It’s been several days now since the news conference and the fallout is still continuing.
What a Moronic Presidential Press Conference!
Among the many flabbergasting answers that President Bush gave at his press conference on Monday, this one—about Democrats who propose pulling out of Iraq—triggered the steepest jaw drop: “I would never question the patriotism of somebody who disagrees with me. This has nothing to do with patriotism. It has everything to do with understanding the world in which we live.”
George W. Bush criticizing someone for not understanding the world is like … well, it’s like George W. Bush criticizing someone for not understanding the world. It’s sui generis: No parallel quite captures the absurdity so succinctly.
This, after all, is the president who invaded Iraq without the slightest understanding of the country’s ethnic composition or of the volcanic tensions that toppling its dictator might unleash. Complexity has no place in his schemes. Choices are never cloudy. The world is divided into the forces of terror and the forces of freedom: The one’s defeat means the other’s victory.
“What’s very interesting about the violence in Lebanon and the violence in Iraq and the violence in Gaza is this: These are all groups of terrorists who are trying to stop the advance of democracy.”
What is he talking about? Hamas, which has been responsible for much of the violence in Gaza, won the Palestinian territory’s parliamentary elections. Hezbollah, which started its recent war with Israel, holds a substantial minority of seats in Lebanon’s parliament and would probably win many more seats if a new election were held tomorrow. Many of the militants waging sectarian battle in Iraq have representation in Baghdad’s popularly elected parliament.
The key reality that Bush fails to grasp is that terrorism and democracy are not opposites. They can, and sometimes do, coexist. One is not a cure for the other.
And then there’s this article lambasting Bush for taking another vacation with all hell breaking loose.
Franklin Roosevelt, though he was dying and suffered a terrible physical disability, flew halfway around the world to hash out the postwar peace at Yalta. Richard Nixon went to China, Ronald Reagan journeyed to Reykjavik and Jimmy Carter holed up at Camp David, where he tested the limits of brinksmanship with Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat.
George W. Bush is going to Kennebunkport, where he’ll test his golf skills with Poppy.
Why do vacations hate America?
Ah, Democracy… is there anything more frightening than the tyranny of the masses? I think most people get confused these days with Democracy.. It’s a Democracy in word… On election day, it’s a democracy, as soon as it’s over, it goes right back to being a corporatist…
Iraq elected the government they wanted. So did the yanks!
Well, thanks. But remember, funny is just sad wearing Groucho glasses.
It depends upon what your definition of is is
I told you to listen to Colin says daddy Bush.Shut the f*** up Dad.says our Prez.
Iraq is just a show of force. It was a threat to neighboring nations that the US did have the will to invade if they openly continued with terror operations. The problem is this tactic is about a century out of date. All the old imperial nations eventually failed at it, because it often backfires. Ghengis Kahn was the last ruler really good at it. That’s because he left everyone dead or enslaved.
People deserve the leaders they elect.
You really need to stop posting items about politics on this site. The leftist slant really shows a lack of common sense and intelligence, and degrades your creditability on the issues that readers come to this site to read, which is technology.
#7,
It was a show of force, but against a country that was NOT using terror operations or supporting them.
And it was a failed show of force as we see everyday…
#9.
Is if there is anything at all sensible or intelligent about any of GW’s policies or statements.
In refernce to the original story I fear it is your post that shows its obvious ill-thought out slant.
sorry #9, you mistyped blogger.com in your web browser
#9: What gives you the idea the focus of this blog is technology? As John’s guildlines state it is for everything except comments on his PC Magazine columns. What we editors post is up to us within rather loose limits. It’s whatever is of interest to us and to many of us (and to our readers, given the number of comments to the posts) are interested in politics.
As for your comment about a leftist slant, perhaps when the rightists dump the religious wackos, the neocons and neofascists, start acting in the interests of the country instead of only their own, and do something to turn around the hatred of us do to our policies that have alienated the rest of the world, then there might be a reason to move more toward the center.
Well GWB thunk it out and came up with this. I won’t be back next term so why over extend my self. It’s like working in a Whorehouse, the harder you work the more you get screwed so WTF.
On post #9. We don’t now and have never lived in a world where technology stands alone unaffected by political, religious and social climates. Science or technology developed out of social context generally delivers an inferior design, or in worse case examples, things like eugenics, bio-chemical weapons or the McRib Sandwich. Being a technology “isolationist” hasn’t done much for the technology cause historically either. Scientist and technologists who understand the application, most of the time build better, safer products which increase support for more of the same.
Granted, this site generates a lot of traffic expressing political positions. In fact, it happens so often, that if you took those away, the remaining content would be a lot less interesting, less thought provoking and mostly a collection of sterile data available on dozens of others sites. Personally, I like reading a comment series where the topic starts off on camcorders and morphs into a video of a Republican or Democrat being hit in the face with a pie. Where else can you get the video and thirty posting replies arguing over whether subject is a jerk AND the factors affecting the trajectory of the pie?
[deleted for violation of posting rules]
Creditability?
Concidering the original quote “It has everything to do with understanding the world in which we live.”… Bush is right.
I can’t believe I just said that… but hear me out.
Pulling out of Iraq would be a bigger, and much more selfish, act than going in ever was. They need to be there for now, and they need to do their job properly.
That last part is the tricky part though. What is their job, and where does it end? Those two things need to be clearly defined, and they aren’t.
That last part is the tricky part though. What is their job, and where does it end? Those two things need to be clearly defined, and they aren’t.
