# Shrub's landing on the aircraft carrier, WTF was the Secret Service thinking???? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2003, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567 "2003-05-02T04:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/101 "2003-05-03T10:59:20Z")
During the Gloat on the Boat, GeeDubya tried to smear a little lipstick on the WMD pig, saying we have “hundreds of sites to check out.” As if, somehow, this were optimistic. But this as well: [http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389722750&p=1012571727088](http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389722750&p=1012571727088) "Saddam Hussein appears to have shut down or destroyed large parts of his unconventional weapons programmes before the war in Iraq, a senior Bush administration official who has been closely involved in the quest to purge Iraq of weapons of mass destruction said this week. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he would be “amazed if we found weapons-grade plutonium or uranium” and it was unlikely large volumes of biological or chemical material would be discovered. He suggested that the sanctions and UN inspections probably prompted Mr Hussein to dispose of much of his stockpile." But here’s the punchline: "He said the US was more concerned by Mr Hussein’s team of 1,000 scientists, whom he termed “nuclear mujahadeen”. " Man, these guys can turn a phrase, no? Not even our favorite SDMB Usual Suspects are even _trying_ to defend this steaming cup of crappucino any more. Oh, and **Skillet** : Al might have been “safely at a typewriter in Saigon” but thats still 10,000 miles closer to The Shit than GeeDubya ever got. How many VC do you think were skulking around in Lubbock? ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/102 "2003-05-03T11:38:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by oliversarmy \* > \*\*Diogenes said: > > ## quote: > > ## It was a cheap, grandstanding stunt performed for the benefit of mullet- wearing Nascar fans. > > I always find it amusing when the left insults and condescends to the people (the poor and the blue-collar workers of America) that they claim to represent and defend. \*\* Maybe a mullet-wearing Nascar fan broke his heart in prison. Seriously, Diogenes, I’m sorry you got your head shoved down the toilet in high school. It’s not our fault. ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/103 "2003-05-03T15:21:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > > Oh, and **Skillet** : Al might have been “safely at a typewriter in Saigon” but thats still 10,000 miles closer to The Shit than GeeDubya ever got. How many VC do you think were skulking around in Lubbock? I postulate that it was inherently more dangerous to be learning to fly a supersonic jet over the skies of Texas than to be in the middle of a US controled HQ in Saigon. My original point stands, that all the smug inferences that W is a dim bulb are disproved by the fact that he has accomplished all that he has, including becoming a proficient military pilot. I think the anti Bush crowd would be happier if we were still bogged down in a (preferably losing) long drawn out campaign in Iraq. We won, and under this commander in chief, we made history for the fastest advance and capture of an enemy capital ever. The finest military in the world did what only it could’ve done, and guess what, if the pres wants to land on an aircraft carrier, he gets to. Get over it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/104 "2003-05-03T15:33:29Z")
I believe he will also make a positively splendid ex-President, and the sooner, the better. ---
**Author:** ![TVAA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TVAA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVAA)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/105 "2003-05-03T15:41:59Z")
Perhaps he could get a job at _Hollywood Squares_… ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/106 "2003-05-03T16:10:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Man, this partisan stuff is getting out of hand. I’d say that the biggest partisan dick waving around in here is easily yours Sam. Indeed, the quote you culled was an attempt not to insult the President, but point out that a choice of jet over helicopter saves a lot of time, and is a perfectly pedestrian explanation for the showy choice when you’re dealing with Presidents, who have extremely cramped schedules. That point remains just as true even if he stayed overnight: they still save time by taking a jet instead of heli. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/107 "2003-05-03T19:59:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*He could have gone to Vietnam like a man instead of begging his Daddy to get him out the war. He could have shown up like a man when he got assigned to a rich boy division of the National Guard. > > He got into Harvard with a C average because of his daddy. He became POTUS because of his daddy and a fixed Supreme Court. > . \*\* Nice try…but you claimed he was lazy. Getting an MBA from Harvard and becoming - or just running to become - the president of the U.S. is evidence against laziness. So, take back the laziness remark - it’s bunk. As for vietnam, it goes both ways politically, since both parties have members who were creative in avoiding combat. Clinton was creative, Bush was creative. And, there are heros who are conservative and liberal. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/108 "2003-05-03T20:09:08Z")
