# Supporting Bush: a severe mental illness **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 7, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016 "2004-10-07T13:41:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/21 "2004-10-07T19:14:38Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Still, one can perhaps see these supporters’ problem. The US suffered the most horrific act of terror ever seen, understandingly plunging it into a war mentality. But in a _war_, elections are postponed, and certain other aspects of democracy such as vigorous press criticism are temporarily suppressed. And yet here we are in an election, and the press is full of very important questions about the suitability of this man to be president. They have a deep loyalty to their country, but getting rid of the commander in chief at such a time seems so _dis_loyal to one with such a simple view. I’m somewhat confused. Are you saying that some people think that, because there is a war on, there should not be elections? Or are you saying that you think that during a war there should not be elections? In any case, there has never been a cancelled Presidental election in the US. Not in 1864, not in 1944, not in 1968 or 1972 (the Civil War, WWII, and Vietnam, respectively, and the first set of dates which come to mind). It would depend on specific dates whether or not there was an election during the War of 1812 (which would be the 1812 election) or the Mexican War (the 1840ish election) Yes, the American electorate has shown a tendency not to vote against a wartime President, but there have always been elections. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/22 "2004-10-07T19:18:27Z")
> [@Pyrrhonist](#): > > Take the head of the ADBLTD and shove it up the ass of the ABSD. With the ADBLTD’s head firmly up the ABSD’s bung, force the ABSD’s head up the ADBLTD’s ass. Paint the ADBLTD white and the ABSD black for a nice ying-yang effect, then let the two suffers shout ludicrous insults like a pair of bickering idiots until they collapse form exhaustion or suffocation. _Sniff._ Tried that at Abu Graib, didn’t we, Bushie? Didn’t engender much good will, did it, Bushie? You too are sick, it seems. Proceed to quarantine. PROCEED to quarantine! ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/23 "2004-10-07T19:19:30Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > All jocularity aside, are people actually saying this? They think that Bush is so great that he belongs on Mt. Rushmore? Please tell me you made this up. My mind is currently in “boggle” mode. See the “jackanapes” link in my OP. Read it and weep. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/24 "2004-10-07T19:34:44Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > It’s the disconnect from reality that boggles some of our minds. It’s one thing to be ignorant (as in “uninformed”) and quite another to be willfully ignorant. To have all the facts and circumstantial evidence at hand, but to dismiss them all out of hand. > > Kinda like the people who believed OJ was innocent, only much much worse. I’m going to have to start being more careful reading your posts **Equipoise** , lest my eyes roll so far back into my head that I can never get them back again. So anyone who is “informed” will agree with you and everyone else is “willfully ignorant”. And you are better than the rabid Bush supporters because…? ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/25 "2004-10-07T19:40:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > However, don’t knock all Republicans. Gotta acknowledge Sen. Lincoln Chafee of RI, my home state. He’s announced his intention not to vote for Bush, but to vote for another Republican (probably the elder Bush) as a write-in. RI is a strongly Democratic state, so it’s not like his one vote in the presidential election will tip the scales, but it’s an interesting statement. I do wonder, however, why he stays a Republican. Perhaps he thinks that the party of Lincoln is still worth saving, and it’s his duty to be as tenacious as possible in defending the last bastions of moderatism therein. God knows he’s not staying in the party so he can be a self-important toady for the opposition, like that fucker Zell Miller on the other side of the aisle. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/26 "2004-10-07T19:42:07Z")
[QUOTE=Lord Ashtar] I’m going to have to start being more careful reading your posts **Equipoise** , lest my eyes roll so far back into my head that I can never get them back again.\*\* Do you support Bush? Sounds like you’re not using them. > [@](#): > > So anyone who is “informed” will agree with you and everyone else is “willfully ignorant”. And you are better than the rabid Bush supporters because…? Support for Bush = ignorance and diseased brain cells. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/27 "2004-10-07T19:46:02Z")
Post #13 Pyrrhonist: Why is a dislike of Limbaugh and Coulter a bad thing? They are spin doctors at best, liars at worst. Everything to them is treason, if it does not follow their own views to the letter. Post #14 Bricker: > [@](#): > > Kerry is a good man, and it’s a shame your dad doesn’t see that, Equipoise. If it should happen that Kerry wins, the White House and the country will be in good hands. > Just not the BEST hands. > As a Bush supporter, naturally I am of the opinion that Bush is the better choice for the job. But I do not dismiss or demonize John Kerry, a war hero and patriot, who I do not favor simply because I do not agree with many of his positions. This is the sort of post that sounds completely reasonable. You just showed that at least one of us can state who they are supporting, without going into a foam at the mouth “episode”. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/28 "2004-10-07T19:46:50Z")
