I think I’m gonna hurl!
Merely because the man is irresponsible, dimwitted, and dishonest does not decrease his physical attractiveness. Besides, I like the bad boys.
Plus, he was a cheerleader.
(Letterman made practically the exact same observation last night.)
I think it was pointed out that 1) the statement that “Dubya claims a mandate” was literally incorrect, as he hadn’t used the m-word, and 2) it was pretty pointless anyway to keep squawking about the matter, as he’d won the election and could do what he wanted, or at least what was politically feasible.
Yes, he won the election and can exercise Presidential powers. You could Google this.
Apparently the G.O.P. will keep trotting out “this spurious notion”, which has the appeal of aggravating to distraction the sort of opponent who cares more about debating semantic points than actually forming an effective opposition.
Some people just love repeating the word “mandate”. I think it’s a sex thing.
It will be interesting to see if Democrats can come up with logical and well-stated proposal of their own on these issues. You know, leadership.
How about because the man is a homophobic tyrant who doesn’t even think of atheists as American citizens? I mean, hell, Comrade Hillary has a purty mouth, but yuck! 
We have quite different standards then when it comes to what makes a man physically attractive.
The best part about tagging Hilary is that you can close your eyes and pretend it’s Dianne Feinstein.
[…shudder…] Might as well go all the way, and make it Janet Waco.
Now I’ll admit, as far as women go, she is perhaps not the easiest on the eyes. But come on, you could brag to your friends, ‘Ex-Attorney Generals? Yep, I subpoenaed dat ass’ That has to win you a bet or two.
OK - twenty bucks says you won’t do John Ashcroft.
Regards,
Shodan
Even I would be hard-pressed to work up enthusiasm for that chore. Still, one has to give W mad props for pulling off the election in Iraq (somewhat) safely. (See, I told you I’d compliment the man if he did something well.)
Could you signal your turns a bit sooner? I think I sprained something when the thread veered from doing Janet Reno to the election in Iraq.
Anyway, props back atcha for being one of the honest lefties.
Now on to Jungle Fever - you get Colin Powell, and I get Condi Rice. First one to finish him/her off gets fifty bucks, and I’ll give you a two minute head start.
After that, we take turns with the Bush twins and John Edwards - double or nothing.
Regards,
Shodan
Gobear is a lefty? I suppose, if one’s political perspective is just to the right of Calvin Coolidge, maybe, sorta kinda…
Do you actually know any “leftys”, Shodan? Or do you judge the honesty of a lefty by their reluctance to admit such?
Like a lot of his compatriots, Shodan defines “lefty” as “anyone who disagrees with me.”
After every election that I can recall, The Media Pundits seem to get themselves into a dither asking/polling/arguing whether or not the result of the election constitutes “a mandate for President X and his vision,” or some such thing.
The working definition of mandate is (IMO) deliberately kept vague, because it gives them something to talk about. For example: I have no idea who this guy is, but here is an article (one of dozens I could have plucked from a Google search) debating whether or not George W. Bush’s re-election last November constitutes “a mandate.” His conclusion:
I’m not posting this link and quote to agree or disagree with it; it’s merely an example of this sort of article.
So now I go and look up the dictionary definition (only one sense is really relevant here):
If that’s the definition these pundits are using, then they’re truly being idiots - the winner has a mandate by definition, regardless of the margin of victory. People seem to prefer to come up with their own definition, however.
Traditionally, in U.S. Presidential elections, “mandate” has been used to refer to a win by a really sizeable margin; I’ve always taken it to mean a step past landslide. Reagan in 1984, for instance. Just how many percentage points are required would be a matter of opinion, I guess, but winning reelection by the smallest margin ever doesn’t seem like it would qualify.
Um, yeah, for those of ya in parliamentary countries where the plurality party in Commons imakes up the executive too, and the executive is subordinate to the legislative: US usage sorta means that an executive or party with a mandate doesn’t have any obligation to consider the views of the minority, on any subject, since the people presumably already repudiated it. It also follows that the people’s choice has to have been made largely on the basis of the topic at hand. There’s an overriding tradition that the President, Congress, and courts serve the entire country, not just the constituencies that chose them, and substantial minority views get respect and action.
A mandate only comes with a substantial winning margin, though, and has a brief shelf life. Nixon got a mandate virtually across the board in '72 and we drove his ass within less than 3 years, for instance. Bush didn’t even have a winning margin in '00 but nevertheless has run his administration as if he won unanimously. His refusal to consider that his office is less than a divinely-ordained right, in violence to our democratic traditions, has been the source of much of the anger toward him.
Lefty? Moi? It is to laugh! No, mon cher M. Shodan, I am not in any way a lefty. I’m a libertarian with conservative tendencies. I just don’t like Dubya because he is, IMO, a traitor to conservatism. I prefer the days when conservatism meant minimizing deficits, reining in the budget, supporting free trade, and wariness of government intrusion into individual privacy.
Your lot are not in any way conservatives, but right-wing radicals who are economically irresponsible, needlessly militarist (good conservatives only wage necessary wars) and repressive of individual freedoms.
Gobear a liberal? Not that there’s anything wrong with that…
Damned skippy. Bush is a traitor to conservative ideals. Sadly tho’, he ain’t the first - only the current worst example. Bush ain’t doin’ anything that couldn’t have been learned at Reagan’s knee.
How 'bout Ed Meese?