Who’s surprised at this news? Probably all of the people who keep telling us that they’d be satisfied to wait through the end of a second term for pro-LGBT legislation (or just insert your long-ignored progressive cause here) to be passed and signed by President Obama.
Do you think Barack Obama deserves to be re-elected, or not?
If you’re like most Americans, your answer is “No,” according to a poll released on Tuesday by CNN. The perception was even worse for members of Congress nationwide—but respondents still indicated they were likely to re-elect their current Representative.
With identical numbers for all Americans as well as for just registered voters, 52 percent said the President does not deserve to be re-elected, while 44 percent said that he does. Four percent had no opinion.
Respondents indicated the lowest opinions of Congress dating back to the start of the poll in 1991.
While the GOP may be in disarray with its fringe elements on fire, the Democrats have pissed away opportunity after opportunity with internecine squabbling, unbelievable naivete that 60 votes with all those Blue Dogs equals 60 votes, a lack of iron-fisted leadership on the Hill, and a clock running down to pass significant, meaningful legislation—never mind getting to the Homosexual Agenda.
It’s just one poll, and you can try to toss it out as a one-off, but the fact is, coming into office, Barack Obama has been set up to be a one-termer from the start. Left with a flaming pile of cow dung economy and two failing military actions in progress by Dear Leader Bush II, the GOP was glad to hand over the keys to the WH so that they could quite wisely depend on the lack of attention-span American public to blame Obama for not fixing all of the Bush messes that took years to create. If Hillary won, she’d be in the same sorry position.
However, what we’ll never know is what was going on inside the minds of President Obama’s staff, who for some reason thought that 2008 win meant an automatic two terms. They clearly laid out a two-term plan, and sold that to LGBT leaders as a realistic goal of some kind. Given a two-term plan means a re-election bid, any person of average political intelligence should have realized that the window of opportunity to pass socially groundbreaking civil rights legislation was going to need to be addressed early on, and ducks needed to be in a row, with strong leadership to push the controversial elements forward. Now we see how the focus is on the mid-terms and the smell of Dem fear is in the air re: anything gay.
There wasn’t a back up plan for one term, huh?
It’s still his second term to lose; if the GOP is stupid enough to nominate a fringe candidate like Palin or some teabagger icon, President Obama may have a slam dunk re-election. However, as brain-dead as we often think the GOP is, they have a presence of mind and ability to focus on the end goal that Democrats seem to flounder time and again. One can only hope that a re-election campaign is run better than this governing administration.
Are we supposed to feel better that the figure isn’t any higher? (Think Progress):
According to the poll, a combined 58% said the decade was either “awful” or “not so good,” 29% said it was fair, and just 12% said it was either “good” or “great.” [...]
Asked what they thought had the greatest negative impact on America this past decade, 38% cited the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 23% picked the mortgage and housing crisis, 20% said the Iraq war, 11% chose the stock market crash, and 6% said Hurricane Katrina.
But 37% said it lost ground on the environment, 46% said it lost ground on health and well being, 50% said it lost ground on peace and national security, 54% said lost ground on the nation’s sense of unity, 55% said it lost ground in treating others with respect, 66% said it lost ground on moral values, and a whopping 74% said it lost ground on economic prosperity.
This also bears out looking at Census figures - this can’t help the ego of the man from Crawford. Aw, crap, he probably doesn’t give a damn.
While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country’s condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton’s two terms, often substantially.
The best part of all of this is the most predictable—Bush cronies are desperate to rewrite history to blame Obama. After all, what on earth can they put in the W library about his Presidency that doesn’t smell of sucktitude?
Former White House adviser Karl Rove, for example, has been all over the media, issuing statements like the Bush administration has “no” responsibility for current budget deficits. Bush officials have even tried to claim that they made Afghanistan a top priority and that Obama is the one who has been screwing up their work. Fox News host Sean Hannity has gone so far as to say that Bush deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is claiming that the cure to the country’s problems is to just give political control back to Republicans (which was true for a large part of the last decade).
I know the general American public—you know, the ones who tune out politics until they have to vote (for the ones who do vote at all)—is seen as sheep by these neo-cons, teabaggers, birthers and media turd purveyors, but one can only hope they aren’t going to buy this pantload.
The simple answer to the question of why Dick Cheney is a spiteful, hateful ghoul of a human being probably has a lot to do with the fact that Cheney is vastly hated, but he was never humbled.
Although Fallows is wrong about Bush’s overwhelming and uncritical graciousness towards Obama (and, to be fair, I think that ex-presidents should be free to openly discuss their successors), he looks like he’s planning out Obama’s next birthday party compared to Cheney.
