President Obama to award George H.W. Bush the Presidential Medal of Freedom

[DearAbby]

President Obama dropped a bipartisan bombshell today, announcing he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom next year to ex-President George H.W. Bush.

The magnanimous gesture of bestowing the nation’s highest civilian honor to the 41st U.S. President came a day after ex-President George W. Bush gave a respectful nod to Obama at the groundbreaking of his library in Dallas.

“The decisions of governing are on another President’s desk, and he deserves to make them without criticism from me,” Bush said at the site of his future library at Southern Methodist University.

NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell, St. Louis (baseball) Hall of Famer Stan Musial, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Wall Street wizard Warren Buffett top the list of scholars, athletes, artists, achievers and do-gooders who will be presented the award at a White House ceremony early next year.

“These outstanding honorees come from a broad range of backgrounds and they’ve excelled in a broad range of fields, but all of them have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us, enriched our culture, and made our country and our world a better place. I look forward to awarding them this honor,” Obama said.

The rest of the list includes civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), environmentalist John H. Adams, poet Maya Angelou, Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein, optometrist murdered by the Taliban Dr. Tom Little, civil rights activist Sylvia Mendez, disabled rights advocate Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and former AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/11/17/2010-11-17_president_obama_to_award_george_w_bush_the_presidential_medal_of_freedom_.html#ixzz15eUciQi3

[montanacowboy]

1. I have no words

this president continues to totally disappoint

[northoftheborder]

33. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?????? No Onion or Borowitz????????

[malaise]

2. WTF????????????????

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[watrwefitinfor]

3. Did Jimmy Carter ever get one?

If not why not?

I have nothing to say about the cretin father of W getting one, except it could be worse, it could be W.

Wat

[DearAbby]

6. He (Carter) has been very influencial and inspirational

to many many Americans and deserving of such an honor. I have no words for this, my jaw literally fell to the floor.

[BurtWorm]

9. Bush boy, you'll recall, rendered the award meaningless during his own term

by giving it to his enablers, including Ashcroft and Tenet, as I recall. This just puts the final stop on its degradation into pointlessness.

[subterranean]

42. The first Bush rendered it meaningless when he gave it to Dick Cheney.

[spanone]

14. my first thought.

[subterranean]

37. Yes, he did, in 1999.

[gkhouston]

4. Will it be irradiated first? n/t

[madmax]

5. It's for Poppy Bush... not W nt

[Erose999]

11. W will probably get his next year. Along with Rove and Cheney. Its all part of the "Bi-Partisanship"

But really, its a calculated move in a game of multi-dimensional chess.

[City Lights]

7. OMFG!

I'm speechless. All I can do is :puke:.

[Sherman A1]

43. Agreed & Well Said

I have no words.

[quinnox]

8. Who is next? Donald Rumsfeld? Tom Delay? Junior idiot son?

May as well in the spirit of bipartisanship since the Godfather is getting it. :puke:

[conspirator]

I personally think bush and cheney should get the Noble Peace Prize (sarcasm) n/t

[subterranean]

29. Rumsfeld already has one.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction (PMOFWD) back in 1977. For what, I have no idea. I guess for being a "ruthless little bastard," in the words of Richard Nixon. :puke:

[quinnox]

31. I should have known

I guess next for Rumsfeld will be the nobel as the above person commented. <sarcasm>

[XemaSab]

10. It's 8:36 pacific standard time

and this makes me want to go to a bar and start drinking. x(

[GrpCaptMandrake]

45. I love an optimist!

See! There's some good in everything! :toast:

"That woman drove me to drink . . . a fact for which I will be eternally grateful." -W.C. Fields

On edit: F'd up the emoticon

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. He's really working hard to lose our votes, isn't he?

I really don't care if he loses. I really don't.

But, of course, he wouldn't have made this "gesture" unless he thought he was buying something with it. I'm guessing, his second term. This is akin to giving that bastard Bush a pardon, and the reason for it, is to close the door on all the crooked shit the Republicans got away with, and set the stage for a Jeb Bush run in office.

Shame on you, Obama. For Shame.

[Poboy]

13. Todays 'WTF is wrong with you Obama' moment.

[DCKit]

15. Will the others have to boycott to get the message through to our President?

Awarding this medal to a certified, confessed war criminal - like those W gave out to anyone who agreed with his anti-Constitution, warmongering, torture loving POV and actions - devalue the award immeasurably.

I can't see several of those listed standing up to receive an award that is a cruel joke as long as W is a fellow recipient.

On Edit:

So the above is about the OTHER Boosh. However, HW has plenty baggage of his own. He's just hasn't yet published his war crimes.

