Nowadays some conservative Dopers, in GD and Pit threads, take pains to emphasize that they no longer support or approve of the Bush Admin, though they may have in the past, and though they remain conservatives or pro-Republicans. What about those who still do support it? Why do you?
I support him because he is my legally elected President, and I believe in the American System, therefore I must support…
<guffaw>
There is no way I can do that with a straight face. Or a gay face for that matter. The man is a war criminal, plain and simple.
I bookmarked this waiting to see if anyone but **Clothahump ** would even admit to still supporting President Bush. Is **scylla ** a possibility?
On that note, I’m not interested in reasons that would justify supporting any sitting POTUS no matter who he was. Such considerations are defensible, but irrelevant to this thread.
I think Mr. Moto still supports the mo-fo. But I’m not certain.
I’m not American, so it’s a bit academic really, but I am a conservative, and my answer is “I don’t know”. Were I American, I’d have voted for Bush at the last election (and the one before), but I’m unsure about now. The Iraq war was defensible then, IMHO.
I will be voting Labor (like the Democrats) in the next Australian federal election, for the first time in a decade or more - though Iraq doesn’t loom too large in that decision.
Well, since this is IMHO and not GD, I’ll answer. But I have no intention of getting into a debate about this.
I support Bush for the most part. Why? 1) Thanks to the tax cuts, the economy is doing incredibly well, considering 9/11 and all that, 2) Bush is willing to acknowledge that there is a long history of Islamic imperialism and to fight back against it, 3) Bush is willing to speak up forcefully for democracy-something that I wish all pacifists would consider doing, 4) Bush kept his promises in the kind of Supremes he would appoint, and he’s done about as much as one man can do to reverse the tide of judicial activism, a highly anti-democratic movement IMHO, 5) Bush revolutionized warfare by starting the campaign in Iraq by targeting Hussein, rather than just his conscripts, 6) He tried to privatize SS, which would have given the means of production to the workers, something I’ve dearly wished for since I came of age in the 60s.
Why do I say “for the most part?” I’d like it if he were a better public speaker, more like Bill Clinton or Newt Gingrich and I’d like it if he took to the airwaves a lot more and a lot more effectively.
But, as I said, this is IMHO. I won’t be stopping by to debate those who disagree.
Mostly because the entire argument is indefensible, I’m guessing…
No, because this isn’t a “debate” thread, it’s a “poll” thread. Please learn the difference.
The good things about Bush:
- The tax cuts.
- Supreme court appointments. However, this isn’t all his doing. Had he had his way, Gonzalez and Harriet Myers would be on the court, which would be a disaster. It took an almost-full scale revolt by Republicans to get him to smarten up.
- His aggressive stance on the war on terror.
The bad:
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His complete inability to communicate big ideas. Any time he tries to explain himself, he comes off poorly.
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His unwillingness to communicate. At a time like this, the president should be in front of the people all the time, explaining what he’s doing, why it’s important, etc. Bush puts forward a divisive, complex plan, then vanishes and lets his opponents define it and ridicule it without response.
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Managerial incompetence. It’s important to know how to delegate responsibility, but it’s also important not to simply create a new bureaucracy every time there’s a new problem. from the Dept of Homeland Security to this ridiculous idea of a ‘war czar’, Bush responds to challenges by creating new levels of management. The result is bloated, inefficient government. What’s worse is that he tends to appoint unqualified cronies to these positions, which just makes matters worse.
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The unwillingness to veto pork. Government has ballooned in size on Bush’s watch, and he’s done nothing to stop it and a lot to encourage it.
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Management of the war. You could file this under ‘managerial incompetence’, but the way the war has been handled has been a disaster.
Overall, Bush gets a thumbs down from me.
I’d think that if you’re any kind of a “conservative government” type person, you’d be fervently against Bush, no matter what else has been done, tax cuts be damned.
Still, living here, it’s hard to see ANY economic benefit.
Truth is truth, but in view of the forum this is in, I’ll shut up…
Right. We have had many, many debates in GD on the overall quality of the W Admin, on how it rates compared with other administrations, and on its particular policies. I wanted to do something different here.
Yes. Personally, I enjoy a good Bush Bash as much as anyone.
But let’s leave room on this thread for all the Bush Fans. Surely, they’ll show up. Any minute now.
*** crickets ***
You know, there’s no point in even answering this.
So where the heck are they anyway? Starving Artist, Shodan, Clothahump? It’s not a Bush-bash-fest, fellas! Czarcasm will protect you from the brickbats and trebucheted goats as you lay out your well-reasoned arguments for the President’s greatness.
I still support him. I like the No Child Left Behind act, even if it’s slow and arduous to get us where we need to be. I’m tired of people saying that it doesn’t measure certain qualities of students because I don’t feel that “plays well with others” is something that’s very important for the Federal Gov’t to stick their nose in. Math and Science is the most important to remain competitive in this world, not, say, music. This doesn’t mean I think the liberal arts are bad…they just don’t need to be strictly measured and evaluated.
Secondly, I like the way he’s appointed the courts. Ok, Harriet Meirs being the exception. What was he thinking?! Alito…now that’s the right call.
Thirdly, I like the way he doesn’t pander to the liberals. He appoints conservatives because that’s why we voted for him.
Fourthly, I’m not against the war entirely. I was in it. In the beginning, we justfully fought Saddam. We had wrong info, but it was still a good move. Today, we fight Al Qaeda. They, unlike Saddam, ARE responsible for 9/11. There’s still a lot of work to be done there, but I believe it’s still winnable.
Lastly, like any true conservative, I appreciate the tax cuts. I know what to do with my money, I don’t need Congress to spend it for me.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be tunring out any different. I’ll express my disappointment in those who poisoned the waters, and then I’ll close this.