This is clever way to shift responsiblity for a war one started. Originally, Bush was "The Decider": he made the overall strategic decisions about the war in Iraq. Now, Bush is "a commander guy" - he doesn't make strategic decisions about staying, or redeploying from iraq. That's the responsiblity of the commanders. Bush is "a commander guy" who lets commanders on the ground make that decision. Whether we stay in Iraq, or redeploy, it's out of Bush's hands. It's up to some two-star and three-star generals on the ground.
It's not Bush's fault!
It's not Bush's fault!
Turns out Bush is just ‘a commander guy’
White House: President didn’t say he was ‘the commander guy’
After a speech on Wednesday, Bush took questions from his mostly friendly audience, including one on how to secure more positive stories in the media about the situation in Iraq. The president said those who believe in his policies need to speak out, and then took a shot at Democratic congressional leaders who want to set a timeline for withdrawing troops, which he opposes.
"The question is, who ought to make that decision?" Bush said, appearing before the Associated General Contractors of America. "The Congress or the commanders?"
The White House transcript of the event released that day recorded Bush saying "I'm the commander guy." This had columnists and bloggers poking fun at what appeared to be a reference to his commander in chief status, one that recalled the president's "I'm the decider" statement a year ago when rumors abounded about an administration shake-up.
On Friday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino volunteered at her daily briefing that she felt compelled to have the stenographers take another listen to the tape after thinking she had heard something different during the speech. Turns out Bush actually said "I'm a commander guy" — as in, he's the sort who prefers the advice of military leaders over politicians in Washington.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18497930/