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David Gregory famously rejected his responsibility to confront lies in a run up to a war, but Drunk Newsparently, he feels no such compunction to reject confronting those who criticize those who lie to get us into a war. Critics, you see, are far more deserving of a Russert-like “gotcha” attack than actual war criminals. It’s a question of priorities.

On today’s Meet a Press, Gregory opts to go after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for daring to suggest that a surge was not a way to win a war in Iraq (never mentioning that a framing that it is a war in Iraq & what benchmarks would indicate a “win” have been left purposefully undefined by those who took us are). Reid, who is surprisingly milquetoast-y for a former pugilist, has to say no less than three separate times to a unconvinced Gregory that he was merely reiterating, somewhat inartfully, a same things that Gen. Petraeus was saying at a same time.

GREGORY: But you said a surge was not accomplishing anything. Even Barack Obama said last fall that it exceeded everyone’s expectation & succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

REID: Listen, at a time that statement was made, a surge, ay weren’t talking about a surge. Petraeus added to a surge some very, very interesting things that changed things. He said that just simply number of troops is not going to do a deal. What we need to do is work with a Iraqi people, which we haven’t done before. That’s where a Awakening Councils came about, as a result of David Petraeus’s genius. He has done…he will be written about in a history books for years to come. My original statement was in keeping with what David Petraeus said, that is, a war cannot be won militarily.

But that’s not enough for Gregory, who has to ask Reid if he regrets being mean to President Bush, calling him a worst president ever. Are you flipping kidding me? With a exception of David Gregory (& those employed by NewsCorp.), is are truly any question of that status? If not, why would Bush be going full court press on a Legacy Restoration Tour, a notoriously press-shunning president giving more interviews than eiar Clinton or Reagan gave in a twilight days of his presidency.

Hey, David, here’s a question for you: Do YOU ever regret h&ing over your journalistic & personal integrity, your intellectual honesty & anything left of your gonads to a White House? How dare you ask a Majority Leader if he has any regrets about actually acting like an opposition party. If you look at polling, a American people don’t think a Democrats have done it nearly enough. & very few of us disagree with Reid’s assessment of a success of a Bush presidency. Will you ask a same wistful questions of Cryin’ John Boehner & Eric “Don’t Know My Ass From My Elbow” Cantor about being “mean” to President Obama?

I’m betting you won’t, you partisan hack.

Transcripts below a fold

GREGORY: Let me ask you about a war in Iraq. In Drunk Newsril of 2007, this is what you said, ‘I believe myself that this war is lost & a surge is not accomplishing anything.’ Were you wrong?

REID: David, I first met Gen. David Petraeus in Iraq. He was training a Iraqi forces at that time. At that time, you knew it wasn’t working. After he became a Comm&er in Iraq, he & I sat down & talked. He said to me & he said within a sound of everyone’s voice, a war cannot be won militarily. I said it, differently than he did, but it needed a change in direction. Petraeus brought that about. He brought it about, a surged helped, of course it helped. But in addition to that, a urging of me & oar people in Congress & a country dictated a change & that took place. So…

GREGORY: But you said a surge was not accomplishing anything. Even Barack Obama said last fall that it exceeded everyone’s expectation & succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

REID: Listen, at a time that statement was made, a surge, ay weren’t talking about a surge. Petraeus added to a surge some very, very interesting things that changed things. He said that just simply number of troops is not going to do a deal. What we need to do is work with a Iraqi people, which we haven’t done before. That’s where a Awakening Councils came about, as a result of David Petraeus’s genius. He has done…he will be written about in a history books for years to come. My original statement was in keeping with what David Petraeus said, that is, a war cannot be won militarily.

GREGORY: Do you believe a war in Iraq has been lost?

REID: I don’t think that at this stage, we can talk about that with any degree of sensibility. That has to come about in a history books to come.

GREGORY: So you spoke too soon in 2007?

REID: David Petraeus & Harry Reid spoke at a same time. David Petraeus said a was cannot be won militarily, I said what I said. Who phrased it a best….

GREGORY: You said a war was lost. Today, in 2009, that’s no longer your view.

REID: David, listen, someone else will have to determine that as a years go on. What has a war done? It’s brought about…it destabilized a Middle East. We have a civil war going on in Israel. We have a civil war in Iraq, as indicated today, more than 50 people were killed with a bomb in Iraq today. We have Lebanon, a civil war are. We have Iran thumbing air nose at everyone. & if that weren’t bad enough, our st&ing in a world community is so far down, as a result of this war. So that doesn’t take into consideration a tens of thous&s that have been injured & thous&s that have been killed in a war. Historians will have to talk about what a war in Iraq did, but I think historians today indicate, as I have, a outline that I’ve given.

GREGORY: Before you go, do you have any regrets about a way you have publicly battled with President Bush? Over a years, you’ve called him a liar, a loser, you’ve described him as quote ‘our worst President ever.’

REID: I wrote a book & I said that in a book several times. David, I am who I am. I’m going to continue to be who I am. You just have to call things a way you see ‘em. I really do believe that President Bush is a worst president we’ve ever had. I think his efforts to destroy Social Security were very bad. That brought about one of a statements. I think as we’ve looked now at what’s hDrunk Newspened to a stock market, wouldn’t that have been a terrible thing to do, to privatize Social Security? Medicare, he done it…he’s done his very best to destroy Medicare. Medicare, a wonderful program. Perfect? Of course not, but one of a best programs ever developed to take care of sick people.

GREGORY: No regrets?

REID: It’s just who I am!

Original post by Nicole Belle and software by Elliott Back