The Bush Years: A Look Back

From Tom Tomorrow:

I wonder what percentage of Bush voters would get the joke?

Why Am I Starting to Feel Sorry for this Guy?

The end of the Bush era is at hand, and I couldn’t be happier. The guy has been a disaster nationally and internationally and while his incompetence and hubris have left our nation far weaker than it was eight years, ago, I’m starting to feel just a little bit bad for W:

On the war in Iraq, Bush said the biggest regret of his presidency was the “intelligence failure” regarding the extent of the Saddam Hussein threat to the United States. With the support of Congress, Bush ordered the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 — a decision largely justified on grounds — later proved false — that Saddam was building weapons of mass destruction.

Asked if he would have ordered the U.S.-led invasion if intelligence reports had accurately indicated that Saddam did not have the weapons, Bush replied: “You know, that’s an interesting question. That is a do-over that I can’t do. It’s hard for me to speculate.”

It would be easy for me to write an “I-told-you-so” paragraph on this one, but I won’t. But it’s hard to him to speculate whether or not he would have invaded Iraq if he had known that Iraq posed no threat to us?

I’m starting to feel a little bit less bad for him.

On the presidential election, Bush called Barack Obama’s victory a “repudiation of Republicans.”

“I’m sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me,” said Bush, who leaves office with low approval ratings. “I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy. In other words, they made a conscious choice to put him in as president.”

George, yes, Obama’s victory was largely a repudiation of GOPers, but that’s mostly because Republicans were so closely associated with you that it was nearly impossible for a guy like McCain to make a plausible argument that he wouldn’t continue your policy.

And again, yes, George, people voted for Obama because of you and also because they they want an intelligent thoughtful guy in their explaining policies to them. Americans are seeking intelligent leadership, George, and that’s largely because of the way you have governed.

But for some reason, despite my years of being an anti-Bush partisan, I’m really am starting to feel a little bit sad for Bush as he moves on to retirement in Texas or exile in Paraguay.

I fear I’m entirely too forgiving.

Cheney Indicted

Heh:

A Willacy County grand jury in Texas has indicted US Vice President Dick Cheney and a number of others for prisoner abuse.

The indictment, that also names former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales relates to the specific abuse of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers.

According to a local report, Cheney’s indictment accuses the Vice President of engaging in an organized criminal activity through Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group, a company that runs federal detention centers. It accuses Cheney of a conflict of interest and “at least misdemeanor assaults” on detainees because of his link to the prison companies.

Well, at the very least, Bush will have to pardon Cheney as he leaves office. That kind of embarrassment is appropriate for a president as corrupt as Bush.

Serial Obsessions

Do you remember the recount of 2000?

I sure do, and it introduced a new way of living to me.

During those dark days, I wasn’t able to read the internet from work, so I’d hurry home to read the different threads on Table Talk while watching TV and throwing shoes at it at the same time.

Joe Lieberman said we should count military votes cast after the Florida deadline?

I’d ask myself while throwing a shoe at the TV.

The Bush administration came into power and I had a few mini-obsessions.

Protesting Bush’s inauguration was the first and then , the second seasons of Survivor and Big Brother occupied way too much of my time (what was I thinking?).

And then 9/11 happened and as an obession, that one was a given. As was the lead-up to the Iraq war and the early days of the war. I had a hard time believing that Americans were so gullible that they would buy Bush’s argument that Iraq posed some sort of a threat to the US.

I was pissed. And obsessed.

And then Howard Dean happened and most of 2003 was occupied by that obsession while 2004’s obsession was getting Kerry elected.

That didn’t turn out well, so my obsessions became nonpolitical. Dogs, cooking, and graduate school were my obsessions after the Kerry loss. Those obsessions were probably more healthy than politics.

And then Obama happened. That obsession started slowly when I watched him announce his candidacy in 2007. I liked him a lot, but was afraid to commit because Dean’s loss broke my heart. But I got over it, as supporting losing Democratic candidates is something that I have historically done. My first choice for president in 1988 was Paul Simon, in 1992, it was Jerry Brown, in 2000, it was Al Gore, and in 2004, it was Howard Dean. If I supported Obama, the poor guy was doomed, I feared.

But then Obama started winning caucuses and primaries earlier this year. And then he kept winning all the way through November 4.

I had found my new obsession, and I loved it. I loved the thrill of watching his speeches, seeing the returns from the primaries, and doing my part to help elect Obama when I could.

The same was true in the general campaign against McCain.

And then Sarah Palin came onto the scene and I couldn’t get that loathesome woman out of my mind. She took up way too much room on this blog, I know. But I still can’t believe she happened.

Then, Obama won.

I’ve been irrationally exuberant since then. Electing Barack Obama has been a great thing for this country, and though I know he will disappoint at times, I think he will be a hell of a president.

But now, what the hell am I supposed to be obsessed with?

