DJ, I agree with every point except one. Clinton won office in 92 because many stupid republicans, myself included, voted for Ross Perot. 19% that would have gone to GHW Bush. Even thought he was sandbagged by the dimmers on the raising taxes thing, he was a good President. ww

I presume it is Rove's plan to let the Republican candidate in '08 ride into office making the case for George Bush. It is certainly there to be made. Except for the huge sacrifices of a few volunteers, Americans have never had it so good, and know it.

Now, so far, who's making the case, starting with the treacherous CIA and the bastards at the DoJ?
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I predict once Newt and Fred enter the race, the GOP field is going to be moving rightward.
Mostly because the polls will show Fred and Newt with lots of popularity and, except for Rudy! (mostly), the current top-tier candidates don't know how to act unless they have a poll to tell them.

People simply tend to vote for the optimist. Which is, I suspect, what makes them "like" a candidate.

Like him or not, Nicholas Kristof has an editorial today that outlines some of the triumphs of the Bush presidency that he has gotten almost no credit for and explains why he thinks that is so. it's behid the Times' Select firewall but check it out if you can.

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/opinion/17kristof.html?hp

Let me guess. International trade deals, North Korea, containing Ahmadinejad, keeping pacific China and the USSR, neutralizing al Qaeda, allowing Europe to come to its senses, and having compassion for Africa. Domestically, exuding enough confidence to give even the sullen ones hope.
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Andy, I hate to be the only one with the courage to whisper in your ear:

STORY AIN'T OVER
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Hey Pinch, Stone words do not a press break.
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Hey Pinch, Stone words do not a press break.
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Alot of this is spin..Shewt, remember "I like Ike .Sorry DJ, no one likes to be the bearer of bad news but, I remember Pat Moynihan in class, saying that everyone thought "Ike was a nice man and "a bad president," where in reality "he was a good President and not a very nice man."

As for Dubya, I think he is going to remebered, by the public in much the same way, 'as a nice man and a bad president,' except by many of his aides, where in reality " Warm and hearty in public, Bush can be cold and snappish in private, and aides sometimes cringe before the displeasure of the president of the United States, or, as he is known in West Wing jargon, POTUS."

Calame,
Calame tell me.
Why can't you let it out just as it is the whole truth?
All lies.
All of these damn lies.
Why are the Jayson's and Walter's still there in your lair?
=============================

This reminds me of the current Newsweek cover story, ya, the one that ended up pretty much saying Bush has lost touch with reality by remaining optimistic about Iraq. But ostensibly, it was an article looking for the next Harry Truman in the upcoming Dem/Rep primaries.

Think of it, Newsweek brings to the fore the idea of a president who stuck to his guns in the face of sharply declining popularity during an unpopular war, one who, in the decades since, history has increasingly judged as a successful president.

It reviews each candidate for their own personal history of toughness and dealing with adversity, counting Hillary's trials and tribulations in the face of husband Bill's, er, indiscretions. That qualifies one to walk in the shadow of Harry Truman, but George Bush has lost touch with reality.

It'll probably take years or even decades before history settles on the legacy of George Bush. But I don't think I'll have to wait that long before deciding who has really lost touch with reality, when it comes to Newsweek stories.

In the face of this kind of media environment, holding up the Dubya standard would really take a candidate who knew how to act like he/she had a pair.

Hmm, maybe yer onto something here.

SC, you forget, some historians are dispassionate, as you and I are not; they'll rate him objectively and highly.
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DJ,

Have to agree with you. For the life of me, I can't see Guilani or McCain showing up at a disaster site and sincerely mourning the losses with the victims of the disaster.

Bushes biggest fault has been listening to his advisers to much (including Rove) and trying to keep the Democrats happy.

Bush is a globalist. If you don't care for international control of the US by an unelected elite, then you shouldn't mind seeing Bush shuffle off, even if it means him being seen as unsuccessful.
Do you want this bill (which would be a "Bush success") to pass and become law?

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/bush-kennedy-join-forces-over/20070516070509990086?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Surely sharia is better than WalMartia, right bD?
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Lets see. The professional politicians run from Bush like scalded dogs. The Whizzers say: "they should embrace him."

Which of the 2 these groups is out of touch with reality?

I voted for Bush twice and now I'd support impeaching him for his failure to uphold his oath of office and securing the borders. What his hand picked prosecuter has done to the American Boarder Patrol is downright criminal and perhaps treasonous.

Do you see Fred running like a whipped pup? Then again, he's a professional actor; maybe he really feels like running.
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Don't worry, BB, either Fred or Mitt will pardon them, maybe promise to do so; the DoJ may yet get the blame. Take cover, or is it:

HIDE AND WATCH////////////////NOWTHATSFUNNY
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JFO, ask those that made the wrong remarks about the President in the last election cycle, both democrats and republicans. They are waiting in line at the unemployment line so they have time to talk to you. Ask dead end Dachele. More will meet the same fate in 08.
Millions have came to realize that the left wing and the antique MSM have been peeing down their backs and trying to convince them it's raining. All we need is for Peeeeloshi and Dirty Harry to keep up their current stance. People are a little slow at times but they eventually catch on and will know the current leadership in congress will get a lot of us (including democrats) killed.
I'm having a hard time finding anyone who supports the congressional leadership and evidently it's widespread judging by the 29% approval rating. There are that many democrat voters in the rubber room nut houses of America.

More Americans killed by drivers with a cell phone stuck in their ear per day than killed per month+ in combat.
I'd like to see a stat of how many murders take place every day due to ignorant people with a cell phone in their ear. I haven't taken a ball bat to any so far but i've considered it in the grocery store, 'every time i'm in a grocery store'.

Kim is on fire today.

kim: Fred ain't running. That's why Fred made the video retort to Michael Moore.
You see, Moore cited the neocon Weekly Standard's Thompson fluff piece/profile which mentioned Fred's supply of contraband Cuban cigars in the home. Even described them: "boxes and boxes of Montechristos". OUCH!
Hence, the bizarrely scripted video. What he said was not really the point. The chomped cigar was the message: "Ok, Mike, you zinged me, but I'll continue to smoke them all I want. Asshole!"
Childish, yes. He needed to be the Last Word and to not let Moore think he (Thompson) is going to lose any sleep over the matter.
And of course the Guantanamo overtones would be good for the cred among the neocon-Bushbot flakes.

Hmm, either Kim's talking to imaginary friends, or DJ's up to his old "deleting posts I don't like" tricks again. Always the sign of a healthy discussion.

Psst bryanDirtbag-hint-(Area 51). Maybe I can translate your post for the rest. Here goes---lkit hutr gfds bkjter nkiyrtjh bgykl ,,.lkde gtdb khgre, vgjhreo mkj hy k;lhfr dhju .(sorry "gfds" should have been "gsfd")
"Fred ain't running"--YET!

kim, Your legal/political prognostications will continue to betray you as long as you only consult the closed circle of neocon apologists. You know, like the warbloggers who constantly link half-baked talking points to the same Other Blogs. They are dealing not in objective reality, but in wishful thinking and propaganda.

He doesn't blog, but google Bruce Fein on the issues. Smart guy, should be on the Supreme Court. Of course, you might label him a self-loathing Joooo. He's no Libby Lover, that's for sure.

The likability factor is what worries me about Obama. Whatever the guys negatives, he's likable. He comes off as the kind of guy you could have a beer with. Not good for the republicans, especially if we end up with someone like McCain, who seem like the kind of guy who'd say, "Beer? Lemme tell you about the beer we had in the prison camp in 'nam, pansy." (You know, until he spotted the cameras.)

I really think this is why we need Fred!

You're off your meds again, Bryan.

I have deleted nothing today. And I can't speak for what's going on in kim's comments, except that she's been going on like that for a few days now.

Sorry, should be 'Brian', not 'Bryan'.

DJ,
But the statement is still true for both of them.

My apologies, then, DJ. I guess kim's the one off her meds.

BryanD have you been smoking skunkbud montechristos? You know that is wasteful. You are so far off topic as to make one believe you are on psychodilics. When presented with the truth about Bush and his policies, BryanD's damaged brain, struggles to understand the information presented. Finally snaps causing BryanD to pound out a few lines of nonsense on his keyboard before the orderlies once again arrive to take his toys away from him.

When put into the proper perspective GW's presidency will rate very well when future historians review his tenure. Let's see, he started with his opponent conceding the race then taking it back, then suing for counting and recounting votes in selective counties. Very unusual. Then his transition was held up. Then the Chinese captured a US plane. Negotiations finally worked. 9th month in office, America was attacked. First time ever on American soil. The enemy is not a nation, but a belief system rooted in Islam. Very difficult to defend against. Hurricane Katrina brought waters up to the breaking point of New Orleans levees while Mississippi got the brunt of the storm itself. Huge problems. He had to work with local politicians that were unable to get a grasp on what they should do. Very unique. Then it was discovered that through all the years of sanctions against Iraq, our supposed allies France and Russia were doing deals with Iraq for oil with the blessing of the UN leadership. Unusual. The the UN was found to be causing its own rape and murder in Africa. The captured enemy combatants are kept in Cuba until it is decided what can be done to them since most of the captured peoples home country does not want them back. The list goes on and on. I do not know of one president in our short history that has had to "shoot from the hip" more then GW because there was no caparative scenario or precedent. This is why I am still in his corner even though I am angry about the immigration stand. He has had a plateful of weird crap happen to our country and him since he was sworn in. ww

I have my many and varied different opinions on this, but that's all good. :) We're just going to have to see how it all works out in 2008.

But this part of Scrapiron's comment is so ridiculous I just have to point it out.

More Americans killed by drivers with a cell phone stuck in their ear per day than killed per month+ in combat.

So what's that go to do with anything?

You might as well say that more Americans are killed by distracted drivers, than were killed on 9/11. Does that mean their deaths are no big deal either?

Christ.

And Wildwillie, every single President in our history has faced unprecedented situations where they had to "shoot from the hip". War with Canada; Civil War; WWI; the Great Depression; WWII; nuclear weapons that could destroy the entire human race in the hands of our enemies; Cuban missile crisis; Viet Nam, etc. etc. on up to the present day.

And that's not even the Cliff Notes version of the constantly new events our nation has had to deal with...

Every new president is always presented with new challenges, in a constantly changing world.

I happen to think that the Republicans in the race would be very wise to try to show how much they are like our current President, George W. Bush.

Sorry DJ, but after today's immigration bill announcement where GWB's name is coupled once again with Ted Kennedy there isn't a candidate in the field that is going to show how much they are like our current President. And don't come back with McCain, he has sealed his fate by sharing a podium with the senior senator from Mass.

J.R., maybe you're proud of your undies, but waving them as a flag like that last post of yours did is not impressing the adults.