# I'm gobsmacked...I feel sorry for George Bush! (pit due to political aspect) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771 "2009-05-17T19:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/41 "2009-05-18T05:23:05Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > The fact that the president succeeding him – and his party – was swept into office on the hopes of (at least partly) “change” has to bring a measure of sting too. > > It’s not just that America was moving on and leaving his presidency behind, it’s that America vociferously clamored for a different direction. If Bush has the mental and personal fortitude to reflect on his years in office, the decisions he made, and the state of the nation when his term ended, he must ask why that is the case. > > Do I think he can or will? > > Er, no. > > And as much as it roiled my stomach to see his stupid, smarmy, frat-boy face representing my country for 8 years, yeah, I do feel a bit of sympathy for him. I don’t feel shit for him, As for trying to blame Cheney, bullshit on that too. He could have said NO, or found a way to neutralize/weaken/get rid of him if he had wanted to. But, everything Cheney did had Bush’s approval, either through his action or his inaction. He was the fucking president and now he thinks he wasn’t responsible? As in the old “no one could have known”? He wanted to play at being a president. he wanted to be some mighty war president. He wanted to strut and swagger like a damn banty rooster. Let him rot in obscurity and wallow in self pity if he wants to. The rest of us have had more than enough of him. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/42 "2009-05-18T05:24:57Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > He should audition for Survivor, he’d probably get hired. They would probably vote to keep him on the island. And then everyone else would leave 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/43 "2009-05-18T05:54:08Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > He wanted to play at being a president. he wanted to be some mighty war president. He wanted to strut and swagger like a damn banty rooster. This is why I sometimes refer to him as ‘Little Boots’. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/44 "2009-05-18T05:58:34Z")
He is apparently “aggressively raising money for a $300 million library, museum and think tank”. What does he imagine a think tank is, some kind of terrarium? “Laura, honey, I forgot to feed the thinks again last night and they ain’t movin’” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/45 "2009-05-18T06:26:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > This is why I sometimes refer to him as ‘Little Boots’. The nickname I applied to him ever since his “mission accomplished” photo op was “Virgin Boots Bush” That nickname was originally applied to a military commander in El Salvador by the guerrillas because the commander had the fame of reaching his high rank thanks to the connections that he had and not because of his performance in the field of battle. So his boots never got soiled. I bet Mr Bush would like to tell people that when the record is written about his presidency that it will look like just a comma in the great text of history, so we should not mind much about what he did. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/46 "2009-05-18T06:59:25Z")
No fucking way. I’d rather make friends with drug-addled rabid rattlesnakes than feel sorry for GW Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Weird\_With\_Words](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weird_with_words/32/385_2.png) [@Weird\_With\_Words](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weird_With_Words)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/47 "2009-05-18T11:22:17Z")
I was right there with you Stoid, til I realized your subject line was referring to junior. All joking aside, I’ve been proactively sympathizing with W for a while now. If you took it as a given that it was gonna go to shit, then you have to also assume that people are gonna notice. And as is our human wont, we’ll pretend he was alone in what he was doing, forgetting the ridiculous approval ratings of the time. And you always have to sympathize with those who receive more than their share of blame. Course, you could say that’s what being the leader is all about. Side note; what the hell is “gobsmacked”? A porn term? ---
**Author:** ![Lungfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@Lungfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lungfish)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/48 "2009-05-18T11:44:41Z")
Gobsmacked is a British term for being astounded, flabbergasted, speechless with amazement, etc. “Gob” means the mouth, so when someone says they are “gobsmacked” they mean they are struck dumb as if by a smack in the face. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/49 "2009-05-18T11:54:43Z")
“gob” is slang for mouth. Gobsmacked is the expression meaning the look on your face as if you had just been smacked across the face, usually a look of suprise and incredulity. Edit Damn, beaten ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/50 "2009-05-18T14:03:49Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > He’s the monster responsible for screwing over this country and for tens of thousands of dead. He’s vermin. I feel no sympathy for him at all. I’ve never said this before: I agree with **Der Trihs**. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/51 "2009-05-18T14:41:23Z")
