Pelosi calls Bush 'total failure'*

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is taking the gloves off.

Usually respectful in dealing with the White House -- making a distinction between the current occupant and the constitutional power of the executive branch -- the speaker told CNN last night that President Bush is a "total failure" and that he is "losing all credibility" on Iraq and the economy.

Pelosi on CNN:

Two days ago, Bush sharply criticized Congress for failing to act on appropriations bills, saying lawmakers  would have to pass a spending bill every other day in the 26 remaining legislative days on the calendar "to get their fundamental job done." In the interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Pelosi shot back.

God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject.

Pelosi also fought back against efforts by the White House and Republicans in Congress to lift a congressional ban on offshore drilling or open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (an earlier version of this post incorrectly called it the Arctic National Wildlife Refuse. Thanks to readers for catching this)* in Alaska for oil exploration. Instead, she charged, the oil companies are not aggressively pursuing the federal lease areas already available to them.

Thirty-three million acres offshore are allowed for leasing. And we're saying to them, 'Use it or lose it. You have the opportunity to drill there. When you have exhausted those remedies, then you can talk about something else.'

The speaker was clearly exasperated by this president's rhetoric. "For him to be challenging Congress when we are trying to sweep up after his mess over and over again..." she said. Criticizing Congress -- whose approval ratings are lower than the president's -- "gives him something to talk about because he has no ideas."

-- Johanna Neuman

Comments

[Derek]

It's about time she said something that Americans already figured out about this presidency.

Don't take it back and apologize later, Mrs Speaker. 70% of all Americans agree with you.

[DARRIN J]

All that matters is that the failed Bush admin. ends so that this country can begin to heal itself. God this man and his people have done so much damage I dont think the Dems. can pull us out of this one.

[Armand V]

Pelosi's comments were tactless, to be sure. But the media is missing the big story from her interview with Blitzer, namely, she refuses to allow a vote on whether or not to allow offshore drilling. This, in essence, is tellinging the people to "drop dead and get used to high gas prices." I heard the audio of the interview yesterday and she was asked point blank if she would allow the issue to even be debated. She said "no."

[JAY]

WELCOME ALL, TO THE NEW WORLD ORDER OF DUMB, HARRY REID, DUMER AL GORE & DUMEST, NIT'WIT PELOSI & I THOUGHT I HEARD A RABBIT CARTER. JUST NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET FROM A PUBIC EDUCATION--

[Jonathan]

Republicans have already filibusted 78 times in this Congress. That beats the record for any Congress by 21, and there's still 6 months left to go! On top of the bills that Bush vetos, exactly how do you expect Pelosi and the Democrats to get anything done?

[Natan]

I am ashamed to be a democrat, what this democrat congress has done for the American people in the las two years since they regain the majority? my ansewr is NOTHING!
In the other hand what this president has accomplish in the last eight years? my ansewr is a lot of things:
A illigal war in Irak with over 4000 American soldiers dead, 10,000's wonded, a price tag that will be in the trillions, an economy in shambles and the list goes on and on. A list too long to mention and absolutly not one positive thing to say. I am so sad that our country is in the hands of leaders that some people describe as war criminals, liars and incompetents.
I pray that the next election will change the direction our beautifull country deserves, I don't care who will win, I just want us to be able to live our dreams with hope and in the process with pride

[BasilP]

U go girl. It's so Bush to blame somebody else on issues and throw mud at the Democrats or Congress or whomever. Truman said the buck stops here and Bush says "I'll take the buck & saddle somebody else with the responsibility". This one man and his cronies behind him have done more damage to our country than an foreigner could possibly accomplish. He is the epitome of "partisan politics" and is ALWAYS the first to be dissing the opposition. His modus operandi is to cut their legs off with blistering accusations while tacitly setting the playing field of discussion and then showing a humble face to the public, such as stating "Congress has only so much time to pass bills etc,etc." Congress will do what Congress does and the president hasn't much, if any, say about it. His Administration has ramrodded too many loathsome bills through Congress in the name of 'National Security" since 911. I believe him to be disdainful of the unfortunate & personally a very proud proud man who loves money & power. I just get sick when I think of the lost opportunities to our country that have been wasted by this uninspiring individual.

[greg]

mrs.P needs to shut up and do some work !!!! She seems to be to worried about president Bush and not what needs to be done. Maybe if she would worry more about her job things would get better!!

[Giorgio]

I have never heard so much dogma in one place

[Tom in California]

When a President is a "total failure" (as Bush most certainly is!), the Constitution provides a Congressional avenue to remove him through impeachment. You would think it would have occurred to Pelosi to connect Bush's incompetence with her own duties as Speaker of the House.

Instead of mobilizing the Constitutional power of Congress to oppose and remove this failed President, Pelosi has enabled and protected him. To my way of thinking, that makes her just as bad as Bush.

