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The Focused Presidency (Left Coast editorial against protesters, pro-Bush)
The Seattle Times ^
Posted on 08/22/2003 10:58:14 AM PDT by Political Numbers Guy
Editorial
The focused presidency
President Bush will get an earful from protesters today. Aggravated Americans are a native species here, part of the culture and entitled to their protests. But this is an industrious state, and most Washingtonians will be going about their business without obsessing about the president of the United States.
This page supported the election of George W. Bush, and though we have disagreed with some of his environmental measures and the clash between homeland security and civil rights, we stand by the man.
We reckoned that Bush understood better than his opponent the incentives and protections that make the economy work. We still think so. His cuts in income taxes look risky now but will pay later by increasing investment and keeping a lid on federal spending. His work to eliminate the federal estate tax, a matter of importance to this newspaper, will help thousands of family enterprises. His attack on the double taxation of dividends aims for an improvement in both efficiency and fairness.
None of these is a quick fix. This is not a quick-fix president. He understands that the economy is not run by him, but by what millions of Americans do. He can push for a change in the background conditions, such as tax rates. He can make specific interventions such as settling the no-win antitrust case brought by the Clinton administration against Microsoft. Bush's administration has been wrong on a few things, such as changing the rules for media cross-ownership, but most of its actions have been sound.
When this page endorsed Bush, it was in spite of his lack of experience in foreign affairs. Bush learned on the job and fast. He paid his respects to the United Nations, but he did not hang American security on a U.N. vote. The president presides over a democracy in a very different world, and a different America, than the contentious moment of his election. We believe that, overall, he has acted responsibly and well when it comes to the overriding issue of our times our country's security. We need a strong leader in a world threatened by insane terrorism. He has been that.
This page expected that Bush would fumigate the White House of its odor of licentiousness, pardon-selling and general juvenilia. He did, which is why nobody talks about those things any longer. He has surrounded himself with adults.
Finally, he is focused. All presidents know that they have eight years at most, maybe four. Some waste that time on tricks to get their poll numbers up, or a dozen other things that seem important at the time, but aren't. Bush is making his time count.
TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Washington
KEYWORDS: bush; conservative; dubya
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To: Political Numbers Guy
Terrific article. Says it all.
2
posted on
08/22/2003 11:04:35 AM PDT
by
tkathy
Comment #3 Removed by Moderator
To: Political Numbers Guy
This is a gutsy editorial, considering it will result in thousands of subscription cancellations.
4
posted on
08/22/2003 11:09:43 AM PDT
by
Uncle Miltie
(This Islamo-fascism has been brought to you by Saudi Arabia!)
To: Political Numbers Guy
Someone has obviously taken over this paper at gunpoint.
5
posted on
08/22/2003 11:12:27 AM PDT
by
talleyman
(Caviar emptor (a warning from the sturgeon general))
To: Brad Cloven
Nah, this is the 'sort of conservative' paper in Seattle. Neither it nor the Post Intelligencer (the leftist rag) is any good. The papers in Seattle have always been lousy by West Coast (SF, LA, Portland) standards, not to mention by East coast standards.
6
posted on
08/22/2003 11:14:58 AM PDT
by
CatoRenasci
(Ceterum Censeo [Gallia][Germania][Arabia] Esse Delendam --- Select One or More as needed)
To: Political Numbers Guy; PhiKapMom; eureka!; patton; kellynla; GraniteStateConservative; ...
We need a strong leader in a world threatened by insane terrorism. He has been that. Well, I'll be da**ed.
7
posted on
08/22/2003 11:18:41 AM PDT
by
Coop
(God bless our troops!)
To: Political Numbers Guy
Nice editorial, overall.
8
posted on
08/22/2003 11:20:18 AM PDT
by
Southack
(Media bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
To: CatoRenasci
None of these is a quick fix. This is not a quick-fix president. He understands that the economy is not run by him, but by what millions of Americans do. He can push for a change in the background conditions, such as tax rates. He can make specific interventions such as settling the no-win antitrust case brought by the Clinton administration against Microsoft. Bush's administration has been wrong on a few things, such as changing the rules for media cross-ownership, but most of its actions have been sound. Somebody at the Seattle Times stopped drinking their kool-aid. I fear they are about to lose their job. This is far to coherent to be written in a Seattle newspaper.
Gum
9
posted on
08/22/2003 11:31:49 AM PDT
by
ChewedGum
(Now where did I leave my tagline?)
To: ChewedGum
I canceled my Times subscription because of a particularly putrid W editorial. Whatever sanity there is will be fleeting.
10
posted on
08/22/2003 11:40:41 AM PDT
by
gogeo
(Life is hard. It's really hard if you're stupid.)
To: Coop
I'm burning in H*ll with you. So much said in so few words. Thanks for the ping...
11
posted on
08/22/2003 11:48:10 AM PDT
by
eureka!
(Rats and Presstitutes lie--they have to in order to survive.....)
To: William McKinley; Imal; Nick Danger; Dan from Michigan; JulieRNR21; MeeknMing; AntiJen; ...
12
posted on
08/22/2003 11:56:33 AM PDT
by
Political Numbers Guy
("We love freedom -- and we're not going to change." -- Pres. George W. Bush)
To: talleyman
Someone has obviously taken over this paper at gunpoint. LOL!!
13
posted on
08/22/2003 11:57:44 AM PDT
by
randog
(Everything works great 'til the current flows.)
To: talleyman
Geeeee ... I wish that would happen in San Diego.
Although our paper did come out and support Simon during the last election.
14
posted on
08/22/2003 12:00:31 PM PDT
by
CyberAnt
( America - "The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth")
To: CyberAnt
BTTT
15
posted on
08/22/2003 12:47:45 PM PDT
by
Coop
(God bless our troops!)
To: ianincali
Most of the a**holes in Seattle have skipped work to go over to Bellevue and wring their hands and fuss about how this President doesn't care about them and their pet issue of the day.
Others, like myself, remain at our desks WISHING we could go over to Bellevue and support him against these whack jobs. :-)
16
posted on
08/22/2003 12:51:51 PM PDT
by
Not A Snowbird
(Tag Line Expired: Resubmit)
To: Political Numbers Guy
17
posted on
08/22/2003 1:19:01 PM PDT
by
Ragtime Cowgirl
(Troops can handle the enemy.Help them inform the world!~http://www.freerepublic.com/~ragtimecowgirl/)
To: Political Numbers Guy
What the hell is this? I don't believe this came out of the anus called the Seattle Times.
18
posted on
08/22/2003 1:21:16 PM PDT
by
zarf
(Dan Rather is god.)
To: Political Numbers Guy
SEATTLE???
19
posted on
08/22/2003 1:27:06 PM PDT
by
livius
To: Political Numbers Guy
His work to eliminate the federal estate tax, a matter of importance to this newspaper, will help thousands of family enterprises. His attack on the double taxation of dividends aims for an improvement in both efficiency and fairness.
Vested interest it looks like to me.......
Founded in 1896 by Alden J. Blethen, The Seattle Times Company is a fourth- and fifth-generation family business.
20
posted on
08/22/2003 2:57:26 PM PDT
by
deport
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