Talk of The Villages Florida - Rentals, Entertainment & More
Talk of The Villages Florida - Rentals, Entertainment & More
#61
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Pack, We Can Agree To Disagree...And That's Good
The war. I'm not the least bit interested in how the war began, how bad the intelligence was, or who voted for it. I'm far more concerned with the fact that the war is now the longest in history and we're farther away from establishing democratic peace in Iraq than we were the day Saddam's statue came down. We continue to sacrifice American lives and spend gobs of money in a war that cannot be won and which increases the hatred against us and thereby increases rather than decreases the prospect of more terrorist attacks in our homeland.
Bush Bashing. Even though I wasted a paragraph in an earlier post, there's little value in whining about what this President accomplished or didn't accomplish in his eight years in office. We'd all be better served spending out time choosing the right person to succeed him. The Economy. My comments on the economy are not at all short term. If the stock market and the rate of economic growth return to previous levels, that won't cause me to reduce my criticism of the fundamental structure and competitiveness of the U.S. in the world economy. We are failing to provide our business community with an educated workforce and under the guise of maintaining a "free market economy" we're encouraging market participants to operate with an extremely short-term perspective. I agree with you on the danger of inflation. But the fundamental underlayment of our economy has been damaged to an extent that we are becoming a second rate economic power in the world. Inflation is dangerous because it might be the issue that most quickly reveals the depth of our problems. Rating Presidents. Again, I'm not too interested in which of our recent Presidents will be rated by historians as best, average or worst. I think we all might be better served by studying and understanding how they lead the country, how they governed, and how their governance addressed the most fundamental problems facing the country during their terms of office. Did they make America better or worse on their watch? Did they leave their successors with a firm foundation for continued improvements or a bushel of problems that must be cleaned up before any positive leadership can occur? The purpose for seeking such understanding is for Americans to exhibit more wisdom in choosing political leaders and to equip future political leaders with the lessons of history so they can do a better job of leading and governing. |
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#62
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Kahuna,
You rock! |
#63
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
One this is for sure - whoever becomes (is)(or was) President, that person is only as good as the cadre of advisors surrounding him/her. There has never been an 'all-wise, all-knowing' President, and the folk who are appointed to the various "Secretaries, counsels-to, advisors, etc. form that inner-circle at 1600 PA Ave and make the policies which direct how the Departments operate. If that herd of folk contains any clunkers, the ripple-effect back within the Departments and eventually back to the White House can be brutal.
Having seen a lot of this first-hand, the real impacts are not necessarily at the Secretary level, but instead occur at all of the "Under Secretary" and next-level positions that fill the operating arms of each Department. Yet, the public never seems to notice or care whether the person filling these appointed positions has any technical qualifications or is simply being rewarded with title for having been loyal to the party. If both political parties have anything in common, it has been historically to use the "Plum Book" as a party employment guide where past party service always seems to be the ultimate deciding factor (when was the last time an administration appointed persons not of their party to key positions???) So, we're back at the beginning. No matter what the campaign rhetoric, we the voters are betting on a blind race. While we can see the horse, we have little information on the jockey, no information on the trainer(s), don't know who "owns" the horse (now and in the future) and have no idea who the grooms will be when the race is over and the horse needs brushing down. Yet, the horse is only as good as the "support cast" and by itself is just so much meat-on-the-hoof. A suggestion - pay a LOT of attention as to who surrounds each candidate, who endorses, who appears at campaign stops, who the lead-off speakers at each campaign appearance, and who attends the fund-raisers (especially the big ticket ones). Those will be the folk who will REALLY run the government and make the day-to-day decisions and provide the top-level advice the sitting President listens to - and in many cases directly TELL the President what the decision will be that will be made public from the White House. That's the reality of the situation - past, present, and future. |
#64
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Sorry...I really do apologize...
But thought this post could use a little humor... |
#65
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
:bigthumbsup: Good bit of humor Brightspot and in my opinion right on the money!
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#66
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
History will be the judge of President Bush, not current events. Truman, for instance, has only been appreciated after he left office. He was quite unpopular while in office.
As far as the economy is concerned, we are in a cyclical downturn. We have had them before and we will again. The price of energy is due to 30+ years of failed energy policy, both Dems and GOP. In a historic sense, inflation is low as is unemployment. Lord knows where the eocnomy would be without the Bush tax cuts, especially on capital gains. So, I think given the cards he has been delt, President Bush is doing a pretty good job. |
#67
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Quote:
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#68
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Quote:
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#69
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
President Bush often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network. It found that 98 percent of them believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure, while only about 2 percent see it as a success. Not only that, more than 61 percent of the historians say the current presidency is the worst in American history.
By the way, the media is mainly controlled by Rupert Murdoch. The Liberal media is a myth promoted by Fox noise. |
#70
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Pretty much hits the nail on the head! Too bad he's not running for president!
Lee Iacocca Says: Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course" Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned " Titanic". I'll give you a sound bite: "Throw all the bums out!" The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving 'pom -poms' instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of the " America " my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you? I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have. The Biggest "C" is Crisis! Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else's kids off to war when you've never seen a battlefield yourself. It's another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down. On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of a Mess So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia, while health care costs are slaughtering our once-great companies. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for leader ship. But when you look around, you've got to ask: "Where have all the leaders gone?" Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point. Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We've spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened. Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm. Everyone's hunkering down , fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time. Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when "The Big Three" referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it? Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry. I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn't elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of, that some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don't you guys show some spine for a change? |
#71
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
:bigthumbsup: :bigthumbsup: :bigthumbsup: Great post Junglejim!
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#72
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
It was adequate. Of course, it was adequate 3 weeks ago when it was posted the first time.
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#73
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
A BIG NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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#74
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Let me share with you a quote I found in Winklopedia-
He overcame the low expectations of many political observers who compared him unfavorably with his highly regarded predecessor. At one point in his second term, near the end of the ... War, ...(his) public opinion ratings reached the lowest of any United States president. Despite negative public opinion during his term in office, popular and scholarly assessments of his presidency became more positive after his retirement from politics and the publication of his memoirs. Oh, I forgot to mention that this was about President Truman. Hmmm. |
#75
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Re: Does anyone really think Bush is doing a good job?
Bush did not and will not overcome my low expectations of him. I'd say "Mission Accomplished!"
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