Bush - Worst President Ever?

[Laugh O. Grams]

That was a rare freak weather event. Are you blaming the French government? Do you really expect every working class Frenchman to purchase a scarce (in France) and very expensive air conditioner for a climate that usually does not justify the need for one?

It's nothing like that at all, just another Bush apologist living by their favorite credo "It's not so much that you succeed, but that your friends fail." Whenever you present a problem with Bush or one of his cronies that cannot be debated, instead of saying "yes, you might be right or they could certainly work on that", they give you a laundry list of people who do things worse. Nothing says "American Pride" like comparing your country to the lowest common denominator!!

ETA: And yes...President Bush is the worst President, if not in history, then in as long as I've been around...he makes me long for the glory days when this country was in the shaky hands of President Nixon!

 

[WIcruizer]

All levels of government failed during Katrina.

True, but IMO the majority of blame goes to the local and state governments. The federal govt did the best job in the whole fiasco. The Coast Guard gets an A+. Red Cross gets an A. Even FEMA did reasonably well. If you disagree with that, exactly what should FEMA have done differently? The state and local governent had a large portion of the police force not showing up, or even participating in the looting. They hurded people to the Conv Center and Superdowm with no plan to move them.

 

[Mugg Mann]

It's actually been documented that nothing was done for EIGHT YEARS prior to 9/11.

President Bush began office with a terrorist threat that ws left unchecked for years.

For years, there was no war on terror. It was a failed law enforcement effort. President Bush changed that.

Based on both of your histories of posts, I don't expect facts to alter your opinions, but there is an obligation to open minded readers to present facts that the two of you conveniently ignore;

Here's just a partial list of the actions Clinton undertook while President to counter the terrorist threat;

The Omnibus Counter-Terrorism Act of 1995 was passed at the urging of the Clinton administration.

http://www.cdt.org/policy/terrorism/adm-anti-terror-otl.html

Here are some of the initiatives contained in it;
-Amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to Ease access to financial and credit reports in anti-terrorism cases
-Amend Federal law to adopt, in national security cases the standard currently used in obtaining a "pen register" in a routine criminal case.
-Pass legislation to require hotel/Motel and common carriers to provide records necessary for fighting terrorism
-Fully Fund the FBI's "digital telephony" initiative to assure court-authorized law enforcement access for electronic surveillance to digitized communications.
-Create and allocate funds for a special FBI counterterrorist and counterintelligence fund.
-Direct the FBI Director, the Attorney General, and the National Security Adviser to prepare a Presidential Decision Directive authorizing any and all further steps necessary to combat foreign and domestic terrorism.


Here's a Washington Post story on Clinton's part in the hunt
for bin Laden:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A62725-2001Dec18

including stationing two Navy subs in the closest available waters to
Afghanistan so that they could lob a cruise missile at bin Laden if
they got a clear shot. But they didn't get him, so clearly Clinton was ignoring the problem.

Some information on the fates of a number of terrorists while
Clinton was in office:

http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/clinton.htm

Of course, this was all done to draw attention away from Monica
Lewinski, so Clinton was really ignoring the issue.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9607/29/clinton.terrorism/
"WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton asked Congress Monday
to put more teeth in a tough new anti-terrorism law, and won
broad agreement but no specific commitments from Republican
lawmakers."

http://www.cnn.com/US/9609/09/clinton.aviation/index.html
Clinton seeks $1 billion to fight terrorism
But CNN has a liberal bias, and clearly Clinton was just ignoring the
problem.

Oh, and here's a summary of where that $1B went:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/WH_fact_sheet_10_96.html

Then there was the freezing of $254 million in Taliban assets:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A52702-2001Oct12

Here's a list of US antiterrorism laws and presidential directives:
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/terrorism/terrorism3.htm
which includes the Antiterrorism and Effective death Penalty Act of
1996, and 7 presidential directives signed by William Jefferson
Clinton.

Is this the "unchecked threat" that you were thinking of?

Let's not even talk about the fact that Bush was warned by Clinton as he assumed office that Bin Laden was the biggest threat to the US...I can supply the answer, but why don't either one of you inform the Disboards exactly how many meetings President Bush had after assuming office but prior to 9/11 concerning Bin Laden? It would be much more credible if either of you had the intellectual integrity to supply the answer along with a credible link. Oh yes, WICruzier, please supply the link to back up your claim that "it's actually been well documented that nothing was done for eight years" that will conclusively prove that every single link provided in this post is incorrect.

