Well sure, I suspect he does, from time to time, but I don’t have any knowledge of him combining it with speech.
Even the christians that I know thought that speech was scary.
Exactly! My question still stands: Where did Bush say “only Christians should be president”?
I don’t see it in that quote! All I see is a man saying that “from his perspective” he doesn’t see how a person could effectively function as president without a relationship with Jesus. (Yes, I’m sure that is who he was talking about. :rolleyes: )
Nowhere do I see a declarative statement that only Christians should be president!
C’mon, you guys…this board is supposed to be about fighting ignorance. Haven’t you got enough to gripe about where Bush is concerned without having to attribute to him statements, viewpoints and beliefs he never expressed?
I can’t discern the tone of your post, Starving Artist–were you being facetious?
I think the amazing thing, Starving Artist, is the possibility that you think that makes Bush less of an ass then if he had said “should” instead of “can”.
I don’t have a personal relationship with Lord in the sense that Bush likely means. So apparently Bush thinks that alone would make me unable to be an effective President? Who the fuck appointed him arbiter of my worth? Not to mention the worth of every atheist, agnostic, pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and arguably Jew in the entire United States?
Your hair-splitting doesn’t mitigate Bush’s statements one whit.
Well, let me put it this way:
If I were a telephone company lineman and I said “I don’t see how anyone could do this job without a safety helmet,” would that mean I’m really saying “Only people wearing helmets should be allowed to do this job!”?
Of course not!
It’s just me, stating my opinion as to how I didn’t understand how anyone could do the job well without a helmet. Nowhere am I condemning those who choose not to wear a helmet, and nowhere am I stating a belief that no one should be allowed to do the job without one. I’m simply stating my belief that it’s better to wear a helmet, and Bush is simply stating his own opinion insofar as the subject pertains to him.
Yes, we’re clearly jumping the gap between “I can’t see how a Non Christian could be a good president” and “I think only Christians should be presentident” prematurely.
I mean, Bush clearly thinks people who are bad presidents should be president. After all, he hasn’t stepped down yet.
He did no such thing!
Touchy much?
You say hair-splitting; I say making a distinction between what someone said and what they are being accused of saying, something which is completely false.
If you really think that wearing a safety helmet is the same as having a religion or not, then I got news for you.
Religion is a deep personal thing for a lot of people. Not as personal as hair color or sexual orientation, but some consider it very close.
I see it as you do, Starving Artist. I take what Bush said as roughly equivalent to “I can’t imagine how I could handle this job without a relationship with the Lord.” It’s the same sort of thing as if someone else had said, “I don’t see how you could be President without the support of your family” or “I don’t see how you could be President without a good stiff drink every evening.”
In the words of probably the greatest president of the last century, Ronald Reagan: “There you go again!”
Kindly show me where Bush said “I can’t see how a Non Christian could be a good president.”?
He didn’t!
And the proof that he didn’t mean what you people are all trying to attribute to him is the fact that you can’t use his own quotes to in condemning him; rather, you add this and misstate that, and then condemn him for your own embellishments.
“Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Abraham Lincoln, from his second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.
Exactly!
Thank you for saying what I’m trying to say, only in a more clear and succinct way. 
He didn’t say it in those words, but that’s still what it means.
Okay… so what exactly are you quibbling over? He said, yes, in his opinion, that he doesn’t see how a non-Christian could be president.
No, just that people who aren’t Christians can’t be president.
Or, rather, that he doesn’t see how people who aren’t Christians could be president.
Come on.
“On the other hand, in my opinion, I don’t see how someone who believes in God can be president.”
Have I, or have I not, just said that I don’t feel that someone who believes in God should be presdient? Come on SA, Bush is not a gifted rhetoritician. His words mean exactly what it looks like they meant.
What if he said, “I don’t see how anybody could be a good doctor who believes Jesus was the Messiah?”
No, you’re stating a belief that a helmet is necessary to be an effective lineman. But we’re not talking about helmets which, as ava has hinted, makes this a really crappy analogy.
Oh, bullshit. He said that my religious beliefs means I shouldn’t be President, i.e. that I am somehow not worthy of that office solely because I don’t attend the right church. He is stating an opinion of my worth to hold that office.
Only when arrogant bastards take it upon themselves to judge me and find me wanting for ridiculous fucking reasons.
Fine. And I still say that doesn’t mitigate his statements. What Bush said…his exact words, mind you…was stupid, condescending, mildly arrogant, and indicative of a totally unfounded moral certitude.
No, you’re stating a belief that a helmet is necessary to be an effective lineman. But we’re not talking about helmets which, as ava has hinted, makes this a really crappy analogy.
Oh, bullshit. He said that my religious beliefs means I can’t be an effective President, i.e. that I am somehow not as worthy of that office as him solely because I don’t attend the right church. He is stating an opinion of my worth to hold that office.
Only when arrogant bastards take it upon themselves to judge me and find me wanting for ridiculous fucking reasons.
Fine. And I still say that doesn’t mitigate his statements. What Bush said…his exact words, mind you…was stupid, condescending, mildly arrogant, and indicative of a totally unfounded moral certitude.
Crap. Sorry for the double post.
Your last name wouldn’t be Rather, would it?
No! He did not! If he did, why can’t you just paste the quote?
Nope. No such thing. He just doesn’t see how they could function effectively without his faith. Again, this in no way implies that that faith should be a deal-breaker as to whether or not someone should be allowed to be president.
“On the other hand, in my opinion, I don’t see how someone who believes in God can be president.”
Have I, or have I not, just said that I don’t feel that someone who believes in God should be presdient?
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No! Despite the fact that your statement is still not what Bush said, you simply stated your belief. I see no declaration that someone should be prohibited based on that belief.
And people wonder why he feels the need to have everything he says vetted before it’s made public.
It’s exactly this kind of eagerness to distort and/or misattribute everything he says in the most negative way possible that has brought this situation about.
I think Starving Artist and Thudlow are correct. Bush is saying that he can’t imagine anyone doing the very hard job of being president without being able to lean on the Lord for support. Sort of an admission that he can’t do everything by himself.
However, the quote can also be interpreted as others in this thread have done. It is ambiguous, and your interpretation will depend on what you think Bush would say.
“I don’t see how you can be president at least from my perspective, how you can be president, without a relationship with the Lord” could mean that there is no way someone who doesn’t have a relationship with the Lord could have the qualities necessary to be president.
I’m guessing there is also another interpretation for this quote:
But I can’t see it right away. Any help?