Difference between revisions of "George W. Bush"

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[[Category:People]][[Category:United States Politicians]]{{sidebar|__TOC__}}
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<hide>
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==Reference==
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[[page type::article]]
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* [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/george_w_bush/ The New York Times]
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[[thing type::person]]
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* {{Wikipedia|George W. Bush}}
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[[person type::politician]]
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==Related Pages==
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[[role::president]]
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* George W. Bush was the [[43rd President of the United States]]
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[[country::United States]]
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* [[Corruption in the Bush administration]] has a number of sub-articles regarding specific areas of corruption
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[[category:people]]
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* [[Bill Clinton vs. George W. Bush]]: comparison to his predecessor
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</hide>
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* [[US election fraud|Election fraud]] has been alleged in both of the elections in which Bush won, especially the 2004 election.
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{{sidebar|__TOC__}}
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* Allegedly stated that the Constitution is [[just a piece of paper]], though this allegation may have been retracted
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==About==
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[[George W. Bush]] was the 43rd [[president of the United States]] from 2001-2009. He was also Governor of [[Texas]].
 +
==Index==
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* [[Bush-Cheney administration]]: Bush's administration while president.
 +
* [[/assessment]]: positive and negative points, as well as debatable points which may gain significance as new facts become known
 +
* [[/impeachment]]: Sentiment against Bush was been strong, and there were several attempts to have him impeached
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* [[/lies]]
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* '''comparisons''':
 +
** [[Bill Clinton vs. George W. Bush]]: comparison to his predecessor
 +
** [[Bush vs. Nixon]]: comparison to his ideological predecessor
 +
* '''Structured Debates''':
 +
** [[Is Bush good for America]]?
 +
** [[Is Bush trustworthy]]?
 +
** [[Have Bush's actions in the wake of 9/11 been justified]]?
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* Bush allegedly stated that the Constitution is [[just a piece of paper]], though this allegation may have been retracted
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* [[US election fraud|Election fraud]] has been alleged in both of the elections in which Bush won, especially the [[2004 US presidential election|2004 election]].
  
 
==Presidential Election==
 
==Presidential Election==
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** '''electoral votes''': 271/538 (50.3%)
 
** '''electoral votes''': 271/538 (50.3%)
 
** '''popular vote''': 47.9% (Al Gore actually had slightly more, 48.4%)
 
** '''popular vote''': 47.9% (Al Gore actually had slightly more, 48.4%)
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* '''Re-elected''' in the [[wikipedia:United States presidential election, 2004|2004 election]]
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* '''Re-elected''' in the [[2004 US presidential election|2004 election]]
 
** '''electoral votes''': 286/538 (53.2%)
 
** '''electoral votes''': 286/538 (53.2%)
 
** '''popular vote''': 50.7% (Bush was widely quoted as seeing this narrow majority as a "popular mandate")
 
** '''popular vote''': 50.7% (Bush was widely quoted as seeing this narrow majority as a "popular mandate")
  
 
There are continuing and credible claims, however, that both of these elections were extensively [[US election fraud|rigged]] to favor Bush.
 
There are continuing and credible claims, however, that both of these elections were extensively [[US election fraud|rigged]] to favor Bush.
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==Negative Points==
 
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''see also [[#Negated Points]]''
 
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A number of negative points fall into the general category of [[corruption in the Bush administration|corruption]]; the following points are attributable specifically to Bush himself:
 
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* '''Impeachable offenses''' [http://www.beingism.org/evidence/][http://www.amazon.com/Impeachment-George-Bush-Practical-Concerned/dp/156025940X/sr=8-1/qid=1163160991/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-1260103-5484868?ie=UTF8&s=books]:
 
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** [http://www.beingism.org/evidence/pages/war.html] misled the Congress and the public regarding the threat from Iraq in order to justify a [[US invasion of Iraq|war against Iraq]], intentionally conspired with others to defraud the United States in connection with the war against Iraq in violation of Title 18 United States Code, [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000371----000-.html Section 371] ('''main article: [[US invasion of Iraq]]''')
 
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** [http://www.beingism.org/evidence/pages/spy.html] admitted to ordering the National Security Agency to conduct electronic surveillance of American civilians without seeking warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, duly constituted by Congress in 1978, in violation of Title 50 United States Code, [http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode50/usc_sec_50_00001801----000-.html Section 1805] ('''main article: [[warrantless spying under GWB]]''')
 
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** [http://www.beingism.org/evidence/pages/torture.html] conspired to commit the [[torture during GWB administration|torture of prisoners]] in violation of the "Federal Torture Act" Title 18 United States Code, [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sup_01_18_10_I_20_113C.html Section 113C], the [[wikipedia:United Nations Convention Against Torture|UN Torture Convention]] and the [[wikipedia:Geneva Conventions|Geneva Conventions]], which under [[wikipedia:Article Six of the United States Constitution|Article VI of the Constitution]] are part of the "supreme Law of the Land" ('''main article: [[torture during GWB administration]]''')
 
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** [http://www.beingism.org/evidence/pages/detention.html] acted to strip Americans of their constitutional rights by ordering indefinite detention of citizens, without access to legal counsel, without charge and without opportunity to appear before a civil judicial officer to challenge the detention, based solely on the [[Bush's elevation of presidential power|discretionary designation by the President]] of a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant", all in subversion of law ('''main article: [[Bush's elevation of presidential power]]''')
 
