# Bush Press Conference: I couldn't take it anymore... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 14, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888 "2004-04-14T01:10:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/121 "2004-04-15T14:44:23Z")
To be fair I just recieved this in my inbox > [@](#): > > Committee formed to Welcome President Bush > by Welcome President Bush - Georgevisit’04 Tuesday, Apr 13 2004, 5:23pm > [georgevisit@hotmail.com](mailto:georgevisit@hotmail.com) > > Georgevisit’04 plan to show Bush that Irish people want “4 more years” > > A group has been formed to organise public demonstations in Support of US President George W. Bush’s agressive and brave foreign and domestic policy during his visit to Ireland later this year it was announced today. > We appeal to all right thinking people to join up and ensure that a large crowd are present in June to Welcome the commander in chief to Ireland. > > Presient Bush has taken a tough stance against threats that we all face from militant islam, and has acted decisively to right the wrongs of the Clinton years. > > This is a man of honour, and we believe he deserves a welcome. > > No more details will be posted here, but to get involved, email us at the address above, and come and show your support for the greatest American since Ronald Wilson Reagan. There will be a large crowd alright just not welcoming him. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/122 "2004-04-15T14:56:20Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s probably far greater concern among such investors about the catapulting national debt in general. And both GWB and his opposition take the blame for creating it. Here’s a quick comparison between GWB and his “opposition” (if you’ll accept his immediate predecessor as representative of that opposition): A [news story from May 2000](http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/05/01/clinton.debt/) and from [Sept 2000](http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/09/27/clinton.surplus/). A [news story from Feb 2003](http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/02/20/debt.limit.ap/), and one from [May 2003](http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A12730-2003May19¬Found=true), and from [last month](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/12/politics/main605544.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/123 "2004-04-15T15:05:11Z")
> [@](#): > > _ **London\_Calling** comments:_ > > There is no obligation – whether in law or via, say, an Industry Code of Conduct’ – for broadcasters to carry objective, unbiased reporting in relation to news and current affairs. That’s part of my point (and why the BBC, despite the derision aimed at it in this thread, strengthens British democracy), but not the whole enchilada. It’s the tortilla, though, and that’s the most structurally important part. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/124 "2004-04-15T15:19:16Z")
> [@Tee](#): > > …except for the small problem of the loathsome prick running on the Democratic ticket as his opposition. My apologies. Apology first for calling Kerry a “loathsome prick.” _He isn’t._ I think worse of you for comdemning him so mindlessly and idiotically than I would if you supported Bush. You’re not helping defeat Bush by spreading crap like that about Kerry. Why not just vote for Bush instead? If defeating Bush is a priority, than I encourage strongly to take another, closer, look at Kerry. Without strong support–which Kerry deserves–he won’t beat Bush. In fact, I strongly believe Kerry will make an excellent president. I didn’t think so several months ago–I believed ignorant morons like Tee–but after following his campaign closely, I realize: this guy is good. He is very, very competent, he’s thoughtful, he has great things to say, he’s careful to make sure what he believes is supported by evidence, and he backs up what he believes with action. He might not have the personal charisma of a Clinton or Reagan, but that has nothing to do with how well someone can do the job of president, anyway. Back to the OP. I wish to hell the press had reported more accurately on Bush’s president. Without exception, every media response I saw made him seem a lot more articulate and a lot less confused and inarticulate than he actually was. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/125 "2004-04-15T15:20:39Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I wish to hell the press had reported more accurately on Bush’s president. ACK. Make that, on Bush’s press conference. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/126 "2004-04-15T15:32:43Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > I wish to hell the press had reported more accurately on Bush’s president. Without exception, every media response I saw made him seem a lot more articulate and a lot less confused and inarticulate than he actually was. You may enjoy this _comment article_ by a admitted biased by IMO accurate nontheless source then [Hear no evil, read no evil, speak drivel](http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1192158,00.html) > [@](#): > > At his press conference, Bush was a confusion of absolute confidence and panic. He jumbled facts and conflated threats, redoubling the vehemence of his incoherence at every mildly sceptical question. He attempted to create a false political dichotomy between “retreat” and his own vague and evolving position on Iraq, which now appears to follow senator John Kerry’s, of granting more authority to the UN and bringing in Nato. ---
**Author:** ![misshannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@misshannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misshannah)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/127 "2004-04-15T16:10:03Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > But don’t use too many big words.😉 Hey **blowero** FUCK. YOU. That’s pretty much alls I have to say, bein hows I don’t know any more bigger words. Pretentious Bastard. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/128 "2004-04-15T16:30:59Z")
> [@London\_Calling](#): > > And to Mr/s Knee-Jerk, yes, you have a Constitution. It’s flawed, that’s why you have Bush and why you may have him again. IMHO, of course. 😕 How is not wanting any sitting President to amend the Constitution to retract rights granted to every US citizen a knee-jerk reaction? Incidently, I’m proud of the fact that the US Constitution was written to evolve with the times. That, by itself, is its most brilliant construct. Clearly, however, enacting restrictive rights amendments goes against every intent of the framers. The point of my post, which you seemed to have disregarded, is that Bush’s own words do not fit his ideology and he has about as much lack of respect for our Constitution as you seem to. That _is_ troubling because he is the President. (Really I could care less what foreigners thinks of our Constitution as it wasn’t written for them.) Personally, I see much of Bush’s PC babble as smoke and mirrors. What your comment had anything to do with the OP eludes me. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/129 "2004-04-15T17:23:30Z")
(quoting **xenophon** )_" Where I strongly disagree with our British pal is that he appears to think (correct me if I’m wrong, Werewolf) the malady is the US political system. I think that the systemic failure which led to the Man Who Fell Up_ coming to power has little to do with what’s installed into our system of government, and much to do with what is missing. I think we’ve simply failed to respond constitutionally to the technological advances that allow plutocratic forces a major advantage in the forging of public opinion."\* > [@London\_Calling](#): > > Two things, really. > > We are now not talking about how people like Bush can get elected, but rather how he could get _re-elected_. That is scarier by some order of magnitude given the people now understand the man and his agenda better than they did first go around. This certainly takes driveling incoherence to a new level. Our British pal, who previously informed us that Bush’s being elected is a mark of the failure of our political system, now zeroes in _on the chance that he could be re-elected_. So the _real defect_ in the American Constitution is that it permits us to re-elect Presidents. What a stunning revelation! Of course, if we’d done it right the first time around, we could have avoided re-electing Lincoln, F.D.R. and even Bill Clinton, with historical repercussions even our British pal might regret. But thanks for the advice. > [@](#): > > There is no obligation – whether in law or via, say, an Industry Code of Conduct’ – for broadcasters to carry objective, unbiased reporting in relation to news and current affairs. Putting aside the ridiculous notion that there can ever be such a thing as “objective” reporting, there is no country in the world that enjoys a predominantly fair and unbiased press. And the notion that one could codify an obligation for media “fairness” into law is, I’m afraid, completely at odds with the First Amendment - another one of the gross systemic defects our British pal apparently wants to remedy. To look on the positive side, fulminating about the “corporate-capitalist” media agenda is not quite as screwed up as our pal’s previously stated convictions, in which he argued that the U.S. could not have a reasonable Middle East policy because Jews Run The Media. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/130 "2004-04-15T17:25:45Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Did anyone hear that fucking strawman about how people who oppose invading other countries and installing puppet governments don’t believe that “Muslims with brown skin can be self governing?” Can you believe it? The fucker threw the race card at us. What a fucking scumbag, man. I believe I mentioned that on another thread. Un-fucking-believable. I believe the words I screamed at the television were something along the lines of “OH EAT MY ASS YOU CHEAP LITTLE FUCKWEASEL!” Then Mr. Bunny made me turn the channel and stop yelling at the TV. We watched _Kill Bill Vol. 1_ instead. Very theraputic. