# Bush circulates staff memo on what to say about his Admin's record **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473 "2008-12-10T00:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/21 "2008-12-10T02:24:35Z")
Well, he DID do [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeJmmQ5y9eQ)-that was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/22 "2008-12-10T02:46:00Z")
On a pendant’s note, the memo is about the Bush _administration_. Not just Bush, himself, but his ministers and so forth, who _do_ have an effect on the economy. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/23 "2008-12-10T02:54:40Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Don’t forget, Bush also prevented the Martian Invasion. Not one single Martian invaded the USA on his watch NOT ONE! Cite? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/24 "2008-12-10T03:03:43Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Yup, that’s right. Bush “let” the economy crash. Gosh darn that Bush, if he just hadn’t let his hands slip, the economy would have been just fine. > > Fact is, the president does not and never did have much poer o’er the economy. Bush didn’t cause or particularly help the rise in 2001, and he didn’t cause this now. This particular bit of idiocy has been around for a long, long while. Hoover is largely remembered for “not doing enough”, when he did everything he actually could and convinced Congress to do more. Like hell Bush has no responsibility. What drooling mouth breathing redneck asshole war criminal lied to start the war that ruined the dollar with debt from his deficit spending plans and drove gas prices up crippling the economy? It sure wasn’t Hoover that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/25 "2008-12-10T04:19:16Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Cite? There are no Martians on your planet, Earthling. It would be unwise to ask for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/26 "2008-12-10T04:20:32Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > I thought it was Bill Clinton who did all that? Or maybe he just planned it all to make Bush look bad? Clinton left Bush a budget surplus. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/27 "2008-12-10T04:30:43Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m not big on politics, so I don’t want to get too far into it, but “curbed AIDS in Africa”? > [@](#): > > Referring to this. I’m not going to look for faults here. Bush’s African aid program may not have been perfect but no major program is. Overall, Bush deserves credit for increasing foreign aid to an area of the world that needed it. It was a positive act by his administration. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/28 "2008-12-10T04:32:17Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Clinton left Bush a budget surplus. But it was tainted with blowjob residue, so it doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/29 "2008-12-10T04:36:19Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Yup, that’s right. Bush “let” the economy crash. Gosh darn that Bush, if he just hadn’t let his hands slip, the economy would have been just fine. > > Fact is, the president does not and never did have much poer o’er the economy. Bush didn’t cause or particularly help the rise in 2001, and he didn’t cause this now. This particular bit of idiocy has been around for a long, long while. Hoover is largely remembered for “not doing enough”, when he did everything he actually could and convinced Congress to do more. If Bush doesn’t have any “poer o’er the economy”, then he should not try to take credit for “lifting the economy … through tax cuts”. If (as he claims) he can affect the economy, then he should also accept the responsibility for its subsequent fall. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/30 "2008-12-10T04:37:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Overall, Bush deserves credit for increasing foreign aid to an area of the world that needed it. It was a positive act by his administration. Yup, but overall, Tom Toles gets [Bush’s legacy push](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/cartoonsandvideos/toles_main.html?name=Toles&date=12092008&type=c) about right. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/31 "2008-12-10T04:42:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m not going to look for faults here. Bush’s African aid program may not have been perfect but no major program is. Overall, Bush deserves credit for increasing foreign aid to an area of the world that needed it. It was a positive act by his administration. Gotta second this. Bush is probably my least favorite person on Earth, but he did make an impact in Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/32 "2008-12-10T04:47:01Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Gotta second this. Bush is probably my least favorite person on Earth, but he did make an impact in Africa. No cites, but I suspect that much of the credit for this achievement should be given to Laura, not George. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/33 "2008-12-10T05:38:47Z")
> [@Rhubarb](#): > > No cites, but I suspect that much of the credit for this achievement should be given to Laura, not George. I suspect that much of the credit should be given to various staffers who decided that in order to balance out the announcement of the Axis O’ Evil in the 2003 State of the Union address, Bush should push for something positive. Hence: PEPFAR, which was unveiled in the same speech. It’s not perfect, but overall, PEPFAR has been really fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, IMHO it’s the best thing to come out of the Bush administration. I’m just a little cynical about the timing. ETA: PEPFAR funds anti-AIDS activities in developing nations outside of Africa, too, btw. ---
**Author:** ![grey\_ideas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/dfb087/32.png) [@grey\_ideas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grey_ideas)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/34 "2008-12-10T08:03:36Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > It’s not perfect, but overall, PEPFAR has been really fantastic. Don’t get me wrong, IMHO it’s the best thing to come out of the Bush administration. I’m just a little cynical about the timing.. From what I remember a lot of the funding has got somewhat hijacked by the religious abstinence groups though. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/35 "2008-12-10T10:56:53Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Clinton left Bush a budget surplus. Yes, I know. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/36 "2008-12-10T11:09:41Z")
From this side of the pond, Bush departs leaving the US: - economy at its worst for many decades - involved in three wars; two of which are stupid (v Iraq, Afghanistan and Drugs) - with its international reputation at an all-time low (Guantanamo Bay, Abu Graib) - with the reputation of having elected a President who simply wasn’t up to the job and who divided the country with his right-wing religious views ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/37 "2008-12-10T11:22:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > There are no Martians on your planet, Earthling. It would be unwise to ask for a cite. For some reason, this absolutely tickles me pink. Permission to use it as my signature please? ---
**Author:** ![criminey.jicket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@criminey.jicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/criminey.jicket)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/38 "2008-12-10T14:14:21Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But what gets me is the **content:** > > > [@](#): > > > > …and **maintained "the honor and the dignity of his office** **…right from the git-go** “Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000 “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000 “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000 **… and in them middle times** “I think we are welcomed. But it was not a peaceful welcome.” --George W. Bush, defending Vice President Dick Cheney’s pre-war assertion that the United States would be welcomed in Iraq as liberators, NBC Nightly News interview, Dec. 12, 2005 “You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that.” —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 “Wow! Brazil is big.” --George W. Bush, after being shown a map of Brazil by Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2005 **…and right to the _better_ end.** “You know, I’m the President during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in President, during I arrived in President.” --George W. Bush, ABC News interview, Dec. 1, 2008 “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.” --George W. Bush, in parting words to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy at his final G-8 Summit, punching the air and grinning widely as the two leaders looked on in shock, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008 “Amigo! Amigo!” --George W. Bush, calling out to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Spanish at the G-8 Summit, Rusutsu, Japan, July 10, 2008 “Your eminence, you’re looking good.” --George W. Bush to Pope Benedict XVI, using the title for Catholic cardinals, rather than addressing him as “your holiness,” Rome, June 13, 2008 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/39 "2008-12-10T14:31:54Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > For some reason, this absolutely tickles me pink. Permission to use it as my signature please? Your request is acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473/40 "2008-12-10T16:12:17Z")
In the annals of unjustly forgotten retorts… According to legend, Leo Szilard was present when Enrico Fermi delivered his semi-famous line about if there were, in fact, aliens then where were they? Szilard is said to have rejoined: “Oh, we’re here, we’re just disguised as Hungarian Jews.” (Read it somewhere. Couldn’t cite it to save my soul. Gonna believe it anyway, 'cause I think Szilard was, like, cool.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-circulates-staff-memo-on-what-to-say-about-his-admins-record/476473.md?page=3)