Since the Iraq war I have been thinking that George Bush is an idiot. He has no on-screen presence(that I can see), he is not a statesmen, he doesnt come across as intellectual, and he strikes me as arrogant for not admitting a single mistake in 4 years. To me, he is way over his head and has no idea how to get out.
So what did I miss? 58+million Americans see George Bush as a good president and want him around for 4more years. And not just Bush, his whole cabinet is now here still for 4 years!! Ashcroft, Rummy, Rice…all of em! Another 4 years.
So again, what did miss?? Have I become partisan? Have I let my distaste for Republicans in general blind me to Bush? What is it that 58million Americans see, that I dont?? I just dont get it, and it is confusing to me. 58million Americans cant ALL be blind, they must see something of worth in this guy. I’m so CONFUSED!!
I want to be the good citizen and back my President, but I just cant, im sorry. But if the majority of Americans see something in Bush, well, maybe IM the one who is wrong. Ack!!!
Any way, not really a pitting here. I’m just confused and frustrated that I am now in the minority on how I view Bush, and I dont understand how that happened!! Somebody…anybody…please give me some hope for the next 4 years, help me see what it seems everyone else is seeing!!
p.s. It surprises me that after all the talk of HUGE election turnouts, still only 113million Americans voted. What the hell? I was looking for at least 50%, and we barely got a third. Didn’t 51% of Americans vote in 2000? How did we move backwards?
If the Democrats had not nominated a talking tree, they might have won. It was a big mistake to think that “anyone but Bush” could win. A southern Governor or someone like Sam Nunn (highly credible on defense) would’ve done the trick.
at least 1/3 of the 293 million people in this country are less than voting age. According to the CIA Factbook, 225 million of people are age 15 and over. My best guess is 55% this year based on those numbers (since the site doesn’t show the breakdown of those of voting age or higher.
You see…this is what confuses me. I think we are up to ass in morons, as do you, but you know what? We are the minority!! What did we miss? What are we seeing, or what is the majority seeing, that we dont?
I was going to post a thread on this very topic, because your feelings are exactly the same thing I’m feeling.
The bad things George W. Bush has done in the last 4 years are amazingly obvious to me. Obviously many other people… many other highly intelligent, highly rational non-partison people, don’t see those same things. I’m left to conclude I’m missing something. Or worse, I’m seeing something that isn’t there.
But it went beyond that for me. I was on the wrong side of just about every single ballot measure. So now it isn’t that I’m just crossed with people from Florida or Texas, I’m also crossed with people from my home town!
It is clear to me I’m missing something fundamental if I’m so backwards. Unfortunately, knowing I’m missing something doesn’t make it clear to me what I’m missing. I wish it did.
The name eludes me now, but last week there was a report that the UN envoy or ambassador or something like that to Germany is thought to be the new Secy of Defense if Bush won re-election.
You’re not missing anything. Bush’s entire campaign was based on fear and doubletalk, and it worked. Primarily because those running the DNC campaign thought all they had to do was present Kerry as Bush’s polar opposite. Now we’re stuck with the dangerous fool for four more years.
See, this is where I think you and I are wrong. I believed this, too. I also believed that that vast majority of Americans would see the spin and politiking and would see the same thing I did, even if not to the same degree. I thought they would realize that a man capable of such deception and power mongering couldn’t be fit for office.
Over 59,000,000 felt differently. Just look at the people on this very board who support Bush. They are some of the most intelligent people around. Clearly Bush was supported by way more than just straight partison voters. These people really believe George Bush is a standup, trustworthy and credible leader. I’ve read all the pro-Bush stuff I could find. I tried to see what others see. But I can’t. Clearly there is something I’m missing.
Great point here! And this is the about the only thing that gives me some hope going forward. I refuse to believe 59million of my fellow Americans are idiots, bigots, Bible thumpers, or any other clever name that the Right has been called here lately.
After much thinking over the past few days I have arrived at the conclusion that I am no longer confused. Bush and the Republicans put out a better message than the Dems, simple. That message hit home with the majority of American voters. I too thought they had all been duped, or were stupid…etc…but after thinking about it…those are just excuses the loser users to make themselves feel better.
Remember- just because someone voted for Bush doesn’t mean that person thinks that Bush and his adminstration are without flaw.
To quote what Thomas Edison said about Woodrow Wilson: “Some say he has stumbled. Perhaps he has, but I notice he usually stumbles in the right direction.”
If the Democrats had nominated someone who had what I considered a viable plan for the war (something other than, “We’ll convince the allies who were always against the war and showed no interest in helping to help us, because I can change water into wine”), or someone who showed an interest in reforming Social Security, or someone who wasn’t more interested in massive government spending than Bush, I would have voted for them.
Bush is doing a poor job, and I do not approve of him. But my feeling that Bush is bad does not mean that I believe that his opponent would automatically be better.
I have some real problems with Bush, but on the things that I considered the most important (the economy, terrorism, and Iraq), I felt he was the better choice.
Economy: Many complain that the bad economy is due to Mr. Bush, but I think it’s because of the Internet bubble burst and the aftershock of 9/11. The big question isn’t “why does the economy suck?”, but rather “could another leader have done better?”. And my assessment is that Bush did pretty good here. Granted, I thought he spent too much (he didn’t veto a single bill during his first term). But his general philosophy is far less spendy than Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Kerry had no plan of where to get the money to pay for his very expensive proposals.
Terrorism: Mr. Kerry was adament that he would pay more attention to the U.N. in his international decisions. And I don’t believe this is wise for the security of the U.S. Mr. Bush may not always be right, but I know where he stands, and both Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry were very clear that Mr. Bush would more often take the side of the U.S. in U.S. vs. U.N. issues. And I like that.
Iraq War: There’s a lot of things that could be better here. But my assessment is that Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry both saw the same information, and both came to the conclusion that force was required in Iraq. Later, when the war was more unpopular, during the primaries, Mr. Dean said the war was a bad idea, and Mr. Kerry agreed to appease his electorate at the moment. Not only do I think Mr. Kerry flip-flopped in a big way on the war, more importantly, I don’t think that he would’ve done a better job had he been the President in 2000. In fact, I believe he would’ve done a much worse job.
I think the OP shows how much some people can’t understand the positions of the opposing side.
I wonder if the original poster saw Michael Moore’s movie AND have honestly listened to right-wing commentators who present their side in a masterful way, like Rush Limbaugh.
I said HONESTLY LISTEN, and not study the opposing side like a Jew studying Hitler. I mean keep the mindset that the left and right both want what’s best for everyone, but there are different ideas on how to get there.
It makes me suspect that the surprise comes from a voter getting his information from dark blue, blue, and light blue sources… while thinking that these sources are “unbiased”.