President Bush's Mess

[traderx]

I bet Bush is aching for 1/20 to arrive. Bush's biggest failure IMHO is lack of leadership. He does not have the ability to get in front of a TV camera and sell his ideas and approaches. He never vetoed a bill until this past year. Even if he thought the Congress would override his veto, he would have been on record and could have gone before the American people to explain why spending was so out of control. Then there was his meddling in public education with NCLB.

As for the recession/depression, if you look at the various forces that worsened the GD, the greatest was probably the Fed's monetary tightening. Obama will not share this problem with FDR. I am no fan of FDR but he did fight against deficit spending. Obama seems intent on implementing his stimulus programs without regard to deficit spending. It will be interesting to see how we end up, as a nation and as a world.

As a nation, we are moving towards a more socialistic economy and I don't see anything that will turn that around, short of a revolution. We have so many people and programs dependent on government spending, how can we reverse that?

 

[TooFarTampa]

I bet Bush is aching for 1/20 to arrive. Bush's biggest failure IMHO is lack of leadership. He does not have the ability to get in front of a TV camera and sell his ideas and approaches. He never vetoed a bill until this past year. Even if he thought the Congress would override his veto, he would have been on record and could have gone before the American people to explain why spending was so out of control. Then there was his meddling in public education with NCLB.

As for the recession/depression, if you look at the various forces that worsened the GD, the greatest was probably the Fed's monetary tightening. Obama will not share this problem with FDR. I am no fan of FDR but he did fight against deficit spending. Obama seems intent on implementing his stimulus programs without regard to deficit spending. It will be interesting to see how we end up, as a nation and as a world.

As a nation, we are moving towards a more socialistic economy and I don't see anything that will turn that around, short of a revolution. We have so many people and programs dependent on government spending, how can we reverse that?

Great post.

And I think there WILL be a revolution, it will be in Ron Paul's name; he was about 10 years ahead of his time. (Or 10 years ahead of where the rest of the country is ready to buy into his ideas.)

 

[poppy]

I am interested in what people perceive as the "mess" President George W. Bush has left our country in.

I understand many people think Iraq was a mistake and because we are still there, it is a mess.

Are there any other messes that can be attributed to President Bush?

I don't agree with all of President Bush's decisions. I completely disagree with some.

President Bush didn't get us to this budget deficit all by himself. He didn't prevent it either. Is this then considered his "mess?"

Just curious. Today I heard Chuck Todd say that it is a given that after six months in office, a current administration has to quit blaming the former. :scratch:

It has been eight years and the current administration hasn't quit blaming the former.

 

[full time]

Great post.

And I think there WILL be a revolution, it will be in Ron Paul's name; he was about 10 years ahead of his time. (Or 10 years ahead of where the rest of the country is ready to buy into his ideas.)

Whenever I see someone espousing the virtues of Ron Paul's ideas, it makes me think of one of Churchill's famous quotes - "the best argument against a democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

 

[Winnie]

He also ignored the Middle East situation until very late in his administration; he had no leadership where it came to the environment; he put his friends in jobs they were unqualified for; he allowed the wire-tapping of U. S. citizens, and torturing of prisoners, thus trampling on the Constitution. and the Geneva Convention...in addiiton to starting the war in Iraq, the lack of continuing to look for bin Laden and finish off the Taliban...and, perhaps the saddest of all: total incompetence and apparently a lack of concern for the plight of the people who were devasted by Katrina and Rita.

Most of all IMO he allowed himself to be influenced by people who did not have the best interests of the country at heart, and for whatever reason, he did not stand up to Cheney and Rumsfield and others, in spite of the (apparent) fact that Secretary Rice was trying to stop some of their antics.

His arrogrance and obliviousness to others' plight led to much of the world believing that "America has lost its way".

As far as the financial crisis...he can not be held totally responsible, however, I believe his continued belief in "trickle down" economics can be blamed for the intensity of the situation...when he had the opportunity to do something, he did little.

Had he continued to be the president that stood on the rubble of the World Trade Center and followed the spirit of that day, I believe our country and the world would be in a much different place today.

Much of what has happened can be attibuted to his running the country as though he was running another policial campaingn (see Scott McCelland's book for details) and listening to people who did not have the vision to make the world a better place, but rather were looking to make the Republican Party all powerful.

I disagree with nearly everything you said above.

I am having trouble ferreting out what the ultimate mess is, that you feel Bush is responsible for. Are you saying that you find him to blame for unrest in the Middle East, Bin Laden still being on the loose, the Taliban still existing, and the lack of respect for the US from other countries? I gather you are also not happy with how he has handled a number of situations, but I don't see the mess left in these cases.

 

[TooFarTampa]

Whenever I see someone espousing the virtues of Ron Paul's ideas, it makes me think of one of Churchill's famous quotes - "the best argument against a democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter."

Well isn't that nice.

I certainly did not vote for Ron Paul, and probably wouldn't, but I can appreciate the spirit of what he was saying. After a few years of trillion-plus deficits I am sure I will not be alone. :roll:

 

[Winnie]

It has been eight years and the current administration hasn't quit blaming the former.

I suspect Chuck Todd was and is incorrect about blame. Politicians don't accept blame very often.

 

[30ashopper]

Well isn't that nice.

I certainly did not vote for Ron Paul, and probably wouldn't, but I can appreciate the spirit of what he was saying. After a few years of trillion-plus deficits I am sure I will not be alone. :roll:

This country will never endorse the likes of Ron Paul. A majority are addicted to the concept of something from nothing. Paul's beliefs stand in stark contrast to that. He could have been elected easily in the eighteen hundreds or even the first two decades of the twentieth, but not today.

 

[GoodWitch58]

I disagree with nearly everything you said above.

I am having trouble ferreting out what the ultimate mess is, that you feel Bush is responsible for. Are you saying that you find him to blame for unrest in the Middle East, Bin Laden still being on the loose, the Taliban still existing, and the lack of respect for the US from other countries? I gather you are also not happy with how he has handled a number of situations, but I don't see the mess left in these cases.

Well, that's fine with me if you disagree. You asked, and I gave you my opinion.

I do hold him responsible for his reactions and actions to what has happened in the world. There has been IMO an almost-total lack of leadership from him--and, in his own words he is "The Decider".

I'm just saying that the results of his decisions leave a lot to be desired and are much less than what I expected from the president of the country.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I think part of the mess into which he led Congress was the NOT-SO-Patriot Act.