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** [http://www.beingism.org/evidence/pages/outing.html] authorized the leaking classified national secrets to further a political agenda, exposing an unknown number of covert U. S. intelligence agents to potential harm and retribution while simultaneously refusing to investigate the matter
 
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* '''A general lack of integrity''':
 
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** Lied about his intentions in [[US invasion of Iraq|invading Iraq]]
 
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** Has repeatedly insisted on blind trust and subsequently failed to live up to it [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/opinion/12sun1.html]
 
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** Glibly dismisses criticism of his performance as unhelpful hindsight
 
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* '''Says one thing in public and disavows it later''' (sometimes quietly, sometimes claiming that he never made the original statement, sometimes taking action which undermines the original statement), of which "stay the course" is just one example [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/4304608.html]
 
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* '''Apparently not interested in defending democracy''' and the Constitution, as he swore to do:
 
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** Has stated repeatedly that he feels free to carry out a law as he sees fit, not as Congress wrote it. Appears to be essentially trying to destroy the democratic process in America by [[Bush's elevation of presidential power|elevating the office of Presidency above the law]]
 
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** Seems at times to be working towards making the U.S. a police state; just one example: "The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 bans the military from participating in police-type activity on U.S. soil. Bush began discussing the possibility of changing the law last month, in the aftermath of the government's sluggish response to civil unrest following Hurricane Katrina." ... "[A] senior editor at the conservative Cato Institute said Bush would risk undermining 'a fundamental principle of American law' by tinkering with the act, which does not hinder the military's ability to respond to a crisis." [http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/10/04/bush.avianflu/]. (The preceding items were noted before the wiretapping scandal, which is just another example.)
 
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* '''Appears to have no concept of budgeting''' ([http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2006/02/diebold-comes-to-californiaand-more.html], [http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2006/09/arguments-for-your-obstinate-uncle.html] needs checking & more definitive source):
 
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** has run the highest deficit in history at $423 billion. If 2006 is included he will have had 4 of the 5 largest deficits in US history; [[George H.W. Bush|his dad]] lays claim to the 5th one.
 
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** 2002: '''forecast''' a '''surplus''' of $262 billion in 2004; '''actual''' 2004 figures show a '''deficit''' of $412 billion. As of 2002, he was still insisting that his then-proposed $2 trillion in tax cuts wouldn't cause deficits.
 
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** 2003: '''forecast''' a 3-year cumulative '''surplus''' of more than $133 '''billion'''; actual situation as of early 2006 is a '''deficit''' of over $1.45 '''trillion'''.
 
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** Total federal debt has increased by $2.3 trillion since Bush took office. It took from 1776 to 1987 &ndash; 211 years &ndash; for the {{USA}} to run up its first $2.3 trillion of debt; Bush has reproduced that feat in only 5 years. Presumably the only reason we're a mere $1.45 trillion in the hole, instead of $2.3 trillion, is the surplus left by the [[Clinton administration]].
 
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** Bush continues to propose '''more''' tax cuts (about $2 trillion over ten years).
 
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** The harm to the economy, in the long term, may well make the terrorist threat seem trivial by comparison
 
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*** '''2006-10-28''' [http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Oct28/0,4670,AmericatheBankrupt,00.html GAO Chief Warns Economic Disaster Looms]
 
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*** '''2006-07-14''' [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/07/14/cnusa14.xml US 'could be going bankrupt'] by Edmund Conway
 
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** '''2006-09-15''' "We've overcome recession, attacks, hurricanes, scandals, and the economy is growing &ndash; 4.7 percent unemployment rate. It's been a strong economy. And I've strongly believed the reason it is because we cut taxes, and at the same time, showed fiscal responsibility here in Washington with the people's money. That's why the deficit could be cut in half by 2009, or before." &ndash; [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060915-2.html GWB] ''(the unemployement rate was 4.2% when he took office; [[New Orleans]] is far from recovered, the [[US economy]] is worse, and as his administration's budgetary policies are responsible for the current outrageously huge size of the deficit, cutting it in half is at best delaying disaster. This can only be seen as a passle of [[Big Lie]]s, as far as I can see. --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 17:55, 27 September 2006 (EDT))''
 
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* The [[US Invasion of Iraq]]
 
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* Created the [[US Department of Homeland Security]], a department whose actions often seem contrary to the ideals of a free country
 
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* Anti-science [http://www.livescience.com/othernews/ap_050221_bush_science.html], as is his administration [http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/space_advocacy/budget_statement.html]
 
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* Anti-environment
 
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* Pro-life ''and'' anti-contraception [http://www.alternet.org/rights/36371/], a popular but rationally inexcusable viewpoint
 
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* Apparently favors insertion of an evangelical Christian point-of-view into all levels of the government [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html?pagewanted=2]; justifies his actions with zealotry and fanaticism that bears more in common with the supposedly-hated Al Qaeda than it does with [[enlightened]] American/democratic values [http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1104-25.htm] [http://atheistempire.com/reference/news/newsstories/bush-antichrist.html]
 
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* Responded to violence (9/11) with violence (unsanctioned invasion of a non-involved country, causing countless deaths to Iraqi civilians and US soldiers)
 
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* Against [[same-sex marriage]]
 
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* He is sometimes just, I'm sorry, [http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/101704A.shtml really scary] (most notably, search for "reality-based" and read the paragraph which includes it)
 
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* Claimed, in 2000, to be "a uniter, not a divider", but in fact seems to play heavily on [[The Red-Blue Divide]], both in his 2004 campaign and in his actions while [[2000-2007 US Presidential Administration|in office]] [http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1104-25.htm]
 
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* Has greatly harmed worldwide opinion of the United States [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/04/AR2005110401724.html]; is uniting the Islamic world in support of extremism and against the United states [http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2006/02/oh-please-let-this-be-lesser-parallel.html]
 
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* Personally ignored at least one [[Pre-9/11 warning]] (the infamous August 6, 2001, national security briefing)
 
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===Negated Positive Points===
 
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* In an announcement on 2006-01-11:
 
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** <s>Pushed for return to Luna and Mars</s> [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4569] [http://www.whitehouse.gov/space/renewed_spirit.html]; as of 2006-02-16, Bush's proposed NASA budget basically pulls the rug out from under any serious effort towards humans visiting Mars [http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/space_advocacy/budget_statement.html]
 
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* In his 2006-01-31 State of the Union Address:
 
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** <s>Called for increased spending on alternatives to oil, specifically clean energy research</s> [http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-6033630.html] but reversed this the next day [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/2/1/201048/6377]
 
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* Supporters often say that he "states his personal views and governs with his morals" ... "you know where you stand with him" ... but there is strong evidence that his statements and his actions are not necessarily in alignment, e.g. claiming he does not condone [[Torture During GWB Administration|torture]] while supporting VP Cheney's efforts to remove torture-restrictive language from an appropriations amendment; see also [[#Negative Points]] "Says one thing in public..." and [http://www.republicansforhumility.com/conservative.html Is George W. Bush a Conservative?] "as president, George W. Bush has consistently advanced policies contradictory to his professed values."
 
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===To Be Investigated===
 
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* Seems to be deliberately engineering crises, by neglecting or actively harming the mechanisms which would have prevented those crises, so that he will be given license to take "necessary" extreme countermeasures and thus further extend his control
 
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** The Mexican [[US immigration|immigration]] crisis: Bush gutted the budget for border guards
 
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** [[Response to Hurricane Katrina|Hurricane Katrina]]: Bush gutted FEMA and decimated domestic military numbers in the service of the Iraq war (this one may have gotten away from him, as Katrina would have been a challenge even with military capacity at normal levels)
 
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** The [[War on Terror]] is an open-ended, poorly-defined battle with no clear goal; it can be [[endless crisis|sustained indefinitely]]
 
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* There has been some discussion of the idea that Bush may be suffering from pre-senile dementia, mainly in a letter from one Joseph M. Price, M. D. in response to an article by James Fallows in the Jul/Aug 2004 ''Atlantic Monthly'', "[http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200407/fallows When George Meets John]" (access requires subscriber log-in):
 
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** [http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200410/letters official posting] of the letter; requires subscriber log-in
 
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** [http://www.susanohanian.org/show_letter.php?id=383 reprint] on Susan Ohanian's web site
 
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** Follow-up (2006-11-08): "[http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200611u/bush-smart Has Bush Been Smart All Along?]", also by Fallows, seems to show that Bush can recover from his apparent affliction when needed, under pressure from the threat of an incoming Democratic Congress
 
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===(negative) opinion quotes===
 
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"You agree that this president is one of the top two or three most incompetent in history?" - Right wing financial talk show host [[Wikipedia:Lawrence Kudlow|Larry Kudlow]], to a guest, on MSNBC 2006-01-17 ''(quoted [http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2006/01/misc-technical-plus-only-little.html here]; unverified)''.
 
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==Positive Points==
 
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''see also [[#Negated Positive Points]]''
 
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* '''2006-09-26''' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html Signed] the [[wikipedia:Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006|Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act]] ''(assuming it didn't get subverted before it reached his desk; need to confirm this)''
 
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* In his 2006-01-31 State of the Union Address:
 
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** Called for increased research spending [http://news.com.com/2061-10796_3-6033630.html] (while the Republican-led Congress tends to slash funds for the institutional cornerstones of US science, such as [[wikipedia:National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]] and [[wikipedia:National Science Foundation|NSF]] [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050911/news_lz1v11science.html])
 
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* Removed Saddam Hussein from power (into which Hussein had been placed by [[George H.W. Bush|Bush Sr.]]'s [[1988-1991 US Presidential Administration|administration]] [http://www.davidbrin.com/shame.html])
 
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*Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear, biological WMDs.
 
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*Signed largest nuclear arm reduction ever with Russia.
 
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==Debatable Points==
 
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* The Bush family (including George W. and past president [[George H.W. Bush|George H.W.]]) have close ties with Prince [[wikipedia:Bandar bin Sultan|Bandar bin Sultan]] of Saudi Arabia
 
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* [[United States Republican Party|Republican]]; [[Conservative]] [[Christian]]
 
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* Supportive of big business (part of the [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] platform)
 
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* Pushed the [[No Child Left Behind]] Act
 
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* Pushed for family-centric reforms (e.g., reformed adoption laws, requiring adopting parents to have background checks before getting children)
 
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* Nominated [[John Roberts]] and [[Harriet Miers]] to the Supreme Court
 
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* Pushed ahead with reconstruction in Iraq when popular opinion was against occupation after the first few weeks ''(This was originally stated as a positive point, using Vietnam as an example of a disastrous early pullout from reconstruction due to public demand. The US was in Vietnam for many years before pulling out; wouldn't this be an example of the disastrousness of staying too long?)''
 
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* '''2002-05-15''' Signed the [http://www.treas.gov/nofearact/ No FEAR Act]
 
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==Actions==
 
==Actions==
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* Signed the [[No Child Left Behind]] Act
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* Acts signed:
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* Signed the [[USA PATRIOT Act]]
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** [[No Child Left Behind]] Act
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* Promoted and approved the [[US Invasion of Iraq|Invasion & Occupation of Iraq]], which was carried through under [http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com/2005/12/lying-about-war.html false premises]
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** [[USA PATRIOT Act]]
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** [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]]
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** [[Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006]]
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** [[Protect America Act of 2007]]
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* Promoted and approved the [[US-Iraq War|invasion and occupation of Iraq]], which was carried through under [[US justifications for invading Iraq|false premises]] and has resulted in a [[US occupation of Iraq|stunning mess]] unimagined by even those who were against the initial invasion, including wholesale looting of the US Treasury via "no-bid" "cost-plus" contracts awarded for 5-year "emergency" terms, with no penalties even for utter failure to perform. In spite of this, Bush continues to steadfastly support the "war" and block (through legally-questionable means) any attempts to end it.
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* '''2005-08-08''' the {{wpbackup|Energy Policy Act of 2005}} was apparently a successful second attempt; first attempt was in 2003
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** [http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/bush_bill.asp Sierra Club Blasts Energy Policy Act] (2003 version)
 
* '''2006-04-02''' Signed the [[USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006]] {{wnref|President Bush to limit congressional oversight in PATRIOT amendment act}}
 
* '''2006-04-02''' Signed the [[USA PATRIOT Act Additional Reauthorizing Amendments Act of 2006]] {{wnref|President Bush to limit congressional oversight in PATRIOT amendment act}}
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* '''2006-10-17''' Signed the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]] ({{wpref|Military Commissions Act of 2006}} [http://venusenvy.comicgenesis.com/d/20060930.html])
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* '''2006-10-17''' Signed the [[Military Commissions Act of 2006]]
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* '''2007-05-09''' Issued the [[National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive]]
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* '''2007-05-24''' Nominated [[James W. Holsinger]] for US Surgeon General
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* '''2007-07-03''' [[2007-07-02 Libby bail-out|commuted Scooter Libby's jail sentence]]
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* '''2007-07-20''' Issued [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/07/20070717-3.html Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq]; see especially sections 4 and 5 prohibiting monetary (read: legal) assistance to anyone accused of "Threatening Stabilization Efforts in Iraq"
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** '''references''' the following Executive Orders:
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*** '''2003-05-22''' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/05/20030522-15.html Executive Order Protecting the Development Fund for Iraq and Certain Other Property in Which Iraq Has An Interest]: "This situation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat." Who knew?
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*** '''2003-08-28''' [http://www.answers.com/topic/executive-order-13315 Blocking Property of the Former Iraqi Regime, Its Senior Officials and Their Family Members, and Taking Certain Other Actions]: "I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, hereby expand the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq..."
 +
 
 
==Opinions About==
 
==Opinions About==
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* '''2006-10''' [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0610.buckley.html Let’s quit while we’re behind] by [[wikipedia:Christopher Buckley|Christopher Buckley]]: 'Who knew, in 2000, that “compassionate conservatism” meant bigger government, unrestricted government spending, government intrusion in personal matters, government ineptitude, and cronyism in disaster relief? Who knew, in 2000, that the only bill the president would veto, six years later, would be one on funding stem-cell research? A more accurate term for Mr. Bush’s political philosophy might be incontinent conservatism.'
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* '''2007-08-03''' [http://www.gnn.tv/threads/26858/Think_Tank_Suggests_Bush_should_be_President_For_Life Think Tank Suggests Bush should be President For Life]: reprint of "Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy" by [[Philip Atkinson]], originally published on [[The Family Security Foundation, Inc.]]'s  [http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/ web site] and later removed
 +
** Argues that a ruler often has to make unpopular choices and shouldn't have to be subject to the will (or whim) of the people; completely ignores the fact that many of the "mob" who don't like Bush or his actions have made very cogent arguments for this dislike, which have generally gone unanswered anywhere (much less in this article or by Bush himself). Paints [[Julius Caesar]]'s imperial takeover of Rome as a positive thing, bringing peace and prosperity to a nation formerly in turmoil. ''(Sure, and I bet Germany would have been peaceful under Hitler, at least in the official accounts.)''
 +
** '''2007-08-16''' [http://mparent7777-2.blogspot.com/2007/08/group-that-advocated-bush-become.html Group that advocated Bush become "President-for-Life" linked to Bush Administration itself]: they're not even denying that [[Bush II administration anti-democracy|Bush is anti-democracy]] anymore, if they ever did.
 +
* '''2007-07-04''' [http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/04/2279/ I Accuse You, Mr. Bush...] by [[Keith Olbermann]] (Related: [[2007-07-02 Libby bail-out]]): a good list of charges
 +
* '''2007-03-14''' [http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/03/14/roberts_luncheon/ The president receives "lessons" from his neoconservative tutors] by Glenn Greenwald
 +
* '''2006-10-06''' [http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/42664/ Olbermann to Bush: 'A Special Comment About Lying'] by [[Keith Olbermann]] (video with full transcript and reader comments)
 +
* '''2006-10''' [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0610.buckley.html Let's quit while we're behind] by [[wikipedia:Christopher Buckley|Christopher Buckley]]: 'Who knew, in 2000, that "[[compassionate conservatism]]" meant bigger government, unrestricted government spending, government intrusion in personal matters, government ineptitude, and cronyism in disaster relief? Who knew, in 2000, that the only bill the president would veto, six years later, would be one on funding stem-cell research? A more accurate term for Mr. Bush's political philosophy might be incontinent conservatism.'
 
* '''2006-09-25'''
 
* '''2006-09-25'''
 
** commentary on [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060915-2.html 2006-09-15 Rose Garden press conference]:
 
** commentary on [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060915-2.html 2006-09-15 Rose Garden press conference]:
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* '''2004-09-10''': [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/09/10/conservatives/print.html Why conservatives must not vote for Bush]
 
* '''2004-09-10''': [http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/09/10/conservatives/print.html Why conservatives must not vote for Bush]
 
* '''2004-02-08''': [http://www.slate.com/id/2095160 You Can Make It With Plato]: "Bush's difficult relationship with reality." by William Saletan
 
* '''2004-02-08''': [http://www.slate.com/id/2095160 You Can Make It With Plato]: "Bush's difficult relationship with reality." by William Saletan
−
* '''2004''': "We invaded a country that did not threaten us, did not attack us, and did not want war with us, to disarm it of weapons we have since discovered it did not have. We may have ignited a war of civilizations it was in our vital interest to avoid. Never has America been more resented and reviled in an Islamic world of a billion people. As custodian of the national economy and decisive actor in the management of the Budget of the United States, George W. Bush has compiled a fiscal record of startling recklessness." &mdash; conservative pundit [[wikipedia:Pat Buchanan|Pat Buchanan]] in ''Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency'' (ISBN 0312341156)
+
* '''2004''': "We invaded a country that did not threaten us, did not attack us, and did not want war with us, to disarm it of weapons we have since discovered it did not have. We may have ignited a war of civilizations it was in our vital interest to avoid. Never has America been more resented and reviled in an Islamic world of a billion people. As custodian of the national economy and decisive actor in the management of the Budget of the United States, George W. Bush has compiled a fiscal record of startling recklessness." &mdash; conservative pundit [[Pat Buchanan]] in ''Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency'' (ISBN 0312341156)
 
* '''2003-04-22''': [http://atheistempire.com/reference/news/newsstories/bush-antichrist.html Bush's "Christian" Blood Cult]:
 
* '''2003-04-22''': [http://atheistempire.com/reference/news/newsstories/bush-antichrist.html Bush's "Christian" Blood Cult]:
 
** "I think it is nothing short of unbelievable that the governor of a major state running for president thought it was acceptable to mock a woman he decided to put to death." &ndash; [[wikipedia:Gary Bauer|Gary Bauer]], evangelical Christian
 
** "I think it is nothing short of unbelievable that the governor of a major state running for president thought it was acceptable to mock a woman he decided to put to death." &ndash; [[wikipedia:Gary Bauer|Gary Bauer]], evangelical Christian
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* "Somewhere in Texas, a village is missing its idiot." &ndash; popular bumper sticker
 
* "Somewhere in Texas, a village is missing its idiot." &ndash; popular bumper sticker
 
* "George W. Bush is just like Forrest Gump. Except that Forrest Gump is honest and cares about other people." &ndash; [http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/11/15/212411/47/401#c401 sigline], author unknown
 
* "George W. Bush is just like Forrest Gump. Except that Forrest Gump is honest and cares about other people." &ndash; [http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2004/11/15/212411/47/401#c401 sigline], author unknown
 +
* "You agree that this president is one of the top two or three most incompetent in history?" - Right wing financial talk show host [[Larry Kudlow]], to a guest, on MSNBC 2006-01-17 ''(quoted [http://davidbrin.blogspot.com/2006/01/misc-technical-plus-only-little.html here]; unverified)''.
  
 
==Rumors==
 
==Rumors==
 
* Bush was talked out of bombing Al-Jazeera by Tony Blair: apparently false, unless further evidence surfaces. The White House at least seems to realize how crazy the idea would be: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4459296.stm BBC News] See also [[Wikipedia:Al Jazeera bombing memo|Al Jazeera bombing memo]] at Wikipedia and more details at the [http://www.agrnews.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1613&Itemid=49 Asheville Global Report] and [http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16570250%26method=full%26siteid=50061%26page=1%26headline=kilfoyle%2dmay%2dface%2djail%2dover%2dbush%2dbomb%2dthreat%2dleak-name_page.html here].
 
* Bush was talked out of bombing Al-Jazeera by Tony Blair: apparently false, unless further evidence surfaces. The White House at least seems to realize how crazy the idea would be: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/4459296.stm BBC News] See also [[Wikipedia:Al Jazeera bombing memo|Al Jazeera bombing memo]] at Wikipedia and more details at the [http://www.agrnews.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1613&Itemid=49 Asheville Global Report] and [http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16570250%26method=full%26siteid=50061%26page=1%26headline=kilfoyle%2dmay%2dface%2djail%2dover%2dbush%2dbomb%2dthreat%2dleak-name_page.html here].
−
==News & Editorials==
+
==Links==
−
* '''2006-10-23''': [http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102306R.shtml Bush's Strategic Change] by William Fisher: not only are we no longer staying the course, but now GWB is in favor of government [[transparency]]
+
===Reference===
−
* '''2006-10-22''': [http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/22/bush-stay-the-course Bush: ‘We’ve Never Been Stay The Course’]: can this possibly be interpreted as an honest mistake? Watch for repeats...
+
* {{wikipedia}}
 +
* {{conservapedia}}
 +
* {{dkosopedia}}
 +
* {{sourcewatch}}
 +
* [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/george_w_bush/ The New York Times]
 +
====non-neutral====
 +
* [http://www.netrootsmass.net/Hugh/Bush_list.html Bush Scandals List]: starts with a good editorialistic summary of The Bush Calamity. Bush surrounds himself with a handful of trusted advisors; whoever gets to him first carries the day because he is too lazy to change his mind and doesn't like being wrong.
 +
====Books====
 +
* '''2008''' ''[[The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder]]'' by Vincent Bugliosi (prosecutor of Charles Manson). [http://www.prosecutionofbush.com/ Official site] includes excerpts.
 +
* ''[[Worse Than Watergate]]'' by [[John Dean]]
 +
 
 +
===Tagged Links===
 +
{{links.tagged}}
 +
===News & Views===
 +
* '''2007-07-06''' [http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/06/2327/ Shame on Bush &ndash; and Us] by Rosa Brooks: "Like freed hostages who gradually cease to identify with their captors, mainstream media outlets seem to have been seized by a new spirit of liberation in their coverage of the Bush administration."
 +
* '''2007-07-05''' [http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/07/05/2307/ Bush Duplicity Hinders Battle Against Extremism] by Haroon Siddiqui
 +
* '''2007-06-18''' [http://www.alternet.org/stories/54543/ Revealed: Bush's Presidential Signing Statements Have Been Used to Nullify Laws] by Brian Beutler
 +
* '''2007-03-19 video''': [http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Video_Salt_Lake_City_Mayor_calls_0319.html Salt Lake City Mayor calls for Bush impeachment]: SLC mayor [[Rocky Anderson]], in video interview with [[Wolf Blitzer]], accuses Bush of "incredible abuses of power, breaches of trust" (Note regarding something Blitzer said: the supposed incident in which [[CIA]] then-director [[George Tenet]] stated that the evidence against Saddam was a "slam dunk case" comes from only one source ([[Bob Woodward]]) and has not been confirmed or denied by anyone else, including Bush; Tenet has refused to confirm that he said it. Obviously if Bush is put on trial and this point does ''not'' come up, then it can probably be assumed that it did not happen.)
 +
* '''2007-03-17 video''': [http://peterrost.blogspot.com/2007/03/trump-bush-is-worst-president-in.html Trump: Bush is the Worst President in the History of the United States]: In an interview with Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Donald Trump has harsh words for Bush and doesn't pull punches. ''(Need transcript!)''
 +
* '''2006-10-23''': [http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/102306R.shtml Bush's Strategic Change] by William Fisher: not only are we no longer "staying the course", but now GWB is in favor of government [[transparency]] (as usual, his subsequent actions bely his words)
 +
* '''2006-10-22''': [http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/22/bush-stay-the-course Bush: "We've Never Been Stay The Course"]: can this possibly be interpreted as an honest mistake? Watch for repeats...
 
* '''2006-09-15''': [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060915-2.html Rose Garden press conference]
 
* '''2006-09-15''': [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060915-2.html Rose Garden press conference]
 
* '''2006-07-19''': [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4056228.html President blocked surveillance probe] ([http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/21/0448225 slashdot]) "Gonzales tells Senate panel that Justice Department investigators were denied clearance"
 
* '''2006-07-19''': [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4056228.html President blocked surveillance probe] ([http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/21/0448225 slashdot]) "Gonzales tells Senate panel that Justice Department investigators were denied clearance"
Line 148: Line 125:
 
* '''2006-02-04''' [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html NASA Chief Backs Agency Openness], but a Bush-appointed official (George Deutsch, a 24-year-old college dropout [http://scientificactivist.blogspot.com/2006/02/breaking-news-george-deutsch-did-not.html]) inserts political correctness into the information stream; see "Mr. Deutsch" on [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html?pagewanted=2 page 2]: "the word "theory" needed to be added after every mention of the Big Bang." Mr. Deutsch has since resigned his post ([http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html])
 
* '''2006-02-04''' [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html NASA Chief Backs Agency Openness], but a Bush-appointed official (George Deutsch, a 24-year-old college dropout [http://scientificactivist.blogspot.com/2006/02/breaking-news-george-deutsch-did-not.html]) inserts political correctness into the information stream; see "Mr. Deutsch" on [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/science/04climate.html?pagewanted=2 page 2]: "the word "theory" needed to be added after every mention of the Big Bang." Mr. Deutsch has since resigned his post ([http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html])
 
* '''2006-01''' [http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200601/decoder.asp Decoder]: "How the White House edits out [[global warming]]" by Paul Rauber
 