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/131 "2004-04-15T17:35:29Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Why do you arrogantly assume that we should care what a small minority abroad (of course, you will respond, without cites, that it is a great majority. Yay for faceless, argumentless masses of people!) thinks? First off, you think it’s “arrogant” to place value on the consideration of others? A position that contrasts with “Who cares about world opinion? We’ll do as we damned well please!” is an _arrogant_ one? That’s an interesting suggestion. As for cites for the feelings of the so-called “small minority abroad,” [here ya go.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64388-2004Mar16.html) > [@](#): > > A year after the invasion of Iraq, anti-American views have hardened in Europe and in Muslim countries, where lopsided majorities oppose President Bush and are suspicious of U.S. motives, according to a new nine-country opinion poll. > > The survey, the largest of its kind, found slipping support for the U.S. war on terrorism in Europe and negative views of the United States in all foreign countries polled except Britain. Big majorities said that the United States does not consider other countries’ interests and that Europe should develop more diplomatic and military independence. […] “This poll says to me the discontent with America is a long-term problem that U.S. leaders have to confront,” said poll director Andrew Kohut. “We’ve never seen ratings as low as this for America.” > > Pluralities in all countries but Britain said the United States is not sincere in its anti-terrorism fight, while pluralities in all foreign countries said that they had less trust in America as a result of the war in Iraq. Majorities in many countries said the true reason for the war on terrorism is to control Middle Eastern oil and to dominate the world. That’s a long way to come from the practically universal feeling of solidarity that people across the world expressed three short years ago. It took a real _effort_ to fuck that up, but hey, you had the right man for the job. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/132 "2004-04-15T18:44:30Z")
> [@NailBunny](#): > > “OH EAT MY ASS YOU CHEAP LITTLE FUCKWEASEL!” 😃 I’m going to start yelling that at the television whenever Shrubya appears on it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/133 "2004-04-15T18:54:25Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > That’s a long way to come from the practically universal feeling of solidarity that people across the world expressed three short years ago. It took a real _effort_ to fuck that up, but hey, you had the right man for the job. I realize that the legend of a “practically universal feeling of solidarity” for the U.S. right after 9/11 has become established, but that’s all it is…legend. There was a good deal of finger-pointing and outright gloating among the traditional America-haters immediately following the events. Excerpt from a 9/13/01 editorial in _The Guardian_: "Nearly two days after the horrific suicide attacks on civilian workers in New York and Washington, it has become painfully clear that most Americans simply don’t get it. From the president to passersby on the streets, the message seems to be the same: this is an inexplicable assault on freedom and democracy, which must be answered with overwhelming force - just as soon as someone can construct a credible account of who was actually responsible. Shock, rage and grief there has been aplenty. But any glimmer of recognition of why people might have been driven to carry out such atrocities, sacrificing their own lives in the process - or why the United States is hated with such bitterness, not only in Arab and Muslim countries, but across the developing world - seems almost entirely absent. Perhaps it is too much to hope that, as rescue workers struggle to pull firefighters from the rubble, any but a small minority might make the connection between what has been visited upon them and what their government has visited upon large parts of the world… As Mahatma Gandhi famously remarked when asked his opinion of western civilisation, it would be a good idea. Since George Bush’s father inaugurated his new world order a decade ago, the US, supported by its British ally, bestrides the world like a colossus. Unconstrained by any superpower rival or system of global governance, the US giant has rewritten the global financial and trading system in its own interest; ripped up a string of treaties it finds inconvenient; sent troops to every corner of the globe; bombed Afghanistan, Sudan, Yugoslavia and Iraq without troubling the United Nations; maintained a string of murderous embargos against recalcitrant regimes; and recklessly thrown its weight behind Israel’s 34-year illegal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as the Palestinian intifada rages." I wouldn’t argue against the proposition that actions of the Bush Administration have caused an increase in anti-American views. But let’s not pretend that there was a huge consensus of pro-Americanism around the world that GWB has squandered. And by the way, **xeno** , while I intend to vote for Kerry, I’m under no illusion that he and his party will do any better than GWB in running up monster deficits. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/134 "2004-04-15T19:20:20Z")