 

[LoraJ]

If you look at what he has gone through, I think a few extra vacation days are justified.

Please tell me you are not serious.

 

[TnKrBeLlA012]

Please tell me you are not serious.

100%

 

[SPAM]

in my opinion yes.

 

[jodifla]

You mean NCLB written by Teddy Kennedy? Would you like schools NOT to be held accountable?

You keep saying that, but what actually happens with the Republicans in charge these days is that the House passes a bill, the Senate passes a bill, and then when they go into conference committee, the Republicans write rewrite them as they please. Then it's an up or down vote with no amendments.

The Republicans, led by Bush, are ending democracy as we know it.

 

[Independent]

Murtha (respected as an armed forces experts by both parties) had some very interesting things to say on the Today show this morning.

Said that we should withdraw our troops immediately.

Couric grilled him, asking "won't that cause chaos in the region? and wouldn't that open up the region to massive terrorist cells and plunge the region into a massive civil war?

Murtha said exactly the opposite would happen. He countered that only 7% of Iraq was insurgent cells. But those 7% are aimed at terrorizing us, the US while we occupy the country. By remaining in Iraq, stability will never occur, because there will always be attacks against the US. The focus of all the suicide bombers is to attack the US. If the US leaves, there is nobody to attack and the Iraqis could get control of their country.

Murtha continued that the rest of the 93% of the Iraqi population are proud people, with a heritage and civilization that predates the US by thousands of years. He said that the Iraqis could be counted on taking care of that 7% of terrorist cells.

He said that we have spent 250 Billion on a war that is impossible for us to win and that there was another 50 billion on the floor today. He said he was immensly proud of what the soldiers have done, but that now it is time to withdraw and let the Iraqis control their own country.

The interview really gave another good perspective of what might happen if we did withdraw.

 

[Bayshore Bandit]

Speaking of the war on terror, what do people think of the bipartisan 9/11 commision giving soooo many "F" grades on protecting the homefront??

 

[Mugg Mann]

You mean NCLB written by Teddy Kennedy?

That would be the very same one championed and then underfunded by President Bush. Here's the breakdown;

BUSH’S BROKEN PROMISE TO AMERICA’S STUDENTS:
$40 BILLION AND COUNTING
President Bush has consistently broken his promise to fully fund the No Child Left Behind law. The left column of the table below shows the amount schools need to fully pay for the requirements of No Child Left Behind, like a high quality teacher in every classroom. The center column shows the amount schools actually got from President Bush and Republican leaders in Congress. The right column (in red) shows the amount that students were shortchanged.

YEAR,WHAT SCHOOLS NEED, WHAT SCHOOLS GOT, STUDENTS SHORTCHANGED BY
2002 26.4 22.2 4.2
2003 29.2 23.8 5.4
2004 32 24.5 7.5
2005 34.3 24.5 9.8
2006 36.9 23.7 13.2
TO DATE SHORTFALL $40.2 BILLION

Here's the full link including the history of the funding of the act. Dawn, if you spend time with an open mind with the 76 links provided in the site, you might learn a thing or two;

http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/eseainfo.html


and here's a link from the American Conservative magazine saying much of the same things;

http://www.amconmag.com/2005_08_01/article.html

Of course Dawn, I'll understand if you don't take the time to read everything. After all, I'm sure you're still busy trying to finding out how many meetings President Bush had specifically about Bin Laden prior to 9/11 (after being personally warned by the out-going President Clinton that Bin Laden was the biggest threat to the US). As stated in post #103, when you find the answer with a credible link, please be kind enough to post it for all to see.

 

[Teejay32]

Couric grilled him, asking "won't that cause chaos in the region? and wouldn't that open up the region to massive terrorist cells and plunge the region into a massive civil war?

Murtha said exactly the opposite would happen. He countered that only 7% of Iraq was insurgent cells. But those 7% are aimed at terrorizing us, the US while we occupy the country. By remaining in Iraq, stability will never occur, because there will always be attacks against the US. The focus of all the suicide bombers is to attack the US. If the US leaves, there is nobody to attack and the Iraqis could get control of their country.

