[sanjuro]

Funny I care about what Americans think of Bush

The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
What must our enemies be thinking?
By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years -- and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty -- a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.

 

[reflux]

Okay, what do you consider to be a national disgrace during the Bush presidency?

I'll start...the pardoning of Scooter Libby.

 

[Transcend]

Disregarding multiple nation's sovereign territory. (Iraq, Pakistan, Syria)

Meanwhile a huge issue at home to Bush is illegal immigration / securing the borders. Hypocrite much?

 

[ohio]

Sorry SJ, the dude's full of ****. Interning with Kerry doesn't mean he's a dem or even non-partisan.

George's words in 2004 were hollow because he had already spent 4 years proving himself a radical unilateralist with no real intentions of reaching across isles, compromising, or offering the least bit of respect to the powers of congress even though it was republican at the time. He had wielded 9/11 like a political hammer, and had called upon every wedge issue he could find to divide America up (and as a result turn them against each other) in a way that gave him a slim majority. So talk of Bush trying to unite us and being for America sound a little hollow to me right now.

The only thing I agree with is that Bush was genuine in his belief that this was what was best for America. Unfortunately he was too stupid and blindly ideological to realize that the tools his team was handing to him were causing its destruction.

 

[Straya]

Who is George Bush?

 

[jimmydean]

Warrantless wire taps (even though there is a special court for expediting warrants)?

 

[$tinkle]

Disregarding multiple nation's sovereign territory. (Iraq, Pakistan, Syria)

it's an american thing; bush wasn't exactly a mavericky ground-breaker here

Warrantless wire taps (even though there is a special court for expediting warrants)?

FISA court has indeed issued warrants for 3 decades now


you guys are giving bush too much credit; only ~70 days & you won't have shrub to kick around any more

 

[ohio]

Okay, what do you consider to be a national disgrace during the Bush presidency?

I'll start...the pardoning of Scooter Libby.

Massive erosion of civil rights via patriot act, warrantless wire-tapping, detention without trial, etc.
Massive expansion of executive power
Politicizing 9/11
Massive expansion of federal government via homeland security
Response to Katrina
Bremmer's abandonment of Iraq following "mission accomplished."
"Mission Accomplished"
Rejection of Kyoto
Making Colin Powell declare proof of WMD on the world stage
Valerie Plame
Politicizing the Justice Department
Cutting federal funding for stem-cell research justified by ideological/religious reasons rather than scientific or economic.
Increasing federal funding to faith-based initiatives rather than cause-based initiatives.
Dividing our country into "real Americans" and "?"
<space reserved for editing later>

 

[jimmydean]

FISA court has indeed issued warrants for 3 decades now

Yes, but Shrub felt it was "too slow" so he bypassed it. That's the issue I have.

 

[sanjuro]

What I like is how this editorial was published in the Wall Street Journal, owned by, that's right, Rupert Murdoch.

 

[Defenestrated]

political DISSENT IS TREASON, TREASON IS PUNISHABLE BY DEATH, LOVE YOUR GOVERNMENT

 

[kidwoo]

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Aw poor georgie. All he's ever done is reach out to others with open arms.

 

[DirtMcGirk]

Now if only we could get GWB herpes before he leaves office, it would be a fitting "Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" gift from the 'merican people.

 

[Plummit]

Article should have been titled, "The Nation's Treatment by Bush Has Been a Disgrace."

And for that, I'm quite certain our enemies rejoiced.

 

[Westy]

All I have to say is that before 2002 I would have considered myself a moderate republican. I supported Bush until he started all the sabre rattling with the axis of evil and his tarrifs on foreign steel. I haven't looked back since and think he deserves every insult slur plus more.

 

[syadasti]

Yes, but Shrub felt it was "too slow" so he bypassed it. That's the issue I have.

He bypassed it on nationwide scale - never before seen (or possible). That is the reason the retroactive telecom immunity legislation was passed to protect the Telcos - they'd be out of business otherwise.

All Internet (including VoIP/phone) communications are captured and monitored in real-time without warrant:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2114177&postcount=49

 

[$tinkle]

^^^ don't forget about the other "necessary evil": k3y 35cr0w

 

[Plummit]

THE MONSTER YEARS

November 5, 2008, 8:25 am
The monster years

Last night wasn’t just a victory for tolerance; it wasn’t just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.

What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.

And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was “shrill.”

Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, they’ve been banished to the wilderness.

 

[sanjuro]

I am doing some research about Truman to compare the two and why they were unpopular. Here is one small article: http://www.slate.com/id/2190659/

But Truman had to deal huge issues, like North Korea's invasion into the south, post WWII economic problems, a corruption scandal in the IRS, and the dismissal of MacArthur.

Given the difficulties he faced and hindsight, he is considering to be a very good president today.

I noticed this piece left out some major screw-ups which can only be blamed on Bush, like Michael Browne and FEMA, Alberto Gonzalez, failing to find WMD's, or our current deficit.

Considering the peace and prosperity we enjoyed in 2000, unless we find nukes hidden under Baghdad, all of today's problems with the exception of 9/11 is Bush's fault. And even that has not been resolved because we diverted resources in Afghanistan to find Bin Laden.

 

[$tinkle]

just a nit w/ the "no WMDs found" mantra
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/07/iraq.uranium/

while not weapons grade, 550 metric tons & a nuke program (yes, shelved) could make for some trouble.

no, i'm not justifying teh invasion over this. like i wrote, it's just a nit i wanted to make clear.

 

[sanjuro]

just a nit w/ the "no WMDs found" mantra
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/07/iraq.uranium/

while not weapons grade, 550 metric tons & a nuke program (yes, shelved) could make for some trouble.

no, i'm not justifying teh invasion over this. like i wrote, it's just a nit i wanted to make clear.

Palin.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Palin.

Names have been changed to protect the innocent...


"Sarah Palin. She's become a punchline. Everybody gets this picture in their head of someone really f*cked up when her name comes up. And that's all you need.

Why'd the chicken cross the road?
Sarah Palin.

A priest, a rabbi, and a sheik walk into a bar...
Sarah Palin.

The farmer sat down at the dinner table...
Sarah Palin.


It works for f*ckin' anything!!!"

~~Lewis Black (ish)

 

[Samirol]

just a nit w/ the "no WMDs found" mantra
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/07/iraq.uranium/

while not weapons grade, 550 metric tons & a nuke program (yes, shelved) could make for some trouble.

no, i'm not justifying teh invasion over this. like i wrote, it's just a nit i wanted to make clear.

Hell, it isn't even nuclear power grade, I don't see what the issue is.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

There seems to be a series of agitprop emails floating around purporting to be from respected figures bewailing lack of respect for dubya or for the country - a friend in Maine sent me a piece claiming to be attributed to David Letterman - the only place I could find it was on a "rapture" site. It's sad that there are folks who accept this drivel as real without applying any critical analysis whatsoever of the content or the source.

 

[Silver]

I actually agree with the headline.

I think I've said before that in a just world, Bush would be hanging off a meathook in the National Mall. It's a disgrace that he isn't.