I'm sure you're going to keep hearing it, because it's the truth. Isolating some comments on democracy in Iraq out of the vast chaff cloud they threw up doesn't mean anything. How about putting it in context: What percentage of the rationalizations for going to war consisted of liberation? 10%? Way too high. Like Tony points out, liberation was nowhere near the top of the list. It's simply the one notion that hasn't collapsed when confronting reality...so far.
Actions mean everything. The absence of postwar planning speaks volumes about the level of concern in the Bush Administration for the fate of Iraq after scores had been settled with Saddam and the imaginary WMD confiscated.
Want more? On April 16th, 2003, Tommy Franks ordered his commanders to begin planning a highspeed withdrawal from Iraq, to be completed within 60 days. From "Cobra II":
The combat forces that had battled their way to Baghdad, Tikrit, Karbala, and Najaf should prepare to pull out within sixty days. New units would arrive to help stabilize the country but most would stay no longer than 120 days. Cutting back so quickly would leave much of Iraq uncovered, but Franks laid down the rule that was to guide the next phase of the operation: the generals should be prepared to take as much risk departing as they had in their push to Baghdad.
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If Franks's guidance were carried out, the more than 140,000 troops in Iraq could be down to little more than a "division-plus", about 30,000 troops by September.
The Bush Administration wanted to install democracy in Iraq? Bullshit, they wanted to cut-and-run at the earliest possible opportunity. "...take as much risk departing..." sounds like Bush intended to get out of Iraq like a cat with its tail on fire.
Another concrete sign of Bush's tender feelings toward Iraqis: The RAND study on nation-building points out that the smaller the ratio of peacekeepers to population, the bloodier the occupation, because smaller forces quickly become embattled and start to rely on superior firepower. If Bush had listened to the experts, it would've required at least 400,000 troops (up to possibly 700,000) in post-war Iraq to maintain order and prevent the bloodshed that occurred, and smooth the path for installation of a democracy. That Bush was unwilling to pay the necessary price is yet another concrete indication of just how much Bush really cared about the fate of Iraq.
Actions speak louder than words, Tom. Digging up a few quotes full of pretty words about democracy means absolutely nothing.