Bush Still Has Class
Feb 26, 2010 Political
This will make the liberals nuts because they hate the mention of George W Bush. When his name is mentioned they get blood in their eyes and start to drool heavily but that will just have to be too bad. George Bush was at a breakfast with his White House aides and he indicated that he was seeking anonymity and did not want to be a thorn in Obama’s side:
The former president, who also touted his administration’s domestic agenda, said he was resolved to keep a low profile and indicated he did not want to be a thorn in the side of President Barack Obama.
“I have no desire to see myself on television. I don’t want to be on a panel of formers instructing the currents on what to do. I’m trying to regain a sense of anonymity,” Bush said.
“I didn’t like it when a certain former president — and it wasn’t 41 or 42 — made my life miserable,” he said in a reference to Jimmy Carter, who infuriated the Bush White House in 2007 when he accused the administration of allowing the use of torture on terror suspects.
Bush wants to get on with things and not be in the public’s eye. I think it shows a lot of class that he is not out second guessing Obama and his administration.
That is what people like me are for.
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Tags: carter, george w bush, Obama
Malaise & Praise
May 15, 2009 Political
I confess, I was a child of the sixties, and I grew up during the Viet Nam war. As the war was winding down, I turned eighteen- a seminal age, for that was when my government determined that I was man enough to join the army, whether I wanted to or not.
There were protests in the streets, as the Mainstream Media, which was all there was, got their soundbites and film for the evening news. I was faced with a dilemma- I could be “drafted”- in effect forced into the army to fight the war in southeast Asia, provided my “lottery number” came up. Every year, the government would hold a lottery with the 365 days in the barrel, and the government would draw a certain number out- in my case it was 98 days, and my birthday was designated as #99. I had escaped the draft of that year, 1970. I admit I was relieved- I was not then political, or paying attention to political things. That would come later. For the present moment, I was content to go with the flow, calling Nixon and Kissinger war criminals, and wishing the war would end.
I took my contemporaries opinions to heart, never questioning their logic, and when Nixon resigned, felt some vindication of my positions, even though the positions weren’t really mine, and I hadn’t thought them through. Then came Gerald Ford, and because he was a Republican, he got ridiculed also, for being clumsy, and for being mentally slow, which was far from true, but since the media and Saturday Night Live decided to portray him as inept, he got that reputation.
Oh but wait- there’s LESS- Jiminy Carter was voted into office, and within a year, I had become a political person, because he began to drive this country straight into the ground just as fast as he could.
Have you ever been on a Carny ride gone wrong? I have, and watching that retaining bolt slowly slide out of its position while screaming to the operator , who thought it was hilarious, until the bolt actually fell out next to him. He was lucky it didn’t brain him, and I was lucky my seat didn’t fall off. Jiminy Carter’s one term was like that carny ride- scared me to death, and I couldn’t get off. I’m getting that feeling again.
Then the Iranians took the embassy hostage and kept them for 444 days. 444 days where Carter’s impotence was out in the open for everyone to see. Hell, Kleenex had more backbone.
Twenty minutes after Reagan was sworn in, the Iranians released the hostages- they didn’t want to be a target, and they had a good idea that Reagan would give the order to get our people home. That was, for me, the beginning of national pride to me. No more did we have to be ashamed of ourselves. We could look each other, and more importantly the rest of the world straight in the eyes. No matter what else Ronald Reagan would do, that one thing, the psychological lifting of a weight from our collective shoulders, would do more in the next eight years than anything else.
The difference between the Republicans, as embodied by Reagan, and the Democrats, was stark- Reagan was hopeful, and emphasized our positives, while the Democrats were constantly telling the nation what we were doing wrong. No upbeat message here- we were soap scum, tile grout, the lowest of the low, according to the Democrats. We were sucking the life out of the rest of the world, like global vampires, and the rest of the world believed it, even though we had helped, indeed poked and prodded the USSR, until it folded like a cheap suit, and the threat of a cold war was over, Germany could re- unite, and the beginning of the prosperity of Europe could begin.
Reagan’s terms ended, and George H. W. Bush’s term began, but people had grown weary of Republicans, or perhaps they just didn’t like Bush as much as Reagan, but Bush 41 lasted only one term before Slick Willy slid into office like a slug, leaving a trail.
People like Clinton always make me uneasy, like a used car salesman, or some of these pitchmen you see on TV- you walk past these people holding onto your money tightly, and never taking your eyes off of them. After all, someone who has never worked for a living will never be able to ” feel my pain”. What a crock. And then there was Vince Foster, Whitewater, and let’s not forget Monica- who was truly a sideshow. I didn’t have a problem with Clinton cheating on his wife- heck, his character is so shallow that I EXPECTED that from him- what I resented were his blatant lies to the American people, like a child caught with chocolate on his face, who still denies that he ate the candy.
Well, we all know who was elected next, and thank God he was, because I would have hated to even think how badly Gore would have handled 9/11- he would have “put them in a lockbox” or fined the terrorists carbon credits for flying those planes into the towers. Instead, George W. Bush was elected, and the one thing he had to do and do right, he did. He kept us safe from another attack.
Every President has flaws- I have, as I’ve become more political, read up on many of the presidents we have had, and by and large, they are nothing to write home about- oh, you get glimpses of some exceptional behavior, a la Lincoln, but by and large, the presidents seem to reflect the times they are a part of.
