Despite the middle-east roadmap and his anti-AIDS initiative, I think he is the worst US President since Reagan. I can accept that his world view is fundamentally different to mine; it’s the down home crapfest I can’t stand.
The world will definitely be better off without Dubya at the helm of the USA.
What amazes me is that he is still liked by large segments of the American population. Can’t think of a more inept, dangerous and quite frankly, loathsome, American President in my lifetime – which covers close to five decades.
Hopefully, Americans will wake up by the time the elections come around and get rid of the whole PNAC cabal. Because at the rate they are going WW-III seems more like a matter of “when” than “if”…
You can include me (and all the people I know as well) in the ‘active dislike bordering on hatred’ camp.
(Based on his foreign policies and political attitudes. He may well be a blast to go down the pub with, but that matters not to me)
I am European …
I don’t trust him.
I totally disagree with his politics, more than that, I think it is dangerous for the whole planet. It is outrageous.
Do I hate him? I can’t stand his surealistic smiling, his grinning like a retard, his sneer … There is a thread no personal disliking the president, by the way: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=188113
But I think he doesn’t know what he does. I think he is not far from his reputation, perhaps not really stupid, but not far. I think he understands shit of what he is talking about.
The real dangerous people are Cheny, Rumsfeld & Co.
I never met a single Non-US person in my life who did like him.
I don’t normally swear (not unless I’m driving, anyway), but Bush is one of those people who can send me into an apoplectic, frothing rage. As far as I’m concerned, the man is an ignorant fucking chimp. An ignorant, swaggering, dangerous chimp with one hand on his six-gun and the other giving the finger to the world.
This man is the leader of the most powerful nation on earth, arguably the most powerful nation in human history. This is the man with the power to affect billions of lives across the world, and this is the man who evidently doesn’t give a shit about what the rest of the world wants or thinks. He’s made it clear that America will do whatever the fuck it wants to whoever it wants, whenever it wants, and the rest of the world can go fuck itself because they have the most nukes and the most guns. A fine example indeed.
America has always portrayed itself as a shining beacon of truth, freedom and democracy - an example to be followed by all the civilised nations of the world. In your hearts, you’ve always believed that you were the good guys. Thanks to Bush, however, no-one believes this anymore except for Americans. He’s made you look like a nation of arrogant, aggressive bullies, and with his dangerously unilateral foreign policies, he’s made the world a more dangerous place for us all.
Oh, and in case I wasn’t clear enough, he’s a rank fucking turd.
Never met him personally, but as far as his policies go I think he is possibly the most dangerous president the US has ever had.
If GWB was in charge of a country that the west considers “questionable” such as Iraq, Libya, North Korea or Syria then I think we in the west would be supportive of removing him from power. He seems to provoke many of the same feelings that Saddam did although to a lesser degree because he presides over a democracy and is therefore should be less of a danger.
On a side note, the day after he was elected I was living in San Francisco and remember discussing him with a number of friends. We all thought, without exception, if any world leader would launch nuclear weapons it would be him. Scary guy imho.
Rumsfeld sez, Saddam may have destroyed his WMD before the invasion. Huh?
Wolfowitz says the REAL BIG reason for invading Iraq was to enable the US to disengage it’s bases in Saudi Arabia.
So here’s the plan, invade and occupy a sovereign state so we can use it as a military base.
Huh?
Prisoners (illegal noncombatants, whatever that means)in Guantonamo Bay will be tried by secret tribunal, no avenue of appeal. They are already building death chambers.
Tax cut passes last week eliminates child tax credits for middle/lower class families. but decreases marginal tax rate for those who make over 100G/year Huh?
Can’t stand anything he’s done.
I wish someone in the US administration would try to remember why they were once regarded so highly, or why so many people around the world REALLY WANT TO LIKE AND ADMIRE THEM!!!
Till then, duck and cover.
My fear is what motivates him. I don’t hate him, per se. But I’m nervous about what kind of stunt he will pull next. Having never met the guy, and getting all my impressions from media, this is certainly a WAG:
- He’s a short, weak, frightened man.
- He has a vast inferiority complex.
- He has a messiah-complex, and really thinks he’s saving the world and doing all of humanity a favour.
- He caters to the strong, in the belief this will build him a powerbase.
- He plays on the publics fear, to get his way.
- He’s a bully, with the biggest gun in the world.
No, I don’t hate him. But I will certainly be happy when he’s out of office. It’s not the GOP policies that bother me as much as I think the man is weak and not fit for the job. He’s therefore in the hands of stronger people with their own agendas.
Australia
I like him, with the exception of his Christianity which I do not trust. Oh, and his tax cuts were not big enough.
In answer to manwithaplan, I think he is the best US president since Reagan, whom I think ended the coldwar and most of world communism. Sure there was a price, but in my mind it was worthwhile.
By way of contrast - I am certainly glad it is him and not the alternative choice in the White House.
Dont trust him, don’t like him.
I am from continental Europe and I don’t like Bush, because of the way he handled the Iraq issue.
He scares me. I never liked him, but nearly started to respect him after 9/11. For a short period of time it looked like he would take a tough but reasonable stance on terrorism. I was wrong.
I have to admit that as left-center european, I generally prefer democrats to republicans. So I’m biased.
At least his US centric policy is honest in that his lying, bullying, and demanding attitude is naked and open, rather than other US presidents who try to dress up their power hungry nature.
The US has not been any differant for a long time, just that it has been better at PR.
Old Europe speaking here
I don’t have much sympathy for the man either. He seems stupid, not to have a reasonable plan, lots of manipulative old men around him and indeed, he has to guide the most powerfull and possibly the most distructive nation in history through one of the most difficult times of the past 60 years.
At times, it all seems so surreal to me, HOW did we let this happen?
– Martijn
American speaking up …
Not that I’m surprised by any of your responses, but I think I can shed some light on why so many of us in America find Bush refreshing.
Our political system has suffered from people (no names) who seem to change their ideals and platforms with the tides (read: polls). From the beginning, GWB has been completely honest with his intentions for the power of the White House. Like or dislike his policies, he cannot be faulted for dishonesty or waffling - conspiracy theorists may disregard. And if you think about it dispassionately, he has continued to work towards goals that he believes are right and good, regardless of public opinion. That, in itself, is what I and many others look for in a faithful public servant.
And, **Cowgirl[/], I understand that some are frightened that Republicans want to fund military build-up in exchange for social welfare, but when GWB was campaigning on a larger budget for the military, he was actually referring to the fact that a large number of our enlisted soldiers are on public assistance welfare because the military could not afford to pay them a living wage (thanks to some pretty substantial budget cuts during the Clinton administration).
And, though most in Europe and the Middle East dislike his Iraq policy, I would dare say that the literally hundreds of Iraquis liberated from prisons who were being tortured for nothing more than their political beliefs probably appreciate him.
And one last thing … I seriously doubt that GWB gives a good-God-damn what anyone around the world thinks about him personally.
UK.
I would find Bush laughable ( his mangling of the English language isn’t even funny any more) if he wasn’t in such a powerful position. I believe he is being manipulated by others. I can’t think of one redeeming feature he has to recommend him. He has made the world a more dangerous place to live in. I dislike him intensely.
V
Horrible. Terrible. An abomination.
I hope he’s not “re-elected” in 2004.
A quick tabulation of the foreign chorus reads as follows 29 negatives, a couple positives.
The Foreign Doper opinion seems to parallel that of the American Doper opinion: almost 10:1 anti.
Probably skewed a bit due to the thread title (Do you dislike Bush) and the fact negatives are more likely to be posted than positives.
Not that I adore the man, but he’s ours…not yours. I only wish non-english speaking, 3rd & 4th world foreigners felt the same way as the majority of dopers do here. Maybe then we’d catch a 2 or 6 year reprieve on the flood of immigrants landing here.
The Netherlands.
Don’t trust him at all. Dislike him to the point of changing the channel whenever his smarmy face appears on my television.