Bush finds his platitude sound plausible

US President George W. Bush often said to "stay the course" as a platitude and people used to hear quoting it in debates on the prospects of the Iraq War. The phrase originally means that in a competition arena, athletes will race to the finishing line on his set track, without changing his direction or giving up the attempt half way, and the phrase later has the meaning that one will persevere in compliance with the set principle and never give up his effort until his goal is attained.

For a cause of justice, such courageous spirit is praiseworthy and, if there is a fault with the direction, someone will become hopelessly stupid if he follows one particular road until it is dark. President Bush, however, is a wise man, and has now decided to abandon this wording.

Why has the US president given it up? Let us hear President Bush's own explanation: "Stay the course means keep doing what you're doing, my attitude is don't do what you're doing if it's not working, -- change." When Bush, stunned by reporters' repeated and close questions, conflicted himself and told them impatiently: "Listen, we've never been stay the course, we have been ... we will complete the mission, we will do our job and help achieve the goal, but we've constantly adjusting the tactics. "

But reporters went in hot pursuit without any sign of retreat, and his press spokesman Tony Snow had to explain further. "What you have is not (to) stay the course but in fact a study in a constant motion by the administration," he said. "Because it left the wrong impression about what was going on. And it allowed critics to say. 'Well, here's on administration that's just embarked upon a policy and not looking at what the situation is,' when, in fact, it's just the opposite."

Bush has landed himself in an impasse, if he keeps to his original platitude, he will be slammed as pursuing an "Ostrich policy" and, if he gives it up, that meant to find fault with its former policy, and anyway, he found his platitude sound plausible. The reason why he chooses to change his statement at present is that the deteriorating situation in Iraq cannot be whitewashed and increasingly soaring anti-war opinions of people in the United States cannot be duped or fooled. At a time when the situation in Iraq is out of control, empty talks on "adherence to the set policy" will only lead to more severe losses for his Republican Party during the term-elections.

By People's Daily Online