I have been reflecting on how Bush has been treated the past 8 years. There has been such bitter unfair hatred thrown at him, that it has really costs us all, I think. We have lost some fundamental respect for the office and each other. Now understand, I'm not referring to criticisms of his policies or performance, but rather the endless hate-filled vitriol that has been hurled at him.
So, as a conservative who will likely have a very liberal president come January, I have decided to take a pledge of respect for the office. From now on, I will be careful to criticize and lambaste the policies, decisions, etc without the extreme hate statements that Bush has endured.
So, for the next president: I will not call him stupid or dumb. I don't believe you can traverse the road to the presidency and be dumb.
I will not assume that everything he does is wrong, just because I didn't vote for him. I will take the time to look at both sides of his decisions.
I will not call him the "worst president in history". History takes time to judge, and statements like this only siphon my credibility.
He will have my prayers and good will. Despite what others have done with Bush, I will not pull for him to fail. His failures are my county's failures, and I will try to act as such.
He will be my president.
___
Warm weather. Salt air. Cold beer. Big Cigar.
Posts: 627 | Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | Registered: February 16, 2004
I have been a harsh critic of Bush, however I am a critic of his from the right.
As of Obama... If he wins, which I still do not think he will ( yeah I know I'm crazy ) I will pray for him and give him the benefit of the doubt, but I will criticise him just as sharply as the left has gone after Bush. That is, is he makes decisions which are harmful to the country I love. Country first IMHO. I care little about the democratic or the republican party. I am a Christian first, a Conservative second and an American third. Just because one belongs to the republican or the democratic party, or the fact that he belongs to a minority group should not make him immune to criticism.
We have had some great Presidents over the years and some bad ones. I think when they were good, the respect for the office went up and visa versa. Ike and Kennedy gave it respect until years latter when all the crap came out about our boy Jack. Johnson messed it up good and so did Carter - carter more just because you can't be a bible thumper and make your enemies fear you. Nixon really messed it up bad and Ford was just so much material for Saturday Night Live. Regan brought back the true spirit of the office and Bush Sr. tried to hold on to it. Clinton was such a putz in office, he acted like a teenager at a drive-in instead of a Commander and completely brought down any respect the office had. George W. started out right by not letting us hide our heads in the sand when the bully caame to the door. He frought the respect right back to the top and then spent the last 7 years lost in a tail spin. The internet and liberal press have made a shambles of the office because they attack the office and the man in it as if they are one and they are not. What we really need is a leader, not a cause or a dream. This election may build us back up of tear us apart. I hope we survive
While President Bush has been marshaling a multinational force to take on modernity's enemies in foreign lands, the American left has decided to go to war against not only Republicans but also moderate Democrats.
Bush hatred was a fait accompli.
Back in November 2000, when Al Gore contested Florida and the demonizing of George Bush began full-bore ("President Select," "Bush Chimp," "the illegitimate president"), I told Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund, "You watch, the Democratic Party will never grant Bush his humanity, and they will never let up."
And they never did.
The Democratic Party chose to send a clear message that the impeachment of President Clinton incurred by the newly minted Republican-led Congress and the upstart new media - talk radio and the Internet - would be countered by unprecedented partisan fury.
The media will shape "the truth" that Democrats were always behind the initial Afghanistan effort or were poised to grudgingly accept the president whom they previously mocked as "illegitimate."
But those brave liberals who stood by the president were mostly a small minority, and all of them have since been excommunicated for their apostasy.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and actor Ron Silver were presented as cautionary tales to left-of-center politicians and public figures who would lend support to a wartime Republican president.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who was described as the "conscience of the Senate" when he ran for vice president with Al Gore in 2000, was summarily dismissed from the Democratic Party for dissenting over one thing.
And the youth movement that is fueling Obama-mania is riddled with minds that do not have the perspective of what happened before Mr. Bush, and why the media and the Democratic Party have stood against Mr. Bush and his motivations from the word go.
Much of Mr. Bush's 28 precent approval rating is born not of "failed policies" - of which there are many - but of the ill-gotten gains pilfered from a pre-Bush inauguration strategy to send the message to Republicans that the Democrats play politics harder and better.
Mr. Obama said it best: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."
I don't think Albert Einstein could have devised an equation to guide the leader of the free world during the wildly tumultuous post-9/11 realities without a modicum of help from the opposition party and the vast majority of the print and electronic media.
Right now, America appears to be leaning toward electing a man for whom popularity is a paramount concern. That means he must trust the American media and the American electorate to guide him to difficult decisions, not the other way around.
The American people pay closer attention to "Survivor: Gabon" than to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yet the majority will soon have a greater say in how we proceed in the war on terror. We are headed to the "American Idol" presidency. The last thing I want is my text vote on the financial crisis to have a say on how we proceed.
