Bush was not a bad guy.

[AstroManLuca]

Even if you completely believe the idea that Bush had no control over his administration and they are the ones to blame for most of the bad things that happened, that still reflects poorly on Bush himself. As the president, he's supposed to be in charge. He's "the decider," as he put it. A president who can't control his administration is a bad president.

This is why I'm glad John McCain didn't win. He was a good guy, but McCain was not in charge of his campaign. And if you can't even control a campaign, how do you expect to control the country?

 

[sonambulo]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
I feel bad for the guy. He's being labeled as the worst President we've had, but I don't think its his fault. It was a small fraction of the Republican party that really were running things. And that is why I'm glad that the Dems have an across the board majority right now.

It is the President's job to keep all of those assholes in check.

 

[frostedflakes]

If he's guilty of anything, it's being criminally stupid.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: techs
Despite my feelings about his Presidency, I genuinely feel sorry for him.

That's the only reason I started this thread, because I sympathize. If he just would have stopped at Afghanistan...

Afghanistan or not BUSH`s presidency was a tragic failure

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
I would like to point out that George W. Bush, was a good guy, a cool guy.

Agreed.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
I would like to point out that George W. Bush, was a good guy, a cool guy. Right after the 9/11 attacks, everyone got together and supported him.

The real issue was never Bush. Yea he's not a good speaker, so its hard to take him seriously. But the real bad guys in the last 8 years - it was the VP and the rest of the Administration. They treated him like a puppet.

I feel bad for the guy. He's being labeled as the worst President we've had, but I don't think its his fault. It was a small fraction of the Republican party that really were running things. And that is why I'm glad that the Dems have an across the board majority right now.

:beer: for Bush.

That is all.

^^^^^ Why the politically naive should not post here.

Yes, yes, Bush's Presidency is not President Bush's fault, yes. :roll:

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Perknose
Why the politically naive should not post here.

If none of the naive posted here, you guys would just be talking into the mirror.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Perknose
Why the politically naive should not post here.

If none of the naive posted here, you guys would just be talking into the mirror.

And, worst of all, ARGUING!

 

[bctbct]

The guys a moron and will be remebered as such.

 

[ModerateRepZero]

I'd have to go with AstroMan. No I don't believe Bush is stupid, but he certainly is...for lack of a better term, intellectually lazy. He can be curious at times but certainly isn't a hands-on person, or detail-oriented. Furthermore he is too blinded by loyalty sometimes (witness Miers Supreme Court nomination, Gonzales as AG, keeping Rumsfeld on too long...etc), and is too afraid of reversing himself and seen as erred.

He's a genuinely sincere man, but he bears ultimate responsibility for not reining in his Veep and administration officials who went behind his back. I'm sorry, but it's inexcusable that after it was clear that Rove was involved in the Valerie Plame leak, Bush didn't push him out of the way. Never mind previously stating that the leak was a serious matter and any Administration officials involved would no longer work for him....

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
I would like to point out that George W. Bush, was a good guy, a cool guy. Right after the 9/11 attacks, everyone got together and supported him.

The real issue was never Bush. Yea he's not a good speaker, so its hard to take him seriously. But the real bad guys in the last 8 years - it was the VP and the rest of the Administration. They treated him like a puppet.

I feel bad for the guy. He's being labeled as the worst President we've had, but I don't think its his fault. It was a small fraction of the Republican party that really were running things. And that is why I'm glad that the Dems have an across the board majority right now.

:beer: for Bush.

That is all.

Mr Bush called himself the "Decider". That means he made the decisions in his adminstration and should be held responsible for the consequences of his decisions.

Look at the condition of the US. Do it look to like Mr Bush did a good job?

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Siddhartha
Look at the condition of the US. Do it look to like Mr Bush did a good job?

Nope, he did a horrible job.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Insomniator
History will show Bush as a good president. Give it 30 years.

...for me to Poop on!!!

 

[Lemon law]

Of course its always somewhat of a matter of opinion, but the title of this thread is somewhat like waving a red flag in front of a bull when anyone says " Bush was not a bad guy. "

The first thing to be said is that mere words like good and bad cannot cope with GWB&co. Maybe 25 dollar words like horrendous start to scratch the surface of how toxic. Good and bad are for normal Presidents, only a plus minus two or three standard deviation spread in the bunch, when GWB is one of those super rare 10 standard deviations below the mean oddities that is supposed to be almost statistically impossible. And cannot possibly have occurred by random chance even if we take into account the best known age of the universe.

The second thing to state is that there is a certain synergistic effect operating between at least three, four, or five or more separate entities. And when combined, the negative results are much greater than the separate sum of the parts. We have thus far identified GWB himself, and those he brought to executive branch as two of those parts. But truth be told, we all share some of the blame because there is the GOP who enabled GWB&co, the democrats who were too afraid to confront him, the American people who did not wise up and take to the streets, and even a larger world unwilling to better confront GWB&co every step of the way.

 

[Muse]

What the hell is a bad guy anyway? Maybe he isn't the guy who does some of the heinous crimes you see on the news or read about in the papers but the way he handled his job the last 8 years it resulted in far more misery and the biggest crime of it all is that he didn't want to know about it. Money and power can do that to people. I hate the smirk on his goddamn face. When you boil it all down he's the leader of a band of conmen and thieves.

 

[ModerateRepZero]

Money and power can do that to people.

I attribute his actions/attitude more to the inevitable "bubble" and groupthink that happens to any administration, Republican or Democrat in the White House. No sane person would want to risk their safety and travel among the American people to find out what their views are in today's society, and it's human nature to want to withhold bad news from the President. Not to mention that not many presidents are comfortable dealing with differing viewpoints or extended/heated arguments. Couple that with Bush's certainty / dislike of introspection, and I find it easy to understand what has happened. It makes George W. Bush a flawed human being, not evil.