That’s where the magic ponies come in.
The comments are much to tame for this site.
So, in the interests of starting a mad discussion…here goes.
#18…Gregory…..you’re right when you say Bush is correct in what he said. If more on the left in this country and beyond would see that, we might not be in the bind we are in. I know it’s a cliche, but the world really did change on 9/11…..the old way of thinking about those who would harm us is just that, the old way of thinking.
This is not saying that Bush’s way was the right way, but it was close. It lacked long term planning and proper troop usage and strength. But the goal was right on…..confront those nations who aided terrorists….and make it not in their best interests to do so. Groups like Al Quida had no reason to believe that this country would stand up and take the fight to them. After all, they had provoked us many times during the 90’s and got no serious response, so why would they believe otherwise. 9/11 wasn’t planned because of Bush or his policies, because there was no Bush or his policies when it was planned. They fully expected to get the response they always got when they blew up hundreds of innocent people….nasty words, empty UN resolutions and a lot of finger wagging. 9/11 was a major miscalculation on their part. Bush responed as he should have, but his Defense Secretary and his Vice President led him down the garden path about how the response should be done. As it turns out, their mistakes have made this whole thing a big mess.
The Democrats are wrong if they think they can make things as they used to be if they had power…..and this is where Bush is correct.
And most of the country knows this. The war itself and Bush may not be popular….but those same polls also show that a majority believe we must stay until things are more managable.
Most thinking people in this country and even some that only think on w/e’s realize the Democrats answer to world crisis is to go to the U.N. and denounce the bad guys, make speechs, but then don’t do anything that will upset the applecart. Lebanon is a good example…..Darfur is a better example….Rwanda is an excellant example of what the U.N. does best…..nothing!!!!
Bush is right in what he said…..he was right in what he tried to do after 9/11…..but it will be President McCain who does it right.
Oh….as a parting shot 🙂 …..Why is that the Liberals have no problem with Muslim fundamentalist terrorists being elected to goverments in Lebanon and Iran and The Palistinian state, but scream about neo-facists and right wing nut jobs when religious conservatives are elected to office here? Is it me…..or is there some sort of disconnect there?
This President can’t get out of his own way. He needs to retire early.
Hamas, Hezbollah, and the insurgents of Irag are all Iran backed. Further, they all are devout Muslims. Mahammad said to respect the strong and defeat the weak. Currently, Hamas and Hezbollah are minorities in its power scheme; however, once it contains the majority, it will annihilated it’s enemy.
This is the unfortunate problem with most on the left. They do not understand their enemy. They see rosy watered down Muslims and figure that’s how all of Islam is. But if they would only look up what the very word means, maybe they’d be more educated and not print idiotic articles like quoted here.
I love John’s slant on tech, but as one of the commentors above point out, John is losing more and more credibility with me as his blog leans more and more to the left. I feel like this is the Titanic, man.
Bush is right in that the world has changed. It probably has not changed as much as he tries to scare us into believing, but it is changing. Nothing particularly new about that. Things always change.
The sobering thing about Bush is that he is the mouthpiece for America, like it or not. And every time he opens him mouth it’s a disaster. Which is bad for us because we are partly in a war of ideas. Ideas require brains, thinking, study, discipline, and careful communication, all things that Bush has never been good at. He’s on the front line of the battle, and he is a defective weapon.
He is a good campaigner, but a terrible leader. We’re stuck with him, though. Two more years to go…
#20, joshua. There is a fair bit I could comment on, but I’ll just poke at your last thought.
.Why is that the Liberals have no problem with Muslim fundamentalist terrorists being elected to goverments in Lebanon and Iran and The Palistinian state, but scream about neo-facists and right wing nut jobs when religious conservatives are elected to office here?
Who said liberals don’t have a problem with the fundamentalists in any country being elected? Personally, I don’t like any of the governments you mentioned, and a whole host of others that are ideology led, such as China or Zimbabwe. When they are elected here, however, they try to enforce their will upon us whereas in foreign countries, we don’t have to put up with their crap.
The difference is a civilized foreign policy.
And the Republicans foreign policy under Clinton?
We got a lot of traitors out there….. “You can support the troops but not the president”-Representative Tom Delay (R-TX)
“I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning…I didn’t think we had done enough in the diplomatic area.”-Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)
“Well, I just think it’s a bad idea. What’s going to happen is they’re going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years”-Joe Scarborough (R-FL)
“Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?” -Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99
And my favorite, drum roll please,…
“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”-Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)
And President McCain,… best laugh of the week.
My cyber hand is raised
You weren’t supposed to be the only going for the jugular Fusion……so, save some for the others.
I will only say this…..the comments were (to paraphrase)….but THEY elected Hamas and Hezbolah…..thats democracy……….guess what….the folks in this country elected the right wingers…..thats democracy….but not to hear it from Liberals and the left. Here it’s neo-fasisist, right wing nutjobs and election stealing by their play book.
20. last time I looked, it was the neocons who thought bestowing democracy was the answer to all our problems, then were startled that, given the choice between electing pro-western crooks and anti-western terrorists (who also run a lot of charities) chose the latter.
somebody here doesn’t understand how the world works, and it isn’t Bush’s opponents.
Wasn’t Israel ( a democracy ) founded on Terrorism – such as The King David Hotel Bombing in 1946 where 91 people were killed and was ordered by Menachem Begin.
@ # 17
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