[REPO4SALE]

Pelosi is a Dork! Tom Lykus should be Speaker of the House!

[john]

pelosi only speaking the truth that absolute majority acknowledge thinking people it as such. unless you count the american brainwashed ZOMBIES like JohnD Jim harris. they are just waiting for the country to outright implode and EVEN then they will blame anyone but their beloved bushites. you republican zombies are absolutely sad and PATHETIC.

[Denns F]

Why don't we have "Statesmen", or to be politically correct, "statespersons" anymore? Those who work for the betterment of mankind and not their own desire to create a socilist scoiety a la Marx, (excuse me, Pelosi).

Now, just to be nit-picky
So who called ANWR a Wildlife Refuse? La Times, you need better proofing of your articles. You must be using a product of the democrat version of the public school system. It's a wildlife REFUGE.
"Pelosi also fought back against efforts by the White House and Republicans in Congress to lift a congressional ban on offshore drilling or open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuse in Alaska for oil exploration."

[Earl E]

I like the God Bless part of her comment. It is like she is talking about a little boy. And that is what we have as President. I get a kick out of the comments about the dems not getting anything done.
If retardlicans call Iraq and Afghanistan and this economy "getting something done", I would prefer the Dems and the Tards to just stop doing anything.

Send our governement to the unemployment line.

Let the states and communities take over the welfare of themselves and eliminate the income tax. Declare inside the beltway a no-brain zone where evil lurks, lives are shredded, and the hopes and dreams of our children mulched into a compost of spin and splatter.

We have become nothing but evildoers clothed in chinese suits.

[DB]

Gina:

*Imaginary* war on terror? The families of the victims of terrorist attacks over the last twenty five years would disagree with you. Yes, I did say twenty five years: Beirut, Cole, WTC 1993, 9/11, etc.

You may not agree with the way the war has been fought, or even with where it is being fought, but to say that the war on terror is imaginary is to ignore the facts of history.

There are enough things to criticize in our government that you don't have to invent or ignore the facts.

[Philip McDaniel]

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid:
More smoke and air poluition from the left coast.

[Von]

Anyone who blames the 1.5 years of a Democratic congress for the state of our country's ruin is delusional. Thanks to 7.5 years of arrogant Republican policy, we have a misguided and inexcusable mess of a war giving Washington license to hemmorage our tax dollars and give huge tax breaks to the rich, a housing crisis, massive corporate bailouts (and people complain about social services), a flaccid economy, thousands of American jobs shipped overseas with no penalty, inattention to domestic upkeep (bridges collapsing, levees breeched), zero action taken to mitigate climate change and develop sustainable energy technologies and a federal debt total of 9.5 trillion. You can thank the Bush administration for this. The Democrats have simply been too compliant. They need to go after these guys. It's totally unacceptable.

[keric]

Let's see...George junior invades Iraq to get rid of Sadaam and the threat of him influencing oil prices to the unspeakable price of $3.00 a gallon, (and to avenge his daddy's honor). Four thousand plus dead American soldiers, tens of thousands of American soldiers disabled by war injuries, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis wounded or dead, $4.00 plus a gallon for gas, a trillion plus cost on our economy for the war effort, going from worldwide sympathy to worldwide distain for our actions in the middle east, and now conservatives want to throw the miserable state of our economy on less than two years of congressional rule by the democrats. What a huge group of hypocrytes. If this were the waining years of a similar tracked Gore presidency they would be skewering him and his legacy. Nothing Mrs. Pelosi said I can find much fault with. I saw the fault with Bill Clinton's scandals, and admitted to my conservative friends that he should have left office of his own accord. The blind adoration conservatives hold for this administration is sad to watch. Those who continue to defend the current policies, (drill, drill, drill...if this administration were in the White House during the industrial revolution we'd have never developed beyond the steam engine) give up any moral highground. This has been eight years of a president whose never recovered from being shocked by the attacks in his first year as president, and acting like a scared little boy ever since.

[frieda]

If Bush is total failure , then what is she with congress have 9% approval rating?

What does she have to show in2 years being the speaker of the house?

Gas prices went from $2 when she took office to $4.69 ! Great accomplishment Mrs. Speaker

[Andrew Wang]

Bush is the worst president in American history. Bush facilitated the 9/11 attacks. Subsequently, Bush lied to Congress and the American people relative to the reasons for invading Iraq. Bush purposefully misled Congress and the American people. Then, Bush murdered more than 4,000 United States service members. And Bush wounded more than 30,000 United States service members. In torturing prisoners of war, Bush patently violated the Geneva Convention. Bush unlawfully wiretapped United States citizens. In using “signing statements” to challenge hundreds of laws passed by Congress, Bush violated the Constitution. Bush has ignored global warming. Bush is guilty of criminal negligence relative to the response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush disobeys our democratic values and Constitution. Bush is a disgrace to the United States.

Pelosi is right: Bush is indeed a total failure.

Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
B.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA