I feel bad for Bush

Now I may just be opening my self up for a whole lot of "interesting" comments but am I the only one who feels bad for President George W Bush. I just feel that he has taken the flak for a whole bunch of shit that was not necessarily under his full control. Lets take Iraq. The situation over there was bad, really bad. If you are honest with yourself I think you will see that intervention needed to happen and with a situation like that sooner is better than later. Sure the whole mess probably could have been prevented but thats not my point. Anyways the fact that President Bush stepped up and took action to help remedy the situation, I think is a very strong move. Yes things got ugly and are still a bit ugly but a lot of that was unavoidable due to the enemy we are fighting. We are making a difference over there and plans are being made to pull out. It seems that there are a lot of conspiracy theory's about this war being just about oil. That just seems ignorant and a product of neo-liberalism. People need to educate themselves and hear BOTH sides of the story and not just what liberal spun media wants you to believe. All in all President Bush has just become a scapegoat in all this, people need to blame someone, why not our elected leader? He speaks differently makes up an occasional word, "He must be an idiot", or maybe no man is perfect and English wasn't his strong suit. Charisma does not make a leader a good leader, charisma is just a tool to help sway people in your direction. Hell one of the most charismatic leaders in world history was Hitler and we all know how that turned out. Take action, Educate yourself, Don't use people as scapegoats.
Thats my rant, lets see where it leads.

<>< Toph

p.s. sorry for the tangents, I tend to do that.

Tags: Bush, President, W, scapegoat

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sarah on July 20, 2008 at 3:20pm

I disagree with the post, but I do believe that Bush is a product of our culture and my taxes, so I can't put all the blame on him. I also agree with the person who said the Iran issue seems to be cooling down, and I'm really glad for that. (Check out www.unitedforpeace.org for lots of actions tomorrow, Monday, to try to keep things moving in that direction.) I'm also glad that nobody's really bitten Trophbillion's head off, and people have even been mostly respectful of Bush the human being and really criticized his actions. I see all the vitriolic and hateful comments at the end of articles on a site called "Common Dreams" and it just seems so paradoxical. We can't create the new world by adding to the hate in the current world. One of my favorite books is Thich Nhat Hanh's book "Love in Action", and I hope that's what we have going on Fight with Tools.

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Permalink Reply by Tophbillion on July 20, 2008 at 4:11pm

And please by no way take this as a complete endorsement for all of the governments actions. Many things they have done are wrong. I just want to remind people that he is still human and that he has done good things as well.

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Permalink Reply by DOVEGLASS on July 20, 2008 at 6:23pm

" I just want to remind people that he is still human and that he has done good things as well"

Sorry man but that type or rationality is BULLSHIT that's like saying " Oh well John Smith raped 35 women but he recycles and well he is human so hey its ok."

" The local drug dealer has killed multiple people both with his product and by his gun BUT Hey he donated his old clothes to the local church and he is human so its ok."

Sorry but I don't buy this he is human and also does "good things" cross cancellation crap. Let me also add that this isn't just bush but his whole team, they all take and make calculated risks, the war wasn't just some snap decision that was made in a matter of seconds. There is also a difference between human error and calculated risk.

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Permalink Reply by Patch on July 20, 2008 at 6:42pm

Yeah, I agree, his (tophbillion) argument is not a logical one. If doing some good things makes President Bush human, then Sudam Hussein is human too. That is not logical. The logical statement is, President Bush is human because he has the physical attribute of being a human. So, to say that he is not human is incorrect as well. But the argument has nothing to do with his humanity. It has to do with his decisions and how he has done a president. We as citizens have to right and duty to be extremely critical of all presidents. It maybe cruel, but it is another form of a check and balance.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Sarah on July 21, 2008 at 12:08am

Maybe the argument has nothing to do with his humanity, but how we have the argument does. I am learning about Quaker tradition thanks to my job, which sees "that of God" in everyone. A secular perspective might have respect for Bush's humanity instead of using the God language. Same goes for Saddam. I abhor most of what both have done, but from my perspective as one trying to live a life of nonviolence, I still have to acknowledge them as children of God. Same goes for the people on this discussion with whom I disagree (not that I'm comparing them to Bush or Hussein), and so I'll try my best to argue with them in a kind, if vehement, heated, firm fashion.

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Permalink Reply by Patch on July 21, 2008 at 4:16am

Beautifully stated. If we had this view in the beginning, history would be drastically different. Those Quakers, besides being smart they make a mean bowl of oatmeal!!!

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Permalink Reply by Tophbillion on July 22, 2008 at 5:55pm

Thank you for that reply and that is kind of what I am trying to get across. I am however not so eloquent of a writer. I am mearly coming at this from a biblicaly based standpoint of his humanity and not a blood sucking demon.

<>< Toph

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Permalink Reply by Nicolie on July 22, 2008 at 6:27pm

For the record I in no way support Bush, but no one has anyway of reading his thoughts and knowing his particular intentions. Yes actions speak very loud for what you believe....but hasn't everyone done something they believed would be a sort of a "remedy" or thought it was going to show everyone what they stood for.....and everything backfired? I can't speak for everyone, but i can speak from my experiences. Things don't always pan out how they were intended to, for all we know Bush saw something very different happening in Iraq. Yes he screwed up....he has risked my brothers lives....and the lives of many others....he has torn apart a nation by trying to build up another one.....yeah he fucked up....but do you think he saw all of that happening....and said okay lets do it? Now he is in it...and he can't turn back...but i'm sure he would if he could.

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Permalink Reply by DOVEGLASS on July 20, 2008 at 7:00pm

Let me just add this about this whole scapegoat mumbo jumbo

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
scape·goat Audio Help /ˈskeɪpˌgoʊt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[skeyp-goht] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. a person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place.
2. Chiefly Biblical. a goat let loose in the wilderness on Yom Kippur after the high priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on its head. Lev. 16:8,10,26.
–verb (used with object) 3. to make a scapegoat of: Strike leaders tried to scapegoat foreign competitors

As far as i know you CAN NOT make a decision or put a plan into action and then later in time BECOME YOUR OWN scapegoat!

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Permalink Reply by ForTheFuture on July 20, 2008 at 10:29pm

Let me start by saying none of you have any idea what is going on in Iraq. Yes there is good things happening here. The people want us here because they are making millions of dollars evryday on the money we pump in to their country in grants and paying their public leaders. Dont forget too women didnt get to go to school before we invaded Iraq. There are public schools and their is good things happing here. But on the other hand i think that we are funding the insurgents. With all that money we give to the public they turn around and buy weapons from iran and syria. Than they come back here and shot and blow us up. Aslo the wasnt just over oil it was making large sums of money ingenral. The ammount of american contrators working in Iraq is sick and most of them work for a COmpany called KBR. Which cheney owns part of.

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Permalink Reply by LiquidMercury on July 20, 2008 at 10:40pm

Saying that NONE of us have any idea what is happening in Iraq is a bold and unfounded statement. I have been researching the conditions in Iraq profusely, as I am sure many other people on this site have. I respect and implore your insight and knowledge, but your opening statement gave me a moment of feeling defensive which made it hard for me to hear to what you were saying...

Just my humble observation.