# Year Ago Today Bush Re-Elected: Happy Now Assholes? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 2, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134 "2005-11-02T19:09:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/121 "2005-11-03T03:06:36Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > It isn’t a crime to lie, even if you’re President of the United States. In fact I think it’s a _necessity_ in many instances. So I guess when Bush said back in 2000 > [@](#): > > “Finally, a leader upholds the dignity and honor of his office. In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal, but also what is right - not just what the lawyers allow, but what the public deserves.” (A) You didn’t believe him because even an aspiring President needs to lie, or (B) You realize now he was lying back then but simply don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/122 "2005-11-03T03:23:01Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I’d have no problem if he lied or altered evidence…It isn’t a crime to lie, even if you’re President of the United States. In fact I think it’s a _necessity_ in many instances. This probably sounds better in the original German. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/123 "2005-11-03T03:29:24Z")
> [@Slacker](#): > > Nope he wasn’t responsible for the Katrina reaction; he was out that day. > > Just out of curiosity **Bricker** , you dislike the deficit but feel that it’s necessary under the current conditions, right? Do you also agree with the Republicans continuing tax cuts for the very wealthy while we plummet further into debt? Yes, I do. I’m not in favor of disproportionately taxing the wealthy. I’d repeal the Medicare drug benefit scheduled to take effect next year. For the next five years we’d save about $300 billion. I’d zap the “earmarks” in the highway bill, and kill about $30 billion. When Bush became president, the two top income tax rates were 39.6 percent and 36 percent. Now they’re 35 percent and 33 percent. How much, precisely, do you think we’ve lost in revenue with those cuts? ---
**Author:** ![Floyd13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@Floyd13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floyd13)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/124 "2005-11-03T03:29:28Z")
Admitting fault is not something that comes easy to most people. This thread is a perfect example. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/125 "2005-11-03T03:34:13Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I’d have no problem if he lied or altered evidence. I think the War in Iraq needed to be fought, and if the public needed to be given something flashy to get behind it, than so be it. The President of the United States needs to do what is necessary from a realistic perspective, he can’t be concerned with the opinions of the vox populi, who in general are not capable of understanding important geopolitical issues. > > It isn’t a crime to lie, even if you’re President of the United States. In fact I think it’s a _necessity_ in many instances. How come we never hear from Martin Jekyll? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/126 "2005-11-03T03:41:03Z")
Bush will always have his die-hard supporters. These are the people we should be sending to Iraq. They die hard, y’know. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/127 "2005-11-03T03:42:50Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Would you like to bet some money … I swear I had to triple check the poster to make sure it wasn’t **Bricker** ---
**Author:** ![lonesome\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@lonesome\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonesome_loser)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/128 "2005-11-03T03:44:27Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Bush will always have his die-hard supporters. These are the people we should be sending to Iraq. They die hard, y’know. And that irritates me. They think it’s ok for sons, daughters, mothers and fathers to die for an illegal war. Just as long as it’s not them or theirs. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/129 "2005-11-03T03:46:03Z")
A year ago tonight was a good night. I loved watching Kerry, Moore, Franken, Springsteen et al go to bed knowing they had failed miserably. _Loved_ it! Oh, and I have a question for all you Bush-bashers: which pro-war, anti-gay marriage candidate did _you_ one year ago today? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/130 "2005-11-03T03:48:24Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Clinton didn’t make terrorism near as important as Bush has. Bush has vastly increased our anti-terrorism efforts WHILE doing the war in Iraq. Don’t confuse the issue by trying to make the claim that the war in Iraq is a detraction from the War on Terror, it isn’t. We’re spending as much money as we feel is appropriate on the war on terror, and we wouldn’t be spending any more if we hadn’t gone to war with Iraq. Okay, since no one else is calling you on THIS load of horse shit. President Clinton increased spending on anti-terror and comissioned VP Gore to make recommendations for anti-terrorism laws. [The Republican congress wasn’t especially impressed](http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20010914.html) with it. > [@](#): > > Similarly, following the mid-air explosion of TWA Flight 800, which was initially believed to have been the work of terrorists, President Clinton created another commission, which his vice president headed. At the president’s request, the Gore Commission made recommendations within 45 days. This study, and a new anti-terrorism law enacted by Congress, helped reduce fears. But the proposed law was almost toothless by the time it reached the president’s desk, and the Gore Commission recommendations have been largely ignored. In fact, [Condi Rice](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22231-2004Mar24.html) blew off Richard Clarke when he tried, on several occasions, to warn her about Al Qaida. He attempted to meet with her, she stood him up. The Bush administration called the outgoing Clinton administration “alarmist” in regards to terrorism. Try to keep up, huh? ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/131 "2005-11-03T03:54:29Z")
> [@lonesome loser](#): > > Surely you have a cite for this. I have personal observation and memory, if that will serve as a cite. I believe that was during the Reagan days. It was variously called trickle down economics, supply side economics, or voodoo economics. It was the time of hostile takeovers, corporate rading, junk bond kings and layoffs. It was a time when mental patients were being dumped on the streets. It was a time when people with jobs and trades and skills were laid off or fired and lived on the street with their families. The money apparently did not trickle down to them, at least not by what I saw. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/132 "2005-11-03T03:54:32Z")
> [@lonesome loser](#): > > I have stumbled into the twilight zone. I’ve been living there since November 2000. Come join me. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/133 "2005-11-03T04:08:40Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Bush will always have his die-hard supporters. These are the people we should be sending to Iraq. They die hard, y’know. I wonder why they don’t volunteer, since they seem to believe so strongly in The Cause. Maybe because they are full of shit? ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Loblaw_1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/134 "2005-11-03T04:09:55Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Okay, since no one else is calling you on THIS load of horse shit. > President Clinton increased spending on anti-terror and comissioned VP Gore to make recommendations for anti-terrorism laws. [The Republican congress wasn’t especially impressed](http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20010914.html) with it. > > > [@](#): > > > > Similarly, following the mid-air explosion of TWA Flight 800, which was initially believed to have been the work of terrorists, President Clinton created another commission, which his vice president headed. At the president’s request, the Gore Commission made recommendations within 45 days. This study, and a new anti-terrorism law enacted by Congress, helped reduce fears. But the proposed law was almost toothless by the time it reached the president’s desk, and the Gore Commission recommendations have been largely ignored. > > In fact, [Condi Rice](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22231-2004Mar24.html) blew off Richard Clarke when he tried, on several occasions, to warn her about Al Qaida. He attempted to meet with her, she stood him up. The Bush administration called the outgoing Clinton administration “alarmist” in regards to terrorism. Try to keep up, huh? Richard Clarke’s book is a good narrative of how much the Bush administration downgraded terrorism and Paul O’Neil’s book indicates how they obsessed about Iraq from day one. These were insiders. You aren’t going to get better evidence. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/135 "2005-11-03T04:10:11Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > …Oh, and I have a question for all you Bush-bashers: which pro-war, anti-gay marriage candidate did _you_ one year ago today? Well, there’s none of them that I’d, like, totally _do_… ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Loblaw_1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/136 "2005-11-03T04:11:03Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Clinton didn’t make terrorism near as important as Bush has. Bush has vastly increased our anti-terrorism efforts WHILE doing the war in Iraq. Don’t confuse the issue by trying to make the claim that the war in Iraq is a detraction from the War on Terror, it isn’t. We’re spending as much money as we feel is appropriate on the war on terror, and we wouldn’t be spending any more if we hadn’t gone to war with Iraq. See above ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Loblaw_1)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/137 "2005-11-03T04:12:39Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > You know… one of the things that speaks for Roberts is that he got rid of those gilded, self-aggrandizing stripes. > > But, maybe he’s in dire need of a silly hat. Anyone want to second the motion that Roberts wear a silly hat? In all fairness to the Head of the Rhenquisition, he didn’t adopt the Pirates of Penzance look until very late in his 30 plus year tenure, after he had gone completely potty. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/138 "2005-11-03T04:21:38Z")
> [@](#): > > **Martin Hyde** : I’d have no problem if he lied or altered evidence. I think the War in Iraq needed to be fought, and if the public needed to be given something flashy to get behind it, than so be it. The President of the United States needs to do what is necessary from a realistic perspective, he can’t be concerned with the opinions of the vox populi, who in general are not capable of understanding important geopolitical issues. > [@](#): > > **Martin Hyde** : So if I’m not in the same political party as you, I’m a fool, a monster, and vermin? No, the source of your problem are certain views which you hold which separate you from even _most_ of your fellow Republicans. BTW, even if it were true that the people who elected President Bush to his position are not capable of understanding important geopolitical issues, neither is he, for that matter. And he appears to have lied to almost _everyone_ – not just the uneducated. He doesn’t act much like a public servant – more like an emperor or worse. And it is Congress that has the power to declare war – not the President. In keeping with our Constitution, it really isn’t cricket to lie or alter evidence presented to Congress so that the balance of power is unfairly weighted. You really don’t seem to put much value on our form of government with its checks and balances. Was it okay for him to lie in his campaign and when he took the Oath of Office to uphold the Constitution? ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/139 "2005-11-03T04:22:32Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, there’s none of them that I’d, like, totally _do_… Admit it. You’ve lusted after Ariana Huffington. ---
**Author:** ![lonesome\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@lonesome\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lonesome_loser)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134/140 "2005-11-03T04:28:11Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Admit it. You’ve lusted after Ariana Huffington. Eh. What Democrat or leftist hasn’t? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/year-ago-today-bush-re-elected-happy-now-assholes/329134.md?page=8)