Exactly how stupid is Bush??

AMT4SWA · Apr 17, 2003

Hey Bungrider,

Remember who the president was in March of 2000 when the market started to tank? Remember the taxpayer dollars the Justice Dept was pissing away that month going after Microsoft? Do you remember who the president was that month, as his Fed buddy raised interest rates again for the seventh consecutive time a lovely 50 basis points? I think it was the same president that sat by getting blown by his intern while the money supply tripled from 1992 to 2000.....what do you call that, the pump and dump?

Who was the president in the late 70's when all this middle east turmoil started as we let the Iranian fundamentalists hold American citizens for 444 days? Wow, what a strong message we signaled to the world those embarrassing 444 days in the late 70's.

This is all by far the actions of some of the dumbest presidents EVER!

KymarFye · Apr 17, 2003

Quote from dgabriel:

The idea that Reagan was the greatest American president is American Shahafism at its most florid.[/i]

I believe it's "Sahaf," not "Shahaf," but I agree that the statement is a bit overdone.

The demise of communism and the advent of Reagan is a happy
coincidence. Communism was a bankrupt, fatally ill system in the first place. On the precipice, the pinkos got a shove from Ronnie at best.
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History does not reveal its alternatives. We have no idea how, say, four more years of Carterism, or Kennedyism, or any other policy alternative might have played out. No one individual, even the President of the USA, is solely responsible for any great event of history, but Reagan's "shove" may have hastened the fall of the Soviet Union. The Soviets themselves credit him with having convinced them that they would lose the arms race, and go bankrupt in trying to stay credible.

Just to give one example, I remember well - because I was on the other side politically (no, I wasn't running the USSR) - how Reagan stared down all the geniuses who were sure that the the American decision to place intermediate range nuclear missiles in Western Europe would take us to annihilation. Instead, contary to all the predictions of all the Trader556's, bungriders, msfe's of those days - who also thought Reagan was stupid, or insane, or evil, or whatever - the Russians backed down.

And in the Reagan era:

Authorized the trade of arms with Iran.
For a man who professed to seek to get government out of peoples lives, he put the brutal arm of government in many.
Underbelly to his tax reductions: Set loose the IRS on a collection rampage that destroyed 1000s of small businesses and lives.
Expanded and promoted asset seizure that went way out of control. Ed Meese ignored pleas to reign it in.
Spent too much, ran up an enormous deficit.
Willfully violated the Boland Amendment and flouted congressional mandates, violating his solemn oath of office.
Had a more scandal ridden Administration than Nixon.
Installed a judiciary and an Attorney General that systematically attacked civil rights legislation and civil rights legal precedents.
Was asleep during more cabinet meetings than the Japanese Prime Minister in Tokyo, whose clock is 12 hour different from EST.
Fought to allow assault rifles to not be regulated.
Apart from that he was the best, just like "apart from some technicalities, Iraq has achieved victory"
Absolutely the greatest president of the 20th century, of the screen actors guild.
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What a bunch of warm beer: I doubt that even Boland, if he's still alive, is very upset about the possible violation of his dubious Amendment, and comparing the numerous small scandals of the Reagan Administration to Watergate is downright silly (even setting aside the questionable character of some of the accusations).

I think Reagan was flawed. I think his Administration and many of his policies were flawed. I don't think he was the greatest President ever, but I do think he was a strong leader - strong on charisma, strong in a few very important respects if weak in many other regards - and helped to re-awaken and re-vitalize the country at a time that many felt it had completely lost its confidence and sense of purpose.

As for the idiotic discussion of Bush that's taken place here, I think it's clear that, like most extremely successful politicians, he possesses genius-level emotional intelligence, and most Americans would much prefer what they see in his character - that he says what he means, and does what he says he's going to do, and that he doesn't care what his enemies are blathering about him - to the verbal intelligence of, say, Al Gore, Jr.
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ryanmitcho · Apr 17, 2003

i commend bush for having the balls to attack afghanistan and iraq to protect our people from terrorist threats, damn world opinion. he is a man of action and he is taking the necessary steps to eradicate the very real and very potent terrorist threat that our great nation faces. you bastards probably don't even appreciate the soldiers that have sacrificed their lives in this war to protect you unappreciative, pathetic, whiny bitches. truly sad. maybe bush isn't perfect, but he is doing what needs to be done and i for one appreciate it.

Rod Shaft · Apr 17, 2003

Quote from ryanmitcho:

i commend bush for having the balls to attack afghanistan and iraq to protect our people from terrorist threats, damn world opinion. he is a man of action and he is taking the necessary steps to eradicate the very real and very potent terrorist threat that our great nation faces. you bastards probably don't even appreciate the soldiers that have sacrificed their lives in this war to protect you unappreciative, pathetic, whiny bitches. truly sad. maybe bush isn't perfect, but he is doing what needs to be done and i for one appreciate it.
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This kind of attitude is a far more serious threat to America's long-term prosperity than the "Axis of Evil" ever could be.

AMT4SWA · Apr 17, 2003

The American MAJORITY backs President Bush because we are all sick and tired of the tap dancing the previous administration did with the proven threats to the US. It is time to "cowboy the f-ck up!" and deal with the evil in this world.

* Read the new book "First Strike" (TWA 800 attack)

* Listen to Mansoor Ijaz (brokered deals to nab OBL)

* Watch more Fox News

dgabriel · Apr 17, 2003

Everything I said is factually correct. And I only said it to give balance to that other post blindly worshipping him.

He wasn't called the "Teflon President" for his choice of cookware.

Just because those missiles did not produce armageddon does not mean they were the right thing to do. Just means the doomsayers were histrionic.

Incidentally Kymerfye, if a Presidential library were to house only the President's personal library, how much wall space do you think the postwar presidents would need apiece?

Truman?
Eisenhower. A lot.
Kennedy. A lot.
Johnson. 1-2 feet. hardly ever read a book.
Nixon. A lot
Ford. The book fell on his head.
Carter. A lot.
Reagan. Enough space for 300 scripts.
Bush 1. Not too much.
Clinton. A lot.
Bush 2. Less than Bush 1.

AMT4SWA · Apr 17, 2003

Another losing speculation!

KymarFye · Apr 17, 2003

Quote from dgabriel:

Just because those missiles did not produce armageddon does not mean they were the right thing to do. Just means the doomsayers were histrionic.

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Right - but the "smart" people all thought the arms race would spin out of control, even if we didn't blow ourselves up first. Stupid ol' Reagan and his people thought you had to stand up to the Soviets. He did. They caved. Not only did the arms not spin out of control - the Soviets withdrew their missiles.

hapaboy · Apr 17, 2003

Hey dGAB,

Please advise your address so I may send you both a Ronald Reagan Commemorative Photo and the entire collection of Rush Limbaugh books. If you act quickly, I'll even throw in "The Savage Nation."

oops, I forgot I'm on Ignore with you (again)

candletrader · Apr 17, 2003

Quote from trader556:

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Bush is a GENIUS and a brave war hero... he is one of the few people who is able to read a book upside down...