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Miss Me Yet? The Freedom Agenda After George W. Bush
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 04-24-10 | BARI WEISS

Posted on 04/23/2010 4:06:46 PM PDT by GOP_Lady

Dissidents in the world's most oppressive countries aren't feeling the love from President Obama.

No one seems to know precisely who is behind the "Miss Me Yet?" billboard—the cheeky one featuring a grinning George W. Bush that looks out over I-35 near Wyoming, Minn. But Syrian dissident Ahed Al-Hendi sympathizes with the thought.

In 2006, Mr. Hendi was browsing pro-democracy Web sites in a Damascus Internet café when plainclothes cops carrying automatic guns swooped in, cuffed him, and threw him into the trunk of a car. He spent over a month in prison, some of it alone in a 5-by-3 windowless basement cell where he listened to his friend being tortured in the one next door. Those screams, he says, were cold comfort—at least he knew his friend hadn't been killed.

Mr. Hendi was one of the lucky ones: He's now living in Maryland as a political refugee where he works for an organization called Cyberdissidents.org. And this past Monday, he joined other international dissidents at a conference sponsored by the Bush Institute at Southern Methodist University to discuss the way digital tools can be used to resist repressive regimes.

He also got to meet the 43rd president. In a private breakfast hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Bush, Mr. Hendi's message to the former president was simple: "We miss you." There have been "a lot of changes" under the current administration, he added, and not for the better.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: agenda; bush; bush43; bushlegacy; freedom; gwb; missmeyet; obama; president; presidentbush; presidentgeorgewbush; presidents; rino; wsj
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To: ohioWfan
Not in the least? Let's see.......that means you don't miss a President with:

*Courage

*Class*Integrity

*Honor

*A strong pro-life record (better than any other before him

*Love of the military, and mutual respect and love from them

*Willingness to fight the enemy at the expense of his own popularity

*Love of country and deep patriotism

It seems that even if you are a pure and holy conservative, that you would miss something about him. That you don't seems to say more about you than it does about him.

Excellent post, ohio. I agree that even if one thought that GWB was not conservative enough, there are SO many things to miss about him---especially when compared to the current occupant---who is NONE of the things you list.

I shouldn't get involved in these discussions as I am so poor at explaining myself. Thankfully you are here, ohioWfan. :)

81 posted on 04/24/2010 2:23:31 PM PDT by dmd25 (Thank you President Bush!)
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To: dsutah
Thank you kindly! I’ve been avoiding answering these posters, but this one begged a reply. So I just couldn’t resist! ;)

You're more than welcome. Avoiding those types of posters is what I do most of the time as well. But sometimes...


82 posted on 04/24/2010 2:24:03 PM PDT by rdb3 (The mouth is the exhaust pipe of the heart.)
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To: GOP_Lady

You are very welcome, GOP_Lady. That picture may be boring to some—just a bunch of men-—but it speaks volumes.


83 posted on 04/24/2010 2:24:19 PM PDT by dmd25 (Thank you President Bush!)
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To: Just A Nobody

Just A, remember that “unpopularpresidentbush” was his name to most of the so-called reporters who were ‘forced’ to cover him. Because they could not stand to look at or listen to him, they projected that dislike onto the American public, and did their best to keep him hidden from media view.

Ann Compton, for example, would tell her radio audience what President Bush had said but would we hear him actually say it? NO! And I just remembered — after she would report on the White House (about 32 words or less) she would continue with a big “But... [whatever the DNC rebuttal was for the topic.]”

Now we are back to hearing Obama’s voice every half hour — even the stations that use Fox News start every report with Obama’s latest proclamation. It’s the Clinton years again - only worse!


84 posted on 04/24/2010 2:32:13 PM PDT by maica (Freedom consists not in doing what we like,but in having the right to do what we ought. John Paul II)
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To: rdb3

UNDO. Love it.


85 posted on 04/24/2010 2:42:01 PM PDT by Bahbah (Only dead fish go with the flow)
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To: bwc2221

I know, GWB was so terrible. You’re right, he did absolutely nothing right.

Look at all the terrorist attacks that destroyed so many of our cities on or after Sept. 12, 2001. The rubble continues to smolder in every major American city because Bush did nothing.

When will we ever do anything about the terrorists?

Oh wait ...

(shaking my head at the silly demands for purity and perfection — or bust — by all too many people)

-George


86 posted on 04/24/2010 2:47:27 PM PDT by Calif Conservative ( rwr and gwb backer)
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To: bwc2221

You are right of course.

But die hard Bush personality cultists will not agree.


