# I just realized it: Bush really does not know what is going on. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089 "2004-10-01T20:13:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/1 "2004-10-01T20:13:12Z")
It has come to me in a flash…it isn’t that Bush knows what’s what and spins it or lies about it. BUSH REALLY DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD. Think about it: He freely admits that he does not read the paper, he does not watch the news. All of the data he has is filtered and spun before it gets to him. He is protected from any dissent or criticism, and he basically never hears, sees, reads or faces anything that hasn’t been crafter to the purposes of his handlers. So when he talks like things are going just swell in Iraq…well, in his carefully crafted little reality, they are. He does not know or hear or understand anything that Cheney and Rove don’t want him to know or hear or understand. How could he? Where would he? And if nothing else, that should freak everybody out. The debate is really…am I right? If you think he has a real understanding that has not been spiced and flavored and spoon fed to him, what do you base this belief upon? Do you think it would serve Karl and Dick to give him all the information? If so, can you explain why, given that he really doesn’t do much thinking, planning or deciding for himself? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/2 "2004-10-01T20:17:29Z")
Maybe. For an instance, last night when he said that Kerry “forgot about Poland”, you got to wonder if he remembers the President of Poland saying he felt as if he had been hoodwinked about Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/3 "2004-10-01T20:22:46Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > The debate is really… Correction: ‘The _rant_ is really…’ is what your post should have said. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/4 "2004-10-01T20:33:41Z")
I always get this impression that Bush is out of reality when he speaks of world support… or european support. Like he really beleives there is a wide support for him beyond the US. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/5 "2004-10-01T20:37:40Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] More of a rant, IMHO. To the Pit. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/6 "2004-10-01T20:41:46Z")
Yeah, I don’t think he has a fucking clue to what’s really going on in the world. What a sad/little/simple/pathetic/existence he lives. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/7 "2004-10-01T20:44:32Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Think about it: He freely admits that he does not read the paper, he does not watch the news. Quite frankly, if I had the choice between reading an article in the WaPo and a classified document with a heavier saturation of facts, guess which one I’d choose. Being President doesn’t come with a six-hour extension to one’s day. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/8 "2004-10-01T20:45:43Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > I always get this impression that Bush is out of reality when he speaks of world support… or european support. Like he really beleives there is a wide support for him beyond the US. Here’s hoping that there is precious little support for him _in_ the US. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/9 "2004-10-01T20:47:39Z")
I know as an absolute statement of fact what type of news summary service the White House gets. And it’s a good one. It takes relevant portions of all the major and minor papers and news programs and summarizes them by content for ease-of-absorbtion. Do I believe the President logs on and browses? No. But I do believe he gets relevant parts communicated to him by flunkies. That’s what they’re there for. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/10 "2004-10-01T20:52:11Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > Do I believe the President logs on and browses? No. But I do believe he gets relevant parts communicated to him by flunkies. That’s what they’re there for. I beleive you misapprehend **Stoid’s** point; her concern is that the “rlevant pats” are cherry-picked and edited by “flunkies” to give Dubya an unreal picture of the world. Does Dubya read the news summarry or is it read to him? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/11 "2004-10-01T21:11:26Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Maybe. For an instance, last night when he said that Kerry “forgot about Poland”, you got to wonder if he remembers the President of Poland saying he felt as if he had been hoodwinked about Iraq. Or, in the spirit of the OP (which I agree with), if he ever knew the President of Poland said that in the first place. Who would let him see something like this? > [@](#): > > [Poland Was ‘Taken for a Ride’ About Iraq’s WMD: President](http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0318-02.htm) > > WARSAW - March 18 - Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said that his country had been “taken for a ride” about the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. > > “That they deceived us about the weapons of mass destruction, that’s true. We were taken for a ride,” Kawsniewski said Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/12 "2004-10-01T21:22:12Z")
