed policies and truculent manner other than he might need to start at least feigning an iota of humble pie, considering that he's now about as popular as halitosis.

This article, which purports to be news (as opposed to news analysis), consists almost solely of color commentary from a "political science professor," "poll analyst," "political analyst" and a "professor." All of whom focus not on the deadly costs of Bush's mistakes and how he's yet to be held accountable, but rather on the savvy to soften the appearance of his true self - a silver-spooned, peevish, blundering, incurious, inhumane, short-sighted, power-hungry man who's done more harm to this country than anyone could imagine possible of an American president. 

Here's the kind of hard news assessment you can expect from this article:

"By acknowledging past mistakes, he hoped to build some credibility for the things he is still pushing for in Iraq," said Bruce Buchanan, a political science professor at the University of Texas and a longtime Bush watcher. "He is trying to show he is aware when things go wrong and he can make adjustments. He knows no one will support him in the future unless he admits the mistakes of the past."

Now enjoy the rest of the humility charade.

Bush Adopts Humility on Iraq; Policy Unchanged, by John Whitesides
Reuters