Posted on 10/01/2005 5:58:37 PM PDT by Kaslin
From everything we read from the mainstream media, President Bush is a man on the ropes, beaten, discouraged and out of gas in the middle rounds of his presidency. He was already reeling from his problems in Iraq, and Katrina nearly delivered the knockout blow.
Liberals have hated him from the beginning, even when he's given them reason to rejoice, such as lavishing federal money on public education. They have been saying that Katrina exposed him as the emperor with no clothes. We can now see, they say, that his aura of resoluteness and leadership following 9/11 was an illusion.
According to them, he never was a real leader, but a man who opportunistically capitalized on the nation's wartime unity and delivered a few good speeches acting tough and decisive.
But in one fell swoop (or onrushing flood), say his critics, his mask was removed. Left exposed is the true face of a man utterly out of his element and who, but for his privileged birth, would never have made it in state politics, much less to the highest office in the land.
If all this weren't bad enough, many conservatives are now feeling betrayed by him for various reasons, not the least of which are his refusal to restrain discretionary spending and his lax immigration policies.
I don't think President Bush has betrayed anyone. To me, he has been a study in contrasts since he emerged on the national stage. Contrary to thoughtless charges from the Left that he's an extreme conservative, his ideology has never been easy to pigeonhole.
He has always been somewhat of a political anomaly, conservative on many things, a bleeding heart on others, resolute and firm at times, tentative and malleable at others, righteously indignant about some policies and almost apologetic on others.
He's a man who demands and returns deep loyalty, yet rewards some of his enemies, like Bill Clinton and Ted Kennedy, for stabbing him in the back. He has a tough side and a soft side, both genuine and both very much of part of who he is.
The strong president we saw taking charge after 9/11 is the authentic George W. Bush. But he is his father's son, and he apparently acquired from him the unfortunate notion that Republicans should be more compassionate and kinder and gentler.
Some reject Bush's sincerity about compassionate conservatism and believe he was merely engaged in political maneuvering, for example, when he said during his first presidential campaign that we should not balance the budget on the backs of the poor.
I don't think so. I believe he meant what he said. While he is philosophically committed to lowering taxes, he has always been insufficiently allergic to profligate federal spending. So I don't see his unbridled domestic spending and refusal to use the veto pen as betrayals, but as manifestations of concerns many conservatives had about him from the beginning.
Up until now I don't think his dual nature – for lack of a better description – has caused him to be conflicted. But I'm afraid that Katrina, coupled with all the other pressures and assaults to which he has been subjected, threatens to take him off his game.
I believe his legacy, and, more importantly, the course of the nation, will be determined by which side of his nature he allows to be dominant over the next three years.
The sooner he realizes that he cannot bargain or compromise with his political enemies, the better chance he'll have of accomplishing his agenda. Their agenda is solely to thwart him, and he must proceed with no illusions about that indisputable fact. He must not let them shame or deter him with false charges about Katrina, Iraq or anything else.
It has to be tough to stay the course in Iraq when his political opponents and the media suppress all the good news and accentuate the bad. But assuming he persists until the Iraqi forces are able to ensure the security and stability of their own government, I believe he will go down as a great president on that score alone, notwithstanding the polls today.
To the extent that he implements conservative policies on the domestic front as well – taxes, spending, immigration, conservative judges, and the rest – he will further augment his legacy and advance the best interests of the nation. And above all, relative to Katrina, he must ignore the race-baiters, promote colorblindness and encourage self-reliance.
I'm sincerely optimistic, mainly because of his strong character, that President Bush will persevere and close out his presidency very constructively and productively. Besides, can you imagine what would happen with the kook left in charge? Forget about it.
Bush is a man of deep Faith in God as was Lincoln. That is all that is necessary to know.
It would no doubt have a substantial effect on federal bureaucracies, and those who make their living from them.
I am very happy President Bush is in the White House right now. Think what this country would be like with an Al Gore or a John Kerry at the helm. That is one scary thought.