Sure, there are a lot of interesting things going on right now, but it’s been hard to find one thing to focus upon.

How am I supposed to live without an obsession?

Maybe I should just go on a long walk and do some other things I enjoy.

Putin Didn’t Want to End Up Like Bush

This is funny:

NICOLAS Sarkozy saved the Georgian President from being hanged “by the balls” – a threat made in August by Vladimir Putin, according to an account that emerged yesterday from the Elysee Palace.

The Russian Prime Minister had revealed his plans for disposing of Mikheil Saakashvili when Mr Sarkozy was in Moscow in August to broker a ceasefire in Georgia.

Jean-David Levitte, Mr Sarkozy’s chief diplomatic adviser, reported the exchange in a news magazine before an EU-Russia summit today. The meeting will be chaired by the French leader and President Medvedev.

With Russian tanks only 50km from Tbilisi on August 12, Mr Sarkozy told Mr Putin that the world would not accept the overthrow of Georgia’s Government. According to Mr Levitte, the Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.

Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” – he asked. “Why not?” Mr Putin replied. “The Americans hanged Saddam Hussein.”

Mr Sarkozy, using the familiar tu, tried to reason with him: “Yes but do you want to end up like (President) Bush?” Mr Putin was briefly lost for words, then said: “Ah – you have scored a point there.”

So in other words, Putin was ready to go into Tibilisi and hang Saakashvili, but reconsidered when Sarkozy reminded Putin of how Bush is seen by the world after the Iraq invasion.

George Bush is so widely loathed internationally that a thug like Putin is afraid of being viewed by the world as another Bush.

Thank God that a new day is coming.

An Election Eve E-mail from David Byrne

What can I say? The Republicans have made us less safe than before 9/11, bankrupted this economy, started an illegal war they can’t – and don’t intend to – finish, removed what sympathy (after 9/11) and respect the world had for the US, and have robbed US citizens of many of their basic rights. Global warming? What’s that? Science and education? Investment in our future? No, thanks – we’ll stick with a good ‘ole hockey mom. Ignorant, and fucking proud of it, as is always the case.

Although it looks like a shoo-in, it ain’t over ’til Florida. And there are plenty of racists in this country who will vote against their own best interests. So please, get to your local elementary school, post office, town hall, or whatever, and cast your vote and make this a country we can all be proud of. We can get out of this mess, and life can be better than it is.

David Byrne
NYC

Thanks, David. You summed it up nicely.

Freepers are Funny

One Free Republic wing-nut wrote:

Somebody pinch me and tell me this is all a bad dream. How can so many Americans not be listening to what this guy (Obama) is really saying?

I refuse to believe that America will elect as POTUS this untested, unproven, unknown left-wing radical, who can’t make it one week without another shady association being revealed. This is like the twilight zone.

Of course Obama is going to win the support of the far too many “Americans” who share his ideology, but I just can’t figure out what has gotten into to the rest of the electorate? How can states like OH, PA and VA actually be so close, even in a bad GOP year?

I am fully confident that on November 4th, sober Americans will take their voting responsibility seriously and elect John McCain, a man who made great sacrifice for his country, over this guy who just showed up and wants to “change America”.

But for this election to even be close is a sad commentary on the State of this Union.

“Wake up America!”

In 2000 or 2004, I could have easily written this:

Somebody pinch me and tell me this is all a bad dream. How can so many Americans not be listening to what this guy (Bush) is really saying?

I refuse to believe that America will elect as POTUS this untested, unproven, unknown right-wing radical, who can’t make it one week without another shady association being revealed. This is like the twilight zone.

Of course Bush is going to win the support of the far too many “Americans” who share his ideology, but I just can’t figure out what has gotten into to the rest of the electorate? How can states like OH, PA and VA actually be so close, even in a bad Democratic year?

I am fully confident that on November 4th, sober Americans will take their voting responsibility seriously and elect Al Gore, a man who made great sacrifice for his country, over this guy who just showed up and wants to “change America”.

But for this election to even be close is a sad commentary on the State of this Union.

I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning.

It smells like victory!

The Dumbing Down of the GOP

Great piece by Joe Conason:

Why should we pretend not to notice when Gov. Palin’s ideas make no sense? Having said last week that “it doesn’t matter” whether human activity is the cause of climate change, she said in debate that she “doesn’t want to argue” about the causes. It doesn’t occur to her that we have to know the causes in order to address the problem.

That moment seemed like a major gaffe to me. She acknowledged that climate change is a problem, but isn’t concerned about what caused the problem?

Maybe it makes sense in the GOP mindset; after all, they want to fight terrorism, but “don’t want to argue” about its causes. Finding solutions to problems seems too often to be about appealing to emotions and making sure to not piss of the party’s base.

More from Conason:

Why should we ignore her inability to string together a series of coherent thoughts?

Why should we give her a pass on the most important issues of the day?

