Posted on 11/05/2008 3:51:00 PM PST by big black dog
The American people continue to amaze me with their penchant for the wholly irrational. The election of Barack Hussein Muhammad bin Obama is only the latest evidence.
But that the American sheeple are so devoid of active intellect as to get all of their life skills from Oprah and all of their political philosophy from Katie Couric has been evident for years. Eminently so, in that they have allowed themselves to be manipulated by a corrupt media into the rejection of one of the most thoroughly decent individuals to ever hold the Presidency - one George W. Bush.
I have heard it from every angle - from college professors and professional politicians and the man on the street; we all agree that Dubya is horrible. We all agree that he is at fault for everything from Katrina to Iraq to the lagging (!) economy. Yet in all the complaining, I can't get a single person to tell me exactly what it is that George W. Bush has done that makes him so horrible. Any probing into the questions as to why Dubya is so bad simply ends in some emotional screed about something that he has "screwed up."
As to the war? Dubya, of course with the help of his advisors, has strategized and supervised the overthrow of the Taliban, the overthrow of Sadaam Hussein, the bringing of nascent democratic governments in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the protection of the U.S. from further terrorist attacks. And 9/11? Bill Clinton's fault - entirely. He had the opportunity to respond with muscle after the first terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center and chose not to do so. He had the opportunity to have Osama bin Laden killed and chose not to do so.
The chaotic economy? Thoroughly - and only - the responsibility of the Democrats. Interest group politics demanded that minorities who did not have the credit, income, or other means be mandated to participate in home ownership without any thought of whether they could manage payments for 30 years. Any solution other than that was said by Democrats to be "redlining" - real estate-speak for "racism." Long ago, both George W. Bush and John McCain sounded the warning and pointed to the need for reform, their warnings, of course, falling on the deaf ears of Democrats except to the extent that it was useful to label such warnings as yet more racism from the GOP. And of course, when these idiot-inspired loans failed, the U.S. taxpayer once again became the lender of last resort.
Ronald Reagan was a truly great president, in that he was both a Great Man - a man of great achievements, and a Good Man - the things that he did reflected an honorable character and a correct set of beliefs. Jimmy Carter was a Good Man who missed being a Great Leader in that he consistently proposed the wrong answers because he had the wrong set of beliefs. George H. W. Bush was a Good Man who missed being a Great President because he attempted to compromise with Democrats, who did not share his integrity and correct beliefs.
George W. Bush will certainly go down in history as one of the better presidents - far better than Clinton, and certainly better than Obama has any hope of being. Bush's domestic policy has been less than muscular because he, like his father, has shown far too much respect to the socialists who run the Democratic party. But his foreign policy has been brilliant - and no emotional screeds to the contrary can change that one whit. Because of Bush's watchmanlike foreign policy, the U.S. is safe once again. We will not be so under Obama. Because of Bush's wisdom and courage, the Middle East is changed for the better, and Muslim terrorism is on the run. We can not count on the respect that he has earned being maintained by an Obama administration.
But in the end, History has a way of sorting these matters out. Both Truman and Reagan were underappreciated by the chattering class when they left office, but "truth will out." And truth will out for George W. Bush as well.
Though despised today, very soon Americans will look back with fondness to the rational and courageous leadership of a thoroughly good man. And while he may not be treated as one of the Greats by History, he will certainly be recognized as Better Than The Rest.
George W. Bush possesses numerous character traits that America needed at a particularly volatile time - courage, integrity, and competence. Unfortunately, the American sheeple have demonstrated their propensity for style over substance in choosing an elective president who lacks all three of these virtues - and apparently all others as well.
The following article appeared in the Wall Street Journal:
________________________________
The Treatment of George W. Bush Has Been a Disgrace:
What Must Our Enemies Be Thinking?
by Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
November 5, 2008
Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.
According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.
This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."
Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.
The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.
It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right. Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.
Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."
To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office.
Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history. Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have.
The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.
Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.
Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.
“One bumbling RINO Bush gave us Bill Clinton and the other gave us Barrack Obama.”
Disagree. A corrupt media gave us both.
You can't say this often enough. Effectively opposing the socialist Obama becomes that much harder when the GOP leadership consistently puts international business concerns before Americans' interests.
*Big Sigh*
Sounds nice. If only it were true.
He was right about some things and ought to get the credit for that.
But he didn't connect very well with the country.
I guess the idea was that somebody who was comparatively new to politics, someone who had a life outside of government, wouldn't get trapped in that "Washington Bubble" and would be closer to public sentiments. But it didn't happen.
George W. Bush will be held higher by history than now. His failing was his go along to get along philosophy that went along with everything the GOP congress brought to him as we are one. He should have used the veto pen before the Bolshecrats took over. He has been a much better leader the last two years.
