Should looks be off limits when discussing politicians?

[madinmaryland]

We spent eight years talking about a certain politician looking like a chimpanzee, yet there was NEVER any complaints about that.



If I recall correctly, there were some that had that as their avatar.

I just find that there as a lot of santimonious shit being flung around. Yeah, and fuck Christie.

eom

[msongs]

1. why is good to say things like that about bush but bad to say it about obama? better to say them

about neither and stick to policies and observed behaviors, where bush and obama share many similarities and differences

[madinmaryland]

2. I'm just sick of the sanctimonious shit about one candidates looks, yet DU for eight

years made comments about Bush that were just as bad.

And apparently DU does not give a shite.

[pennylane100]

3. Well just how unfair is that. The poor man is being subject to ridicule because of his looks.

The fact that he was a monster that caused the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the displacement of millions does not in any way excuse the bad manners of those who made fun of his looks. The people that subject this poor man to such public humiliation must not use the fact that he was an unelected, barely literate, draft dodging, druggie. That has absolutely no bearing on the fact that he looks so much like our closest relatives, the siminians.
Keep up the good work, I know someone out there cares.

[saras]

4. My understanding was that the name came from behavior, not appearance

So many of his observable behaviors on camera were reminiscent of a chimpanzee's emotional reactions, especially having to do with violence, and little to do with how a civilized person might behave in those situations. Or, as someone phrased it at the time, he was never inarticulate or at a loss for words when was talking about violence, revenge, war, or hatred. Only when he tried to mouth the words of compassion and caring did he lose the ability to form a complete sentence.

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. "reminiscent of a chimpanzee's emotional reactions, especially having to do with violence..." Proof?

"Only when he tried to mouth the words of compassion and caring did he lose the ability to form a complete sentence."

You've made the claim that an American President lacked the ability to form a complete sentence.

YOU made the claim. Back it up. Yes... this lifelong Democrat is asking you to back up your words (yes, I want you to prove your claim about how stupid a president from the other party can be). Prove to me that an American President... ANY American President lacked the ability to "form a complete sentence".

I can wait.

[saras]

8. YOU are making claims I'm not.

One, that I'm saying he couldn't, IN GENERAL, form a complete sentence.
Two, that he had NO ability to, even on difficult subjects.

No, I'm claiming a difference, not an idealism. He was observably less articulate, and particularly in the manner of confusing the grammatical function of words, in dozens of speeches

And frankly, Bush is a dead issue. DU2 has hundreds of relevant threads. Go through it with a primatologist.

This sort of thing:
"We hold dear what our Declaration of Independence says, that all have got uninalienable rights, endowed by a Creator."
"We’ve got pockets of persistent poverty in our society, which I refuse to declare defeat — I mean, I refuse to allow them to continue on. And so one of the things that we’re trying to do is to encourage a faith-based initiative to spread its wings all across America, to be able to capture this great compassionate spirit."
"There’s only one person who hugs the mothers and the widows, the wives and the kids upon the death of their loved one. Others hug but having committed the troops, I’ve got an additional responsibility to hug and that’s me and I know what it’s like."
"When one of us suffer, all of us suffers."

Well, technically, the last one is a COMPLETE sentence, just INCORRECT.

He really doesn't talk like that when he's talking about war - he's passionate, articulate, expressive, actually a pretty good public speaker. But I have work to do and don't want to spend the whole weekend reading old Bush speeches.

[cherokeeprogressive]

9. The most relevent words in your post are "Bush is a dead issue". n/t

[Icicle]

10. But wait

You mean you don't remember when Bush spoke of how it was so much harder to "put food on our family?"
There are entire websites devoted to the man's idiotic ramblings. Google is your friend. I find your feigned indignation that we had a president who had a hard time forming coherent sentences unbelievable.
It's true, the Bush/chimp comparison was more of a comment on his intellect than a comment on his appearance.

Here's one such list:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/bushquotes/a/dumbbushquotes.htm

And just as an example, since it may be pertinent here:
[quote]
24. "I wish you'd have given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it...I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with answer, but it hadn't yet...I don't want to sound like I have made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one." --after being asked to name the biggest mistake he had made, Washington, D.C., April 3, 2004
[/quote]

[MADem]

5. You can try to make that happen, and it might even work here, but out in the real world

looks will be discussed, they will be mocked, they will be picked apart. Newt the noxious pudge, Romney's robot-like countenance, Santorum and his dorky sweater...and they'll go after the wives, too.

It's just how the world is. Same deal with banning words here that are heard on network TV. We can create a false bubble where this or that is not permitted, but it won't slop over into real life.

[mick063]

6. Abraham Lincoln

So homely he was celebrated for overcoming it.

I am afraid when physical attractiveness become part of the equation.

Especially in this packaged, choreographed, marketed world of televised political advertisement.

[HopeHoops]

11. Walter Mondale was no movie star and look how well he did when he ran for president.

Oh, wait. Never mind.