All the glaring defects so blatantly on display in her debate with Joe Biden — and that make her candidacy so darkly comical — would be the same if she were a hockey dad instead of a “hockey mom.” In fact, the cynical attempt to foist Palin on the nation as a symbol of feminist progress is an insult to all women regardless of their political orientation.

There was a time when conservatives lamented the dumbing down of American culture. Preservation of basic standards in schools and workplaces compelled them — or so they said — to resist affirmative action for women and minorities. Qualifications mattered; merit mattered; and demagogic appeals for leveling were to be left to the Democrats.

Not anymore.

This goes back to the farcical nature of the McCain campaign. They have run their entire operation as if it were some kind of a cynical joke run by privileged frat boys who think they are smarter than anyone else, but who in reality have a lot of growing up to do.

Campaign flailing? Pick a hot governor from a small state with very little experience. She’s so hot that no one will notice that she is most certainly not qualified to be a president (and as Vice President to McCain, a 72 year-old man who has had malignant melanomas three times, there is a decent chance that she will become president if McCain wins).

Wall Street crisis? Pretend to lead. Pretend to suspend your campaign. Go to Washington to have dinner with your friend Joe Lieberman. No one will notice that even members of Congress in your own party won’t follow your ideas on the bailout. No one will notice that when your campaign was “suspended,” you continued to campaign, your ads stayed on the air, and that you didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to get back to Washington nor that you hadn’t cast a vote in the Senate since April.

Unpopular Republican President? Pretend to be a “maverick.” No one will notice that since you were defeated by Bush in a nasty and foul South Carolina primary 8 years ago, you’ve become Bush’s lapdog in the Senate, voting with the President over 90% of the time.

The ultimate irony of Palin’s rise is that it has occurred at a moment when Americans may finally have grown weary of pseudo-populism — when intelligence, judgment, diligence and seriousness are once again valued, simply because we are in such deep trouble. We got into this mess because we elected a man who professed to despise elitism, which he detected in everyone whose opinions differed from his prejudices. That was George W. Bush, of course. Biden was too polite and restrained to say it, but the dumbing down is more of the same, too.

Indeed.

Where Bush and Bin Laden Coexist

From Indexed:

Minneapolis Goddamn!

Wow. Since the Bush gang obtained power in 2001, the First Amendment has suffered. After 9/11, if you dared question the Bush administration, your patriotism was questioned. If you wanted to protest our leaders, you were put into “first amendment zones” where you were allowed to speak your mind, as long as you did so far away from others.  We saw some members of the executive branch try to elevate Christianity to our state religion.

So I shouldn’t be shocked by this story:

Aided by informants planted in protest groups, authorities raided at least six buildings across St. Paul and Minneapolis to stop an “anarchist” plan to disrupt this week’s Republican National Convention.

From Friday night through Saturday afternoon, officers surrounded houses, broke down doors, handcuffed scores of people and confiscated suspected tools of civil disobedience.

Hmm. There were some suspect items in one of the houses that was raided, but geez. The police had informants in the protest groups? Are dissenters ever free to dissent without police infiltration?

But it gets worse. From Glenn Greenwald:

Following up on this weekend’s extreme raids on various homes, at least 50 people were arrested here today in St. Paul, Minnesota. Beginning last night, St. Paul was the most militarized I have ever seen an American city be, even more so than Manhattan in the week of 9/11 — with troops of federal, state and local law enforcement agents marching around with riot gear, machine guns, and tear gas cannisters, shouting military chants and marching in military formations. Humvees and law enforcement officers with rifles were posted on various buildings and balconies.

I was in Washington in 2001 to protest Bush’s inauguration and DC seemed pretty damned militarized at the time, but that was before we really got to know Bush/Cheney.

It’s hard to imagine what kind of presence the police departments in the Twin Cities have in place to intimidate people from exercising their free speech rights, but it sounds damn bad.

More from Greenwald:

Perhaps most extraordinarily, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now — the radio and TV broadcaster who has been a working journalist for close to 20 years — was arrested on the street and charged with “conspiracy to riot.”

Snip.

I just attended a Press Conference with St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief John M. Harrington and — after they boasted of how “restrained” their police actions were — asked about the journalists and lawyers who had been detained and/or arrested both today and over the weekend. They said they wouldn’t give any information about journalists who had been arrested today, though they said they believed that “one journalist” had been, and that she “was seemingly a participant in the riots, not simply a non-participant.”

So let me get this straight. Police raided several homes where protesters were organizing and now have such a huge presence in Minneapolis/St. Paul that they are arresting respected journalists simply for doing their jobs?

Sadly, it sounds about par for the course.

My hope is that tomorrow, when press coverage turns away from Gustav and to the RNC, the mainstream media will give some fair coverage to this story. But then, I also hope that when I go to work tomorrow, the problems of domestic violence and homelessness will be gone and I’ll be able to put magic pixie dust into my car tank.