Alan Keyes in a 2000 debate was asked how "W" would be as President, and Keyes said that W didn't have the talent to explain to people the rightness of conservative values.
He can explain the new tone when those he reached out to try him for “war crimes.”
When the two Bushes were lucky enough to win election, they rarely advanced our causes. Their wimpy, won’t stand up and fight the enemy attitude makes me sick to my stomach. They took beatings and never returned fire. They are total wimps that permanently damaged conservative causes. I don’t think we will see another conservative president in my lifetime. I’m 53. And I’m really sad to say that.
Agreed.
Would Regan have survived the resentment of Florida 2000, the Iraq War, and the onslaught of the media?
In a word, "Yes." While always happy to be conciliatory, Reagan had the good sense not to spit on his base and and then eagerly lick the boots of the people who despised him.
How old are you, 18?
The worm turns. Jimmy Carter gave us Ronald Reagan. We go back and forth regularly.
The good news is that this guy may be so incompetent that we only have to put up with him for four years, and we may be able to flip Congress in two.
Quit blaming the wrong folks. Voters wanted Obama. Now they get him.
If the likes of Buchanan had their way I think we’d have been at war anyway, but here instead of there.
The war in Iraq was not only not a mistake, it was the only logical and moral choice. And yes, it ~was~ about WMD the whole time and rightfully so.
And... for anybody that thinks the war has been poorly fought: Name for me one campaign in the history of warfare that has accomplished as much with so relatively few casualties— on both sides.
I haven’t agreed with everything he’s done, but then I didn’t agree with everything Reagan did either. I think Reagan was clearly one of the greats. Time will tell, but I think President Bush will be treated more kindly by history than he has been now.
And you can bank on this: Obama will be a wartime president too whether he wishes it or not. With any luck, his wars will be overseas too. May they go as well. Because they could go much, much worse.
>But he was naive in thinking that he could reach across the aisle in Washington the way he did in Austin.<
How long does it take for anyone to learn that the other side of the aisle is where the enemy resides? What did him in is not only his RINO demeanor but the fact that for 8 years he kept silent. And silence is often perceived as being guilty of the many accusations that were thrown at him. He did not do the Republican Party any favors.
OMG how I prayed for his victory over Gore while they were nitpicking those Florida ballots. In the end, he was just another politician — basically decent perhaps, but still just another politicians.
I wish him and his family well, but I also would like for him to return the money I spent on getting that man elected in 2000. Jeez, he was a disappointment. I guess that fighter pilots should stay in the cockpit and stay out of politics.
“George W. Bush is in fact the only who didnt lie. Ever.”
He’s not a smooth talking shyster. The country wants a smooth talking shyster.
BALONEY!
Bush did not have national suicidal tendencies, but aside from that?
The Bush administration can not go down in history as a great protector of this great nation, when millions upon millions of illegals streamed across our borders. He did everything but put interstate highway styled rest stops on the U.S. side to welcome the illegals. It has yet to be seen whether or not a horrible attack on our soil will come as a consequence of all of the illegals. Terrorists are very patient. If Bill Clinton is wholly responsible for 9/11 ... it only stands to reason that Bush will be responsible for anything that happens in the next year or two.
The Bush administration totally mismanaged the current wars in the early years. Things seem to be much more successful now, but that is only because his feet were held to the fire by others.
The current state of our economy can't possibly be laid at the feet of the democrats alone. Bush's monetary policies have not been stellar, to say the least. Bush had the white house and allowed the democrats to push him around. He never vetoed big spending. Until just three months ago, he continued to insist that the economy was on solid footing.
The Bush administration did not do nearly enough to address this country's energy requirements. Power plants and refineries still face bureaucratic obstacles that make them unattractive to propose, if not totally impossible to build. Bush has allowed his support of ethanol to be argued by his opponents as the reason for the gargantuan USDA budget, when more than 90% of that budget is allocated to food programs and welfare benefits.
Prescription drug program. Need I elaborate?
Geez, I'm tired and have more points, but nobody reads this long posts anyway.
Bush is an idiot. He could have stomped all over Obama but refused to get involved. He has been one hell of a lame President. No domestic policy. No energy policy. The ONLY time we seem to hear from him is when he is saying “war”, “terrorists”, “Bin Laden”, etc. I can honestly understand Americas temper tantrum of voting for Obama even considering Obama’s BS.
I agree we have been physically safer domestically thus far because we took the fight to their turf, but if we had to surrender on every domestic issue during the last 8 years save the courts and tax cuts, and we will have to surrender on every issue for the next 8 to 12 years, then the safety wasn't worth it. Better to have a dirty bomb in Manhattan than what we got.
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