tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post6969165990259822063..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: The Wrath of the Conquest of the Planet of the Bride of the Son of the Return of Cranky BloggingJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-41997704071940415802013-04-25T14:02:37.167-05:002013-04-25T14:02:37.167-05:00Here I think we can give GWB credit for one correc...Here I think we can give GWB credit for one correct decision, albeit far too late: the firing of Donald Rumsfeld in 2006. The man was one strategic blunder after another. Bush seems to have finally gotten the point after the Generals' Revolt, but it speaks to his failure in leadership that he stood behind DR for as long as he did.Jeff Vnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-56148043217440198782013-04-23T10:09:44.064-05:002013-04-23T10:09:44.064-05:00That's the part I've never gotten: Jeb.
...That's the part I've never gotten: Jeb. <br /><br />My best guess is that, while they really were aiming for it to be Jeb, that W. took offense to Jeb being SO OBVIOUSLY the favorite, that he said "I'll show Poppy!" and ran out of spite. Poppy got him the Rangers gig, an oil company, and the governorship; Ham Rove & company took it from there. <br /><br />The funniest part of this story was that the Republican party didn't help out Poppy when he needed them to, partially due to Poppy's choice of Quayle. Ordinarily, a young former VP would be a frontrunner; W. could have wanted to run, but would've pulled a Rick Perry and been done. But, no....the GOP field in 2000 wasn't really "cleared" (there were a dozen of them!), but it was exceedingly weak. I even wonder if there were people in the GOP having a chuckle over the whole thing....until they realized that W. actually might win the nomination.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-69460532158443574592013-04-23T10:00:12.619-05:002013-04-23T10:00:12.619-05:00SNL also got W. exactly right in his acceptance sp...SNL also got W. exactly right in his acceptance speech:<br /><br />"Daddy, help me. I never thought I'd win this thing and I want out!"<br /><br />(Will Ferrell really nailed Bush)Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-62603810197029144012013-04-23T09:57:59.165-05:002013-04-23T09:57:59.165-05:00Nope: made the comment before there was a whole st...Nope: made the comment before there was a whole string of them. Was just saying that, by itself, the one piece wasn't all that crank-inducing.Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-59013514394402324292013-04-23T08:39:46.623-05:002013-04-23T08:39:46.623-05:00I have heard good arguments that Bush would have b...I have heard good arguments that Bush would have been a great Commissioner of Baseball. It wouldn't have been too surprising of his fellow owners to elect a son of a President over a used car salesman. Alas, what could have been.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-3051463619972591012013-04-23T07:38:09.841-05:002013-04-23T07:38:09.841-05:00I think a historically comparable figure might be ...I think a historically comparable figure might be Warren G. Harding. He was the candidate chosen in the original "smoke-filled room" because the GOP couldn't agree on anyone else. There's no evidence he really wanted to be president. Eisenhower also may have had relatively little of the ol' fire in the belly, and even his supporters thought at the time that his presidency was "a faltering force" (as one put it). I'm guessing Ike was more interested in policy than W, but still, at nothing like the level of Nixon or Clinton.<br /><br />As to Quayle, whom doc mentions above, I've seen an interesting theory that he was GHWB's choice for veep because he was the son-figure whom W was supposed to be but, as of '88, wasn't because he was still in his dissolute phase. So yeah, he was basically W with a Senate seat and a reputation for knowing at least a little about one or two issues. Which also goes to ModeratePoli's point: The Bush family knew perfectly well that W was a latecomer to the game and a problematic choice for national leadership. Down the road, his poor reputation is therefore going to help take Bush Sr.'s down a notch as well. (And if it hasn't already killed off any chance Jeb might have had, I'd be very surprised.)Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-4195832675256682052013-04-23T01:13:05.306-05:002013-04-23T01:13:05.306-05:00That goes back to the Saturday Night Live skit Whe...That goes back to the Saturday Night Live skit Where Poppa Bush shoots GW in a hunting "accident" before he becomes President. IIRCBajsanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-86885311410149315812013-04-22T21:39:03.389-05:002013-04-22T21:39:03.389-05:00This is an appropriate post for me to ask a questi...This is an appropriate post for me to ask a question that's been on my mind for a while. Well, more than one question.<br /><br />It became clear to me that GWBush was someone's puppet, but whose? Did he have the same puppet master when he was governor as when he was president?<br /><br />And who is the puppet master for Rick Perry?<br /><br />In some ways I can't believe this isn't common knowledge among those who care about politics, but I've never found the answer on the internet.<br /><br />Speculation is fine, for what it's worth, but more definite evidence will be appreciated, especially with links if possible.