Bush Dips To New Lows In Polls

[LaserWolf]

Actually, that sort of PR has been a hallmark of his presidency; in the 2004 campaign, he was asked if he had made any mistakes as President, and he said no.

My personal beliefs and the facts of his right/wrongness aside, wouldn't this infallability complex of his run counter to EVERYTHING he so solemnly believes as a Christian? I brought this up to a friend whose mother is a devout evangelical Christian, and he used the word 'apoplectic' to describe her reaction to that statement.

You'd think so, but actually, his infallability complex plays well to a lot of evangelicals. See, they believe that Bush speaks to God, is guided by God--in fact is president due to divine providence. Basically, Bush is carrying out God's will and as such, doesn't really make mistakes. At least not ones of any major consequence.

I'd like to claim I'm being sarcastic in the above paragraph, but I'm not. I've seen this opinion genuinely expressed more times than I'd care to think about.
I know Evangelicals and this is all true. All Evangelicals/Pentecostal Christians talk to God. Many believe that God talks to them or sends them signs. If things go well in life they are blessed by God, if things go poorly they are being tested by Satan. Many of these people believe that Bush was the answer to their prayers.

 

[bull_ox]

Many of these people believe that Bush was the answer to their prayers.

Makes me wonder who or what they were actually praying to.

 

[Fatback]

Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin??? strong,
You don???t wanna save me, sad is my song.

When you believe in things that you don???t understand,
Then you suffer,
Superstition ain???t the way, yeh, yeh.

Very superstitious, nothin??? more to say,
Very superstitious, the devil???s on his way,

 

[drewnice]

I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

Eh, not if he's gonna be complaining about the volume of the music.

 

[ladyday]

I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

Eh, not if he's gonna be complaining about the volume of the music.

That wedding story still kills me. What a dick.

A very, very good friend of mine voted for Bush in the last election. We got in a huge argument over that swift boat garbage and my prediction that Bush would be remembered as the worst president in US history. It ended by her saying, "Well, I like him. He seems like a nice guy." I realized then there was no point arguing.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

Eh, not if he's gonna be complaining about the volume of the music.

That wedding story still kills me. What a dick.

A very, very good friend of mine voted for Bush in the last election. We got in a huge argument over that swift boat garbage and my prediction that Bush would be remembered as the worst president in US history. It ended by her saying, "Well, I like him. He seems like a nice guy." I realized then there was no point arguing.

It's like a lot of liberal commentators have pointed out, the Republicans successfully re-framed the debate from one about "issues" to one about "character." You saw it in both races, and you can hear it in people's defense of Bush.

Never mind that Bush's "character" is suspect as hell anyway. I won't bring up his past drinking/drug use because that's a disease anyone can be afflicted by (though it should have instilled in him some humility). At the least, though, dude is dishonest as hell. Some "character."

And no, I wouldn't want his ass at my BBQ. Who needs smirky frat boys at their BBQ? (sorry Ferrari).

 

[Young_Phonics]

When you suck, you suck. And George W. Bush just plain sucks as President. I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

You think? I have yet to detect any redeeming personal qualities in him. I would enthusiastically hang with Clinton, though.
Aren't you both in the same hood. You should call him and grab a cup of joe.
I don't think he's ever actually in Harlem. I've been hoping to run into him for almost five years now...

Stalker-Strut revealed.

 

[hogginthefogg]

When you suck, you suck. And George W. Bush just plain sucks as President. I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

You think? I have yet to detect any redeeming personal qualities in him. I would enthusiastically hang with Clinton, though.
Aren't you both in the same hood. You should call him and grab a cup of joe.
I don't think he's ever actually in Harlem. I've been hoping to run into him for almost five years now...

Stalker-Strut revealed.

White guy moves to Harlem and spends five years walking around looking for another white guy.

All the while, you're looking right past thousands of your neighbors, many of whom you could be hanging with almost as enthusiastically.

 

[Young_Phonics]

When you suck, you suck. And George W. Bush just plain sucks as President. I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

You think? I have yet to detect any redeeming personal qualities in him. I would enthusiastically hang with Clinton, though.
Aren't you both in the same hood. You should call him and grab a cup of joe.
I don't think he's ever actually in Harlem. I've been hoping to run into him for almost five years now...

Stalker-Strut revealed.

White guy moves to Harlem and spends five years walking around looking for another white guy.

All the while, you're looking right past thousands of your neighbors, many of whom you could be hanging with almost as enthusiastically.

