# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/81 "2009-05-19T15:26:01Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Why should you guys be allowed to pity yourselves? You chose him, the second time after you knew that he had dragged you into a long war at tremendous cost. > > Why should you have the luxury of self-pity? I voted against the asshole, twice. According to the poll numbers at the time and “experts” at the time, a shitload of other people voted against him (twice) also, ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/82 "2009-05-19T15:59:36Z")
I’m trying to picture Barrack Obama, wringing his hands and looking pathetic, saying “It was that evil Joe Biden, he lied to me and kept me from finding out the truth. . . I was a prisoner in my office and never given the information I needed . . .” Yeah, right. The word is “Leader” - look it up. W had Secret Service protection, if he’d wanted to read a damn newspaper, or talk to the right people to get information first hand he could have. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/83 "2009-05-19T16:14:22Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I voted against the asshole, twice. Same, and now I have to live with all the assholes who voted for him. I’d just as soon deport all of them off to Ireland, or some socialistical European country, but that’s not going to happen, is it? Poor me! ---
**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:** [May 19, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/84 "2009-05-19T16:39:23Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > I’d just as soon deport all of them off to Ireland, Oi! Keep them the fuck away from me. They’re your problem. We’ve got enough of our own. ---
**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 19, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/85 "2009-05-19T16:50:14Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I voted against the asshole, twice. According to the poll numbers at the time and “experts” at the time, a shitload of other people voted against him (twice) also, Unfortunately for you (and me), William Rehnquist got to vote for him three times. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/86 "2009-05-19T17:03:37Z")
This quote particularly slays me: > [@](#): > > Meanwhile, Bush has talked to a political-science class at SMU, worked out at the school’s training facilities and met with old hands to plot strategy for his presidential center. “It seems that former president Bush is always on campus,” says student-body president-elect Patrick Kobler. “Though I may not agree with every policy he put forth, I believe that he led from the heart, meaning he looked beyond what was considered popular and instead did what he thought was right.” Now, I do understand that SMU is a religious institution, but surely they must teach their students the definitions of “Theocracy” and “Democracy”? ---
**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 19, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/87 "2009-05-19T20:31:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The campaign announced that Cheney would be W’s running mate while George Sr. and Cheney were at Bohemian Grove in 2000. Yeah, thanks, that part I knew. W assigned Cheney to find him a running mate. Cheney came back to W and said, “I’m the best guy I could find, so choose me.” How did Cheney land the assignment in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/88 "2009-05-19T20:33:04Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > …How did Cheney land the assignment in the first place? Could it be…Satan? ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/89 "2009-05-19T20:34:58Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Oh, you are free to dream all you like Red. Heck, I’ll join you… **I’d LOVE to see Bush et al dragged off to trial. But the reality is…ain’t gonna happen.** As long as you keep that rather firmly in mind then dream all you like… > > -XT I absolutely hate that you’re probably right about this :mad:. (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/90 "2009-05-19T20:37:02Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] Could it be…Satan? [/QUOTE] Could be. My take is that Chaney was on the VP selection committee…and during the process Bush selected Chaney instead. So, my guess is that Chaney, um, ‘suggested’ to GW that ole Dickey boy would make a bang up VP. It’s not like Chaney was an off the wall pick either…he had plenty of political experience after all. Besides…he just LOOKS so evil, that it was a perfect match. -XT ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/91 "2009-05-19T20:56:21Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Could it be…Satan? He seems to have had some dental work done. [Before](http://photos.ifmagazine.com/graphics/Unsorted/salems_lot_kurt.jpg) [After](http://www.democraticunderground.com/bob/02/55_cheney.