tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216709653808065722.post2914710033530902080..comments2022-03-30T21:07:49.822-05:00Comments on Fire Pug Kills Eight: Bush ReduxAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667052712057873910noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216709653808065722.post-23438568519329873352014-02-04T18:35:42.498-06:002014-02-04T18:35:42.498-06:00George W. Bush inherited an economic boom and left...George W. Bush inherited an economic boom and left office with a war and a recession. (Having both at one time is no small feat, considering that war usually stimulates the economy). It's possible that Bush was so focused on Iraq that he ignored warnings about Al Qaeda and 9-11. That said, the party line that Bush was the Dark Ages and that Obama is the Renaissance just doesn't hold up. A 2012 campaign ad said, "President Obama inherited a mess, but now our factories are humming again, our enemies have been brought to justice, and our troops are coming to the hero's welcome that they deserve." Right. The unemployment rate is higher than it was before Obama took office. Obama did not get bin Laden, SEAL Team 6 did. Those SEALs were later ambushed and killed, very likely because of information leaked to the enemy by the Obama administration, and possibly with US-made weapons supplied by Obama to the Muslim Brotherhood. Our troops are "coming home" in body bags; more Americans have been killed in Afghanistan in the past five years than in the previous eight. During the government shutdown, Obama ordered barricades erected to prevent US citizens (including war veterans) from visiting open-air national monuments, and the National Amputee Coalition and a children's hospital charity had to cancel or postpone fund-raising events. Meanwhile, Obama's favorite golf course stayed open, and illegal aliens were allowed to hold a rally at the National Mall. Obama (unlike Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton)refused to negotiate with Congress to avert a shutdown. And "healthcare reform" has resulted in increased healthcare costs instead of "affordable care." Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4216709653808065722.post-32302935805068228782013-04-30T10:51:27.702-05:002013-04-30T10:51:27.702-05:00Julian, I hate talking politics, because most of t...Julian, I hate talking politics, because most of the time it's because of all this polarizing bullshit. In my house when I was growing up we talked about how horrible Clinton was, Clinton being the president before Bush, when the 9/11 plot was being hatched. When Bush had his disputed election in 2000, there was the giant controversy of ballets over Florida. Didn't Gore concede? What's the point of him becoming a martyr again? If he was so dedicated and able to being a better president, why didn't he run again, especially after getting more people to love him with more conviction with the environmentalism that was always his hallmark?<br /><br />We all know bin Laden was a hell of a man to find. If you don't know how hard that was, well congratulations on that. There was a whole movie about it. Then again, maybe you only thought about the torture. In the realities of the world we live in, things are always going to be complicated. Truthfully, Bush accomplished his objectives in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He scooped out the Taliban and finally got rid of Saddam Hussein. The problem wasn't achieving the objectives, it was balancing the results. What everyone calls the wars of the past ten years have been police operations. If you don't know the basic character of the region, how people react to change over there, you probably have no idea what's been happening in Israel. Congratulations on that as well. The Islamic world is in constant upheaval. It's at war with itself. If there was any blunder, it was in the failure to identify that. Bush went out of his way to say this wasn't about religion. But everyone who said he was an idiot said he was simply blundering around. Maybe it was a fool's game to introduce a paradigm shift from the outside. But you can't be a success at something when everyone around you is actively getting in your way.<br /><br />Or maybe you're forgetting about Clinton again? He was the guy who got all those outsourcing initiatives going. They're great for other countries, but as we've increasingly seen they're a hell of a thing for us. We haven't replaced any of those jobs. We say the new thing is technology. Whatever that means. Obama, meanwhile, had everyone loving him from the start. Maybe you haven't noticed, but not as many people love him now. He narrowly won the second election, against someone who didn't have much visible passion, besides reacting against Obama. All of his supporters were saying Obama originally ran "against Bush," but Obama wisely decided not to play that game (originally). When you win against someone who appears at best to be a mediocre alternative, that's not much to brag about. Kerry used the same platform against Bush as Obama did against "Bush's successor." Maybe that ought to tell you something, too.<br /><br />There are always two sides to every story. The popular story the last ten years has been how horrible Bush was. Popularity doesn't mean it's the real story. You say we've gotten out of our financial problems. I say, really? Congratulations on being on the other side. I'll let you know if I get to reach there myself. You takes facts for granted, assume everyone believes the same things you do. That's the approach you took, as if history always has and always will agree with you. I'm simply here to suggest, maybe rethink that a little.Tony Laplumehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07854455859399339169noreply@blogger.com