I’ll feel bad for Bush when I’m done feeling bad for people I know who died in Iraq. It’s going to be awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/52 "2009-05-18T15:03:11Z")
> [@Weird\_With\_Words](#): > > All joking aside, I’ve been proactively sympathizing with W for a while now. If you took it as a given that it was gonna go to shit, then you have to also assume that people are gonna notice. And as is our human wont, we’ll pretend he was alone in what he was doing, forgetting the ridiculous approval ratings of the time. And you always have to sympathize with those who receive more than their share of blame. Course, you could say that’s what being the leader is all about. The American People are to blame for supporting him. Half of us voted against him, but a good majority supported his aggressiveness after the attack. But I remember reading that early on, before the attack, Bush was thinking about his ‘legacy’. And he believed that a ‘War President’ has the best legacy. So from the start he was spoiling for a fight. Specifically he had a hard-on for Iraq. I don’t think We The People share the blame in this case, since he and Cheney were already planning on attacking Iraq unbeknownst to the rest of us. But we _are_ to blame for being stupid after the cat was out of the bag. Here’s a typical exchange before the war started: Me: We need to let the weapons inspectors finish their job, then let the UN handle it. War is a _last resort_; not a first one. Coworker: Do you want to wait until Saddam Hussein drops a _nuclear bomb on us?_ :eek: BushCo made every effort to link Iraq to the WTC attacks, and Americans were too frightened and too stupid to see through the deception. We, as a whole, are to blame for stupidity. Bush, Cheney, and their henchmen are entirely to blame for lying to us. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/53 "2009-05-18T16:38:12Z")
Welcome back, **Weird With Words**. It’s good to see you around, and I hope you’ll stay. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/54 "2009-05-18T16:44:03Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from actual malice. [/QUOTE] > [@Squink](#): > > Larry Niven? Grey’s Law: [http://www.jeremyparnell.com/blog/2008/04/random-terminology-greys-law.html](http://www.jeremyparnell.com/blog/2008/04/random-terminology-greys-law.html) > [@](#): > > Grey’s Law is a less-known corollary of Hanlon’s Razor, which imitates the form of Clarke’s Third Law. It states that: > > Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice. > > While the stated principle pays a certain homage to Hanlon’s Razor, it is also to some extent a rebuttal of the principle therein, stating that the distinction which the former makes is often moot. It is unclear just who the “Grey” of Grey’s Law is. The quotation itself appears to have spread through email sig blocks and various social bookmarking websites, and appears to be of recent origin. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/55 "2009-05-18T16:51:08Z")
The only good thing I can say about Bush is that he hsa managed to keep his mouth shut since he left office, unlike a certain Vice President of his. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/56 "2009-05-18T16:52:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Actually, I think Bush is Renfield to Cheney’s Dracula. Does this mean Bush eats spiders? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/57 "2009-05-18T17:03:42Z")
Another zero sympathy vote here. A person who allows himself (and therefore the country he serves) to be manipulated by the star chamber of Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeldt, et al is as shallow, selfish and clueless as they come. He allowed this country to be put in serious jeopardy by putting almost no thought into his actions and by trusting people who are truly evil. Time will probably be kinder to him, but I will never forgive this fucker for his callous disregard for human life. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/58 "2009-05-18T17:10:07Z")
I pity him a bit, at least because I think he’s one of THE stupidest, most arrogant bastards ever to hold office – but he’ll never realize it. He’s too stupid. And I tend to pity the stupid. That being said, my disgust IS much much higher, because who knows HOW long it’s going to take to get out of the mess he put us in? “Heck of a job, Georgie”. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/59 "2009-05-18T17:10:40Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > He should audition for Survivor, he’d probably get hired. Or for “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here” - “Release the bees.” Oliver Stone’s movie did make me feel some pity for him, but in the end he’s just evil because of what he did and what he allowed to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/60 "2009-05-18T18:25:25Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > That’s a [del]debateable[/del] dubious assertion. > > Does anyone know how Cheney came to be the man tasked with finding Bush’s running mate? The campaign announced that Cheney would be W’s running mate while George Sr. and Cheney were at Bohemian Grove in 2000. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771.md?page=4)