If Barack Obama is elected the next president of the United States on Tuesday, I hope the Republican Party and conservatives take the higher road. The republic cannot handle another four years of undeclared civil war while we have real enemies out there to fight. -Andrew Breitbart
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." George Washington
Posts: 4473 | Location: Ohio | Registered: July 20, 2007
Originally posted by kmd00: I have been reflecting on how Bush has been treated the past 8 years. There has been such bitter unfair hatred thrown at him, that it has really costs us all, I think. We have lost some fundamental respect for the office and each other. Now understand, I'm not referring to criticisms of his policies or performance, but rather the endless hate-filled vitriol that has been hurled at him.
So, as a conservative who will likely have a very liberal president come January, I have decided to take a pledge of respect for the office. From now on, I will be careful to criticize and lambaste the policies, decisions, etc without the extreme hate statements that Bush has endured.
So, for the next president: I will not call him stupid or dumb. I don't believe you can traverse the road to the presidency and be dumb.
I will not assume that everything he does is wrong, just because I didn't vote for him. I will take the time to look at both sides of his decisions.
I will not call him the "worst president in history". History takes time to judge, and statements like this only siphon my credibility.
He will have my prayers and good will. Despite what others have done with Bush, I will not pull for him to fail. His failures are my county's failures, and I will try to act as such.
He will be my president.
**** that. It's payback time if Obama wins, and everything is going to be on the table. Everything will be his fault, and I will be sure to notice some white powder on his lapel if he ever says a word incorrectly.
Originally posted by BorislavK: ...but I will criticise him just as sharply as the left has gone after Bush. <shrug>
Man, that's harsh. I shudder at the thought of president Obama, but I sure the heck am not going to compare him with Hitler.
quote:
Originally posted by jagmqt: I respect everyone until they provide a reason not to.
+1. Everyone I meet starts with 100 points in my book. But when it comes to politicians, I'm with Idahoser. Kinda like Ted Williams to a sportswriter: "You're...no good until you prove otherwise."
quote:
What a sad way to go through life...feeling that treating people fairly and with courteousy is something that takes extra effort.
I think you're being a bit hard on kmd00 but +1 on this sentiment. Every time I let someone pull out of a driveway in front of me when I'm stopped in a line of cars, I think "Jeez, it's so easy to give people a break."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is a mistake to think that businessmen are more immoral than politicians. -- John Maynard Keynes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Politics reduced to its essence: My weasel is better than your weasel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...smoking fine cigars is one of the rare, great old-world pleasures that a gentleman can still enjoy in the way that it was meant to be. -- lenguamor
Posts: 2395 | Location: 34d 4' 23.73" N, 118d 14' 25.07" W | Registered: October 03, 2008
Originally posted by ocpeddler: Regan brought back the true spirit of the office
Which is why he wouldn't even take off his jacket in the Oval Office, let alone receive a BJ there.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is a mistake to think that businessmen are more immoral than politicians. -- John Maynard Keynes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Politics reduced to its essence: My weasel is better than your weasel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...smoking fine cigars is one of the rare, great old-world pleasures that a gentleman can still enjoy in the way that it was meant to be. -- lenguamor
Posts: 2395 | Location: 34d 4' 23.73" N, 118d 14' 25.07" W | Registered: October 03, 2008
"...I hope the Republican Party and conservatives take the higher road..."
Hell. That's the problem with the GOP. They can't get over their desire to be liked, and have never learned the lesson that for taking the high road and crossing the aisle in the name of civility and bipartisanship, all they get for their pains is a kick in the nuts and the one-fingered salute. Fillibusters, demonization and obstruction. And that's when they were in the majority.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It is a mistake to think that businessmen are more immoral than politicians. -- John Maynard Keynes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Politics reduced to its essence: My weasel is better than your weasel. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...smoking fine cigars is one of the rare, great old-world pleasures that a gentleman can still enjoy in the way that it was meant to be. -- lenguamor
Posts: 2395 | Location: 34d 4' 23.73" N, 118d 14' 25.07" W | Registered: October 03, 2008
I am a Christian first, a Conservative second and an American third
You put religion and party higher than country?? Sorry mate but this doesn't work. Country should come first and before anything else.
So, one day when God asks "Why did you place your country above me?" what should one say? Sorry mate, that just doesn't work? I don't think so, if one truly believes in God do you expect them to place him lower than country on the list of loyalties?
__________________________ I am the Brute Squad
Posts: 801 | Location: Norfolk, VA | Registered: December 25, 2006
'Question authority. Think for yourself. Filter out the spin. Engage elected officials critically. Make them defend what they're doing in your name. Derive the truth. Speak truth to power.'
Posts: 4544 | Location: Boston | Registered: April 16, 2005