Still, somehow, we seem to get presidents that often can take the reins of the difficulties of the age, and do the one thing that makes sense in those difficult times. We also get the clowns- the presidents that can do nothing right, and rightly should have been run out of town on a rail. Which one is Skinny B?
I’ll let you make up your own mind on that one. I know where I stand. After reading this, you might have solidified your thinking, or not.
Sometimes the circumstances make the man- sometimes they break him.
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Obama Meets With US Presidents
Jan 7, 2009 Political
President Elect Barack Obama met with the current president and three past presidents today at the White House. Obama and current President Bush met privately and then the five gathered for a photo op and lunch. The Free Republic has the pictures and some humorous comments.
Protocol dictates that the men put differences aside during these kinds of events so there was no bickering, at least publicly, as the men who have served gave pointers to the man who is about to.
George W. Bush was a gracious host:
George W Bush gave him the warmest welcome. “One message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed,” he said. “We wish you all the very best, and so does the country.” Telegraph UK
While the men were heading off to eat Bill Clinton commented that he loved the rug in the Oval Office.
Since protocol dictates they act as gentlemen one can only imagine that the head voice inside George W Bush was saying; “Well, after your tenure the other rug was too stained to use.”
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Obama’s Economic Team
Nov 25, 2008 Political
Barack Obama has been filling positions for his new Hopey-Change administration but The One, who promised no more old politics, has assembled a team of people who are retreads from the mediocre Clinton years.
Today The Sainted One named his economic team, the ones who will get us out of the financial mess we are in. Keeping in tune with his Clinton Redux Theme, many of the people Obama named served, at one time or another, under Clinton. I am still waiting for the change. Seems to me that if The One fills his administration with retreads then he has not changed very much.
I think the Obama time in office will be a disaster. He will not be able to solve the financial problems and he has pledged to spend trillions of dollars which will do exactly what he criticized Bush for, increase the deficit. But if we are lucky we can all sit in a corner and chant HOPE, HOPE, HOPE, and see where that gets us.
There will be record inflation, high prices, and instability in the markets for some time to come and it will be on Obama’s head. He will have a misery index that makes the Carter years look like good times.
Yes, Obama’s tenure will be a cross between Clinton Redux and Welcome Back Carter…
Ace has the appropriate picture for The One.
Jimmah Carter is a Closet Obama Supporter
May 8, 2008 Political
Former Disaster in Chief Jimmah Carter was on Jay Leno recently (Leno must be having a has been week) and he indicated that the delegates from Florida and Michigan must not be seated because those states broke the rules of the DNC. I actually happen to agree with this position but I agree because it was the rule and the states knew what would happen if they broke it. Carter does not particularly care about the rules as much as he cares how this will affect Barry Obama (who Carter has hinted at preferring). Carter does not want to let Hillary get any closer and he does not want the number of delegates needed to win to increase. He also does not want super delegates added because that would increase Hillary’s chances. Carter also warned about super delegates changing the will of the people:
He warned of a disaster if party insiders try to wrest the nomination from the candidate with the largest number of votes and state victories.
An attempt by so-called Democratic superdelegates to override the popular vote “would be an almost unacceptable thing,” Carter told Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.”
If a candidate has a clear edge in votes, state-by-state wins and delegates claimed at caucuses and primaries, “I can’t imagine that the superdelegates would go against them,” Carter said. “It would be a catastrophe for the party.” WBAL
This is the flaw in their process. First of all, the super delegates are allowed, by their rules, to select who they want. The party has done this before and selected someone who was not the popular candidate (Adlai Stevenson). Secondly, even if they go with the will of the people the standard should not be the will of the people as a whole or the will of the people of a state but should be defined to the will of the people in a particular Congressional District. This standard would apply to elected super delegates who are in the House. The Senators represent an entire state so they wll need to decide how to vote.
For example, in Maryland there are eight Congressional Districts, five of which have Democrats for their representatives. Obama won the state and if we apply Carter’s standard (and the standard of Obama supporters) then he should get all five super delegates. However, Clinton won one of the five (as well as the three headed by Republicans) so Obama should get four and Clinton one. This is how the will of the people is demonstrated. Their wishes are expressed by their Representatives. If we goup all people together by state or as a country then the wishes of the people are not truly expressed.
The fact that Democrats want to do this does not surprise me because they do not care about the will of the voter unless they lose to a Republican (then there are voting problems and people were disenfranchised). The establishment is worried about one thing and one thing only and that is losing the black vote if they select Clinton over Obama. They are worried that Obama will not win the general election because he cannot carry the white vote in sufficient numbers. But, they are stuck with him unless they want to risk losing the black vote, a demographic they cannot win without.
If the Democrats cared about the will of the people they would let the people of Florida and Michigan have a say in the process. Instead, the Democrats have disenfranchised all those people who will probably remember this when it is time to vote in the general election. I agree with Rush Limbaugh. All the people in those states should register as Republicans because we will let your votes count.
In any event, the Democrats have painted themselves into a corner and they will end up getting bloodied before they can get out of that corner.
It will be so much fun to watch them beating themselves to death.
Tags: carter, Clinton, convention, Obama, super delegates, will of the people
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