That said, I would be even happier with President Bush and the Republicans if they would be more vocal in support of the Second Amendment. I get the sneaking feeling that some of the president's advisors think they have the firearms rights vote locked up.
During the 1992 presidential election campaign the usually astute (now deceased) Lee Atwater is alleged to have advised President Bush 41 not to actively seek the vote of gun owners. "Where else do they have to go?" Atwater supposedly said. In November those words came back to haunt the Republicans.
Bottom line: Firearms ownership and membership in gun rights organizations is on the upswing. It would not pay to alienate that block of voters.
1. Bush caused Katrina and Rita
2. Bush is a racist.
3.Bush is the cause of 9/11.
4.Bush needs to spend more money on social programs.
5.Bush bombed the levees in New Orleans.
6.Bush is the cause of global warming.
7.Bush gives unlimited gratuities to his pals at Halliburton and does not care if American soldiers are killed.
8. Bush is a fascist.
9. Bush went to war for oil
10.Bush wants a religious theocracy to rule America.
Now, I could go on and on. But the point is, they have lied and lied about him. Why would he seek or procure their council regarding a supreme court pick? They are going to meet out hell for him for the next 3 years no matter what he does. He cares about his legacy, and he cares about the direction of America. I think he will go conservative on all 4 of his supreme court picks.
The most powerful thing that Bush can do for gun owners is to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will vote to hear Second Amendment cases and vote to restore the Second Amendment, applying it to the states as an immunity granted to every citizen of the United States.
As far as I can tell, he is doing that. His judicial appointments and the candidates near the top of the list that is under consideration appear to be people who can read the plain english of the Bill of Rights.
If Bush had signed a renewal of the "Assault Weapons Ban" he would not have received my vote. Since I am in Kalifornia, withholding my vote would have cost him little. But the votes of similarly minded people in some of the red states could have proved critical.
Anyone who thinks we do not have diversity on this website simply needs to look at the above comment.
Prayers for our President!
You are 1000% correct.
With all due respect, Mr. Limbaugh, he's had five years to come to that realization. It's not going to happen in the next three.
Pinging.
>>> What policy has been enacted that makes the borders more lax? <<<
I believe the policy is called "shirking", which is defined as evading the performance of a duty or an obligation. It is the duty of the President to enforce the laws of the United States, and the President had the policy of selectively enforcing them.
>>>Bush is a man of deep Faith in God as was Lincoln<<<
Bush also called Islam a religion of peace, which is a lie.
What was he supposed to do? Declare war on all Muslims? That would have been playing right into OBL's filthy hands. OBL wants an all-out war between Islam and the rest of the world and rhetoric condemning all Muslims or even Islam in general would have likely sealed that outcome.
That having been said, Islam is still a rotten faith in general. Not all Muslims are rotten, but "religion of peace" is one of the worst descriptors I've ever heard of it.
>>>Declare war on all Muslims?<<<
Now or later, it must be done.
I agree that President Bush appointing conservatives to serve on the Supreme Court is a step in the right (pardon the pun) direction. I would wish for just a little more vocality from him and the other Republicans on gun rights. If I remember correctly, Ronald Reagan was the last sitting president to address the NRA convention. Tom DeLay is the only politician in recent memory who has dared to stand alongside the NRA leadership at the convention.
Yes, President Bush is much to be preferred to someone like Algore or Frankenkerry. I hope he nominates someone this week to the right of Chief Justice Roberts. If he does, I will breathe just a little easier about our gun rights.
Honestly, at this point, even THAT wouldn't do it.
It's personal with them. They know he is dumb...but he keeps beating them.
I'm not defending the religion of peace crap. I am saying that the kind of rhetoric that some people want to hear from our President is going to turn the lukewarm or positive Muslims (Before you start in on that comment, I mean like the ones we just liberated in Iraq) against the United States. AQ's membership will go up if there's a sense that it's the US vs. Islam and more of our soldiers will die.
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