The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrac

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrac
152
Thu, 11-06-2008 - 5:20pm

The time when I have been ashamed of modern America...

Earlier this year, 12,000 people in San Francisco signed a petition in support of a proposition on a local ballot to rename an Oceanside sewage plant after George W. Bush. The proposition is only one example of the classless disrespect many Americans have shown the president.

According to recent Gallup polls, the president's average approval rating is below 30% -- down from his 90% approval in the wake of 9/11. Mr. Bush has endured relentless attacks from the left while facing abandonment from the right.

This is the price Mr. Bush is paying for trying to work with both Democrats and Republicans. During his 2004 victory speech, the president reached out to voters who supported his opponent, John Kerry, and said, "Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust."

Those bipartisan efforts have been met with crushing resistance from both political parties.

The president's original Supreme Court choice of Harriet Miers alarmed Republicans, while his final nomination of Samuel Alito angered Democrats. His solutions to reform the immigration system alienated traditional conservatives, while his refusal to retreat in Iraq has enraged liberals who have unrealistic expectations about the challenges we face there.

It seems that no matter what Mr. Bush does, he is blamed for everything. He remains despised by the left while continuously disappointing the right.

Yet it should seem obvious that many of our country's current problems either existed long before Mr. Bush ever came to office, or are beyond his control. Perhaps if Americans stopped being so divisive, and congressional leaders came together to work with the president on some of these problems, he would actually have had a fighting chance of solving them.

Like the president said in his 2004 victory speech, "We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America."

To be sure, Mr. Bush is not completely alone. His low approval ratings put him in the good company of former Democratic President Harry S. Truman, whose own approval rating sank to 22% shortly before he left office. Despite Mr. Truman's low numbers, a 2005 Wall Street Journal poll found that he was ranked the seventh most popular president in history.

Just as Americans have gained perspective on how challenging Truman's presidency was in the wake of World War II, our country will recognize the hardship President Bush faced these past eight years— and how extraordinary it was that he accomplished what he did in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Our failure to stand by the one person who continued to stand by us has not gone unnoticed by our enemies. It has shown to the world how disloyal we can be when our president needed loyalty—a shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.

By JEFFREY SCOTT SHAPIRO

Source:

Wednesday, November 5, 2008
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | OPINION
The Treatment of Bush Has Been a Disgrace
What must our enemies be thinking?

Mr. Shapiro is an investigative reporter and lawyer who previously interned with John F. Kerry's legal team during the presidential election in 2004.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122584386627599251.html

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
Sat, 11-08-2008 - 10:37pm
Well I know I would put my $2.52 towards buying a house - lets see, if I can save the same amount every week I will have a down payment in 5952 weeks, or 112 years - think the 'gas holiday' would last that long???
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-08-2008 - 10:53pm

>But I do find it funny that you think Obama saw that for what it was yet wants to give the poor $500 in welfare, and thinks that is ok.

Sandy
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-08-2008 - 11:16pm

>Yet you support Obama who say's he'll offer tax breaks while increasing spending? Too funny. BTW, the point of the "gas tax holiday" was to help make gas cheaper during the summer months...which it would have.<


Hmm, somehow you keep missing what I said, which is I believed NEITHER candidate's claims about taxes. NEITHER. I just feel that of the two, Obama would be the one who'd have the courage to raise taxes if need be. I just don't think tha McCain could or would do it.


But hey, if you want to ignore that bit of what I keep saying over and over again, you go right ahead.


And 18.4 cents wouldn't have meant a whole lot when gas was over $4/gallon in some regions. Seriously.


>And typically, Obama's solution was...to do nothing.<


What do you propose? More drilling in Alaska?

Sandy
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 11-08-2008 - 11:17pm

LOL. I think not.


Sandy
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-12-2008
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 12:06am

What would healthcare have to do with it?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 12:28am

>What would healthcare have to do with it?

Sandy
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 1:01am

>Yet you support Obama who say's he'll offer tax breaks while increasing spending? Too funny. BTW, the point of the "gas tax holiday" was to help make gas cheaper during the summer months...which it would have.<

>>> Hmm, somehow you keep missing what I said, which is I believed NEITHER candidate's claims about taxes. NEITHER. I just feel that of the two, Obama would be the one who'd have the courage to raise taxes if need be. I just don't think tha McCain could or would do it.

"Courage" to raise taxes? LOL! So you're saying you voted for they guy you thought was the biggest liar and was more likely to betray his constituents? Go Obama!

>>> And 18.4 cents wouldn't have meant a whole lot when gas was over $4/gallon in some regions. Seriously.

Charge everyone 18.4 cents more per gallon and see if anyone cares?

>And typically, Obama's solution was...to do nothing.<

>>> What do you propose? More drilling in Alaska?

Yes...absolutely.

>>> The oil companies have already made clear they won't do unless the price of gas goes up a whole lot more OR they're permitted to sell the oil to Japan, which would give them a great profit margin. It would cost the oil companies less to transport the oil to Japan than to transport the oil to the southern US to refine and then pump through the pipeline throughout the country. http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-227es.html

It's a moot argument when the Dems are blocking the oil companies from drilling.

>>> Even Palin sees the profit in this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/21/palin-pushed-exporting-us_n_136474.html

I don't see a problem with selling a percentage of our resources to other countries...it's been going on for quite a while. I would also advocate, in exchange for drilling rights, regulations requiring a certain percentage allocated for domestic purchase...but I really don't think there's a serious concern with American oil companies selling all of our domestic oil to foreign companies.

>People cried when it went up 18.4 cents so they probably would have appreciated saving 3-4 bucks each time they filled up.<

>>> The only way anyone would save $3-4 is if they were filling for 16 or more gallons per fill up. Maybe I drive a tiny car with my Prius, but I rarely pump much more than 10 gallons, though I gather those with SUVs and minivans have larger tanks. I'll have to admit though, I really don't have much sympathy for those who bought more car than they really needed.

I love it when libs decide what other people "need"...whether it's their hard earned money, how much electricity they use or the size of their cars. It's a shame you can't bottle that kind of arrogance.

>>> But hey, if you think that little drop in the bucket was worth the depletion of the federal highway trust fund, I guess you don't mind when it takes a while for your interstates to repair potholes.

Again...the hypocrisy is rife. I guess you don't mind depleting the government coffers to hand out $500 welfare checks to folks who don't pay taxes, or to give away a percentage of our GDP to the UN or to socialize health care. Go Obama!

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 1:21am
You know, Obama made a similar suggestion...that you pay your mortgage or send your kids to college...with his $500 welfare checks. LOL!
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-20-2008
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 7:44am
Well at least $500 (which was more than I had to pay for my daughter's college last year thanks to Pell Grants) is more than the 131.04 I would get if they extended the proposed 'gas tax holiday' for a whole year - but as they were only proposing one week I guess I wouldn't even begin to know what to do with my whopping $2.52! Gee thanks Senator McCain - guess he really is out of touch.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-14-2008
Sun, 11-09-2008 - 8:14am

Bush's legacy is shameful.

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