Bush or Obama: The Quiz By Randall Hoven November 09, 2009 1. President Bush was famous for lacking "intellectual curiosity," while President Obama has been called "the smartest guy ever to become President." Who reads more books: Bush or Obama? 2. Bush was often considered to be in the grip of Big Oil. In contrast, Obama is a Harvard-educated lawyer. Which industry contributed more than five times as much as the other to politicians: the oil & gas industry, or lawyers/law firms? 3. Bush's Christian faith was at the core of his political identity, and he was considered to be in the grip of the "religious right," while Obama is considered more open-minded. In fact, Obama has said, "my faith is one that admits some doubt." Which one refers to Jesus more in public speeches? 4. Bush was criticized for excessive federal spending and running up huge deficits. Bush's deficit in 2008 was the largest in history. In fact, President Obama said, It's a little hard for me to take criticism from folks about this recovery package after they've presided over a doubling of the national debt ... What I won't do is return to the failed theories of the last eight years that got us into this fix in the first place. Whose deficit was more than triple the size of the other's: Bush's in 2008 or Obama's in 2009? 5. While Obama criticized Bush for "a doubling of the national debt," the federal debt held by the public went from 35.1% of GDP in 2000 to 40.8% of GDP in 2008 -- an increase of 16% as of fraction of GDP. What is it expected to be in 2016 under Obama's budget plan? 6. Obama criticized Bush for Guantanamo, military tribunals, wiretaps, troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and "signing statements." Which one of these Bush practices has Obama ended? Answers: 1. Bush. Obama started reading a book in April and had not finished it by June, putting him on a pace of no more than ten books per year. Bush read forty to ninety-five books a year while President, not counting a new and complete reading of the Bible every year. Bush scored 1206 on his SAT, putting his IQ in the 125-130 range, smarter than 95% of the population and in the company of Lincoln, Rousseau, and Thackeray. He graduated from Yale and earned an MBA from Harvard. Obama earned a law degree from Harvard, but has not released any of his academic records. Despite what you might have heard, we know nothing of his IQ, test scores, or grades from any of the schools he attended. 2. Law firms. In the 2010 cycle so far, Lawyers/Law Firms have contributed $33,779,866 (81% to Democrats), and the Oil & Gas industry has contributed $6,293,631 (34% to Democrats). In the 2008 cycle, the numbers were $233,499,989 (76% to Dems) from lawyers and $35,564,322 (23% to Dems). In all, lawyers contributed about six times more to politicians than the Oil & Gas industry. 3. Obama. Per Eamon Javers at Politico, "As president, Barack Obama has mentioned Jesus Christ in a number of high-profile public speeches -- something his predecessor George W. Bush rarely did in such settings." 4. Obama's 2009 deficit, the largest in U.S. history. It was more than three times that of Bush's record 2008 deficit. Per the Congressional Budget Office, the 2008 deficit was $455 B, and the 2009 deficit was $1,417 B. As a fraction of GDP, it was the largest deficit since 1945. 5. The CBO expects the debt held by the public to be 77.1% of GDP in 2016 under Obama's plan, or an increase of 89% as a fraction of GDP, and the highest level since 1950. 6. None. Guantanamo is still open and probably will be into 2010, maybe longer. Obama is keeping military tribunals and clandestine wiretapping programs. Obama plans to keep most troops in Iraq until the summer of 2010. Even then, he is talking of keeping about 50,000 troops there (compared to about 124,000 now). The number of US troops in Afghanistan increased from 37,000 in January 2009 to 62,000 by August 2009, and Obama is expected to send over 30,000 more. Total number of US troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan has increased under Obama so far (from about 184,000 in January to 186,000 in September). Obama has used signing statements himself.
How many times do we have to hear this dribble? People! He's no longer in office. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IU1bzZheWk
his disaster lives on. some will be reminded of george bush every day the rest of their lives. the ones maimed and the families of those killed in his needless wars. i am sure the bush apologists will chime in and say but obama has not ended the wars. its a lot easier to start unwinnable wars than to end them. i am sure obamas first instinct is to end the wars but he has to balance that with the riddicule he would recieve from the warmongers on the right if he did. there are those on the right that believe that even though the wars were a mistake and are probably unwinnable we must stay the course to save face and not look weak. like what we are doing now does not make us look weak. a bunch of men in third world countries that live in caves has kept us on the run for 8 years.
I think they declared war on us on 9/11. You can fight it over there, or let it come here. You can pull the troops out of the middle east, but you will have to seal the borders, and send all illegals and visitors packing, permanently .
yep. they will get on their ships and load up their bomber airplanes and come and attack us. one question. why did bush attack iraq when iraq had no connection to 9/11?
You can pull the troops out of the middle east, but you will have to seal the borders, and send all illegals and visitors packing, permanently .----------------- That is what we should have done in the first place orrrrrrr make sure passengers aren't carrying weapons on airplanes. That happened over and over again and the airline ceo's in this country didn't care.
My personal opinion? #1. Hussein was planning on accepting Euros for oil. But terrorist don't care about financial/logical matters and don't conform to wishes of the powers that be, #2 A Middle-east war keeps the fight bottlenecked in their homeland.
are either of these acceptable reasons for a country such as ours that puts itself out there as a beacon for justice and liberty to attack another country.
With the exception of Neroest Lunatics that just want to see the world burn and need to be stopped, most wars are fought over age-old conflicts, food/water supplies, or the whims of the Nobles. US policy, as far back as I can remember (Vietnam) has served US interests, to promote or to halt outside influences that could impact the US, most of the time these are preventative measures. As a by-product we have liberated many peoples/nations/cultures with the blood of our sons and daughters. The impact can be seen throughout world events and for the most part ,imho, are beneficial and good. Sadam Hussein was a tyrannical ruler, regardless of the reasons, he needed to be stopped. I'd say the majority of Iranians feel they will be better off, but we should stay and finish the job and help rebuild their country, just like we have done after all the wars we have won.
Shhhh...Bush is evil. Saddam Hussein Full name Saddam Hussein al-Majid al-Tikriti. AKA 'Great Uncle', AKA 'Lion of Babylon', AKA 'Lion of Iraq', AKA 'Beast of Baghdad'. Saddam translates to 'One Who Confronts'. Country: Iraq. Kill tally: Approaching two million, including between 150,000 and 340,000 Iraqi and between 450,000 and 730,000 Iranian combatants killed during the Iran-Iraq War. An estimated 1,000 Kuwaiti nationals killed following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. No conclusive figures for the number of Iraqis killed during the Gulf War, with estimates varying from as few as 1,500 to as many as 200,000. Over 100,000 Kurds killed or "disappeared". No reliable figures for the number of Iraqi dissidents and Shia Muslims killed during Saddam's reign, though estimates put the figure between 60,000 and 150,000. (Mass graves discovered following the US occupation of Iraq in 2003 suggest that the total combined figure for Kurds, Shias and dissidents killed could be as high as 300,000). Approximately 500,000 Iraqi children dead because of international trade sanctions introduced following the Gulf War.