Twice this week, JK has compared Bush's Iraq speech to Groundhog Day, and it's been bugging me since yesterday exactly what he means. Either it's a really complex and intellectually profound statement on Bush's Iraq 'strategery', or he just likes the flick and saw a parallel. Maybe it's both. Here's my take:
In the movie Groundhog Day, Phil Connors (Bill Murray) re-lives Groundhog Day, over and over. The day repeats, unchanged, beginning with the song on the radio alarm clock, as it turns from 5:59 to 6:00.
Every. Single. Day.
Video Credit: 5secondmovies
There's no change, there's no progress, and there's no hope of ever getting out.
Until ...
Phil learns. The way he escapes from his endless nightmare is to study his mistakes and alter his response until he finally gets it right, and the conflict ends. That's where the metaphor diverges from the movie. Bush does not study, does not learn and does not correct. He's content to live out his term repeating the same mistakes, never escaping Groundhog Day. Problem is, the rest of us are caught up in his endless cycle of frustration and despair.
Either that, or Bush is being compared to a squinty-eyed little rat in a hole.
But I'm sure that's not it.
Senator Kerry talked to Ed Schultz yesterday about Bush's failed policy and the need for change.
JK's statement on Bush's 'progress' report
"It's telling that the only report that shows progress in Iraq comes from the same Administration that predicted we'd be greeted as liberators and proclaimed 'mission accomplished.' This Administration is in deep denial. Their misguided account is out of touch with every recent independent Iraq assessment, from General Jones to the GAO report, which found that the Iraqis met only one of eight benchmarks on political reconciliation. The White House needs to stop spinning and start changing course now."