**Jack** , are you up for a wager on a year-by-year deficit comparison if Kerry is elected? JFK’s first four years against GBW’s four? (Don’t know what form the wager would take, but I’m open to some sort of loser-doesn’t-post-in “X” forum for “Y” days type of thing) ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/135 "2004-04-15T19:57:26Z")
> [@Tee](#): > > I don’t have a short answer for that one. For the last few years I’ve been seeing some pretty silly ideas on message boards that have originated from other parts of the world, so I’m skeptical that Bush himself is the whole problem. There are legitimate complaints, then there’s propaganda. The facts are that both Bush and Kerry have privileged backgrounds, had families active in diplomatic circles, had similar education. Both have extensive political and social connections. Yet a British guy that I debate with sometimes, who seems to be well-informed in all other aspects, was suggesting that Bush had never been out of Texas before running for President. You see things like this and begin to wonder what the political machinations in Europe are doing vis-a-vis American politics, and then, how much you should let it influence your decisions here. JMO. So your arguments against Kerry are that: -he’s a rich white politician -some bush haters are idiots > [@](#): > > Besides that, I just don’t trust Kerry, can’t figure out what he stands for, and he’s my Senator. ::shrugs:: -and you just don’t trust him. Well, this last one at least can’t really be argued with… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/136 "2004-04-15T20:18:31Z")
> [@Tee](#): > > Yet a British guy that I debate with sometimes, who seems to be well-informed in all other aspects, was suggesting that Bush had never been out of Texas before running for President. Make that “\*almost \* never been out of the _US_” and he’d be right, though. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/137 "2004-04-15T20:21:48Z")
> [@xenophon41](#): > > **Jack** , are you up for a wager on a year-by-year deficit comparison if Kerry is elected? JFK’s first four years against GBW’s four? (Don’t know what form the wager would take, but I’m open to some sort of loser-doesn’t-post-in “X” forum for “Y” days type of thing) Damn you. I was hoping to get in on that action, but I guess you beat me to it. Then again, I was hoping for some bourbon. **Jack** , while you’re bitching about Kerry, keep in mind that he would have to top Georgie’s record deficits. Records like in highest, ever. If it sweetens the deal, I’ll even give 2:1 odds. 3:1 if there’s a Pubbie controlled congress. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/138 "2004-04-15T21:23:14Z")
> [@athelas](#): > > Care to back that up, or is that just wishful thinking? It’s amazing how much the far-left thinks that they can get away with saying. Hey **Desmo**? 😃 Did you read THAT?!? She actually accused ME, of all people, of being a member of the far-left as a reason to supposedly deny any merit in my position. How fucking funny is that? Me? A member of the far-left? Heh Heh Heh… yeah right… Look, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. For the last 18 months the USA has been striding the world stage making announcements about standing up for freedom, and protecting America’s security etc etc etc. Well, large parts of the REST OF THE WORLD have since been attacked by terrorist attacks during that time, and Iraq is obviously a train wreck in full flight. America’s President has no qualms on making judgements on the rest of the world, so by extension, accept the quid pro quo. Any efforts to avoid that quid pro quo merely confirms the widely held belief that the USA is country full of double standards on the world stage. Now, you can take that on board or not. But be aware of something… my comment just then is one which is coming from a friend OK? A loyal friend of the USA and her people. When friends feel the need to speak up like that, you know there’s an issue afoot. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/139 "2004-04-15T21:30:56Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Damn you. I was hoping to get in on that action, but I guess you beat me to it. > > Then again, I was hoping for some bourbon. > > **Jack** , while you’re bitching about Kerry, keep in mind that he would have to top Georgie’s record deficits. Records like in highest, ever. Don’t worry, I’ll be happy to credit you both in early 2009 for economic omniscience, should it be warranted. Remember though, I said “I’m under no illusion that he _and his party_ (note the italicized part) will do any better than GWB in running up monster deficits.” Call me an dreamer, but I was foreseeing economic policy under a Kerry Administration and a Democratic Congress. Still want to make that bet? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888/140 "2004-04-15T22:25:26Z")
> [@Boo Boo Foo](#): > > Iraq is obviously a train wreck in full flight. [hijack] :: looks up in the sky; screams: “Oh, the humanity!” :: [/hijack] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-press-conference-i-couldnt-take-it-anymore/239888.md?page=8)