* '''2006-01''' [http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200601/decoder.asp Decoder]: "How the White House edits out [[global warming]]" by Paul Rauber
 +
* '''2004-05-27''' [http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0527-08.htm Bush's Health Care Scam] by Robert Kuttner (related: [[US health care costs]])
 
* '''2004-04-19''' [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0419-01.htm  Saudi Envoy Promised Bush a Drop in Oil Prices Ahead of Election]: more on the friendship between GWB and Prince Bandar; Bandar was also given advance warning of the plan to invade Iraq
 
* '''2004-04-19''' [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0419-01.htm  Saudi Envoy Promised Bush a Drop in Oil Prices Ahead of Election]: more on the friendship between GWB and Prince Bandar; Bandar was also given advance warning of the plan to invade Iraq
−
* '''2003-12-15''' [http://www.amconmag.com/12_15_03/feature.html “Free-Speech Zone”]: "The administration quarantines dissent." by James Bovard
+
* '''2003-12-15''' [http://www.amconmag.com/12_15_03/feature.html "Free-Speech Zone"]: "The administration quarantines dissent." by James Bovard
 
===Texts===
 
===Texts===
 
* '''2006-09-11''' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060911-3.html President's Address to the Nation] on the 5th anniversary of [[9/11]]
 
* '''2006-09-11''' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060911-3.html President's Address to the Nation] on the 5th anniversary of [[9/11]]
Line 156: Line 134:
 
* '''2006-01-16''' [http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Text_of_Gore_speech_0116.html Al Gore speech]
 
* '''2006-01-16''' [http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Text_of_Gore_speech_0116.html Al Gore speech]
 
* '''2001-12-28''' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011228-1.html President, General Franks Discuss War Effort]
 
* '''2001-12-28''' [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/12/20011228-1.html President, General Franks Discuss War Effort]
−
 
 
===Groups===
 
===Groups===
 
====pro-Bush====
 
====pro-Bush====
Line 165: Line 142:
 
* http://www.sorryeverybody.com/ : The U.S. apologizes for electing GWB
 
* http://www.sorryeverybody.com/ : The U.S. apologizes for electing GWB
  
 +
==Satire==
 +
* '''2001-01-17''' [http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28784 Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over']: eerily prescient piece written before Bush took office; predicted much of what actually happened
 +
** [http://www.godlessgeeks.com/BushNightmare.htm annotated version] with links to news stories about what Bush actually did, showing the accuracy-in-spite-of-itself of the Onion piece
 
==Fiction==
 
==Fiction==
 
* [[wikipedia:Death of a President|Death of a President]]
 
* [[wikipedia:Death of a President|Death of a President]]
−
** '''2006-10-06''' [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15161123/ Major theaters shun ‘Death of a President’]
+
** '''2006-10-06''' [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15161123/ Major theaters shun "Death of a President"]
 +
 
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
 
Back when [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] was first elected, there were all these bumper stickers saying "Don't blame me, I voted for [[George H.W. Bush|Bush]]". I want to mass-produce bumper stickers saying "Ok, you can blame me this time." and paste them over all the few remaining "W '04" bumper stickers you still see around. (Note that Gore and Kerry supporters did not indulge in this kind of sore-loserhood in either of GWB's stolen elections.) --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 18:42, 1 November 2006 (EST)
 
Back when [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] was first elected, there were all these bumper stickers saying "Don't blame me, I voted for [[George H.W. Bush|Bush]]". I want to mass-produce bumper stickers saying "Ok, you can blame me this time." and paste them over all the few remaining "W '04" bumper stickers you still see around. (Note that Gore and Kerry supporters did not indulge in this kind of sore-loserhood in either of GWB's stolen elections.) --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 18:42, 1 November 2006 (EST)

Latest revision as of 20:10, 14 April 2020

About

George W. Bush was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001-2009. He was also Governor of Texas.

Index

Presidential Election

  • First elected by a narrow margin in the 2000 election:
    • electoral votes: 271/538 (50.3%)
    • popular vote: 47.9% (Al Gore actually had slightly more, 48.4%)
  • Re-elected in the 2004 election
    • electoral votes: 286/538 (53.2%)
    • popular vote: 50.7% (Bush was widely quoted as seeing this narrow majority as a "popular mandate")

There are continuing and credible claims, however, that both of these elections were extensively rigged to favor Bush.