WHEN PEOPLE STOP ACTING POLITE AND STARTING ACTING REAL!

 

[faux_rillz]

When you suck, you suck. And George W. Bush just plain sucks as President. I'm sure he's fun to have over for cookout though.

You think? I have yet to detect any redeeming personal qualities in him. I would enthusiastically hang with Clinton, though.
Aren't you both in the same hood. You should call him and grab a cup of joe.
I don't think he's ever actually in Harlem. I've been hoping to run into him for almost five years now...

Stalker-Strut revealed.

White guy moves to Harlem and spends five years walking around looking for another white guy.

All the while, you're looking right past thousands of your neighbors, many of whom you could be hanging with almost as enthusiastically.
This is sadly all true.

I would like to point out only that I moved there significantly in advance of the carpetbaggeuing Clinton.

 

[hogginthefogg]

carpetbaggeuing

Look at what you've done. Now Young Phonics will never, ever be able to spell that word.

 

[Fatback]

I would enthusiastically hang with Clinton, though.

I met George Bush during the 1999 primary campaign in SC. He was very personable and I got a good vibe from him. Then someone next to me started asking him some serious policy questions and he kind of glazed over like he didn't understand the language and was whisked away by his handlers. Then the handlers had both of us removed by security even though I had nothing to do with the other person. From then on, I knew something really really creepy was going on.

I met Clinton right after I took the above picture. He had just given a speech at a DNC party after the 2004 election. (Terry's going away) He talked about how things weren't that bad and made everybody feel hopeful--not nostalgic. He's a great speaker and everything was off the cuff--no notes. When he shook my hand, he asked me what I thought of his speech. I started rambling and he stood there and listened. We started a little dialog and all the time I really felt like he was engaged with our conversation. I was shocked because I was just standing along the "handshake line" then I noticed he was taking the time to talk to everyone. Not just chit chat either, real policy wonk talk. Dude is strong with the force. Never seen anything like it.

That same night I met Kerry, Dean and the Als Franken and Sharpton. They were all total assholes.

 

[rootlesscosmo]

Dude is strong with the force. Never seen anything like it.

man I'm not sure we're ever gonna have one like him again. he had his faults no doubt, but dude knew his shit and at the same time didn't come across as a pompous ass. unique combo. plus he's like a martyr in my eyes for what the hypocritical Republicans did to him. that i will never forgive.

 

[DJ_Enki]

Dude is strong with the force. Never seen anything like it.

man I'm not sure we're ever gonna have one like him again. he had his faults no doubt, but dude knew his shit and at the same time didn't come across as a pompous ass. unique combo. plus he's like a martyr in my eyes for what the hypocritical Republicans did to him. that i will never forgive.
I conditionally cosign this. When Clinton was in office, I didn't really think much of him either way. He seemed like an average prez--did some good shit, some lame shit, basically not very noteworthy to me either way. But I guess I took it for granted that we'd have a president as knowledgeable and competent as him, and I've been learning every day since 2000 not to take that for granted. Now that we've been under the bumbling Bush regime for several years, it makes my nostalgia for Clinton that much stronger. I would love to see that kind of competence--not to mention desire to be right and work with political opponents to find good solutions as opposed to locking out everybody who disagrees. Also, the whole Lewinsky thing was such a collasal waste of time and money by, yup, grossly hypocritical Republicans, it was rather appalling.

Plus, everybody I know who has met hm has basically said, like Fatback, that the force is strong with him. He's incredibly smart, but not in a "Ha ha, I'm smarter than you!" way, he's very personable, and he's very curious and engaging. Definitely a wonk, and that's exactly who I want as president.

 

[LaserWolf]

I heard Clinton give a commencement speech at a friends graduation, about '97 I guess. He talked about; immigration. A current hot topic. It was a great speech.

 

[overpriced_artisan_butter]

Dude is strong with the force. Never seen anything like it.

man I'm not sure we're ever gonna have one like him again. he had his faults no doubt, but dude knew his shit and at the same time didn't come across as a pompous ass. unique combo. plus he's like a martyr in my eyes for what the hypocritical Republicans did to him. that i will never forgive.
Right, this is the same guy who refused to lift a finger to save a mentally retarded black man from state execution during the 1992 election so he could appear tough on crime. The same guy who shortly afterward hijacked a Rainbow Coalition conference to attack Sister Souljah. Same guy who destroyed the welfare system. Same guy who refused to let the UN designate Rwanda an ongoing genocide, because if they did the USA would be obligated under international law to intercede -something he was afraid to do because he'd just had a big fuck-up in Somalia and he was worried about poll numbers. Same guy who backed the war in Iraq -his position is that we didn't send enough troops. Same guy who applied a ruthless sanctions regime in Iraq that killed half a million children. Same guy who bombed a pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan to distract attention from his personal woes. Same guy who signed Nafta, fired Jocelyn Elders, abandoned Lani Guinier... Same guy that David Brower, president of the Sierra Club, said had done more damage to the environment than Reagan and the first Bush combined.

