Presupposing, of course, that the reader has read what he was supposed to read. And then, of course, there is that pesky matter of connecting the dots and basically giving a shit: Dot 1: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB116/index.htm Dot 2: http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/17/sept.11.hijackers/ 20/20 hindsight? Sure. But GWB and his gang weren't even looking or paying attention! It is especially easy being a Monday morning quarterback when the coach for the home team was napping at game time.
Been to Heathrow lately? It's a nightmare. I would almost rather have the black swan instead of enduring Heathrow or de Gaulle.
I may sound like a broken record, and, yes, GWB is not perfect, but compared with what was there before (Clinton) and what may get there in the future (Obama), the man, imo, is a saint, a true patriot and a smart politician to boot.
Now that you mention it, I was thinking more along the lines of a broken mind. But what's in a word, eh?
Well he's certainly not stupid. Those who say he is only make themselves look stupid. If a dummy can dismantle Ann Richards, Al Gore and John Kerry then what does it say about the intellect of the afore mentioned. Not to mention he's a Yale grad with a Harvard MBA, made millions in business, flew fighter jets and is bi-lingual. Plus he took out Saddam with Congressional approval, boosted the price 4x of his favorite commodity and in general created a decent amount of economic prosperity despite the tech meltdown and 9/11. Personally I don't have a single friend who's net worth isn't greater today (and markedly so) than in 2000. On the other hand, it's a leaders job to sell his policies. In that all important regard I give Bush a D. He used a lame excuse for war in Iraq when the real reason was compelling. Saddam violated his 1991 U.N. Surrender by funding Hamas and the anti-Israel U.N. refused to take any action greater than hurting Iraqi citizens with sanctions. Bush/Rove obviously thought Americans would chafe at war for Israel and they banked on WMD's. Bad move. He also let bullshit stuff like Katrina hurt him. Clinton would've helicoptered in, said âI feel your painâ and done nothing more than the 165 billion Bush spent in 'Nawlins. Bush let the media run wild with nutty claims of 10,000 dead ect. He should have been on the ground there himself with a life preserver on. Same thing with "tax cuts for the rich" in a country where the top 1% of earners pay a quarter the taxes collected and the bottom 40% don't pay any taxes. He let the debate be won by the Left. Granted guys like Nixon or Clinton would've had Soros and fat ass Moore on their knees with deportation and audits but just the same being a ruthless prick is part of the job. I'm rapidly getting to the point where I'm interested in non democratic solutions. Eliminating a few thousand academics (like those who gave Ayers and Dohrn jobs) and busting open the Olberman's of the world would do wonders. Maybe we can use the talents of that Kaczynski dude....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgeQ_y7LMRI Maybe the best line in American polictics. [/QUOTE]Quote from Pa(b)st Prime: Well he's certainly not stupid. Those who say he is only make themselves look stupid. If a dummy can dismantle Ann Richards.....[/QUOTE]
Perhaps the more relevant question to ask is what it says about the American voter. Uh, yeah, about that. You might want to read this little tidbit: http://www.famoustexans.com/georgewbush.htm Profession: In the West Texas energy business, George W. Bush started out researching who owned mineral rights. He later traded mineral and royalty interests and invested in drilling prospects. He had started his own oil and gas company by 1978, taking $17,000 from his education trust fund to set up Arbusto Energy (arbusto means Bush in Spanish). The company fell on hard times when oil prices fell. He made several attempts to revive the business, first by changing the company's name and later by merging with other companies. In 1983, Bushâs company was rescued from failure when Spectrum 7 Energy Corporation, a small oil firm owned by William DeWitt and Mercer Reynolds, bought it. Bush became chief executive officer. Harken Energy Corporation acquired Spectrum 7 in 1986, after Spectrum had lost $400,000. In the buyout deal, Bush and his partners were given more than $2 million worth of Harken stock for the 180-well operation. Bush became a director and was hired as a "consultant" to Harken. He received another $600,000 of Harken stock, and has been paid between $42,000 and $120,000 a year. By the spring of 1987, Harken was in need of cash. So Bush and his fellow Harken officials met with Jackson Stephens, head of Stephens, Inc., an investment bank in Little Rock, Arkansas (Stephens contributed $100,000 to the Reagan-Bush campaign in 1980 and gave another $100,000 to the Bush dinner committee in 1990.) Stephens arranged for Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) to provide $25 million to Bushâs company in return for a stock interest in Harken. As part of the deal, Sheikh Abdullah Bakhsh, a Saudi real estate tycoon and financier, joined Harken's board as a major investor. Stephens, UBS, and Bakhsh each had ties to the infamous, scandal-ridden Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). In 1990, Bush sold his remaining stock options and left the oil business. Writer Jack Colhoun revealed some details of that stock sale, referring to Bush by his childhood nickname âJuniorâ: On June 22, 1990, George Jr. sold two-thirds of his Harken stock for $848,560-a cool 200 percent profit. The move was well timed. One week after Junior sold his stock, Harken announced a $23.2 million loss in quarterly earnings and Harken stock dropped sharply, losing 60 percent of its value over the next six months. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops moved into Kuwait and 541,000 U.S. forces were deployed to the Gulf. "There is substantial evidence to suggest that Bush knew Harken was in dire straits in the weeks before he sold the $848,560 of Harken stock," asserted U.S. News & World Report. The magazine noted Harken appointed Junior to a 'fairness committee' to study possible economic restructuring of the company. Junior worked closely with financial advisers from Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Company, who concluded "only drastic action could save Harken."
I am curious... what's the obsession that Canadians have with Americans? Personally I couldn't give two shits about anything Canadian. What is it with you guys?
Well that's a given. That applies to every country in the world. But it seems like a different kind of obsession with some of you guys. But whatever... it's not like I care all that much.