A quick aside to the OP: If you mean to say that Indiana is likely to pledge its electors to Bush, then you should say it is a **Blue State**. Blue has traditionally been the color of the incumbent’s party. Indiana was a **Red State** in 2000, when the significance of the Electoral College was first made into a big deal, but that was when Bush was the challenger, and Gore was the nominee for the incumbent’s party. Tradition aside, however, most news networks are clueless about this traditional mapping convention, and will be using the same colors they used in 2000 (which will probably spell the end of sensible color allocation). Look at California and Texas to determine which convention your map uses. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/29 "2004-10-07T20:24:30Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > That wouldn’t be the same Ionesco who wrote “Exit the King,” would it? 😉 I was actually thinking of _The Rhinoceros_. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/30 "2004-10-07T20:27:36Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Do you support Bush? Sounds like you’re not using them. No, I just don’t like it when people assert that anyone who disagrees with them is stupid. It is entirely possible for two intelligent people to be exposed to the same information and come to different conclusions. > [@Aeschines](#): > > Support for Bush = ignorance and diseased brain cells. Thanks for clearing that up. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/31 "2004-10-07T20:32:13Z")
> [@SentientMeat](#): > > Well, to outsiders it’s really rather baffling how you let him get voted in in the first place. Well, see, we didn’t. That’s part of the problem. He’s not only a bad president, he’s not even the duly elected president. > [@Bricker](#): > > You, on the other hand, exhibit precisely the sort of blindness the OP discusses, albeit directed at Bush rather than at Kerry I don’t think so. You can believe me or not, but I wouldn’t cut a Democrat any more slack. I hated President Clinton while he was in office, though for very different reasons than the right-wingers did. Regarding Bush, first, he wasn’t even elected. He was appointed. Bush’s record on the environment, education, civil rights, women’s rights, health care, and the economy are just about as dismal as could possibly be. His seeming lack of intelligence, and his complete lack of tolerance disgust me. He lies to the American people over and over and over again. He let 9/11 happen, didn’t even try to stop it. In that I mean all the prior intelligence that something was coming was disregarded. He frittered away the good will the world had toward us after 9/11. His policies have made an absolute lie of his “I’m a uniter, not a divider” spiel, which got turned into “I’m a uniter for my base, everyone else can go to hell.” On top of all that, he pulled valuable resources out of Afghanistan and invaded a country that was no threat to us, killing and wounding tens of thousands of our troops, allied troops, and innocent Iraqi citizens. The intelligence community is in tatters, so I can’t understand how anyone thinks we’re “safer” under Bush. So, yeah, all that? That’s why I don’t like Bush, and why I don’t understand anyone who supports him. > [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > So anyone who is “informed” will agree with you and everyone else is “willfully ignorant”. And you are better than the rabid Bush supporters because…? Because I try to stay informed and don’t close my eyes to reality. You disagree. Duh. Let me tell you how I feel using the OJ case again. Try, give it a whirl. I’ll assume you’re old enough to have been around and aware at that time. I’ll also assume that you heard the evidence and presumed OJ Simpson to be guilty. Obviously this won’t work if you didn’t pay attention to the case, were too young to care, or you believe to this day that OJ is innocent. How did you feel when the trial was over, before the verdict was announced? Like many people, you probably felt that the prosecutors had made their case, and OJ would be found guilty. How did you feel when the verdict was announced, and OJ was declared not guilty? Were you shocked? Were you stunned? Did you wonder how anyone could have heard the evidence and not thought he was guilty? Did you marvel at the blinders people who thought he was innocent had on? Was there perhaps anger at people who figured, yeah, he was guilty, but so what? That’s where some of us are. That’s how we’re looking at you. The stakes are higher though, since the blinders conceal events having to do with countries and human beings, and death. Much, much more death. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/32 "2004-10-07T20:35:38Z")
This is a joke thread, right? Aren’t joke threads frowned upon in the Pit? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/33 "2004-10-07T20:49:15Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Because I try to stay informed and don’t close my eyes to reality. So your position is that _ **everyone** _ who supports Bush is sticking their fingers in their ears and shouting, “La la la! I can’t hear you! Saddam had WMDs! Iraq and Al Queda sitting in a tree! KAY-EYE-ESS-ESS-EYE-EEN-GEE!” Am I correct? > [@Equipoise](#): > > You disagree. Duh. Let me tell you how I feel using the OJ case again. Try, give it a whirl. > > I’ll assume you’re old enough to have been around and aware at that time. I’ll also assume that you heard the evidence and presumed OJ Simpson to be guilty. Obviously this won’t work if you didn’t pay attention to the case, were too young to care, or you believe to this day that OJ is innocent. > > How did you feel when the trial was over, before the verdict was announced? Like many people, you probably felt that the prosecutors had made their case, and OJ would be found guilty. > > How did you feel when the verdict was announced, and OJ was declared not guilty? Were you shocked? Were you stunned? Did you wonder how anyone could have heard the evidence and not thought he was guilty? Did you marvel at the blinders people who thought he was innocent had on? Was there perhaps anger at people who figured, yeah, he was guilty, but so what? I was in high school when the O.J. trial was going on. I thought it was stupid that it took as long as it did, and I thought that the media attention to that case was way beyond what it should have been. Other than that, I didn’t really care. Kind of like how I don’t really care about the Scott Peterson trial going on right now. > [@Equipoise](#): > > That’s where some of us are. That’s how we’re looking at you. I told you this in the other thread you started yesterday about Michael Moore’s arrest warrant. I do not support Bush, and am not a Republican. Please don’t make me tell you a third time. > [@Equipoise](#): > > The stakes are higher though, since the blinders conceal events having to do with countries and human beings, and death. Much, much more death. Agreed. The stakes are amazingly high. Still, I submit that not all of GWB’s supporters are willfully ignorant. And the ones that are aren’t any better than the percentage of Kerry’s supporters who are voting for him only because he’s not Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/34 "2004-10-07T20:52:42Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Tradition aside, however, most news networks are clueless about this traditional mapping convention, and will be using the same colors they used in 2000 (which will probably spell the end of sensible color allocation). Look at California and Texas to determine which convention your map uses. I hadn’t known. Still, the red suits the Pubs well: red for innocent blood spilt. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/35 "2004-10-07T20:54:21Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > This is a joke thread, right? Aren’t joke threads frowned upon in the Pit? No, it’s not a joke thread. It’s a serious thread with a bit of humor in the expression of the idea. A joke thread is when someone who really doesn’t mean something trolls or just dicks around. This ain’t that. Now go fuck yourself. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/36 "2004-10-07T20:57:09Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > No, it’s not a joke thread. It’s a serious thread with a bit of humor in the expression of the idea. A joke thread is when someone who really doesn’t mean something trolls or just dicks around. This ain’t that. :rolleyes: You mean you’re _serious_? Dude, you’re scaring me. > [@](#): > > Now go fuck yourself. For someone who supposes that they have a “bit of humor,” you sure are not showing it here, Mr. Humor-impaired. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/37 "2004-10-07T21:28:58Z")
I’d like to think that not many Bush supporters want to see him on Mt. Rushmore, and that not many Kerry supporters are deranged screaming fanatics like **Aeschines**. ---
**Author:** ![RTA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@RTA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTA)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/38 "2004-10-07T21:35:04Z")
The OP mirrors my own experience with my father, who is sadly become a dittohead in his retired pre-dotage. Tuesday he asked me what I was doing later. I said, I was going to stay home and watch Dick Cheney get smoked in the debate. In your dreams kiddo, he says. Like, really pissed off. Like, he actually bared his teeth at me! It’s the whole Limbaugh ball of crack with my pops. I know he’s smarter than some of the cockamamie things he holds true so I get frustrated. But we take pains to separate politics and family. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/39 "2004-10-07T21:35:21Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > For someone who supposes that they have a “bit of humor,” you sure are not showing it here, Mr. Humor-impaired. Let me reiterate: go sod yourself fucking off. And think of your master Bush while doing so. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016/40 "2004-10-07T21:41:24Z")
> [@neuroman](#): > > I’d like to think that not many Bush supporters want to see him on Mt. Rushmore, and that not many Kerry supporters are deranged screaming fanatics like **Aeschines**. Exactly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supporting-bush-a-severe-mental-illness/268016.md?page=3)