"Restoring Honor and Dignity to the White House"
I suppose, by now, everyone has seen the latest video of our president flipping us off. Again.
George W. Bush is an embarrassment. He is a spoiled, old-money rich punk who never had to do an honest day's work in his life, had everything he ever "achieved" handed to him on a silver platter, never had to become an adult, never had to develop the tools necessary to function in civilized society. He is so inarticulate that he is barely coherent. When he does manage to convey a thought, it is likely that it is a lie. In word and deed, his actions are those of an ill-behaved adolescent.
Don't get me wrong about the finger thing. I am not a prude. I flip people off, too, if it makes my point, where appropriate. That is the issue: there is such a thing as appropriate behavior, and in this case, most especially, where it involves the man who holds what is possibly the most powerful position in the world. Anybody with any brains at all should be able to realize that when you are in that position, you should behave with a little dignity and restraint (conservative ideas apparently lost on contemporary neocons). You should also have the brains to realize that whenever cameras are on you, you are representing all of us, the American people, to the whole world. People all over the planet will see Bush's asinine behavior and believe that his undisguised loathing represents Americans' opinion of them. After all, a majority elected him, right?
How stupid and immature can Bush be? We're not talking about complex protocol or unfamiliar customs here, we're talking about fundamental knowledge; rules of behavior that most of us learn at an early age. Does George Bush hate the American people that much? Does he despise the whole world that much? One thing is certain - he is apparently, completely unaware of the significance of the office he holds. To him, it is just the family business; a position of royalty, not public service. And, having spent his life in the lap of luxury, blessed with power and priviledge, he propbably thinks that being a contemptuous, sneering lout is completely okay - it's normal behavior for him and his group.
What do you think the security implications are for saying "fuck you" to open cameras and microphones? Since it was not directed at anyone in particular, it was obviously intended for everyone. You. Me. Liberals, conservatives, independents, everyone. Americans, foreigners, allies, enemies, pacifists, insurgents, soldiers, first-responders, victims of war on both sides, christians, moslems, jews, hindus, bhuddists, everyone. George Bush says, "fuck you all." Way to win hearts and minds, George, you insipid ass. Way to "bring 'em on."
But wait, it gets worse. There are millions of people in this country who actually think all of that is okay. They react to Bush's flipping people off by saying that it only proves he is human; a good-ol'-boy just like them, someone they can "have a beer with," a plain old cattle rancher. They want their president to be an asshole. Even as they cloak themselves in piety and proclaim themselves to be morally superior to the rest of us, they don't hesitate to excuse the most appalling behavior imaginable when it is committed by one of their own. To them, I say, Fine. Here is our response.
Wouldn't it be nice if, next time, we managed to elect a president who is not a complete and utter embarrassment?
George W. Bush is an embarrassment. He is a spoiled, old-money rich punk who never had to do an honest day's work in his life, had everything he ever "achieved" handed to him on a silver platter, never had to become an adult, never had to develop the tools necessary to function in civilized society. He is so inarticulate that he is barely coherent. When he does manage to convey a thought, it is likely that it is a lie. In word and deed, his actions are those of an ill-behaved adolescent.
Don't get me wrong about the finger thing. I am not a prude. I flip people off, too, if it makes my point, where appropriate. That is the issue: there is such a thing as appropriate behavior, and in this case, most especially, where it involves the man who holds what is possibly the most powerful position in the world. Anybody with any brains at all should be able to realize that when you are in that position, you should behave with a little dignity and restraint (conservative ideas apparently lost on contemporary neocons). You should also have the brains to realize that whenever cameras are on you, you are representing all of us, the American people, to the whole world. People all over the planet will see Bush's asinine behavior and believe that his undisguised loathing represents Americans' opinion of them. After all, a majority elected him, right?
How stupid and immature can Bush be? We're not talking about complex protocol or unfamiliar customs here, we're talking about fundamental knowledge; rules of behavior that most of us learn at an early age. Does George Bush hate the American people that much? Does he despise the whole world that much? One thing is certain - he is apparently, completely unaware of the significance of the office he holds. To him, it is just the family business; a position of royalty, not public service. And, having spent his life in the lap of luxury, blessed with power and priviledge, he propbably thinks that being a contemptuous, sneering lout is completely okay - it's normal behavior for him and his group.
