Why policymakers can't find the pony but keep trying
Steve Chapman | July 16, 2007
"Ronald Reagan used to tell the story of a boy so optimistic that when he woke up on Christmas morning and was confronted with a huge mound of manure, he gleefully began shoveling. "There's a pony in here someplace!" he exclaimed.
For President Bush, when it comes to Iraq, every day is Christmas day. He's been shoveling for more than four years but still fully expects that pony to pop out at any moment. On Capitol Hill, though, even Republicans are starting to suspect that the malodorous pile is that and nothing more.
On Thursday, the White House released its latest assessment of the war, and it concluded that on eight of the 18 benchmarks set by Congress, there has been "satisfactory progress." That was enough for a presidential seal of approval. In other words, getting right answers on less than half the exam questions earns a pass. If the standards for No Child Left Behind were that low, we would be descending toward mass illiteracy.......
By now, we should all know that the president is determined to portray Iraq as a success in the making no matter how much it looks like a failure. He said Thursday that the results of the surge so far are "cause for optimism." But in September 2004, he was "pleased with the progress." In January 2005, he said, "I'm optimistic about it." A year later, he said "we are winning." The president's mood is always good and always wrong.
He wants Congress to be patient and wait until September, when the next progress report is due. At that point, if things go as he expects, he'll be riding at the front of a victory parade, on his brand new pony."
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