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How Bush thinks: intuition over intellect
Los Angeles Times ^ | August 5, 2005 | Jonathan Chait

Posted on 08/06/2005 4:06:51 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

...."... I think it's important for me and for you to look for the depth of a person's soul and character. I was touched by the fact your mother gave you the cross.' " Bush publicly testified of Putin, "I was able to get a sense of his soul."

...Bush is even apt to apply this particular brand of illogic to his own character. In one of the 2000 presidential debates, Al Gore pointed out that Bush as governor of Texas opposed a measure to expand children's healthcare and instead used the money for a tax cut. The debate moderator then asked Bush, "Are those numbers correct? Are his charges correct?" To which Bush replied, "If he's trying to allege that I'm a hardhearted person and I don't care about children, he's absolutely wrong."

...Gore was trying to make a point about Bush's moral priorities by establishing a series of facts about Bush's behavior. Rather than deny having chosen tax cuts over children's healthcare, or explain his rationale for having done so, Bush changed the subject to more comfortable ground: judging people's hearts. He asked the audience to intuit, based on the way he carries himself, that he is a warmhearted person, and thus to reject out of hand any facts that might clash with this impression.

The point isn't just that Bush refuses to engage with facts he finds inconvenient. ... It's that Bush rejects reason itself. Reason is a process by which we draw our broader conclusions from an accumulation of specific evidence. When the evidence changes ....., our conclusions can also .....Bush, on the other hand, arrives at his beliefs through intuition. His supporters marvel at the unshakeable certainty of his convictions. Well, no wonder.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: chait; character; elite; leadership; wisdom
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To: catholic
while the two parties are concerned with frivoloties, like ....

Yes, I see that from the left They're obstructing as much as possible, those things that concern you. Don't lump the parties together.

61 posted on 08/06/2005 11:51:06 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: rockrr
.......Do you know anyone who buys this "Democrats Protecting America From Terrorists" crap?

No.

62 posted on 08/06/2005 11:51:54 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

When 2/3 of the "uninsured" families in Texas have incomes over $75,000, the best way to help them is not to sell them government-subsidized and owned health insurance. It's better to allow them to buy insurance and/or healthcare themselves, so that *they* own it.

I wonder if the author's noticed what's happening in Oregon, the UK and Canada with their government healthcare?


63 posted on 08/06/2005 12:06:04 PM PDT by hocndoc (Choice is the # 1 killer in the US. http://www.lifeethics.org/www.lifeethics.org/index.html)
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To: TheBrotherhood

The President is consistent, genuine and honest. There's no way he's reading a script.


64 posted on 08/06/2005 12:07:28 PM PDT by hocndoc (Choice is the # 1 killer in the US. http://www.lifeethics.org/www.lifeethics.org/index.html)
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To: bill1952

Somehow, they don't get it, despite international example after international example:
http://blog.bioethics.net/

(or try, http://blog.bioethics.net/2005/08/rip-canadian-socialized-medicine.html )


65 posted on 08/06/2005 12:10:42 PM PDT by hocndoc (Choice is the # 1 killer in the US. http://www.lifeethics.org/www.lifeethics.org/index.html)
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To: hocndoc; Dane; bayourod
I can speak for Oregon somewhat: The payments to Health Care Professionals are so low, most will not accept new patience's.
But our liberals love to tout our system. Thus those in a real hurt show up at ER's and generate higher billings.
(And if your appearance is that of a US citizen or legal resident, you have to provide a valid SSAN (they check) so if you're illegal, it's todo gratis. A lady friend of mine works for one of the major health care providers, Providence Health, They go back to a Nursing Order from the 1850's. It's an in house joke that they turn their billings over to another Order for collections. That Order is referred to as "The Little Sisters of Judas Iscariot". They have to collect a very high percentage on the uninsured or they are out of biz. Simple as that.
66 posted on 08/06/2005 12:34:04 PM PDT by investigateworld ( God bless Poland for giving the world JP II & a Protestant bump for his Sainthood!)
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To: investigateworld

THanks for the information. Your experience proves my gut feeling that nothing is free.

However, why are there "uninsured" in Oregon?


67 posted on 08/06/2005 12:47:47 PM PDT by hocndoc (Choice is the # 1 killer in the US. http://www.lifeethics.org/www.lifeethics.org/index.html)
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To: hocndoc
"Why are there uninsured in Oregon"?

Lot's of reasons. One, We are in the top five states for unemployment being the biggie. Two, there is a hugh "gay population" in Portland so insurance company's using "Claims Experience" to base their rates tend to be very high.
The Oregon Basic Health Plan, which was our catch all basic program, has a problem that nobody enrolls in till they are hospitalized. Even then, the income limits are too low to capture the *working poor*. The only people getting a free ride of course are the illegals. So some segments do get a free ride.
68 posted on 08/06/2005 2:55:50 PM PDT by investigateworld ( God bless Poland for giving the world JP II & a Protestant bump for his Sainthood!)
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To: martin_fierro
The arrow should point up
69 posted on 08/06/2005 5:20:09 PM PDT by al baby (Father of the beeber)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

Jonathan Chait, a senior editor at The New Republic writes about the policy and politics of taxes, health care reform, the federal budget, and many other issues. He has been with the magazine since 1995, previously as a staff writer and reporter researcher.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1994, Chait was an assistant editor at the American Prospect before joining TNR. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate and Reason.

He resides in Washington, D.C.


70 posted on 08/06/2005 8:35:04 PM PDT by ncountylee (Dead terrorists smell like victory)
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To: ncountylee

And he writes stupid articles because he's incapable of anything else.


71 posted on 08/07/2005 12:40:41 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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