Quote:
Originally Posted by Bucco
about George Bush.....
I am SURE that George Bush did not promise transparency and then turn his back on that promise
I am SURE that George Bush did not promise to work across the aisle and then totally ignore that promise.
I am SURE that despite his part in the deficit, George Bush did not make back room deals, pay blackmail, etc in order to add to the deficit FOR MANY YEARS to pass a health care bill that the vast majority of americans did not want and that he, nor any in congress, EVEN READ.
I am SURE that George Bush did not promise no bill would be signed by him with any pork at all in it, and then sign a bill (so called "stimulus") that was, by the most conservative analysts 65% pork !
I am SURE that George Bush did not demean the actions of the previous administration regarding the war on terror, and then quietly simply continue all the existing policies.
I am sure that George Bush did not promise all americans MANY TIMES that during his administration there will be FIVE days of a bill on the internet for public consumption before signing and then totally ignore it.
I could go on, but my point is that Georgre Bush has been out of office for 17 months now, and this President is blaming him, the press, Fox or whomever he decides does not agree with him totally !
Folks say give him a chance...right. You were all told by many that he was not qualified, had ZERO experience, has run not even a lemonade stand, knew ONLY what he was trained in and you can read about that if you want. You all ignored everything he was about during the campaign....his mentor, his habits, his training...he is a career politician with NO experience !
This is not meant to make excuses for the other party, other Presidents, anyone else....it is about the assumption of leadership and responsibility..something this President has NEVER done..since OR BEFORE he was elected.
At this point, I care about what happens NOW...not in the past. I care how we handle Iran...I care how we handle the mid east situation...I care about the continuing rise in the deficit.
I suppose this is my rant...my wanting us to FOR ONCE hold the man respsonsible.
I heard to day on the radio folks actually MAKING EXCUSES FOR THE PRESIDENT LIKE SAYING....you have to understand, he has never served as Governor or anything like that so he does not have a "feel' for what to do in the case of emergencies. DUH ! THAT is an excuse....amazing.
Folks, we need to hold not only the President but both parties in congress responsible. I am so tired of hearing about George Bush on here as if he started and did all of it.....of course there is ALWAYS overlap from one administration to another but lets get real and hold those responsible who should be held responsble !
Sorry for the rant...going back to my room and will not bother you any longer but wake up folks.....BUSH is not the President and has not been for a long time. Even those who supported the current President are beginning to wake up....he is a career politician and nothing else.
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Bucco, as sincere and thoughtful as you are about politics, I think it's time you stopped using comparisons of George Bush to Barack Obama as a way of defending the former and attacking the later.
This latest litany of criticism sounds credible when you mention what Bush did not do, but falls apart due to the fact that your list is a mere fraction of what Bush DID NOT DO.
Your criticism of what Obama has done is contrived. It is a collection of trivialities or generalities which will have no historical significance.
Obama is thankfully an active, passionate President. With every statement or action he leaves his critics an opportunity to once again demand, "Why is he not perfect? Why can't he do everything exactly like I thought I heard him PROMISE he would?".
The Constitution establishes the Executive as a leader who can influence decisions by his attention and arm-twisting, but who cannot make what people would like to think are promises. 'Promises' are the term the media uses to dramatize and attach more importance to the statements the Executive makes. Critics elevate statements of preference and support to 'promises' to attack the Executive for not doing what they wanted him to do.
The things already accomplished by this administration are historically significant. Based on the record to date, Obama will be given a high grade for effort as an active President. Partly because of the luck of how things turn out, the future evaluation of that effort will range somewhere between 'Nice try', to 'Brilliant, the best that could have been done in the circumstances".
Why nit pick and jump to final conclusions? We are a long way from a verdict on how well the big problems: Afghanistan, the economy, the spill, national security, health care, and immigration are going to change us for better or worse. And a little farther from a verdict on the role of the President in the result.
But while we wait, history has already decided, so clearly that it will not entertain revision, that the absence of effective leadership in the Bush administration, combined with the outrageous mistake of attacking Iraq, left America in it's most difficult state in the last seventy years.