FACT: Bush is a PHONY!! Add to the list of examples!

[Sparkly]

(Edited to change "meme" to "Fact.")

He's not what he appears to be. It's so obvious, but so many people don't see it. He's a conniving, fake, political conman staged with scripts, sets, props and machinery more complicated than anything in Hollywood.

- He appears to be loved and never-heckled. The truth is his crowds are screened to exclude all but supporters.

- He appears to be a "man of the people." The truth is he's a spoiled rich boy who had everything handed to him since birth, including excuses, bail-outs, and cover-ups.

- He appears to be a "man of God." The truth is he doesn't go to church and behaves contrary to Biblical teachings of peace, love, mercy, justice, and care for the poor, the ill, and the outcast.

- He appears to be a "strong" man who respects the military. The truth is he refused to denounce attacks on the U.S. Navy and veterans who received its medals, including mockery of the purple heart at his own convention.

- He appears to be a man who served honorably in the miltary. The truth is his records have been hidden and/or destroyed to cover up the reasons for his failure to take a flight physical and failure to show up for months at a time.

- He appears to be a man who "doesn't waver." The truth is he's wavered constantly, on military deployment, the 9/11 commission, the dept. of homeland security, "humble" foreign policy, nationbuilding, and much more.

- He appears to be a man who "fights terrorism." The truth is he backed off of using full force in Afghanistan, allowing Al Qaeda leaders, including bin Laden, to escape; and he created yet more terrorists by invading Iraq without a plan, destabilizing it, fueling hatred of the US, and creating a new haven for terrorist groups to organize.

- He appears to be a man of "courage." The truth is he was afraid to leave the classroom on 9/11, afraid to return to Washington or visit ground zero for days afterwards, afraid to testify before the 9/11 commission without a chaperone, afraid to have non-supporters in his audiences on the campaign trail, afraid to debate John Kerry, afraid to hold frequent press conferences, afraid to ride horses.

- He appears to have a ranch. The ranch was built as a stage set for his 2000 campaign. They borrowed livestock for photo ops, and without animals, it's actually a farm, not a ranch.

I'm sure there are more examples. Add yours!

[blitzen]

1. He is deathly afraid of riding horses n/t

[CarolynEC]

2. Wow! Awesome list! Bush is a phony, phony, phony! (eom)

[Catfight]

3. EXCELLENT post! I really liked the afraid part! He lied about

holding 5 more Press Conferences because he botched up the two he held before. It damages him in the polls even among his base when he speaks because he doesn't believe in what he is saying, only what he pontificates from his speech writers. Here's some trivia on Bush, he's the ONLY pResident who has NEVER written his own speech! What's that say about a man who lacks any vision? Like I heard somewhere, he should stop talking to God and try listening for a change!

Bush, The inaction-figure coming soon from Matel!

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

4. He appears to be Texan

Actually a blue blood Connecticut Yankee, with a fake accent. MKJ

[pacalo]

14. In fact, the *only* one in his family who has a "Texas" accent.

[olddem43]

5. BUT - he is a genuine asshole.

[Sparkly]

7. True. And to most of us that's what how he appears, too.

But apparently, if you put a cowboy hat on an asshole, a lot of people are fooled.

[Sparkly]

6. He appears to be a man who "stays the course" in Iraq

but as in Afghanistan, his fear of political backlash causes weak stances when strength is needed, such as the withdrawal from Fallujah months ago. Did he think Al-Sadr was going to be a nice guy? The result of weakness at the wrong moment has been more deaths in the long run.

[Eric J in MN]

8. Buhs also mocked the military by wearing medals he didn't earn.

http://www.bluelemur.com/index.php?p=276

[kestrel91316]

15. Keep pushing this one. NEVER QUIT! n/t

[wiggs]

9. Appears to be a fiscal conservative....

...but presides over huge deficits in order to concentrate wealth at the top

[SheilaT]

10. He appears to be loved

and never heckled. The truth is that anti-Bush people have flocked to his appearances since January 20, 2001. Even screening the crowds does not keep out all those who don't worship him.

[pacalo]

11. I have one that should follow the "courage" topic...

Since being afraid goes with being a bully...

