# "Uniter not Divider" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 20, 2001, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975 "2001-01-20T03:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/1 "2001-01-20T03:51:26Z")
Practically everything GWB has done (Cabinet appointments, inarticulate Roe v. Wade comments) seems to be courting divisiveness, regardless of one’s opinion on the merits. I’ve heard little commentary on this campaign prevarication by the “liberal” media. Have I missed something, or is this still the honeymoon period ? ---
**Author:** ![Mekhazzio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b38774/32.png) [@Mekhazzio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mekhazzio)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/2 "2001-01-20T04:01:47Z")
It’s not “divisive” when you’re _right_. :rolleyes: I think it’s more a case that nobody actually believed that crap in the first place, so this comes as no surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/3 "2001-01-20T04:09:47Z")
I havent heard any Roe vs Wade comments and his cabinet appointments seem to be uniting. Unless of course you think all his appointments should be liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/4 "2001-01-20T05:16:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Asmodean \* > I havent heard any Roe vs Wade comments and his cabinet appointments seem to be uniting. **Who** , exactly, do his Cabinet appointments seem to me uniting, 'Modie? > [@](#): > > Unless of course you think all his appointments should be liberal. Excluded middle much? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/5 "2001-01-20T05:39:16Z")
Well, of course you’re going to see divisiveness if that’s what you want to see. ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/6 "2001-01-20T19:49:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SPOOFE Bo Diddly \* > Well, of course you’re going to see divisiveness if that’s what you want to see. Oh come on! You don’t have to look hard to see the divisiveness in the appointments of people like Ashcroft and Norton and Abraham! The only way in which I am willing to give your point some merit is to acknowledge that not **all** his appointments are divisive. Many are reasonable, even if I don’t exactly agree with them. But, Ashcroft, Norton, and Abraham? There are divisive. ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/7 "2001-01-20T20:13:20Z")
No, they are people you don’t agree with. Naturally he would be a divider if he made his whole cabinet out of right or left wing extremists. ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/8 "2001-01-21T02:26:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jorge \* > **I’ve heard little commentary on this campaign prevarication by the “liberal” media.** I laugh everytime I hear the term “liberal media”. Please, the liberals arent on your ABCNNBCBS news shows. Trust me, if the liberal media actually got their say they would be a bigger pain in Rush Limbaugh’s side. There is **no** liberal media. Ok, maybe National Public Radio, but yet, even that is being bought out. Give me proof of the “liberal media” and I’m not speaking about Democrats here. Granted, there is a liberal media, but since when do people listen to the far left? the liberal media goe snnoticed by the mainstream media, therefore not making it available to the public eye. Sorry to hijack your thread here, but I’d like to see some proof of true “liberal media” that everyone all over the nation pays attentiont to. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/9 "2001-01-21T02:51:35Z")
What’s so divisive about choosing cabinet members who reflect your range of beliefs? If Gore would have won, I would have expected a center-left to farther left cabinet. Maybe I wouldn’t _like_ that too much, but I could hardly complain that Gore was overstepping his perogative. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/10 "2001-01-21T03:46:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by divemaster \* > \*\*What’s so divisive about choosing cabinet members who reflect your range of beliefs? If Gore would have won, I would have expected a center-left to farther left cabinet. Maybe I wouldn’t _like_ that too much, but I could hardly complain that Gore was overstepping his perogative. \*\* But Gore didn’t campaign using the slogan “Uniter, not a Divider!” ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/11 "2001-01-21T03:54:12Z")
> [@](#): > > There is no liberal media. Well, there’re a good number of liberal magazines (not a majority, no). I’ve always considered the vast majority of the media to be quite in the middle, with some reports being more liberal, some being more conservative. Personally, I like Bill Maher’s _Politically Incorrect_, since he makes fun of EVERYONE. 😃 > [@](#): > > Gore didn’t campaign using the slogan “Uniter, not a Divider!” Bush’s administration hasn’t even started yet! Holy Hell, grow an ounce of patience! ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/12 "2001-01-21T04:29:48Z")
> [@](#): > > Bush’s administration hasn’t even started yet! Well then how in your Holy Hell has he managed to get a [42% job approval rating](http://www.iwon.com/home/news/news_article/0,11746,91816%7Ctop%7C01-20-2001::07:35%7Creuters,00.html) already? ---