<br /><br />I'm also seriously pissed off at GWBush for running though he was uninterested. However, I'm also pissed (or cranky) with the whole Bush family. They <b><a href="http://moderatepoli.blogspot.com/2012/06/we-made-wrong-choice.html" rel="nofollow">must've known</a></b> this was a sham, if not a mistake. I'm not forgiving them anytime soon.ModeratePolihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01721945380057992971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-66540933488085484712013-04-22T21:13:23.102-05:002013-04-22T21:13:23.102-05:00"I can't think of anyone at a high level ..."I can't think of anyone at a high level of politics even remotely comparable."<br /><br />I know he was only VP, and that for only 4 years (after being a senator for, what, 8 years and a Congressperson for 4), which is still the same amount of time in elected office as GWB, and all of it in federal government offices.<br /><br />But I give you J. Danforth Quayle.Don Coffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07198988872512792834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-27079089024551477062013-04-22T19:10:20.482-05:002013-04-22T19:10:20.482-05:00The other interesting thing about Dubya is whether...The other interesting thing about Dubya is whether he is protected, a little, by a corollary to Hitler's "the bigger the lie, the more people believe it". In Dubya's case, the corollary might be "The bigger the indifference, the fewer people see it".<br /><br />For example, Dubya apparently launched a war of occupation in Mesopotamia without first realizing that there was some difference between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. This is so staggering its difficult to process. I was trying to think of an analogy; the best I could do was a foreign power launching a war of occupation in the Reconstruction South without realizing the difference between blacks and whites.<br /><br />But that analogy is flawed because even if you knew nothing about the history between blacks and whites in the antebellum south, it wouldn't take long to realize that the whites had for many years been oppressing the blacks. You could understand the landscape pretty quickly, even if you came in ignorant.<br /><br />The Sunni/Shi'a issue? That ancient conflict has defied explanation in many dissertations and scholarly papers. Maybe its better to go in like Mr. Magoo, as Dubya apparently did? You almost have to go to that explanation, and laugh a little, because to take seriously an occupation in Iraq that was not premised even on awareness of the Sunni/Shi'a thing might otherwise cause you some serious unremitting headaches.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-24696106439581658082013-04-22T14:51:57.832-05:002013-04-22T14:51:57.832-05:00I think I argued previously that you can't eva...I think I argued previously that you can't evaluate the elevation of Bush without considering life in 1999. Fukuyama's <i>End of History</i> was still much of the rage, and Seinfeld had just ended his historic run. I understand Fukuyama is still a successful professor, but when you happen on a rerun of Seinfeld at 10:30 on your local Fox station, doesn't it seem like it's from the 1950s?<br /><br />Not only that - the terrible events of the past week got me remembering that moron who suffocated when he sealed himself in his house with saran wrap, following the suggestion to do so to avoid chemical gas attack. Even with the disruption of the Boston Marathon bomb, who the hell would saran wrap themselves in their room? If memory serves, that happened eight years ago, it feels like eight generations ago.<br /><br />Which got me thinking about another angle on the ongoing American v. Parliamentary political system debate: our fixed elections are too spread apart given the current pace of life. Particularly senators and POTUS; those elections are now almost lifetimes apart, given the speed with which stuff changes these days.CSHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-53453469815247386202013-04-22T14:46:08.529-05:002013-04-22T14:46:08.529-05:00I get cranky when people want to define the Surge ...I get cranky when people want to define the Surge as the true essesnce of the Iraq War. As I've probably said before, I think there is some continuity between the foreign policy of Bush's second term and Obama's first because both necessarily had to focus on cleaning up the mess created by Bush's first term.<br /><br />On the other hand, I'd give him credit for his reponses to the crash in 2008. It's not like he's solely responsible for the collapse (Reagan and Clinton contributed to it as well), and he had to break with a lot of people in his party to do it.Scott Monjenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-44744970446011460812013-04-22T14:43:38.923-05:002013-04-22T14:43:38.923-05:00Ugh. Can't believe I didn't include that. ...Ugh. Can't believe I didn't include that. Fixed, now. Thanks.Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-46814634374491928982013-04-22T14:36:24.991-05:002013-04-22T14:36:24.991-05:00Here's the Drezner link:
http://drezner.forei...Here's the Drezner link:<br /><br />http://drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/04/22/meet_the_revisionist_george_w_bush_pretty_much_the_same_as_the_old_george_w_bushScott Monjenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-21794239957978010142013-04-22T14:20:54.294-05:002013-04-22T14:20:54.294-05:00Also:
Agree with TN's comment on Cheney.
