"There is nothing to celebrate today-"

[babylonsister]

Text:
Tom Joad TEXT ONLY: I had the misfortune to wake up to a twisted bit of logic from Ed Gillespie on "Morning Joe" today. When the very best thing you can say about the Bush presidency is 'his personal approval rating always exceeded his job approval rating,' you know something's wrong. And neither Joe or Mika called him on it. Yes, I'm sure Dubya throws a hell of a backyard barbecue, but I require competence and a steadfast adherence to logic and facts from my president - and George W. Bush displayed none of those qualities during the eight years he served as chief executive.

Ed and Joe got together to discuss the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas today and spent most of their time glossing over the impact his administration had on our country. I expect that the coverage of the event on most networks (yes, even the "progressive" ones) will largely ignore the legacy of the Bush years and simply focus on who's there, what documents are archived and what President Obama's speechwriters might find to say that's positive about the former president during the building's dedication. It's a sham.

What I remember is that George W. Bush put Dick Cheney in charge of the country's counter-terrorism task force and he spent the next nine months refusing to meet with Richard Clarke. I remember them ignoring warnings that the system was "blinking red" and that 2,977 Americans died. I remember it only took six days for the Bush administration to draft a 12-page Memorandum of Notification authorizing the CIA to create secret prisons and torture anyone they felt might give them information. We suffered a horrific wound on September 11, 2001 - and on September 17, 2001 we responded by abandoning our morals. George W. Bush did that.

I remember that our professed "Christian" president ignored all evidence from the IAEA, millions of people around the world protesting and a personal plea from the Pope to launch a war that killed 100,000 Iraqis, 4,000 Americans and wounded another 31,000. George W. Bush did that.

I remember the 1,464 victims of Hurricane Katrina - and that FEMA's director should have been fired following the botched response to Hurricane Frances. I remember the 30,000 stranded in the SuperDome. “A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. ‘We pee on the floor. We are like animals,’ said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05] “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” George W. Bush said that.

I remember the Bush presidency as one of the most destructive periods of this American experience. I remember the estimated six trillion dollars wasted on unnecessary wars - and nearly twelve trillion dollars the economic collapse cost taxpayers. When you eliminate restrictions on predatory lending, capital requirements, and allow Wall Street to police themselves, bad things are going to happen - and they did. George W. Bush did that.

I remember George W. Bush for pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and the International Criminal Court Treaty. I remember Valerie Plame. I remember 1,020 days spent on vacation. I remember him saying "intelligent design" should be taught to school kids because evolution is just a "theory" (completely missing the point that a scientific theory is accepted as an explanation based on observation, experimentation, and reasoning). I remember George W. Bush, but sadly we live in what Gore Vidal referred to as the "United States of Amnesia." There is nothing to celebrate today - this is a day to remember that all of our recent troubles can be traced to just one guy: George W. Bush. "They misunderestimated me."

You're welcome.

From here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=531190173587141&set=a.433295386709954.96727.433288343377325&type=1&theater

[russspeakeasy]

1. A piece of shit person. (and that's not a theory).

[HowHasItComeToThis]

17. WHY ISN'T IN PRISON FOR TREASON

[AndyTiedye]

18. He Should be in the Hague for War Crimes

[GeorgeGist]

2. And Obama wonders why many think he's a sap.

[babylonsister]

3. Hi there, George.

So tell me...how is the President supposed to act? Should he be gracious, or should he have ignored a former president, regardless of what you or I think of dim son? He's taking the high road. Any action other than that would have been roundly criticized, as his actions are now criticized from the left. He's damned if he does...

[whatchamacallit]

5. If he had put Bush in jail when he had the chance

he wouldn't have to honor his war criminal ass today.

[skydive forever]

6. Amen to that whatchamacallit

[rwsanders]

13. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!!!!!!

[truebrit71]

15. WINNER!!!!

..very simple...have the former constitutional scholar apply the constitution...

[JoePhilly]

4. Yea, Obama should have kicked Bush in the balls.

[golfguru]

11. It will never happen

Once you realize all the presidents protect each other as members of the most exclusive club in the world.

[JoePhilly]

19. The other reason it won't happen is because our form of government

manages the transfer of power in a manner which does not include violence.

So while one might like for a current President to kick the last President in the balls, as a nation, we don't work that way.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

24. I'd still like to see Carter do it.

[JoePhilly]

25. I'd be ok with that.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

29. Rosalynn would be funnier.

[Politicub]

12. Please stop whining

Obama is a gentleman and a statesman. This is what presidents do. And I believe Obama supports the institution, of not all of the policies of the Bush presidency.

It doesn't mean you need to like it, but the wailing on DU is just silly.

I can't stand Bush, but he was president for 8 years for good or ill. I hope he slithers back into obscurity. I'm glad that Obama is a better man than me at times like this.

No more DU for me until the weekend. Which will be virtually impossible, but the self-righteous, oh woe is me threads get repetitive and old.

[mountain grammy]

23. I can wail with the best of them, but I think you're right.

After a while, it's just exhausting. Worse things have happened in our history, and we move on.

I'll still whine and enjoy all the jokes, cartoons and sarcasm surrounding this opening, cause that's what I do, but I know you make the most sense of all.

[Politicub]

31. I'm right there with you, granny

And I only managed to stay away form DU for just a few hours.

I like taking part in the same things, but sometimes I feel compelled to defend my awesome President when I come across something like the OP.

I saw the post right after I heard Obama's remarks, which I thought struck a good balance and didn't sound like a whitewash.

Loved hearing from President Carter, too.

[Gman]

7. I would have loved to have had him for a next door neighbor

Would have been party central. Tons of fun.

But now he's a war criminal.

[calimary]

8. I LOVE some of the comments on here!

Last edited Thu Apr 25, 2013, 04:29 PM - Edit history (1)

For example:

Matthew Remick Colleran "The fact that there is a Library named after somebody with, at best, about 100 words in his weekly vocabulary is stunning."

Here's another one!

Evelyn Shobin In case you haven't seen Andy Borowitz' tweet yet:

Andy Borowitz: "A George W. Bush Library is like a Mel Gibson Synagogue."

FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAYUM but I love Andy Borowitz!

[DirtyDawg]

9. So...

...his 'personal' approval rating exceeded his 'job' rating. All I can say to that is that those folks - the ones that seem to think he was simply an 'amiable nincompoop' that you'd like to have a beer with - never had a chance to actually meet him. And speaking of those that really did know him, the reason I don't like that wife of his is that I hold her personally responsible for 'T-boning' her first boyfriend, when if she had done it to her first husband instead - say back in the 70's or something - we'd have been spared a lot of grief...and one less Bush.

[JHB]

10. I remember he packed his administration with people who sneered...

...at Bill Clinton for being "obsessed with bin Laden" and who dismissed non-state actors as major threat sources.

I remember that counterterrorism didn't make the top 10 of his administration's domestic law enforcement priorities.

I remember his administration spent the first nine months shifting assets, personnel, and administrative priority away from counterterrorism.

I remember they had a perfectly good white paper and policy suggestions handed to them, but ignored it because it had Al Gore's name on it, and thus, in the opinion of the Bush league, had cooties.

I remember that the USS Cole bombing's link to al Queda was established the day before his inauguration. I also remember much carping that Clinton didn't act on it, but a loud silence that Bush had all the information that Clinton had spent time collecting, and still did nothing.

[cliffordu]

14. K and fucking R

[Martin Eden]

16. "I remember the Bush presidency as one of the most destructive periods of this American experience."

So do I, and when the mainstream media "celebrates" that presidency and accords it honor, I get more than a little angry

[nakocal]

20. War criminal's library opens today on unChristian School's campus

War criminal's library opens today on unChristian School's campus. Nothing else to see.

[hue]

21. This is a day of shame for the USA....

[mile18blister]

22. DimSon looks wasted

in that photo

[Orsino]

26. The people polled on Bush's personal approval didn't know him personally.

But they felt the effects of his policies.

[Orsino]

27. All of our troubles traceable to George W. Bush? No.

That he got anywhere near the presidency was a symptom of a nation already in serious trouble.

[SummerSnow]

28. And I thank you for that post. Loved it.

[Initech]

30. It's a disgusting monument for an absolute disgrace of a president.

[malaise]

32. Another great take on today

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755884/#51667141