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/92 "2009-05-19T21:15:27Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Yeah, thanks, that part I knew. W assigned Cheney to find him a running mate. Cheney came back to W and said, “I’m the best guy I could find, so choose me.” > > How did Cheney land the assignment in the first place? I’m not sure what’s so confusing about it. Cheney was Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush, serving from 1989 until 1993. He’s an old family friend. From the beginning, W surrounded himself with his dad’s old cronies. It’s hardly surprising that they’d ask Cheney to pick a VP, and just as shocking that they’d go along with his choice when he picked himself. Here’s the thing about feeling sorry for W: some folks in this thread seem to feel that he’s just a poor addle-brained retard who stumbled his way through things. I really don’t think that’s the case. I firmly believe that W is not stupid. He is, however, intellectually lazy, with no curiosity whatsoever. And that, to me, is worse than mere stupidity; he chose to ignore anything he didn’t agree with, changed reality to suit his beliefs, and never inquired as to whether a viewpoint he didn’t share had any merit. He is deliberately ignorant, and he acted on his ignorance. And that’s how evil begins. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/93 "2009-05-19T21:27:33Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > I don’t know what more to say at the moment, but thank you for linking to that incredibly touching article. Sometimes people need to be reminded (again and again) that this is no isolated abstract or concept. This is no board game of Risk or Stratego. These are people, who are gone because Little Boots couldn’t keep it in his pants (figuratively speaking). I know one thing, I could never do that Major’s job. I’m pretty sure I’d rather get shot at than face those families. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/94 "2009-05-19T22:31:08Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Could be. My take is that Chaney was on the VP selection committee…and during the process Bush selected Chaney instead. So, my guess is that Chaney, um, ‘suggested’ to GW that ole Dickey boy would make a bang up VP. > > It’s not like Chaney was an off the wall pick either…he had plenty of political experience after all. Besides…he just LOOKS so evil, that it was a perfect match. > > -XT Who the hell is Chaney? ---
**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:** [May 19, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/95 "2009-05-19T22:35:45Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > Who the hell is Chaney? Don’t be an icehole. Dirk Chaney is one of the biggest bastardges in your farking political system. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/96 "2009-05-19T22:40:58Z")
> [@Carol\_Stream](#): > > Who the hell is Chaney? You know, [Chaney](http://encarta.msn.com/media_461528447/lon_chaney.html)! ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/97 "2009-05-19T22:43:43Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > You know, [Chaney](http://encarta.msn.com/media_461528447/lon_chaney.html)! The resemblance is striking, I’ll give you that. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/98 "2009-05-19T22:44:47Z")
You shouldn’t kick me in the balls, yojimbo. My sister kicked me in the balls once. Once. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/99 "2009-05-19T23:17:36Z")
**Carol Stream** made another funny! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771/100 "2009-05-19T23:37:19Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > I’m not sure what’s so confusing about it. Cheney was Secretary of Defense under George H.W. Bush, serving from 1989 until 1993. He’s an old family friend. From the beginning, W surrounded himself with his dad’s old cronies. It’s hardly surprising that they’d ask Cheney to pick a VP, and just as shocking that they’d go along with his choice when he picked himself. I remember reading in The Washington Post, probably in the [series of articles](http://blog.washingtonpost.com/cheney/) based on [this book](http://www.amazon.com/Angler-Cheney-Presidency-Barton-Gellman/dp/1594201862), that Cheney insisted that potential VP candidates submit to an especially intrusive series of questions on personal finances and health - intrusive even by VP search standards. Cheney and Addington used this information to disqualify many potential VP candidates. Of course, Cheney did not subject himself to this level of scrutiny, his famous heart condition for example. But when “all” of the other candidates were eliminated for one “reason” or another, W was left with but one choice - Cheney. A classic magician’s force. I also remember from the same source that when a potential VP candidate for Dubya - the former governor of Oklahoma as I recall - was later under consideration for a cabinet post in the Bush II administration, some of the health info on the governor was leaked by Cheney’s people. Seems Cheney’s folk thought the guy was not doctrinally pure enough, so violation of privacy and back stabbing were the order of the day. And the ex-gov’s nomination to the cabinet was derailed. Is it any wonder that people like that would go on to do the evil and destructive things that they did? > [@Max\_Torque](#): > > He is deliberately ignorant, and he acted on his ignorance. And that’s how evil begins. Too true. Even now people in this country are arguing that torture is OK if our people, or more specifically their people, are doing it. Is that what we’ve come to in just a few years? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-gobsmacked-i-feel-sorry-for-george-bush-pit-due-to-political-aspect/496771.md?page=6)