Actions

Opinions About

  • 2007-08-03 Think Tank Suggests Bush should be President For Life: reprint of "Conquering the Drawbacks of Democracy" by Philip Atkinson, originally published on The Family Security Foundation, Inc.'s web site and later removed
    • Argues that a ruler often has to make unpopular choices and shouldn't have to be subject to the will (or whim) of the people; completely ignores the fact that many of the "mob" who don't like Bush or his actions have made very cogent arguments for this dislike, which have generally gone unanswered anywhere (much less in this article or by Bush himself). Paints Julius Caesar's imperial takeover of Rome as a positive thing, bringing peace and prosperity to a nation formerly in turmoil. (Sure, and I bet Germany would have been peaceful under Hitler, at least in the official accounts.)
    • 2007-08-16 Group that advocated Bush become "President-for-Life" linked to Bush Administration itself: they're not even denying that Bush is anti-democracy anymore, if they ever did.
  • 2007-07-04 I Accuse You, Mr. Bush... by Keith Olbermann (Related: 2007-07-02 Libby bail-out): a good list of charges
  • 2007-03-14 The president receives "lessons" from his neoconservative tutors by Glenn Greenwald
  • 2006-10-06 Olbermann to Bush: 'A Special Comment About Lying' by Keith Olbermann (video with full transcript and reader comments)
  • 2006-10 Let's quit while we're behind by Christopher Buckley: 'Who knew, in 2000, that "compassionate conservatism" meant bigger government, unrestricted government spending, government intrusion in personal matters, government ineptitude, and cronyism in disaster relief? Who knew, in 2000, that the only bill the president would veto, six years later, would be one on funding stem-cell research? A more accurate term for Mr. Bush's political philosophy might be incontinent conservatism.'
  • 2006-09-25
  • 2006-08-24 Vonnegut's Apocalypse: "...but it took George W. Bush to break him"
  • found 2006-06-24 The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush / The Case for Divided Government
  • 2006-06-08 Blame for Haditha Lies at Bush's Feet by Scott Ritter, AlterNet
  • found 2006-05-09 An Apology From a Bush Voter by Doug McIntyre, Host, McIntyre in the Morning, Talk Radio 790 KABC
  • 2005-11: Confessions of a Repentant Republican
  • 2005-10-22: Death Up; Taxes Down: Bush, an Assessment
  • 2005-10-21: reader comment on [1]: "I have just spent the last four years watching conservatives throw away any and every principle they have ever claimed to have in support of GW Bush. * Balanced Budgets - out the window. * Peace - out the window. * Prosperity - out of the window. * Geneva Convention - out of the window. * 6th Amendment - out the window. * Small Goverment - out the window."
  • 2005-09-03: "My wife, a dual British-Australian citizen, says that in any civilized country, the massive failure of the Bush administration would bring down the government. It is not so simple. Emperor Bush II, after all, came into office by a coup, and consolidated power 4 years later (involving election machine software as well as more traditional fraud). In the process, he betrayed (1) the Bush family (firing the remnants of his Dad's friends from Cabinet-level and the next rung down), and recall that Bush Senior fought to SAVE the wetlands around New Orleans; (2) the rump-state of the Republican party (which had been nominally run by the technocrat Goldwater, whose election failure led to the takeover by the anti-government Reagan wing, which in turn was displaced by the current anti-Science Imperial Theocrats; (3) the country (as reconfirmed by the Gulf Coast fiasco); (4) the World (unilateralism, Iraq, Bolton in UN, etc.); (5) the universe (see Anti-Science, supra)" [2]
  • 2005-09-01: "Impeach George Bush. Impeach him now." [3]
  • 2004-09-10: Why conservatives must not vote for Bush
  • 2004-02-08: You Can Make It With Plato: "Bush's difficult relationship with reality." by William Saletan
  • 2004: "We invaded a country that did not threaten us, did not attack us, and did not want war with us, to disarm it of weapons we have since discovered it did not have. We may have ignited a war of civilizations it was in our vital interest to avoid. Never has America been more resented and reviled in an Islamic world of a billion people. As custodian of the national economy and decisive actor in the management of the Budget of the United States, George W. Bush has compiled a fiscal record of startling recklessness." — conservative pundit Pat Buchanan in Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency (ISBN 0312341156)
  • 2003-04-22: Bush's "Christian" Blood Cult:
    • "I think it is nothing short of unbelievable that the governor of a major state running for president thought it was acceptable to mock a woman he decided to put to death." – Gary Bauer, evangelical Christian
    • "A former Texas Department of Public Safety officer, a devout Roman Catholic, told this reporter that evidence to the contrary, Bush was more than happy to ignore DNA data and documented cases of prosecutorial misconduct to send innocent people to the Huntsville, Texas lethal injection chamber."
  • 2002-11-08: Bush Anything But Moronic, According to Author: "Dark Overtones in His Malapropisms" by Murray Whyte, about Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder, a book by Mark Crispin Miller

Quotes About

  • "Somewhere in Texas, a village is missing its idiot." – popular bumper sticker
  • "George W. Bush is just like Forrest Gump. Except that Forrest Gump is honest and cares about other people." – sigline, author unknown
  • "You agree that this president is one of the top two or three most incompetent in history?" - Right wing financial talk show host Larry Kudlow, to a guest, on MSNBC 2006-01-17 (quoted here; unverified).

Rumors

  • Bush was talked out of bombing Al-Jazeera by Tony Blair: apparently false, unless further evidence surfaces. The White House at least seems to realize how crazy the idea would be: BBC News See also Al Jazeera bombing memo at Wikipedia and more details at the Asheville Global Report and here.

Links

Reference

non-neutral

  • Bush Scandals List: starts with a good editorialistic summary of The Bush Calamity. Bush surrounds himself with a handful of trusted advisors; whoever gets to him first carries the day because he is too lazy to change his mind and doesn't like being wrong.

Books

Tagged Links

  1. redirect template:links/smw

News & Views

Texts

Groups

pro-Bush

anti-Bush

Satire

Fiction

Notes

Back when Clinton was first elected, there were all these bumper stickers saying "Don't blame me, I voted for Bush". I want to mass-produce bumper stickers saying "Ok, you can blame me this time." and paste them over all the few remaining "W '04" bumper stickers you still see around. (Note that Gore and Kerry supporters did not indulge in this kind of sore-loserhood in either of GWB's stolen elections.) --Woozle 18:42, 1 November 2006 (EST)

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