Posted on 05/20/2006 5:11:47 PM PDT by gwb43_2004
As a candidate in 2000, George W. Bush was a Rorschach test. Country Club Republicans saw him as another George H.W. Bush; some conservatives, thinking wishfully, saw him as another Ronald Reagan. He called himself a "compassionate conservative," which meant whatever one wanted it to mean. Experts from across the party's spectrum were flown to Austin to brief Bush and reported back: "He's one of us."
Republicans were desperate to retake the White House, conservatives were desperate to get the Clinton liberals out and there was no direct heir to Reagan running for president. So most conservatives supported Bush as the strongest candidate -- some enthusiastically and some, like me, reluctantly. After the disastrous presidency of his father, our support for the son was a triumph of hope over experience.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If that had to get one, my preference would be the Senate. Not much would change, but it would send a message.
It's pretty much been the deal-breaker for my husband and myself, too.
We didn't really have a lot of choices from the git-go, did we?
oh yeah Hugo a tough nut to crack. We could topple him in a week if we wanted too. If they are that much of a threat then a secure border is even more urgent. Do it now before another 12 million hard working friends come here.
He did come across as pretty bizarre in the Illinois senate race, however.
Depending on how the next two years play out -- the Bush's could be finished in politics.
I hope you're right. Good riddance it would be.
Did you vote for him?
Hmmmm and here I was thinking the president's job is to veto out of control spending
It's not
You mean the place where the U.S. Navy docked 590 supply vessels and 56 warships much of it in support of our effort in Iraq? No I mean the country that spawn some of the 9/11 highjackers and has no such thing as freedom of religion
The UAE (and especially Dubai) has a lot freedom of religion for the Mideast. It's also an ally in the War on Terror. Do you have a problem with that and do you have a problem with it supplying security to U.S. Naval ships docking there?
No I mean the stealth liberal nomination that Bush sent up.
Which means you should not have a problem with Bush since he never sent up a stealth liberal nominee.
No it was Max Mansfield that pushed for it.
That's Max Mayfield and the reports I've seen are Dubya having to press Nagin. Emergency procedures worked as expected in Mississippi and that was hit just as bad.
Wow here I thought the President submitted the budget outlines
Spending bills start in the House. They are free to ignore what the President submits and almost always do. There is no line item veto. Unless he President wants to veto the whole thing, he has to accept it.
No we should listen to the LOCAL school boards that WE ELECT and HAVE DIRECT CONTROL OVER instead of losers in Washington.
Rule of thumb that you can take to the bank -- If the NEA is against it, it is good.
No I mean the liberal that says he's a republican
So you're saying Specter was not the Republican incumbent?
No instead of finding the terrorists and securing our borders with tough border entry standards . . .
The 9/11 attackers came with approved Visas and on commercial flights. They did not sneak over the border.
the failure to do anything about the UN
Oh yeah. Dubya is just a big supporter of the UN.
There were other choices, none of the good, but better than Bush & McCain.
By the time they made it to Arizona, it was Bush or McCain...
Given the response to my earlier 'betrayal moment' post, I think that many of us can say that we've been willing - perhaps too willing - to overlook the more obvious errors that this President has made.
I, too questioned Bush's consistent reference to Islam as a 'religion of peace,' when history demonstrates that plainly it is not. If Christian preachers said even one percent of what imams routinely preach in mosques in this country, they'd find themselves in jail. This is not a matter of opinion.
When it came to fiscal responsibility, I was willing to set aside my concern because we are at war.
When it came to the war, I was all there. But I began to woonder if we weren't fighting Kerry's 'sensitve' war on terror instead of the definitive and awe-inspiring total war we should have fought.
When it came to education, I was apalled at Bush's willingnes to partner with the traitor Kennedy. There is hardly a Republican who won't shovel cash into educational institutions that are irredemably corrupt, intellectually dishonest and morally bankrupt. At the end of he day, the 'debate' over education amounts to little more than deciding how many more seats in a porn theater our dollars are going to fund.
When it came to articulating a clear, moral and yes - electrifying message of liberty and the personal responsibility that comes with it, I'm still waiting. A real leader must be articulate and persuasive, as was Ronaldus Magnus.
When it came to calling out our foreign and domestic enemies by their proper names, well - I'm still waiting for that too.
The fact that our leadership is wiling to tolerate treason and corruption for the sake of 'getting along' just makes me sick at heart.
So where does that leave us now? I have an idea, but that makes me sick at heart as well.
"It is sad that a southern Democrat gave a more Conservative speech at the convention then any Republican."
Well, I don't think it was TOO sad.
:-)
How soon we forget. In 1980 the economy was in recession with double digit inflation and even higher interest rates. The Soviet empire was ascendent; Afghanistan invasion in '79, Sandinista take over of Nicaurauga, El Salvador and Guatamela fighting communists insurgencies, Grenada went commie etc. Carter was such a failure that many people thought the presidency was too much for one person.
9/11 has been both a challenge and an opportunity for Bush. However, Reagan already solved the big problems: communism and economic decline.
In addition, Reagan got shot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.