It had been up for more than a month and my Grumpy Old Men colleague K-Rod had noted its existence some time ago, but yesterday the rest of the world discovered the billboard on I-35 up in Wyoming, with the simple question: Miss Me Yet?
The "Me" in question is George W. "Chimpy McHitlerburton" Bush, one-time Leader of the Free World, a/k/a The Decider. Few presidents have left office as unpopular as Mr. Bush, who left as our current financial downturn really got going. This has earned him the nearly daily scorn of the administration that succeeded him.
So do I miss him? For a simple question, there's no simple answer.
- I do miss his administration's foreign policy, especially in its general tough-mindedness. We have attempted to curry favor throughout the world on President Obama's watch and most of what has been returned has been scorn.
- I don't miss his administration's fecklessness, especially on spending. He did very little to stop the relentless ratcheting of spending in Washington and ended up kicking the hard decisions down the road. He's hardly alone in this, of course.
Much of what was said about President Bush was unfair, or even stupid. He wasn't a moron. He disappointed many of his supporters on many issues -- all presidents do that. I guess the way I feel is this: I don't miss him so much as I regret what is happening now.
What say you?
12 comments:
I'm with you on foriegn policy. Regarding the spending etc, Bush NEVER had a fillibuster proof Congress. The same standards for getting things done don't necessarily apply when comparing his actions with what Obama may, or may not accomplish. He still could have and should have made direct appeals to the people a la Reagan, but he never did. At any rate, it will be interesting to see how history depicts both flawed presidents.
Ever wonder why there's little to no bipartisanship in Washington these days. Look at where attempts at Bipartiship got Bush Jr, and Bush Sr.
Yep, I posted that on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 'Billboard seen on I-35'
G.O.M. is always ahead of the curve.
As for Dubya, well, my original take when I saw the email of "Miss Me Yet?" back on Friday, October 2, 2009:
http://stark-raving-sane-dont-go-in.blogspot.com/2009/10/truth-hurts-left.html
Mark, you and I are in violent agreement!
While I appreciated his approach to defeating the violent threats to the USA, Bush's mantra of "Compassionate Conservatism" was merely a euphemism for expanding government.
Do I miss the man? Sure.
But do I miss his policy decisions? Certainly not all of them.
His greatest accomplishment may have been the two people he put on the SCOTUS.
gee, thats like saying i wish i could trade this herpes in for syphalus.
either way, you got a bad screw.
gee, thats like saying i wish i could trade this herpes in for syphalus.
You do have a flair for metaphor, Gino. Guess I'd say this -- you can cure syphilis with antibiotics. And we might be able to cure one form of the disease at issue here.
What kind of flaming liberal would call Roberts and Alito an STD?
What kind of left-winger would say
Boooosh did EVERYTHING rong?
....
Good point Mr. D, I'd trade a fatal wound for a mere flesh wound any day.
The reality is there is no politician that I agree with 100%.
Phil Krinkie was close.
....
Seriously, what ranks better than the Roberts/Alito appointments?
maybe you forget...
he had to be dragged to those appointments. he didnt want to fight those battles.
dont believe me? remember harriet meirs, or meyers... or whatever the hell it was.?
i just re-noticed brads comment;
somehow, i cant picture brad or mark in violence together on anything...
somehow, i cant picture brad or mark in violence together on anything...
ROFLMAO.
K-Rod says:
The reality is there is no politician that I agree with 100%.
Phil Krinkie was close.
Yep. Krinkie's really good. Haven't met him yet but hope to at some point. (For the benefit of those non-Minnesotans, Krinkie used to be in the Minnesota legislature for district 53B, which is adjacent to my district and I think is K-Rod's district).
Gino says:
maybe you forget...
he had to be dragged to those appointments. he didnt want to fight those battles.
Half right, I think. He picked Roberts right away. He did, as you rightly point out, pick Harriet Miers, who wasn't a good choice, but he did come up with Alito eventually. On balance, that has to be a win, at least in my view.
Dragged to appoint Roberts? You are soooo rong.
Yes, he tried to pull the Harriet Miers and was quickly smacked down because no one knew anything about her and we weren't about to trust Dubya that much. (Remember Souter!?!?!) She wouldn't have made it through the Democrat filibuster machine anyway.
It actually didn't take that long for W to come up with Alito, considering the circumstances.
O'Conner was leaving and there was a lot of pressure for Bush to pick a woman. I remember the libs crying that Bush picked two competent, brilliant "white men".
...
Phil represented me quite well. I really miss him. (You should see some of the non-responses I get from the DFLers that "represent" me.)
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