- He appears to be "compassionate". The truth is he is a bully who can't tolerate dissent -- "you're either with us or against us". He has a need to control the media, the WH archives, the Supreme Court, the voting process, the "WMD evidence" to go to war, American workers through loss of overtime & diminished health insurance, the elderly through higher Medicare costs, the Federal Reserve, & our Constitutional freedoms. He runs the Iraqi prisons like his Texas prisons: gulag-style.

I'm sure there's a lot more that could be added to the "bully" topic.

[lanparty]

12. Not a fact ...

... it's an opinion. One that I hold as well. But lets not mix things language like the conservatives do.

[CarolynEC]

17. More than mere opinion...

... when there is a long list of objective facts to support the premise.

[Sinistrous]

18. Would you please define "Fact", and state the parameters

by which you differentiate between a "fact" and an "opinion".

[lanparty]

23. Values ...

A fact is something that can be looked at from more than one perspective with no other possible judgement.

* The sky is blue.
* New Years is January 1st.
* Water freezes at 0 Celcius and boils at 100 Celcius

Yes, there are even subtle shades to these. But calling Bush a phony is a JUDGEMENT. Just like calling Clinton a phony is judgement.

Very few politicians are 100% authentic. Those who are typically don't stay in office for long.

Bush fancies himself as a cowboy, and perhaps in his own mind he probably is. He wouldn't be the first person to move down to Texas and buy a spread of scrubland. Playing rancher need be an act. Plenty of people delude themselves regarding their own nature. The phrase "All hat, no horse" was NOT specifically for Bush.

We can all sit around and circle jerk about what Bush is and is not. But I would suggest we concentrate on language that will help convince people OUTSIDE the circle. Saying Bush is a phony is just too easy counter because it's such an objective term.

I would also point out that when you make such strong claims you provoke defensive responses in people. They throw up walls and become illogical because your attacking their point of view. Rather, you could state this as your OPINION instead of fact. At that point, you're not attacking the other guys point of view. You will provoke curiousity instead of defensiveness.

At that point, I conversation can take place in which you can instill a seed of doubt. If the seed is properly nutured it can grow and break through the walls of bullshit that have been built in these folk's minds.

[serryjw]

13. STUPID question.......??

it's actually a farm, not a ranch.


What's the difference?? LOL??

[Sinistrous]

16. Not "STUPID".

"Farms" grow crops.

"Ranches" produce primarily livestock.

[serryjw]

22. Thanks ......from a BIG city gal!

[kestrel91316]

19. Ranch vs farm............

A ranch is typically a place where livestock (usually beef cattle or horses) are raised. A farm is typically a place where only crops are raised, or confinement livestock +/- crops. A ranch often has a large expanse of open uncultivated land for grazing. A farm has cultivated land, row crops, pastures. This is not all carved in stone, but just general rules. Bush's place is neither. It used to be a pig farm but now has no crops, no livestock, no functional use at all. Other than as a photo-op location. I would call it a "country home".

[Sparkly]

20. Kerry used the word "phoniness" today!!!

Found in LBN:

Faulting Bush on almost every aspect of his move toward war, Kerry said the United States is carrying the burden in casualties and cost. He called the president's coalition "the phoniest thing I ever heard."

"This president rushed to war without a plan to win the peace, and he's cost all of you $200 billion that could have gone to schools, could have gone to health care, could have gone to prescription drugs, could have gone to our Social Security," he said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-kerry,0,1109736.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[Francine Frensky]

21. He appears to be "Christian" but....

he executed more people as a governor than any other governor ever has, he has done almost nothing for the pro-life agenda, even though he has had a republican congress and supreme court and he was able to push unpopular tax cuts for the wealthy and environmental deregulation through (his real top priority was taking care of his friends), then theres the whole preemptive war that has killed 1,000 americans and 30,000 iraqis..... And this is the kicker: ever notice how many times he smiles when talking about death and destruction?? That gleam he gets in his eye??? It's sick, really.

[HootieMcBoob]

24. He appears to be courageous

but he is really SCARED and PETRIFIED. He couldn't even testify before the 9/11 commission without his daddy there. :bounce: