I’m curious how many dopers supported Bush back in 2000. I know this board skews left, but nearly half the voters chose Bush, so there’s probably more than a few around here. (But how many will admit to it?)
What were the primary reasons for choosing Bush, and do you feel those reasons were justified, in hindsight? Any regrets?
Do you think he did a better job than Gore would have? I know there was a perception that Gore was too wooden, too nerdy, too environmental, etc. And Bush was supposedly the guy you’d want to have a beer with. I wonder if anybody really chose Bush based on personality alone.
Sadly, I think a lot of people do vote based on personality. Thinking of the people I’d like to have a beer with, I wouldn’t want any of them to be president.
When I voted for Bush, I hoped for someone who leaned in the direction of small-government conservatism, and who, based on his success with the Texas legislature, would be able to pursue a moderately conservative agenda with some bi-partisan support. I’ve been disappointed.
Hi Crotalus. Have you been disappointed to the point that if you had it to do over again, you would choose Gore instead? (Or would you still vote Bush?)
“Well, Chris, with all precincts reporting, the Hindsight Vote is almost all in, now 99.999% for Gore…wait, Bush’s Mom is coming out of the polling station, vote being counted…yes, that’s it, 100% for Gore…”
Gore hasn’t had a chance to show that he’d be better or worse than Bush has been–so I honestly don’t think I can overrule my past actions since I have no idea what kind of president Gore would have been.
Of all the candidates Democrats have run in my lifetime, Gore was one of the ones who I could have voted for–I leaned to Bush because of a few minor issues where my beliefs more closely aligned with his than with Gore’s.
I supported McCain in the primaries, and think that McCain of 2000 was a good candidate (I don’t support McCain 2008, I’m not sure if McCain has become worse or we’ve just learned more about him.)
Looking back, it was hard to choose at the time between Bush and Gore. To be honest, it was a very “boring” election (until the Florida debacle) because I really felt both of them weren’t very different from one another. I didn’t expect either men to be great Presidents and I expected their presidency to be defined by how unexciting it would be. Obviously 9/11 changed that fundamentally. While I’ve some serious problems with the specifics of how Bush has handled our military affairs, I still align very closely with Bush’s overall vision and still agree with his particular uses of force while I don’t support his execution (as it has been flawed.) However I think he may finally have found his Grant in Petraeus, Afghanistan is continuing to look worse and worse and I feel like it is overshadowed by Iraq so nothing will be done about it, which is unfortunate.
The 2004 election is still a no-brained, in 2004 I didn’t think Bush was a great President but I thought Kerry would have made a worse one. I think today that Kerry most certainly would have been a worse President than Bush and am very glad he was not elected.
I voted for Bush, and my reasons for somewhat similar to Crotalus’s. However, I wasn’t much in hope that he was a small-government type. I just think that he’d have been less bad than Gore. I still od, because I think of Gore in approximately the same vein as a cancer-ridden kitten: useless but cute in a helpless fashion.
it turns out the new strategy in Iraq is working well, so well, the media refuses to report it. Yeah, the media single-handed destroyed Bush at every level. I’m still floored people are so easily influenced and swayed.
I only made the mistake once, but… once is more than enough. At least I can hide in the fact that my vote really didn’t matter. Texas voting for him was a given - each time.
Yep, and it only took him seven years (our mission was apparently accomplished long, long ago however). And not only that, but he had to catastrophically screw up first. Sort of like totaling your car and then putting in a GPS unit; it’s an improvement! After all the lies and cloak-and-dagger politics, I’m surprised you could be so easily influenced and swayed by one minor victory.
I expect to fully support the execution of George W Bush, should he be found guilty of a capital crime. Not even a President of the United States should be above the law.