A Truman show type existance. We need to get him to say\* “Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight”.\* ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/13 "2004-10-01T21:59:50Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > It has come to me in a flash…it isn’t that Bush knows what’s what and spins it or lies about it. BUSH REALLY DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD. I really dislike Bush and I think he’s a horrible President and I’m praying he loses, and yet you still sound to me like the dumbest partisan on the Internet. Of course Bush knows what’s going on. Can’t you recognize SPIN? He’s saying everything is fine because it’s his sales pitch. His strategy in the debates, such as it is, is to keep repeating the mantra that makes a lot of voters feel at ease; “everything’s okay, I am a strong leader.” It’s all spin, and it works. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/14 "2004-10-01T22:12:30Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > Being President doesn’t come with a six-hour extension to one’s day. He’d have time for both if he didn’t clock out at 3:00 in the afternoon, or spend hours clearing brush with Barney the First Dog. How much time do you need to read a newspaper, anyway? I can blow through one in a half-hour, especially if I skip the sports and classified ads. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/15 "2004-10-01T22:15:59Z")
Bush claimed in the debate that 100,000 fresh Iraqi troops had been trained. The Pentagon says it’s more like 8,000. Is the president being lied to, or is he well-informed, and personally lying? I’m not comfortable with either option. Mr. Bush’s hand-picked leader of Iraq spoke before the US Congress the other day, sounding strangely similar to a Bush stump speech. The truth has come out that he was coached in his speechwriting. I don’t really blame Mr. Alawi for saying exactly what Mr. Bush wanted us to hear. He knows who gave him his job. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/16 "2004-10-01T22:23:41Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > How much time do you need to read a newspaper, anyway? I can blow through one in a half-hour, especially if I skip the sports and classified ads. Yeah, but in order to get a full and balanced picture, you need to read more than one. I’d love to have time to read both locals, the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Christian Science Monitor - at a minimum. But I don’t, so I settle for the Denver Post and fit in some others as available and as time allows. I have no doubt that the news is available to Bush, I’m not sure he cares. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/17 "2004-10-01T23:02:43Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > It has come to me in a flash…it isn’t that Bush knows what’s what and spins it or lies about it. BUSH REALLY DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD. Since Bush is on a steady course, polls-wise, to win re-election, I think there are two possible conclusions: (1) this is not true, and/or (2) the electorate is unswayed by this fact. Since it’s largely irrelevant how true it is if enough people vote for the man, I’d suggest that (2) is the more critical item. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/18 "2004-10-01T23:18:57Z")
> [@iampunha](#): > > Quite frankly, if I had the choice between reading an article in the WaPo and a classified document with a heavier saturation of facts, guess which one I’d choose. Being President doesn’t come with a six-hour extension to one’s day. “It’s hard work.” ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/19 "2004-10-01T23:25:51Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Mr. Bush’s hand-picked leader of Iraq spoke before the US Congress the other day, sounding strangely similar to a Bush stump speech. The truth has come out that he was coached in his speechwriting. I don’t really blame Mr. Alawi for saying exactly what Mr. Bush wanted us to hear. He knows who gave him his job. Which made this so funny. (bolding mine) > [@Bush](#): > > Now, my opponent says he’s going to try to change the dynamics on the ground. Well, Prime Minister Allawi was here. He is the leader of that country. He’s a brave, brave man. When he came, after giving a speech to the Congress, my opponent questioned his credibility. > > You can’t change the dynamics on the ground if you’ve criticized the brave leader of Iraq. > > **One of his campaign people alleged that Prime Minister Allawi was like a puppet. That’s no way to treat somebody who’s courageous and brave** , that is trying to lead his country forward. [http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004a.html](http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2004a.html) ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089/20 "2004-10-02T05:57:59Z")
Let’s face it - Dubya Bush has had everything done _for_ him for all of his life. His entrance into Yale? Getting into the Guard ? His various business ventures? (Some were almost successful). Would ANY of that have been possible if Dubya was just an ordinary citizen with no clout? So when someone has had a lifetime “cushy” existence, how can you expect that person to be an innovative, energetic, “take charge”, well-informed kind of President? Personally, I think he will get re-elected. He “throws the bull” people want to hear - America is #1, Support Our Troops, God Bless America, etc. And he don’t talk none of that fanciful, big-word talk neither. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-just-realized-it-bush-really-does-not-know-what-is-going-on/267089.md?page=2)