Will Robertson's quote hurt Bush any?

[Wakie]

Pat Robertson, an ardent Bush supporter, told CNN in an interview Tuesday night that he urged the president to prepare the American people for the prospect of casualties before launching the war in March 2003.

Robertson said Bush told him, " 'Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties.' "

More than 1,100 American troops have been killed in Iraq since the invasion.

Bush spokesman, Scott McClellan, has confirmed that Bush did meet with Robertson in Nashville before the invasion, as Robertson recounted. But McClellan said Bush always has recognized that war "requires sacrifice" and that there would be American casualties.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Robertson restated his "100 percent" support for Bush's re-election and said he began and ended his CNN interview "with my warm endorsement and praise of President Bush." But he did not back away from his comments.

"I emphatically stated that, 'I believe 'the blessing of heaven is upon him,' and I am persuaded that he will win this election and prevail on the war against terror in order to keep America safe from her avowed enemies," Robertson said.

In his CNN interview, the religious leader described Bush on the eve of the invasion as "the most self-assured man I've ever met in my life."

"You remember Mark Twain said, 'He looks like a contented Christian with four aces.' I mean he was just sitting there like, 'I'm on top of the world,' " Robertson said on CNN's "Paula Zahn Now."

"And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war, deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, 'Mr. President, you had better prepare the American people for casualties.' "

He said that's when the president told him he did not expect casualties from the invasion.

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Now either Robertson is lying (and he stands to gain nothing from doing so) or Bush is lying.  Considering that Bush did the whole "Mission Accomplished" number, I'm thinking it is Bush lying.

And although Robertson can call him "self-assured" I find Bush to be arrogant bordering on mania.  Confidence is good, over-confidence is foolish.  Washington, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt ... they all agonized over military decisions ... Smarmy George doesn't and that frightens me.

[Wakie]

As I stated in the parallel thread to this, why would Bush say we would have no casualties when we were already incurring casualties in Afghanistan?

In a word?  Arrogance.  I think Bush really thought that Iraq would be a cake-walk.