Read more. Succumb to personal charisma less.

 

[hogginthefogg]

Great second post! Welcome to the board!

 

[LaserWolf]

Dude is strong with the force. Never seen anything like it.

man I'm not sure we're ever gonna have one like him again. he had his faults no doubt, but dude knew his shit and at the same time didn't come across as a pompous ass. unique combo. plus he's like a martyr in my eyes for what the hypocritical Republicans did to him. that i will never forgive.
Right, this is the same guy who refused to lift a finger to save a mentally retarded black man from state execution during the 1992 election so he could appear tough on crime. The same guy who shortly afterward hijacked a Rainbow Coalition conference to attack Sister Souljah. Same guy who destroyed the welfare system. Same guy who refused to let the UN designate Rwanda an ongoing genocide, because if they did the USA would be obligated under international law to intercede -something he was afraid to do because he'd just had a big fuck-up in Somalia and he was worried about poll numbers. Same guy who backed the war in Iraq -his position is that we didn't send enough troops. Same guy who applied a ruthless sanctions regime in Iraq that killed half a million children. Same guy who bombed a pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan to distract attention from his personal woes. Same guy who signed Nafta, fired Jocelyn Elders, abandoned Lani Guinier... Same guy that David Brower, president of the Sierra Club, said had done more damage to the environment than Reagan and the first Bush combined.

Read more. Succumb to personal charisma less.

All true. The sad thing is compared to Bush he looks good, which is what we have been saying.

There is a myth that the left gave Clinton a pass and attacks Bush only out of hate. Remember the riots in Seattle? Remember the fights against NAFTA, genetically modified food, the out rage over bombings in Sudan, Iraq and Afganastan?

Still smells like a rose next to Bush.

 

[DJ_Enki]

Dude is strong with the force. Never seen anything like it.

man I'm not sure we're ever gonna have one like him again. he had his faults no doubt, but dude knew his shit and at the same time didn't come across as a pompous ass. unique combo. plus he's like a martyr in my eyes for what the hypocritical Republicans did to him. that i will never forgive.
Right, this is the same guy who refused to lift a finger to save a mentally retarded black man from state execution during the 1992 election so he could appear tough on crime. The same guy who shortly afterward hijacked a Rainbow Coalition conference to attack Sister Souljah. Same guy who destroyed the welfare system. Same guy who refused to let the UN designate Rwanda an ongoing genocide, because if they did the USA would be obligated under international law to intercede -something he was afraid to do because he'd just had a big fuck-up in Somalia and he was worried about poll numbers. Same guy who backed the war in Iraq -his position is that we didn't send enough troops. Same guy who applied a ruthless sanctions regime in Iraq that killed half a million children. Same guy who bombed a pharmaceutical factory in the Sudan to distract attention from his personal woes. Same guy who signed Nafta, fired Jocelyn Elders, abandoned Lani Guinier... Same guy that David Brower, president of the Sierra Club, said had done more damage to the environment than Reagan and the first Bush combined.

Read more. Succumb to personal charisma less.

All true. The sad thing is compared to Bush he looks good, which is what we have been saying.

There is a myth that the left gave Clinton a pass and attacks Bush only out of hate. Remember the riots in Seattle? Remember the fights against NAFTA, genetically modified food, the out rage over bombings in Sudan, Iraq and Afganastan?

Still smells like a rose next to Bush.

The more we live under Bush and see what he's about, the better Clinton looks in comparison.

 

[mannybolone]

"When you take your case to Washington, D.C., you're taking it to the criminal who's responsible; it's like running from the wolf to the fox. They're all in cahoots together. They all work political chicanery and make you look like a chump before the eyes of the world. Here you are walking around in America, getting ready to be drafted and sent abroad, like a tin soldier, and when you get over there, people ask you what are you fighting for, and you have to stick your tongue in your cheek. No, take Uncle Sam to court, take him before the world."


This all said, people simply like Clinton better. Policies aside.