What do you think the security implications are for saying "fuck you" to open cameras and microphones? Since it was not directed at anyone in particular, it was obviously intended for everyone. You. Me. Liberals, conservatives, independents, everyone. Americans, foreigners, allies, enemies, pacifists, insurgents, soldiers, first-responders, victims of war on both sides, christians, moslems, jews, hindus, bhuddists, everyone. George Bush says, "fuck you all." Way to win hearts and minds, George, you insipid ass. Way to "bring 'em on."
But wait, it gets worse. There are millions of people in this country who actually think all of that is okay. They react to Bush's flipping people off by saying that it only proves he is human; a good-ol'-boy just like them, someone they can "have a beer with," a plain old cattle rancher. They want their president to be an asshole. Even as they cloak themselves in piety and proclaim themselves to be morally superior to the rest of us, they don't hesitate to excuse the most appalling behavior imaginable when it is committed by one of their own. To them, I say, Fine. Here is our response.
Wouldn't it be nice if, next time, we managed to elect a president who is not a complete and utter embarrassment?
posted by SheaNC at 9:10 PM
10 Comments:
Now, watching that video, that just did not look real to me. Did that actually happen? It just looked like this sudden arm-jerk and I cannot ever think our president would actually do that. No, I do not like George Bush's presidency, but I just cannot imagine that having happened without a major uproar. I have to honestly say that, for me, that video has the same amount of credibility as the bin Laden videos following 9/11.
If it turns out to be a fake, then I'll post a retraction of my belief that it is real. But when I watch it (and I watched it again for this response), it looks legit to me. The lighting is such that you can see the president's whole back and both shoulders, so I don't doubt the arm went up. Now, if someone morphed in a middle finger in place of something else, well... I'll try to find out. The official reponse has been that he actually gave a "thumbs up", but no video has been offered, to my knowledge, to back up that claim. So... off I go to do some research!
Shea, you guys are getting a little dated:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnews/20050727/ts_usnews/bushbashingfizzles
-Jack
Thank you very much! chickenhawk, What would Bush have to do for it to look real to you?
I added this blog to mine, permanently.
Jack, I don't see anything on the site you linked to demonstrate that we're dated - ?
Although, some statements I read as I perused it were quite untrue. Not sure how it all relates here.
I dont know, I just tend to question things. I was just shocked beyond belief thats all
For those of us who live in a world where reality is important, President Bush's continued meanders into counterfactual delusion is both embarrassing and more than a little frightening. Today's two examples: his assertion that schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life; and his support of Rafael Palmeiro .. "He's testified in public, and I believe him," Bush added. Sadly, the techniques that are effective with rational people rarely work for those whose beliefs trump facts.
Matthew 7:3
I'm noticing a mote (or a splinter, depending on your translation) in my President's eye, and whether I have a beam in mine or not, it disturbs me when he declares it to not be a mote, but a chocolate sundae instead.
Hi LG,
I think its kind of like this. I got in trouble at work one time, and for about 6 months or longer it didn't matter how much good I did or how good a job I was doing, the only thing that was noticed was when I screwed up. I think this is the case with Bush (if you don't like him) or Clinton (if you didn't like him). It doesn't matter what they do, one finds it supports their "feelings" for them. I'm one of the few conservatives that cut Clinton slack during a lot of his screw ups, realizing he was human. Heck, the last year of his administration they did more to hoble business than any president in history, but I realize a lot of the reason he did it was out of core beliefs he had that, although I didn't agree with, I respected.
When someone hates someone, then they always look for affirmation of that hatred. Its like here in the south, we have people who call others "n-gger" and hate someone because they are different, think different, act different. Most of the Bush haters hate him just because they do. For example, most Bush haters don't realize that his administration has been more generous in social expenditures and programs than any administration since FDR's, but they find reason to hate him because he won't increase AIDS research in Africa.
Anyhow, my point is I think that someone who hates Bush is the same mentality as the white trash we have here in the south that hate black people. (Not saying that you do, mind you, but just saying that this is the same mindset.) And the thing is I know some of these people and nothing I can say can change their mind.
Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter, Ford, etc...all of them had faults, did plenty of wrong, but who's to say that I would have done any better?
Look forward to discussions with you here at NL's
-Jack
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