87 posted on 04/24/2010 2:56:06 PM PDT by eleni121 (For Jesus did not give us a timid spirit , but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline)
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To: dmd25
You do great, dmd!

And you're exactly right. IMO, anyone who says "I don't miss President Bush because he wasn't conservative enough" is missing some very important personal qualities.......the most obvious of which may well be discernment.

They are saying that if a person doesn't meet their standards of conservatism, he is utterly worthless (and trust me, that's exactly how some around here feel.....note, I don't say think, because thinking has nothing to do with it).

If the only standard is being as conservative as I am, then there are none whom I should admire, including Reagan, and that's ludicrous. But there were plenty of pure and holy conservatives who bashed Reagan for not being pure enough, and ironically, they're probably the same people who worship at his feet now and use him to bash Bush.

Some people are never satisfied!

88 posted on 04/24/2010 2:57:52 PM PDT by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star recipient!)
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To: eleni121
Au contraire, eleni. We are not 'personality cultists' (a ridiculous and spurious personal attack).

We are just good judges of character.

89 posted on 04/24/2010 2:58:57 PM PDT by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star recipient!)
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To: ConorMacNessa

Now, that’s what I call a great graphic!!!


90 posted on 04/24/2010 3:01:27 PM PDT by onyx (Sarah/Michele 2012)
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To: ohioWfan
American conservatism champions private property, limited government, balanced budgets, fiscal prudence and avoidance of foreign entanglements.

Note: Bush broke every one of these principles, miserably. And he went further into the left by kowtowing to islamics and avoiding confrontation with leftists and Statists.

Therefore it must be some kind of weird personality cult that you are a member of. Or else you must not be a conservative.

91 posted on 04/24/2010 3:08:41 PM PDT by eleni121 (For Jesus did not give us a timid spirit , but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline)
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To: eleni121
Therefore it must be some kind of weird personality cult that you are a member of. Or else you must not be a conservative

Unless you stop the personal attacks, I won't respond again.

I'm as conservative as anyone on this board, and you, I believe, know it.

The topic, btw, is missing President Bush and the "Freedom Agenda." We are discussing the qualities of President Bush that discerning people miss, and what the President is doing to work for liberty around the world.

I'm sure you can think of one quality you miss, eleni.

92 posted on 04/24/2010 3:19:18 PM PDT by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star recipient!)
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To: ohioWfan

ah yes, when we had a President who did’t hat America


93 posted on 04/24/2010 3:55:40 PM PDT by SoCalPol (Reagan Republican for Palin 2012)
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To: RipSawyer

Rip
well put
except it should read <”Only the fools will not ADMIT they miss him a year from now.


94 posted on 04/24/2010 4:05:23 PM PDT by RWGinger
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To: GOP_Lady

“Miss Me Yet?” billboard”

Miss Bush yet? It`s gotten to the point where I miss Carter.


95 posted on 04/24/2010 4:13:42 PM PDT by chessplayer
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To: SoCalPol
A pretty important quality that every good citizen should be missing, don't you think?

Funny how some have missed patriotism as something to be admired in a President.....

96 posted on 04/24/2010 4:48:29 PM PDT by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star recipient!)
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To: ought-six

i agree with your sentiments; I would like to offer one that bothered me greatly at the time - He failed to exercise or even show a desire to exercise any control over federal spending and the federal budget deficit.


97 posted on 04/24/2010 4:57:17 PM PDT by WoofDog123
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To: ican'tbelieveit

even with bush out of office, putin continues to say complimentary things about him, despite no apparently gain to himself. It is interesting, given how frighteningly calculated an autocrat putin is, that he makes that effort to express this sentiment.


98 posted on 04/24/2010 5:00:37 PM PDT by WoofDog123
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To: ohioWfan

Unless you stop the personal attacks, I won’t respond again.


That’s best. I do not handle apologists for lame brained RINO politicians very well.


99 posted on 04/24/2010 5:24:56 PM PDT by eleni121 (For Jesus did not give us a timid spirit , but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline)
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To: eleni121
Let me describe the people you ceaselessly attack -

Conservative
Moral
Patriotic
Caring
Mature
Decent
Pro-life
Pro-military
Hard working
Loyal

THESE are the people with whom you can not "handle" discussions.

And there are a whole lot more of them/us than you imagine. The FR attack dogs keep many from posting, but we are the majority of conservatives, and we aren't going away.

100 posted on 04/24/2010 5:32:55 PM PDT by ohioWfan (Proud Mom of a Bronze Star recipient!)
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