A day in the life of President Bush (photos): 12/31/02

yahoo.com, netscape.com, whitehouse.gov

[rintense]

Ditto to you!

[ohioWfan]

Well, I don't think your cat's infection should keep you home, but I'll certainly pray for yours!

Mr Ohio and I are spending a quiet evening at home......the kids are all with friends at respective parties.

It's been a rough Christmas season for me, and being sociable didn't seem like a possibility tonight, so we opted to stay home.

Oh....if you're watching football in the next few days, don't forget to catch OHIO STATE in the national championship Fiesta Bowl on Friday, and THE CLEVELAND BROWNS in the PLAYOFFS on Sunday!!! :o)

[ohioWfan]

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!!

Amen, to what you said, NordP, about rintense, and about our wonderful President!!

(I'll toast you all with non-alcoholic eggnog! :o)

[anniegetyourgun]

I know I'll be praying more - for all of us. I believe that 2003 is not going to be an easy year for this president....or this nation.

God bless you and your family OWF. And thanks to all of you for your 'virtual friendship' here on FR!

[Mo1]

Even a few of rin's pics DON'T SHOW RED. It is a photographic fluke of color, light and shadow.

I agree .. it's the lighting in the pictures .. some of the pictures his neck is just find .. plus the one with Laura, she looks pale as a ghost ..

[SwatTeam]

OSU will be the National Champs. Can't wait to see it happen. I hope they win decisively by about 14 points.

[ohioWfan]

Thank you, annie........my separated at birth twin! The friendship and support of 'virtual' friends is priceless.

The prayers of a cyberFRiend to the same LORD are just as effective as ones from friends we've actually seen, no? :o)

btw, GO BUCKEYES!

[ohioWfan]

OSU will be the National Champs. Can't wait to see it happen.

Me neither! 14 points sounds good to me!

[anniegetyourgun]

Go Bucks! Since I am down with cold/flu, the only thing that will make me feel better this week is a win on Friday!

[rabidralph]

Rintense,

Happy New Year! Thanks, for all you do with keeping this thread alive. These are greats pics of a happily married couple. They look so good together. Happy New Year to my fellow FReepers! Looking forward to 2003! Woo-hoo!

[goodnesswins]

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all Bush BOTS......May America have a VERY GOOD YEAR in 2003!

[mtngrl@vrwc]

What great pictures we have tonight!

We just got home from seeing The Two Towers for the sixth time. My family is single-handedly making it into a huge success. LOL! Fabulous movie, just wonderful! I will NEVER tire of that movie.

HAPPY NEW YEARS, DOSE FRIENDS!

[MJY1288]

~~~HAPPY NEW YEAR ~~~
~~~~ TO ALL OF YOU ~~~~

[mtngrl@vrwc]

Cool graphic!

[Salvation]

Happy New Year and thanks for all the posting you have done.

And Happy New Year to everyone else also.!

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks for all the great pics, I look forward to them every day.

I don't see my favorite SSA with the President today, I guess maybe he's taking a well deserved vacation.

Here's to a safe and happy year for all of us. Happy New Year to everyone!!!!!!!!!

[Salvation]

Some of those SS guys don't look too happy about this impromptu News Briefing! LOL!

[DrDeb]

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!

I'm in between New Year's Eve activities, but did want to stop by with my new year's greetings and two articles about our AWESOME president (and/or his AWESOME family)!

ARTICLE ONE: [I like this article because it ACCURATELY and articulately identifies the president's many achievements during 2002]:

Dominance in the Oval Office

Bruce Fein

At midterm, President George W. Bush's stunning dominance over the national agenda rivals that of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's during his curtain opening New Deal years.
The accomplishment especially impresses because Mr. Bush's starting line was inauspicious. He lagged behind Democrat candidate Al Gore in nationwide balloting. He parachuted into the White House from a highly controversial decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.
He enjoyed but a razor-thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives, and confronted a Democrat-controlled Senate. In contrast, President Roosevelt decisively defeated the Republican incumbent, Herbert Hoover. And he held juggernaut Democrat majorities in the House and Senate thirsting for presidential guidance. In sum, Mr. Bush's political protoplasm on entering the White House was decidedly inferior to Roosevelt's.
But two years later, like Shakespeare's Caesar, President Bush bestrides the world like a colossus in national security and international relations. While Mr. Bush's domestic initiatives, other than tax cuts and terrorism insurance, frequently sputtered in Congress, he framed the terms of debate and set the stage for legislative action during the closing two laps of his first term. In comparison, President Roosevelt's foreign policy scorecard at midterm 1934 consisted largely of an insipid Good Neighbor policy in Latin America, revoking the interventionist Platt amendment concerning Cuba, and verbal cannonading over Japan's occupation of Manchuria and renunciation of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922.
On the domestic front with a docile Congress, Roosevelt's early achievements outdistanced Mr. Bush's: the Tennessee Valley Authority; the National Industrial Recovery Act; the Agricultural Adjustment Act; the Public Works Administration; the Securities Act of 1933; and, the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. But a netting of national security and domestic dominance shows Mr. Bush a more masterful and remarkable president than FDR in their respective opening rounds.
President Bush unilaterally terminated the ABM treaty with Russia. Missile defense accelerated from adagio to allegro. The ill-conceived International Criminal Court and Kyoto environmental pacts were renounced. Unflinching war against global terrorism was launched in the aftermath of the September 11 abominations. The United States destroyed Taliban in Afghanistan and scattered al Qaeda's surviving leadership into remote caves.
Military commissions for the trial of noncitizen war criminals were authorized, as were indefinite detentions of illegal combatants designated by the president. Deportations and investigations of suspected terrorist aliens climbed dramatically. Counterterrorism intelligence and law enforcement were fortified strengthened by the U.S. Patriot Act and the Homeland Security legislation.
Congress generally saluted President Bush's impending liberation of Iraq and ouster of Saddam Hussein. Ditto for the president's stiff response to North Korea's nuclear and missile brazenness. Despite the consignment of Congress in national security and foreign policy matters to ornamentation, no member even whispers about adding legislative teeth to the toothless War Powers Resolution. And Congress has bowed to Mr. Bush's extravagant claims of executive privilege without a whimper, like shielding Homeland Security adviser Tom Ridge from legislative oversight.
In contrast to Mr. Bush, FDR's foreign policy objectives were repeatedly arrested or hamstrung by a Democrat Congress. The Johnson Act of 1934, for example, prohibited loans or assistance to European allies in arrears on their World War I debts to the United States. The Neutrality Acts of 1935 and 1937 compelled the United States to stand aloof from foreign conflicts no matter what the long-term danger to our national security, such as Japan's invasion of China. The bases-for-destroyers deal with Great Britain required legal acrobatics by FDR because of a recalcitrant Congress. And on the eve of Pearl Harbor, an extension of the draft by the House of Representatives passed by a heart clutching one vote.
Mr. Bush confronted a Senate Judiciary Committee roadblock in appointing five-star quality federal judges, like John Roberts and Miguel Estrada. But his frustration was dwarfed by FDR's mortification over the congressional whip lashing of his ill-conceived court-packing plan. On the other hand, Mr. Bush's domestic agenda was substantially more stymied in Congress than FDR's: no faith-based initiative legislation to help charities; no school vouchers to stimulate competition in education; no prescription drug expansion of Medicare; no tort reform; no modest revamping of social security taxes to offer modest investment choices to covered employees; and, no health-care tax credits to inject more competition into a lethargic industry. But the legislative ideas that generally commanded serious debate were those of Mr. Bush, not of Congress. And they may crystallize into statutes during the next session with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate.
That scholars and pundits have shortchanged President Bush's astonishing leadership is dismaying, but unremarkable. He acts and speaks without the dash, glitter, or charm of academic favorites FDR or John F. Kennedy. He is denuded of Ivy League or sister pretensions. He doesn't agonize in Hamlet-like soliloquies over killing terrorists or destroying Saddam Hussein's brutal and dangerous tyranny. In all these respects, Mr. Bush upsets prevailing liberal prejudices that dominate academic circles. They would rather get history wrong than engage in self-doubting.

Bruce Fein is founding partner of Fein & Fein law firm in Washington.

http://washtimes.com/commentary/20021231-71784404.htm

[twyn1]

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

Oh wow -- do I ever agree that we must continue to pray for our President, for Laura, and for their family, as well as for the others in our government (even those of whom we are, shall we say, "less than fond"). So many important decisions will be made in the next month or two that could have long-lasting consequences !

For those of you who knew about my father-in-law's illness...he did pass away (Christmas evening) but it was a peaceful passing and not unexpected. We are still all a bit sad, but we trust that we will see him again when we're called home to the Lord. Our family is closer and stronger now, we had almost everyone come home for the service and alltho' there were tears, there was also a lot of joy and wonderful memories to share. This was the first time I had been to a funeral with a military honor guard, with Taps played, and the flag-folding and presentation, it was somber and yet filled us all with such pride. My nephew (who is a young Air Force officer with a brand new baby son) was given the flag by my mother-in-law -- and all together, between my father-in-law, his sons and grandchild, we count almost 60 years of service to this great and free country. I do want to say thank you for the prayers and the kind messages...it was truly appreciated.

[rintense]

I am so sorry to hear of your loss, twyn1. Please find comfort in God's grace and His son's words.