Cheney spent the past, oh, half decade getting less popular than that kid in grade school who never really seemed to shower, but he also spent that same time holing himself away from anything that even resembled reality. It’s easy to burst on the scene in 2009, guns blazing like an asshole who blazes lots of guns, when you’ve spent the past several years convincing yourself that everyone in the world is your enemy because they’re stupid and dumb and have Nikes and Sega Genesis.
Or wait, no, that was me when I wasn’t showering in sixth grade. Shit.
Dick Cheney is the worst kind of dick - the kind who has the ability to hear exactly what he wants, when he wants, and has just enough pull with just enough other dicks to ensure that someone will always broadcast what he says. Bush may not be any better, he just lacked the ability to go hide in an undisclosed location for months at a time and refuse to talk to anyone but Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity’s hair.
“I don’t like it. The cables (TV) have a lot to do with it.” -- Former President George H.W. Bush on the lack of civility on the Left, particularly toward failed spawn his son, W.
The first President Bush raises the bar of political discourse even as he criticizes it. In an interview with CBS, Dear Leader’s avenged daddy spouts out hypocrisy that is so entertaining that one longs for those simple days before his son destroyed the economy and our relations with the rest of the world.
While he said he does not believe in personal name-calling, he singled out MSNBC personalities Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow calling them “sick puppies.”
“The way they treat my son and anyone who’s opposed to their point of view is just horrible,” Mr. Bush said.
When asked about the abuse being heaped by the Right onto the current occupant of the White House, Bush Number One goes flaccid.
Mr. Bush said verbal attacks on Mr. Obama ”sometimes crosses the lines of civility.” He also said it crosses “party lines and ideological lines.”
Mr. Bush does not believe most of the attacks on Mr. Obama are racially motivated. He said, “You might find some racists out there but I don’t think the attacks per se have to do that he’s an African American.”
Was Poppy awake during the 2008 campaign through to the present day? Anyway, Rachel had a response to the elder Bush…
It’s simply idiotic to presume that death threats against Bush weren’t being investigated. A reality-based explanation would be that there are four times as many death threats against Obama as there were against Bush, meaning that there would be a lot more arrests (and, ergo, more arrests of protesters), but that’s probably something I made up along with 9/11 being an inside job and the Underground Railroad.
Incidentally, I appreciate the argument that the reason that there are more protest-related arrests of people threatening Obama’s life is that the media effectively didn’t cover liberal protests, which would seem to actually contradict the liberalism that’s driving the media to not report on the conservative protests that they’re actually reporting on and therefore using to point out death threats. Or something.
But now Obama is being lobbied by politicians and voters who want something more—the humiliation and/or punishment of those responsible for the policies of the past. They are looking for individual scalps—or, at least, careers and reputations.
Their argument is that without identifying and punishing the perpetrators, there can be no accountability—and therefore no deterrent lesson for future administrations. It is a plausible-sounding rationale, but it cloaks an unworthy desire for vengeance.
Broder demonstrates just how worthy this is by pointing out other times that people were mad about things, and how proposed solutions to those instance of outrage were bad ideas, because nothing says “I really thought about this” like convenient and inapplicable analogies. But really, the reason that this is vengeance, and such a terrible idea, is that the Bush administration followed the time-honored tradition of breaking the law in a way that was proper and well-considered, which is why we let people off for highly contrived multi-hour bank heists - after all, they discussed them at length.
But having vowed to end the practices, Obama should use all the influence of his office to stop the retroactive search for scapegoats.
This is not another Sept. 11 situation, when nearly 3,000 Americans were killed. We had to investigate the flawed performances and gaps in the system and make the necessary repairs to reduce the chances of a deadly repetition.
The memos on torture represented a deliberate, and internally well-debated, policy decision, made in the proper places—the White House, the intelligence agencies and the Justice Department—by the proper officials.
Well, that assuages my need to yell at the heavens in a bloodthirsty rage. After all, if the people who committed a crime debated the crime among the people who were going to commit the crime at length, really, no crime was committed at all. It’s like they actually did society a favor; after all, we can always stop torturing people, but we’ll never get the chance back for respectful, considered debate.
Ergo, when I call David Broder a dickfaced soulless fuckhead shilling for the worst of “proper” society’s instincts, I do so after having consulted with literally dozens of people, having debated for hours the extent and nature of his fuckheadery as a policy matter. Fucking cockbag asshole. (This is all okay, right? Internally well-debated!)
With North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il acting up again (he seems to erupt like Old Faithful), puffing himself up to impress/scare the rest of the world and test whoever happens to be president. Barack Obama discussed his plan to help move the globe toward nuclear disarmament and said this about the North Korea missile firing in an address to a huge crowd in Hradcany Square, Prague, Czech Republic.
Just this morning, we were reminded again of why we need a new and more rigorous approach to address this threat. North Korea broke the rules once again by testing a rocket that could be used for long range missiles. This provocation underscores the need for action –- not just this afternoon at the U.N. Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons.
Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons. Now is the time for a strong international response—(applause)—now is the time for a strong international response, and North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons. All nations must come together to build a stronger, global regime. And that’s why we must stand shoulder to shoulder to pressure the North Koreans to change course.
...So, finally, we must ensure that terrorists never acquire a nuclear weapon. This is the most immediate and extreme threat to global security. One terrorist with one nuclear weapon could unleash massive destruction. Al Qaeda has said it seeks a bomb and that it would have no problem with using it. And we know that there is unsecured nuclear material across the globe. To protect our people, we must act with a sense of purpose without delay.
So today I am announcing a new international effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years. We will set new standards, expand our cooperation with Russia, pursue new partnerships to lock down these sensitive materials.
I haven’t been following all of the stops of the first big trip abroad by the President and First Lady, but there’s one thing I do know—I sleep better at night knowing our country is no longer represented by a president who makes an ass out of himself in front of world leaders in times of crisis or utters insane, ignorant, amoral BS like:
Left: letting his lips flap over an open mic—he said that quote to Tony Blair while chewing on a buttered roll, adding that special touch of American class.
“This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.” — as quoted by the New York Daily News, April 23, 2002
“I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right.” — Rome, Italy, July 22, 2001
“Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.” — speaking underneath a “Mission Accomplished” banner aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, May 1, 2003
“Can we win? I don’t think you can win it.” — after being asked whether the war on terror was winnable, “Today” show interview, Aug. 30, 2004
“If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.” — Washington, D.C., Dec. 19, 2000
“My answer is bring them on.” — on Iraqi insurgents attacking U.S. forces, Washington, D.C., July 3, 2003
It’s refreshing not to hear cheap, inflammatory phrases like “Dead Or Alive,” “Mission Accomplished,” or “I’m the Decider.” We all know Barack Obama has an actual functioning brain. Watching Bush was like a form of PTSD - you’d watch him on one of those trips and replay all the horrible embarrassing incidents, afraid he was going to top himself.
He thought that traveling to the Great White North for his first official speaking gig after defiling the White House was going to be smooth sailing. But alas, George W. Bush went to Calgary to blather about his eight years in office to the Chamber of Commerce (no press allowed) and got a greeting worthy of his tenure in office from more than 200 protesters (one reader who was there said the number was more like 500). (Calgary Herald):
Dressed in suits and business casual, many of Calgary’s elite were greeted by protesters yelling “shame on you” as they waited in the cold to enter the Telus Convention Centre to hear former U. S. president George W. Bush speak Tuesday afternoon.
...Tight security, and the subsequent wait, meant a lengthy line developed on Stephen Avenue for those holding the $400 tickets.
A handful of protesters took advantage of the stalled queue to hurl their displeasure with the former president directly at those waiting to hear Bush speak.
“Shame on you,” yelled one man. “Give that money to the families of the deceased Iraqis and Afghanis. Shame on you, Canada.”
In one display of disgust, protesters took turns hurling shoes at a poster of Bush—an action inspired by an Iraqi journalist who tossed his footwear at the real man in December. In that case, Bush managed to duck away.
Protester Orest Slepokura from Strathmore had a sign comparing Bush to disgraced U. S. financier Bernie Madoff.
”Of the two, I would say that Bernie Madoff comes off almost saintly by comparison,” he said.
One person was arrested. Keith Olbermann shares his two cents about the Bush appearance. That’s below the fold.
Reader CatFromCrow, a Lone Star State resident, updated me on this ridiculous resolution in the state legislature to honor GWB. Apparently Charles “Doc” Anderson (R-Waco)’s bill HCR 62, ran into a little roadblock when a colleague, State Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Waco) questioned the inclusion of language that hailed Bush for his “anti-torture techniques.”
You have to read the resolution’s fawning bullsh*t to believe it. It’s below the fold.
George W. Bush is officially a clown speaker for hire. Now signed on with the Washington Speakers Bureau, W is now prepped to deliver revisionist history to adoring fans at rubber chicken banquets around the world. Here’s his bio at the WSB as you consider who you want on the dais at your next big event:
President during a momentous period in American history, George W. Bush offers his thoughts on eight years in the Oval Office, the challenges facing our nation in the 21st century, the power of freedom, the role of faith, and other pressing issues.
President George W. Bush served in the Oval Office for eight of the most consequential years in American history. Faced with challenges from a terrorist attack to a global financial crisis, he made difficult decisions that will shape the nation’s course and world affairs for decades to come. His leadership after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was an inspiration to millions of Americans. His policies, while controversial at times, kept the country safe for more than seven years and liberated more than 50 million people from tyranny. Working with leaders in Congress and elsewhere, President Bush also raised standards and accountability in public education, added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare that helped more than 40 million beneficiaries, improved air quality and made America’s energy supply more secure, designated more ocean area habitats for environmental protection than any predecessor, launched historic efforts to fight HIV/AIDS and malaria in Africa, and strengthened America’s relationships with strategically important nations like India, China and Japan. He shares with audiences candid insights on his eight years in the White House, his experiences with other world leaders, the nature of public leadership and decision making, and a wide variety of domestic and international issues.
You need to book early! After his closed-to-the-press-and-public first gig in Calgary, Alberta before the chamber of commerce, touted as “A conversation with George W. Bush,” the former Dear Leader will take flight to share his lies thoughts with audiences in Asia and Europe (can’t wait for the reception he receives there).
C-SPAN has released the results of its second Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership. The 42 former occupants of the White House were ranked on ten attributes of leadership by 65 presidential historians.
* Public Persuasion
* Moral Authority
* Relations with Congress
* Performance Within Context of Times
* Crisis Leadership
* International Relations
* Vision/Setting An Agenda
* Economic Management
* Administrative Skills
* Pursued Equal Justice For All
The former Dear Leader’s placement was spectacularly bad. See below the fold.
With a record in Iraq of uncontrolled violence as a U.S. security contractor, NC-based Blackwater Worldwide decided it needed a facelift, as if a name-change would wash away its record. Bzzzzzt.
Blackwater Worldwide, the contractor that emerged over the last few years as Exhibit A for ugly Americans in Iraq, has decided that the best response is to ... change its name.
And check out the name they picked: “Xe.” (Apparently it’s pronounced like the letter ‘Z.’ Raising the question: Why not just call it “Z”?)
They’ve also renamed Blackwater Lodge & Training Center, the subsidiary that does much of their controversial overseas operations. It’s now the “U.S. Training Center Inc.” (Which doesn’t exactly mesh with “Xe,” but whatever.)
...It’s not hard to guess why Blackwater (or wait, Xe) wants to get out of the private security business. In 2007, Blackwater guards opened fire in a Baghdad square, killing 17 Iraqis. Five ex-Blackwater guards were charged with voluntary manslaughter and are awaiting trial.
I don’t think it would be a surprise to you that the Iraqi government has decided not to renew its contract with the firm.
Just figure out things you haven’t done since Bush was in office. It makes it seem like it was so very long ago. I, for one, haven’t had sushi since Bush was in office, something I’m going to rectify today. What about you?
Just pathetic. The loyal Bushies—count among them Karl Rove, Margaret Spellings and tool Alberto Gonzales—flew to Texas for Bush’s “welcome home” fete after he passed the torch to Obama and became a former president. Apparently there was a little emotional man-love on the flight. Here’s Gonzo reliving the moment and sharing it with Cox News reporter Ken Herman.
GONZALES: The last thing he said as he was getting off the plane — he kissed me on the forehead — and he said, “Just stay strong.” […]
HERMAN: Any tears shed on the plane by anybody?
GONZALES: By me, yeah. There were a few.
HERMAN: Why?
GONZALES: Just pride. Just love and appreciation for the man and what he did, Ken. I feel — being on this trip did a lot for me, in terms of just making me realize — it was a small part, but I played a part in protecting our country, and I take a great deal of pride in that.
Watch this pathetic video of Gonzo; there’s serious denial that all these Bush loyalists earned a paycheck on our dime as we watched them f*ck up the country.
Who’s surprised at this news? Probably all of the people who keep telling us that they’d be satisfied to wait through the end of a second term for pro-LGBT legislation (or just insert your long-ignored progressive cause here) to be passed and signed by President Obama.
This also bears out looking at 
The simple answer to the question of why Dick Cheney is 
David Broder is afraid of terrorism prosecutions because of the INSANE MEGA VENGEANCE 
With North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il acting up again (he seems to erupt like 
Left: letting his lips flap over an open mic—he said that quote to Tony Blair while chewing on a buttered roll, adding that special touch of American class.
“Can we win? I don’t think you can win it.” — after being asked whether the war on terror was winnable, “Today” show interview, Aug. 30, 2004
He thought that traveling to the Great White North for his first official speaking gig after defiling the White House was going to be smooth sailing. But alas, George W. Bush went to Calgary to blather about his eight years in office to the Chamber of Commerce (no press allowed) and got a greeting worthy of his tenure in office from more than 200 protesters (one reader who was there 
