Grade George W. Bush's Presidency thus far

[David S]

No, but I do favor saving people from ruthless dictators.  Call me crazy.

I don't think 'crazy' is appropriate - stupid, probably, and gullible, certainly.  What business is it of yours who ruled over those people?  And do you think they're better off dead or tyrannized by a foreign aggressor? 

  As the leader of the free world and the most powerful nation in the world, it is our responsibility to provide this type of freedom to other people. 

What part of the constitution says that?

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You prefer that we kill them? By Bush's estimates about 30,000 Iraqi's have been killed in the war. Some put the estimate closer to 100,000.

You may think the Iraqi's are better off, but the ones we killed are not better off. The thousands that have had arms and legs blown off may not feel like they're better off. Those who have been blinded or disfigured may not feel better off. And people who have lost their homes probably don't feel better off either.

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Actually yes.

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What country are you planning to "liberate" next. China? North Korea? Vietnam(again)? 

[??????????]

He's awful, F.  One of the worst presidents we've ever seen.  Incompetent, stupid, a liar, cares only about his poll numbers, and a bigoted assh*le to boot. 

We're talking about George W. Bush not LBJ. I think you may have clicked on the wrong thread.


I voted B+.

[opebo]

It's sad, actually.  It makes me feel sad for America that we have so many people who want to blame our president for problems that others have caused, simply because he's a more convenient target.  It's a very immature way of thinking, like a kid who blames his parents for everything he doesn't like about his life and the world.

You are certainly correct that it would be a mistake to scapegoat Bush for the miseries that have been caused by the entire upper class, dazzleman. 

[Bacon King]

I give him a B-, barely.

[dazzleman]

It's sad, actually.  It makes me feel sad for America that we have so many people who want to blame our president for problems that others have caused, simply because he's a more convenient target.  It's a very immature way of thinking, like a kid who blames his parents for everything he doesn't like about his life and the world.

You are certainly correct that it would be a mistake to scapegoat Bush for the miseries that have been caused by the entire upper class, dazzleman. 

It seems that the upper class all but disappeared during the Clinton years, according to your line of thinking.  If you really believe what you say, then it matters not at all who the president is, because the upper class will persist through any administration.

[TomC]

I've thought and thought, and considered how I could give Bush anything other than an "F" but I can't come up with anything.

[angus]

'C-' and trending downwards.

I give him a C- as well.  But I see an upward trend. 

[dazzleman]

'C-' and trending downwards.

I give him a C- as well.  But I see an upward trend. 

The upward trend will be in the perception of his performance.  In reality, his actual performance has been decent in most areas the entire time he's been president, but the perception of it jumps up and down.

[A18]

'C-' and trending downwards.

I give him a C- as well.  But I see an upward trend. 

The upward trend will be in the perception of his performance.  In reality, his actual performance has been decent in most areas the entire time he's been president, but the perception of it jumps up and down.

Of course, 'decent' is just an opinion. And opinions are always changing.

[angus]

'C-' and trending downwards.

I give him a C- as well.  But I see an upward trend. 

The upward trend will be in the perception of his performance.  In reality, his actual performance has been decent in most areas the entire time he's been president, but the perception of it jumps up and down.

an excellent point, and one that hadn't escaped my attention.  I'd posted about the upcoming speeches before my holiday, then wasn't near a computer, or was but had better stuff to do for a while, so I really wasn't privvy to any discussions thereof.  Anyway, the few I watched explaining the war were helpful.  Of course the broad analases were that he's as cocky and unyielding as ever, but seemed to make a renewed effort to get public support for the war effort.  And after all, we're constantly being told that the situation in Iraq will be the legacy by which he should be judged.  So yeah, it's equal parts brainwashing and prejudism, I'll admit, but as you stated earlier he has less influence than we'd credit (or blame) him with.  Anyway, I largely agree with your long post.  I just think you put a bigger weight on the week following September 11, 2001.  In your grading system that's the final exam, and the fiscal is just homework.  I think I weigh other factors more heavily than hell week.  But really I think your synopsis is generally valid.  And yes the upward trend is based probably more on my digestion and regurgitatioin of talking head shows than upon reality.

[minionofmidas]

It sorta depends on the scale. Much the largest part of American democracy has survived the post 9/11 onslaught after all.

[angus]

so you also think I underestimate Bush's post-9/11/01 stewardship?  fair enough.  academic freedom.  use any scale you want.  I'll use mine.

[minionofmidas]

In this context, the correct term is "misunderestimate".

[ATFFL]

In this context, the correct term is "misunderestimate".

Indeed, he deserves at least a "C" for his future contributions to the Oxford English Dictionary.

[Gustaf]

Do you support operating in people who are sick? Are you a doctor? If not, you shouldn't call on others to perform surgery, if you're not ready to do so yourself. Or just shut up.

 

Yes because asking a doctor to do something that I can not is the same thing as asking others to kill tends of thousands of innocent women and children and to have a significant chance of becoming disabled or even get killed.

But I think the fact that you can make that analogy shows that you don't see war as the last possible resort.

I really hate it when people are stupid on purpose trying to win debates...you can pick any other example. And who asked anyone anything? I can applaud and support what others do without having to do it myself. That ought to be pretty obvious. Unless you didn't know, the US does not have a draft so your soldiers actually picked that job.

And your second paragraph is sort of hard to understand...how does it show that exactly? But tell me what those other resorts were...saying please? I don't see how people can view the lbieration of a country as a bad thing, regardless of what you think of Bush. Sure, he didn't care one iota about the Iraqi people, I'm not kidding myself into believing that, but the end result was still positive.

[GOP = Terrorists]

I really hate it when people are stupid on purpose trying to win debates...

Yes I agree you were being dumb with your Doctor analogy.

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You shouldn't be advocating others to kill and die for a cause that you are to chicken to kill and die for yourself.

As for the draft they prevent people from leaving the army even when their time is up and they send national guard units to fight when they clearly signed up to defend Connecticut not to invade Iraq.

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Liberation? Rotflamo you must be joking.  We took a moderate secular state and handed it over to Shi'ite Theocrats.

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Yeah I'm sure it was real positive for the masses without water and electricity or the 147,000+ dead including a majority of women and children.

I don't see how anyone well anyone who isn't a cold blooded murder of children can support Iraq.  Surely anyone who believes Iraq was a good thing should be flying a blue avatar.

[dazzleman]

To call Iraq under Saddam Hussein a 'moderate secular state' only proves how far out in left field you are, and discredits everything else you say, Progress.  Once I saw that, there was no reason to read further.

[Schmitz in 1972]

I voted D- but I could have easily voted F.

the Patriot act, No child left behind act, Campaign finance reform act, and wars without an end in sight ought to be enough to easily make me give him a failing grade. One reason I'm holding back is that it could be much, much, worse if Kerry were president right now. Also the Democrats check him in a way that Republicans never did for Wilson, Roosevelt, and Johnson. To his credit, throughout his administration he has *almost* (I'm looking at you Miers) consistantly been trying to fix a judicial system whose wrongdoings since 2001 have far eclipsed Bush's.

[Jake]

The Progress fag is opebo without the child molesting.

[12th Doctor]

B-B+

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

A++

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

A++

LOL!

[12th Doctor]

Hah, the median grade here is a D+.

Which just proves that Bush's critics are far more extreme than his supporters.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

A++

LOL!

He has done and is doing just about everything I would if I were President.  I really can't give him a bad grade for that

[nclib]

F