Election Issues Today

Jacob Weisberg writes for Slate.com.  For the past nine years he has been assembling “Bushisms.” If you have never heard the expression, I will not try to define it, for the examples below are self-explanatory. 

Mr. Wiesberg has documented over 500 “Bushisms” and has published his Favorite 25 in a farewell “tribute” … to a President whose way with words gave us as much to laugh about as his actions gave us cause to suffer.  (my words)

The following are direct quotations from President Bush as published by Jacob Weisberg in Slate.com on January 12, 2009. (Locations and explanatory remarks as needed are also provided by Mr. Weisberg):

1. “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”-Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004

2. “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.”-Greater Nashua, N.H., Chamber of Commerce, Jan. 27, 2000

3. “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”-Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

4. “Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across the country.”-Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004

5. “Neither in French nor in English nor in Mexican.”-declining to answer reporters’ questions at the Summit of the Americas, Quebec City, Canada, April 21, 2001

6. “You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.”-Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

7. “I’m the decider, and I decide what is best. And what’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”-Washington, D.C., April 18, 2006

8. “See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.”-Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

9. “I’ve heard he’s been called Bush’s poodle. He’s bigger than that.”-discussing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as quoted by the Sun newspaper, June 27, 2007

10. “And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq.”-meeting with Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

11. “We ought to make the pie higher.”-South Carolina Republican debate, Feb. 15, 2000

12. “There’s an old saying in Tennessee-I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee-that says, fool me once, shame on-shame on you. Fool me-you can’t get fooled again.”-Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

13. “And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it.”-speaking on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

14. “We’ll let our friends be the peacekeepers and the great country called America will be the pacemakers.”-Houston, Sept. 6, 2000

15. “It’s important for us to explain to our nation that life is important. It’s not only life of babies, but it’s life of children living in, you know, the dark dungeons of the Internet.”-Arlington Heights, Ill., Oct. 24, 2000

16. “One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.”-U.S. News & World Report, Jan. 3, 2000

17. “People say, ‘How can I help on this war against terror? How can I fight evil?’ You can do so by mentoring a child; by going into a shut-in’s house and say I love you.”-Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2002

18. “Well, I think if you say you’re going to do something and don’t do it, that’s trustworthiness.”-CNN online chat, Aug. 30, 2000

19. “I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep on the soil of a friend.”-on the prospect of visiting Denmark, Washington, D.C., June 29, 2005

20. “I think it’s really important for this great state of baseball to reach out to people of all walks of life to make sure that the sport is inclusive. The best way to do it is to convince little kids how to-the beauty of playing baseball.”-Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 2006

21. “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”-LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

22. “You know, when I campaigned here in 2000, I said, I want to be a war president. No president wants to be a war president, but I am one.”-Des Moines, Iowa, Oct. 26, 2006

23. “There’s a huge trust. I see it all the time when people come up to me and say, ‘I don’t want you to let me down again.’ “-Boston, Oct. 3, 2000

24. “They misunderestimated me.”-Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

25. “I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.”-Washington, D.C., May 12, 2008

I hope we never see another person elected to the U.S. Presidency who is so totally inept, so clueless, so dim-witted.

I am hard-pressed to recall any presidential term ending on such a low….and “low” is about the most polite term I can conjure up…but there are plenty more.

I think the transfer of power from Lyndon B. Johnson to Richard M. Nixon was pretty frosty…but that was a personal thing.   The turnover from Bush to Obama will be quite friendly between the two principals because they are both realists and understand with what importance the images from America are perceived around the World.

The end of the LBJ term on January 20, 1969 was also a low for the USA.  Not only was the country deeply entrenched in the Vietnam War, but the populace had resorted to electing Nixon, a person that nobody trusted!!

George W. Bush is leaving at the nadir of his Administration.  What a way to go out…at the rock bottom.  There is not a lot of regret around the country.  Not a lot of respect for this man around the world either.  No love.

Here is a quote from Caledonian Jim , self-described master of the world-weary, cynical cheap shot, in his blog, Caledonian Comment:

“But, determined as he was in his last stand, it wouldn’t have been a Bush press conference without a few classic quotes - such as his defiant statement to the reporters assembled before him: ‘Sometimes you mis-underestimated me’. No George - we never mis-underestimated you - you were always a cretinous prat. After 8 disastrous years, good riddance.”

The blog, Urban Swirl commented upon the Bush exit interview with Charles Gibson:

“To sum it up - Bush is clueless! A mindless blowhard! And may history fashion him as such!
Most of what he thinks and believes is what was fed to him - Bush is an empty vessel, a puppet that people like Karl Rove and Dick Cheney used for their own purpose.  As he departs the presidency, Bush is unquestionably a FAILURE!“ 

And from the political blogger, First Door on the Left : “One week left. We have only to make it through one more week.  One. More. Week.”

For my part, although the President is taking the brunt of the blame, I think there is plenty of blame to be spread amongst hundreds of our “leaders”:  The president’s cabinet, his top aides and advisors, members of congress, wall street financiers, bankers, real estate lenders, the auto industry CEOs, and many more.  They were all getting their returns and bonuses, etc, and while they knew things were going downhill, and were “gonna get pretty bad,” they were not able or willing to act with decisiveness.  Today, everyone sees what “could have been done” but it’s too late now.  No forgiveness.

Time to move on with life and other important stuff.

The Lame Duck President and the Lame Duck Congress have just about two and a half months to sit in the shadow of “The One.”

Thanks to the economic mess and a genuinely messed up Republican Administration, the new Congress will be weighted heavily in favor of the new President. Since Barack Obama is already a Senator, he is in a position to play an immediate decision-making role in the Congress, something he never enjoyed as a Junior Senator, I’ll tell you.

First up on the President-elect’s agenda is naming his White House Chief of Staff, an announcement expected today or tomorrow, and then naming his Transition Team leadership.  He has assembled a good team over the past few months, with quite a few familiar faces that will become more prominent in the coming weeks.

President Bush has promised cooperation, which is pretty much standard for power transitions in the United States, even between the political parties.

Probably second on the agenda of issues that need to be discussed include an economic stimulus package…another tax rebate?  Perhaps.  Since most of the Congress have been retained in office for another term, the “lame duck” label is hardly appropriate.  They can act now on a package that will take effect after the new President’s inauguration.  I don’t think anyone is too concerned about who claims credit for another “stimulus” package, Republicans or Democrats, since Obama will be involved in shaping it.  The Republican members of Congress have to decide whether to work to improve the country’s economic condition or to be obstructionist.  The fact of the matter is, the Democrats are in a position to get whatever they want.

Perhaps third on the new President’s agenda will be making connections with his counterparts around the World.  Whether friend or foe, most World leaders eagerly await new leadership from Washington DC.

I believe that Mr. Obama has a well-thought-out course of action and is a real “take-charge” guy.  He is said to be very relaxed and sure of himself.  We have already seen that he keeps a cool head.    Based on his “victory” speech in Chicago, the President-elect is low-key and all business.