[INdemo]

16. If Obama would switch parties before 2012,would it really surprise you?

[Solly Mack]

17. Yeah...freedom. Snicker

[Gold Metal Flake]

18. He's just doing what he is told by his bosses.

GHWB has the same bosses.

[pacalo]

46. You know what...this seals it with me. I'm with you.

This stinks to high heaven. First, hands off W, now this. Lord help us in 2012.

[jimlup]

19. I get more and more pived at Obama everyday...

I've tried to support the guy. I really have. My patience has worn thin though.

[RoccoR5955]

20. Give me a freakin' break already

I am getting a little sick of this appeasing Right Wingnuts.
Poppy wasn't much better than his son.
I wish Obama would appease his BASE, rather than try, and fail to appease the opposition!

[woodsprite]

21. That's stupid. It's it right there "who made the world a better place"

OOPS! Wrong Bush. Sorry. <deleted text>.

Still, I can't see this. Maybe it's an effort to award it before it ends up being awarded posthumously.

[lumberjack_jeff]

22. Too bad broken camel backs aren't fixable. Do you want the straw back, Mr President?

FWIW, you are now on the other side of the fence from me. The wrong side.

CIA directors don't get the medal of "freedom".

[Jakes Progress]

23. Let's hear the defenders.

But wait until I stop puking so I can read the twisted excuses for this.

[quinnox]

28. Strangely, the usual defenders are absent so far....

Maybe its taking time to come up with something?

[Jakes Progress]

36. A few started over on another thread (current new)

It seems they are going for the "it's good for the country" and "president as noble stateman" excuse. Give them time. If they can't find anything, they will just let this sink. So keep it kicked up.

[galileoreloaded]

54. Well, there are like 6 now, and they are probably working. n/t

[Safetykitten]

39. This is a decision by our guy and I stand behind him. He knows what he is doing.

[RaleighNCDUer]

44. Yeah, give him the benifit of the doubt.

Maybe Obama was too busy with school and his community organizing to hear about Iran/Contra, BCCI, Guatemalan death squads...

Why should we expect him to be any different than 85% of the rest of the country?

[lumberjack_jeff]

51. Of course he knows what he is doing. And now you know what he's doing.

If you believe that the architect of Iran Contra deserves the medal of freedom, you should, by all means support Barack Obama.

I don't.

[TheWatcher]

55. Spoken like a "Good American".

Goebbels would have loved you.

[lumberjack_jeff]

50. I won't support...

... anyone who would give the medal of freedom to the guy who pardoned all the Iran Contra criminals.

No more support from me Barr.... err Barack.

I'm a slow learner, but I can learn.

Howard Dean 2012.

[TheWatcher]

57. They are mostly in this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9583134

You really should take a look.

But I'm going to warn you, before you subject yourself to it.

You think you know what cognitive dissonance is.

Trust me, you don't.

There are no words.

[Vinca]

24. I think I'll go outside and knock my head into a brick wall.

[DearAbby]

25. Still at a loss for words....

[Atypical Liberal]

26. Wow.

Disgusting.

[corkhead]

27. I had to check the byline, I thought for sure this was from The Onion

[eShirl]

30. FOR WHAT?

We got a thousand points of light
For the homeless man
We got a kinder, gentler machine gun hand

[subterranean]

32. Did it have to be a Bush?

I mean, how tone-deaf can the President be?

[Poboy]

34. I guess Kissenger was busy. -nt

[XemaSab]

41. GMTA

:banghead:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4619959&mesg_id=4620119

[Poboy]

35. I guess Kissenger was busy. -nt

[HughBeaumont]

38. And in November 2012, they'll STILL vote for Palin no matter WHAT you do.

So goddamn it, STOP this ceremonial bullshit, STOP trying to please and appease RepubliCONs and start addressing issues of unfair tax structure, infrastructure overhaul, corporate malfeasance and wage suppression.

[felix_numinous]

40. A public show of outrage

is called for. Period. With respect Mr President, this sucks big time.

[Marr]

47. I keep thinking the link should say "theonion.com"... but keeps on not saying that.

[myrna minx]

48. OMG -

:puke: Just :puke: One more time :puke:

[Better Believe It]

49. And "let's tick it to the working class" Angela Merkel ? This is a joke, right?

Why am I not laughing?

The big question ....

Will President Obama give Dubya a big hug at the ceremony?

[neverforget]

52. Iran Contra has been forgotten so this award is totally cool.

:sarcasm:

[DirkGently]

53. Lame beyond the telling.

[galileoreloaded]

56. The best Republican they never elected.......

what....too far?

[Smashcut]

58. Wow. I really thought this was satire

:wow: