Originally posted by: ProfJohn
For what it is worth, which is virtually nothing with this crowd, Bush does have more character than most politicians.
That's just nuts.
Bush has very little character, far lower than most politicians IMO.
Let's do a brief off the top of my head review:
Party boy didn't want to go to Viet Nam and took the easy out, daddy's influence got him into a guard spot where he used drugs and partied and did not meet the obligation.
Bush had a rep at Harvard of supporting the war in Viet Nam, and when challenged on what he'd just said, he'd sneer, deny he said it and leave, as a habit.
Bush took Saudi bailouts for his bad oil ventures.
Bush did an unethical deal to buy the Texas Rangers which screwed the local citizens.
Bush took a board position for Harken where he did not do much but 'tell a few jokes', other than that he chaired an audit committee where he lerned the books were being cooked and it was going to come out, and ignored the rule against selling his stock on insider info and sold it for a nice amount, then failed to file the SEC forms the law required so he wouldn't get caught, and then the SEC investigators were prevented from charring him because the SEC head was appointed by Bush, Sr. and the head of the investigations was the same personal lawyer of his who had done the Texas Rangers deal, so the staffers could only make a statement that he was *not* exonerated.
Bush drove drunk - and then used Alberto Gonzales in a scheme to cover it up in the campaign - and later made Gonzales Attorney General of the US.
Bush has completely sold out the interests of the American public to the republican donors, more than any president in history by far IMO.
Bush mocked a woman who was filing an appeal he reviewed for her capital punishment.
Bush felt he learned how to manipulate Christians.
When the minister who had been involved in Bush's being born again suggested Bush could do more for the poor, he was no longer welcome at the White House.
Bush has allowed the worst sorts of unethical political operatives to get away with terrible things.
Just look at the manner in which nearly every Democrat running for President acts when it comes to Iraq. They were all for it four years ago when the majority of Americans supported it. But now that is has grown unpopular they are tripping over themselves to prove how anti-war they are. And as Hillary is now proving, it is no longer enough to say that you are unhappy with how the war is being waged, a very valid complaint, but now you must make statements about how you would have never led the country to war yourself. It does not take character to stand up in front of a crowd of anti-war people and say ?I would have never started this war if I was President? however it does take character to tell them that you in fact did support the war, but like her husband she lacks that trait.
You continue to misrepresent the history. Bush said the vote for the bill was not a vote for war, but only a vote for leverage to get inspectors in. Then he lied and kicked them out.
Whether you disagree with Bush or not you should at least understand that it take a lot more character to continuously back an unpopular decision than it does to change your standing based on every whim of the American people.
It does not take character to get into the war for dishonest reasons, to lie about the bill by kicking out the inspectors to invade, to fail to deny the misakes for years and praise the screwups for political cover, to set up policies to pay off the donating private contracters while leaving the troops with low pay and little armor, to allow $8 billion of Iraqi money to 'disappear', and on and on.