I have no interest in attacking this man, the expert, but the whole world has noticed the focus of suicide bombers on Iraqi police recruits, Kurdish administrators and Shiite mosques, except Murtha. Why??

I'd put this Congress on a top five worst list before worrying about where GWB fits.

 

[micknpluto]

I will openly admit right here on the DIS I am a Bush hater. It is a fact, all of us here have at least one thing in common (DISNEY) DUH... and I may offend some by saying this...

Mickey Mouse (a cartoon character created by Walt Disney) would do a better job being President...

sorry,,, just my opinion...

 

[DawnCt1]

I must here retract my statement that the USA declared war on Afghanistan or Iraq as no formal declaration of war was made on either country.



For a full explanation, please read this article in the Wikipædia:



I wonder why they didn't bother on either?



Rich::

Wikipaedia is a poor source to reference. Anyone can contribute and write anything they want about anybody. Not verified and often not true.

 

[GoldenGate]

I'm somewhat reluctant to respond to a thread like this, but just a few points regarding the war that many people don't take into account:

FDR led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us; Japan did.
From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost ... an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman finished that war and started one in Korea. North Korea never attacked us. From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost ... an average of 18,334 per year.

John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962. Vietnam never attacked us. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire.
From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost ... an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent. Bosnia never attacked us. He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

The years since terrorists attacked us , President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled Al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a dictator who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound. That was a 51-day operation.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick.

It took less time to take Iraq than it took to count the votes in Florida.

I'm not 100% pleased with the job President Bush has done. I am very disappointed in his immigration policy and his lack of spending discipline. There are many things I would have liked to have seen him do in regard to Katrina and other domestic issues, but I don’t believe that the majority of fault falls on Bush for all these problems.

I believe history will look kindly on President Bush.

Iraq didn't attack us!

 

[DawnCt1]

That was a rare freak weather event. Are you blaming the French government? Do you really expect every working class Frenchman to purchase a scarce (in France) and very expensive air conditioner for a climate that usually does not justify the need for one?

One of the contributing factors is that a lot of the citizenry were on vacation and didn't come home to assist their family members who surcumbed to the heat. Perhaps if they did come home and buy air conditioners there would have been a different outcome. The heat wave itself was no more the fault of the french government than Katrina was the fault of President Bush. The French government however responded far worse than FEMA.

 

[micknpluto]

LOLOL M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

SEE YA REAL SOON!!!

 

[Skylarr29]

I dont agree. Actually I think the worst president... during my life at least... is Bill Clinton. Lets have an adulturor and a huge lier for a President. I think that is worse. He tarnished the name of this country.He's pitiful.

 

[Charade]

oh boy! How'd I miss this!!

POPCORN!!! STAT!!!

 

[Mariposa]

One of the contributing factors is that a lot of the citizenry were on vacation and didn't come home to assist their family members who surcumbed to the heat. Perhaps if they did come home and buy air conditioners there would have been a different outcome. The heat wave itself was no more the fault of the french government than Katrina was the fault of President Bush. The French government however responded far worse than FEMA.

Oh well, the French government didn't respond as it should have to a heat wave?? In that case, Bush's failures as President (including failing to name a competent person to lead FEMA instead of a crony of his) are just fine! You know, for someone who clearly dislikes the French you'd think you'd look for someone else to set the benchmark for what level of incompetency is acceptable in a leader.

The man's a bad President, history will not remember him kindly.

 

[eclectics]

One of the contributing factors is that a lot of the citizenry were on vacation and didn't come home to assist their family members who surcumbed to the heat. Perhaps if they did come home and buy air conditioners there would have been a different outcome. The heat wave itself was no more the fault of the french government than Katrina was the fault of President Bush. The French government however responded far worse than FEMA.

Dawn, you can hardly compare the two. Other than issuing free AC's to every French household, what response were you expecting? President Bush on the other hand could have gotten off his horse in Crawford the very first day, hightailed it back to D.C. and took personal charge when Fema stalled. And Secretary Rice could have put down those new shoes and joined him! Rescuing people off rooftops and AC's are two totally different things. Btw, glad your Chelsea seems better. Please keep us posted on your thread.