Fair enough. He is mendacious, pampered, over-privileged, self-righteous, pugnacious and wildly egotistical. But not lazy. Really, its just a matter of emphasis. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/109 "2003-05-03T20:43:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*I believe he will also make a positively splendid ex-President, and the sooner, the better. \*\* My fondest wish is for the President’s re-election, for no other reason than to positively, splendidly, piss **elucidator** off. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/110 "2003-05-03T21:07:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*Fair enough. He is mendacious, pampered, over-privileged, self-righteous, pugnacious and wildly egotistical. > > But not lazy… > > \*\* We’re discussing George W. Bush, not Bill Clinton 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/111 "2003-05-03T22:03:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milroyj \* > \*\*My fondest wish is for the President’s re-election, for no other reason than to positively, splendidly, piss **elucidator** off. 😃 \*\* Nah. I watched Dick Nixon get elected _twice_. Politics wise, I have already seen the horror. Not even Reagan could match that. GeeDubya is a mediocrity, not a monstrosity. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/112 "2003-05-03T22:24:16Z")
I still say he’s lazy. Even he admits he did nothing with his life until his forties when he finally got sober, and he’s done precious little even since then. It’s not like he’s ever had a job or anything. He took a few flying lessons but that hardly makes him a fighter pilot. He sure never fought anything. He didn’t even bother to show up for his last year of service. That seems pretty lazy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hairy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/22d042/32.png) [@Hairy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hairy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/113 "2003-05-03T23:46:00Z")
elucidator said: “We are equally safe from unicorn stampedes” Is this true ? How can you be truly sure? I for one will not be letting my guard down anytime soon ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/114 "2003-05-03T23:55:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I still say he’s lazy. Even he admits he did nothing with his life until his forties when he finally got sober, and he’s done precious little even since then. It’s not like he’s ever had a job or anything. He took a few flying lessons but that hardly makes him a fighter pilot. He sure never fought anything. He didn’t even bother to show up for his last year of service. That seems pretty lazy to me. \*\* I dunno, getting rid of both the Taliban and the Saddam regimes seems pretty good to me. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![milroyj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@milroyj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milroyj)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/115 "2003-05-03T23:56:24Z")
Besides, what did Clinton do, other than bomb aspirin factories? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/116 "2003-05-03T23:59:44Z")
To be fair, **Dio** , he did learn to fly that plane, 'cause he flew that plane. And I’m still not sure about lazy. Thing of it is, the rich are different from us. They are more relaxed as a general rule, and that can easily be misinterpreted as lazy. If you’ve never in your life missed a meal, or worried that your children might, it eases the muscles of the spine to a remarkable degree. Born on third base, and thinks he hit a triple. ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/117 "2003-05-04T00:11:03Z")
if only we had a dictatorship of the proletariat, then everybody would be equal, and nobody would start on 3rd base. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/118 "2003-05-04T00:47:04Z")
The effete weakness of your sarcasm makes me miss **Scylla**. ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/119 "2003-05-04T01:11:52Z")
damn, he’s on to my special “effete sarcasm” trick. However shall I fight back. AH I know. \*\* Delusionator \*\* your sig is **self-righteous, pugnacious and wildly egotistical** and I’m sorry that I don’t offer you the masturbatory foil that **Scylla** did. I do what I can. Your problem is that you can’t argue your points without becoming emotional about them. Let go of your anger and try that ancient chinese secret called rationality. love and kisses :wally ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567/120 "2003-05-04T02:10:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by milroyj \* > \*\*I dunno, getting rid of both the Taliban and the Saddam regimes seems pretty good to me. YMMV. \*\* What specifically did Shrub do to get anybody out of power. Other people wrote (mostly dishonst) speeches for him and he read them off a teleprompter. That is the sum of his personal involvement with this or any other war. Bill Clinton grew up dirt poor and earned his way into ivy league schools with genuine academic achievements. No one ever gave Clinton anything. His entire career was built with his own efforts and personal talent. Everything Junior has gotten was paid for by his daddy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shrubs-landing-on-the-aircraft-carrier-wtf-was-the-secret-service-thinking/172567.md?page=7)