**Author:** ![Tejota](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tejota](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tejota)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/13 "2001-01-21T05:51:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Asmodean \* > \*\*I havent heard any Roe vs Wade comments and his cabinet appointments seem to be uniting. Unless of course you think all his appointments should be liberal. \*\* Now that just the sort of bullshit answer I would expect from a non-thinking Bush apologist. No, we don’t expect Gov. Bush to appoint liberals, we _expect_ that someone who was telling the truth about wanting to unite the country to appoint _moderate_ conservatives. I’m not convinced that Chavez (was) so far out the mainstream as to be unreasonable. But Ashcroft certainly is. The man is **against birth control** for christ’s sake! Do you have any idea how small the group of people who believe that are? He torpedoed Clinton’s appointments many times for no reason other than because the candidates didn’t have the “right” views (according to Ashcroft). If Ashcroft is a man who’s views Bush agrees with, then Bush believes that drinking and dancing are Sins (but aparently lying at a confirmation hearing isn’t). And Norton thinks that the proper way to “enforce” the clean air act is to let corporations “police themselves”. Ever heard of Love Canal? That’s what letting corporations do their own policing can lead to. But I have no problem believing that Bush is more interested in guranteeing profits to his cronys than about clean air and water. In fact I’m sure of it. Uniting my ass. You are **really** out of touch with reality if you believe that. tj ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/14 "2001-01-21T06:25:22Z")
Good to see you, Tejota! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/15 "2001-01-21T06:54:16Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Mercutio \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I laugh everytime I hear the term “liberal media”.\*\* No wonder people edge away from you nervously in the street. I guess if you are out in Pacifica-land, the national media look conservative to you. But it is undeniable that reporters/editors on the major news outlets consistently let their leftist views rule their stories. I find this loathsome even when I agree with them. While some of Bush’s Cabinet appointees are disgusting, the tenor of the outrage over their selection is difficult to understand. Unless of course you’re like those pundits who are shocked, _ **deeply shocked** _ that GW didn’t take your advice to share power with the Demos, since the election was so close and all. I don’t recall WJ Clinton being all that inclusive of GOPs when it came to making his appointments. ---
**Author:** ![Tejota](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tejota](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tejota)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/16 "2001-01-21T07:30:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > > While some of Bush’s Cabinet appointees are disgusting, the tenor of the outrage over their selection is difficult to understand. Unless of course you’re like those pundits who are shocked, _ **deeply shocked** _ that GW didn’t take your advice to share power with the Demos, since the election was so close and all. > > I don’t recall WJ Clinton being all that inclusive of GOPs when it came to making his appointments. \*\* Once again, you’re pretending there is no difference between a GOP moderate and an a religious zealot. Clinton DID appoint center-left people to his cabinet. I expect a ‘uniter’ like Gov. Bush to do the same; appoint _center_-right people. (Actually, I don’t. I had Bush pegged as a liar fairly early. But that’s another thread.) I gurantee you, if Bush would have run on the platform the Ashcroft apparently believes him, he wouldn’t have gotten more than 15% of the vote. Keep in mind, that the voters rejected Buchannan. You gotta hand it to Gov. Bush though. If he isn’t dumb as a post then he has solid brass cojones. (I’d be willing to bet he’s at least slightly smarter than cellulose). tj ---
**Author:** ![Tejota](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tejota](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tejota)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/17 "2001-01-21T07:31:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoidela \* > \*\*Good to see you, Tejota! > \*\* Thanks, I’ve been around, but not posting much. I’m mostly lurking because I’m in crunch mode at work. tj ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/18 "2001-01-21T07:38:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Tejota \* > (I’d be willing to bet he’s at least slightly smarter than cellulose)._\* No, even unsightly fat cells could get B’s at Yale these days. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/19 "2001-01-21T07:50:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by divemaster: > What’s so divisive about choosing cabinet members who reflect your range of beliefs? If Gore would have won, I would have expected a center-left to farther left cabinet. Maybe I wouldn’t like that too much, but I could hardly complain that Gore was overstepping his perogative. The truer analogy, say in the case of Interior, would be Gore appointing someone from _Greenpeace_. Knowingly selecting someone from the legal arm of the Wise Use movement is as extremist as that; and what uniting purpose does it serve ? The Sierra Club, not known as any particularly “left-wing” group, is aghast at Norton’s appointment. Certainly not much of a political imperative, as the folks in Idaho would vote GOP in the next election anyway… I figure, in a sense, there’s an opportunity to test the validity of the old “liberal media” canard. And right now, it’s deflating rapidly. ---
**Author:** ![Tejota](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Tejota](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tejota)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975/20 "2001-01-21T08:07:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by minty green \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Tejota \* > > (I’d be willing to bet he’s at least slightly smarter than cellulose)._\* > > No, even unsightly fat cells could get B’s at Yale these days. \*\* I believe you are referring to cellul_ite_? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uniter-not-divider/50975.md?page=2)