And...Also:<br /><br />Agree with TN's comment on Cheney.<br /><br />And on Matt's comment: well, when I do cranky blogging, the first one of the day gets the extended title, and I didn't want to start with the other and obvious cause of cranky blogging because everyone already dealt with it yesterday. Unless you're saying I should have reserved "Wrath" in particular for a better occasion, but it was time to move on from Conquest/Planet...Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-38830060198859655432013-04-22T14:14:46.903-05:002013-04-22T14:14:46.903-05:00That is a terrific post.
I'm sure I've s...That is a terrific post. <br /><br />I'm sure I've said this here at some point, but Bush isn't just memorizing batting averages. I've heard him talk about baseball, and he sounds genuinely intelligent -- and I have a pretty high standard when it comes to sounding intelligent about baseball. Jonathan Bernsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-35755170482075349552013-04-22T13:42:57.114-05:002013-04-22T13:42:57.114-05:00I believe I can support your thesis with one anecd...I believe I can support your thesis with one anecdote.<br /><br />It has been years since I became convinced that President Bush decided to run for President for no other reason than that it was the coolest gig in the world. I believe <a href="http://fairandunbalanced.com/blog1.php/2008/05/10/how-president-bush-made-us-proud" rel="nofollow">there was one incident</a> that demonstrated that he could have been an effectively responsible President if he had taken an interest in policy.<br /><br />He personally negotiated a series of difficult hurdles to organize the first truly international contest in baseball. The ability was there. Just not the interest.Burr Deminghttp://fairandunbalanced.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-14470313145487556372013-04-22T13:39:02.267-05:002013-04-22T13:39:02.267-05:00I wonder if we shouldn't have seen this coming...I wonder if we shouldn't have seen this coming from the very beginning, when Bush hired Dick Cheney to review the potential vice-presidential candidates, and Cheney came back saying, "I'm better than any of these guys," and Bush just said "OK." I don't remember anyone saying at that point, "Bush is easily manipulated and not really interested in what his adminstration woud look like." But in retrospect, that's obviously what was happening, right? It should have been obvious long before he became president.TNnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-1479889554422208752013-04-22T13:37:04.208-05:002013-04-22T13:37:04.208-05:00"Wondering if this topic is worthy of the tit..."Wondering if this topic is worthy of the title, though. It's not like Bush revisionism has been percolating around THAT much"<br /><br />There's been a little; the "Miss Me Yet?" billboards come to mind. Generally, there's a few psuedo-smartass Republicans who try to draw a comparison between Bush and Obama. Almost everything I've seen has fallen flat, though (even those billboards were often defaced).Colbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262426400735202537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-27945246773753614712013-04-22T13:35:13.760-05:002013-04-22T13:35:13.760-05:00It's so weird to credit Bush for being a "...It's so weird to credit Bush for being a "good ex-President" because he stays out of the way. That's really just another way to express the essential Does-Not-Give-A-Shit of his character, which is probably the trait that was most disastrous for him.<br /><br />Some of my most scare-mongery friends were afraid he'd cancel the 2008 elections. I told them just look at the guy- he clearly did not want the job anymore, if he ever really did.Colbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262426400735202537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-49054583900023655022013-04-22T13:28:43.936-05:002013-04-22T13:28:43.936-05:00Not a pip of disagreement with the body.
Wonderin...Not a pip of disagreement with the body.<br /><br />Wondering if this topic is worthy of the title, though. It's not like Bush revisionism has been percolating around THAT much; that linked piece is the only one I've seen. And, while the implication of the "these days" line is that he was once interested, it's not totally incorrect, in that he did choose to run for these offices, despite being able to just keep running the Rangers with Daddy's friends' money.<br /><br />There are the appropriate lines in there, like “You have no idea how relieved he is to be out of the game,” one of his oldest friends said. “He doesn’t miss politics even a little.”<br /><br />I'm not sure how a person could read that piece and not read between the lines: "this was a terrible president, and he was totally uninterested in politics." <br />Matt Jarvisnoreply@blogger.com