Can't argue with ya, Ms. Perino. "Amazing" is one of those wonderful weasel words that cuts both ways, so there's NO doubt Karen Hughes' work qualifies as "amazing" in at least one sense.

Now, if she'd said Hughes had done "good" or "effective" work, THAT would be just a bit harder to swallow.

I think it's telling that America's reputation worldwide is so damaged that the White House thinks it's going to take a time period comparable to the duration of the Cold War to turn things around....

"See, the people expect, when they send their money . . . to achieve certain results." "It's important to measure results so that we know we're doing our job." "If you're a taxpayer and you're spending your money, you want to make sure that money gets good results. And the best way to determine whether you get good results is to measure."

Ok, let me see if I can keep up.

Send money = expect results = measure

Spending money = make sure good results

Good results = measure

Recently Bush was talking and smirking while spouting similar blather and said, "Well, I'm not an economist....although, I think I did get a B-plus in economics." A news organization pulled his records. He got a C-minus.

He may not be an economist, but he gets an A-plus in lying every time.

No Child Left Behind

Now that the press conferences in the White House are reaching lows never anticipated, with a level of factual knowledge and desire to inform lower than I've even seen; why don't the reporters just stop showing up? Or try another alternative.

Why ask questions that are never answered. Just sit, take some notes and when the question period is opened, be silent or get up and leave. The reporting that is currently served by the White House press briefings certainly wouldn't be compromised.

Oh, I know why that can't happen. Because that would take courage and convictions and professional journalistic standards. Forget I spoke.

It's the same straw argument as saying the terrorists hate us for our freedoms.

Bush is continuing to destroy America's reputation at an alarming rate though all his war and fear mongering.

What the fuck is some "spokesperson" supposed to say or do that could ever offset what Bush continues to say and do on a daily basis? Was she supposed to convince the world Guantanamo is really like club med?

I agree we need to hold government accountable, but not for a job that was 100% impossible to begin with.

It makes more sense to eliminate the job until Bush is out of power then to blame Karen Hughes for not improving world opinion.

"and just start hiring more au pairs?"

I think you are on to something. If we took all the billions spent on this war and had used it hire potential insurgents to come here and rebuild bridges, work forestry projects, and repair highways, we would all be much better off. No more Uncle Sam as satan; back to "Uncle Sugar"!

Another lost opportunity

After 900 million a year was spent by the office that Ms. Hughes ran, the image of the U.S. has diminished to unprecedented levels.

It is difficult to understand what the goals of the Bush administration really are, since it seems that they have only brought destruction to the United States. However, in a rare admission of their motivations, the Bush administration wants to trumpet that Karen Hughes did her job admirably. For this, we should take their word and look at the results.

My mom places these students (and yes, au pairs), and we received 2 in our state out of the 200 students from the middle east. Both were boys from Yemen, and they said that almost all of the participants were boys. The one kid was really into computers. By being an atheist female in the computer industry and drinking a beer at dinner with this kid, I think was a tremendous jump for world understanding. I don't think it actually did anything to change attitudes about the US to people outside of the US. It is a nice "feel good" program, but it has absolutely no follow-up or way to have a cross-dialog (i.e, we couldn't send high school students over there). So yes, the program is a great program, but it sounds like Karen Hughes did nothing for the short term, and nothing to address large populations.

....and speaking as an administrator at a School of Public Health, visas for international students, even professional students like doctors and MBAs, have become extremely difficult to come by.

we are ruled by madmen, who are represented by idiots.

How much more of this lunacy are we going to have to take, anyway? It's all starting to feel like a really bad itch you can't scratch. Pretty soon, I'll just have to stop reading the War Room..because the dissonance will just be too great to tolerate.

Reporter: What the hell has Karen Hughes been doing besides wiping little George's butt and tucking him in?

Perino: Amazing work.

Reporter: Site an example.

Perino: I'm not going to answer that! It's preposterous to think that you could question Karen Hughes' achievements in terms of being able to cite any PARTICULAR work she has done. It's all just been amazing!

Reporter: Well, if you won't cite any particular work, could you at least tell us how many days she actually showed up for work?

Perino: That's ridiculous. You can't quantify amazing work by hours put in. Karen Hughes can achieve amazing things right from her kitchen in Texas, on the telephone with Middle Eastern leaders.

Reporter: Which Middle Eastern Leaders, Hosni Mubarak for instance?

Perino: I'm not familiar with that name. I'll get back to you on that.

Reporter: President of Egypt. How about King Abdullah of Jordan?

Perino: The United States does not negotiate with terrorists.

Reporter: Jordan is one of the few allies we have in the Middle East.

Perino: According to whom?

Reporter: The U.S. State Department.

Perino: I think you have you're facts wrong, but I'll get back to you on that.

Reporter: OK then. Which Middle Eastern leaders has Karen Hughes favorably influenced.

Perino: The White House does not comment about ongoing investigations.

Reporter: Investigations?

Perino: I mean, hypotheticals. The White House does not comment on hypotheticals.

Reporter: I didn't give you a hypothetical.

Perino: If you continue to abuse your privilege as a White House correspondent by asking questions that have not been pre-approved, I won't call on you any more.

Reporter: Yeah? Well this whole fucking White House press briefing has been a joke for the last seven years. Fleisher, McClellan, Snow, and now you, you worthless piece of crap! Where did you get your lobotomy before you came to work here? Are you programmed to say anything at all, or are all of us reporters just pissing in the wind here?

Perino: I believe that is true, but I'll have to get back to you on that.