Wow, "God told me so"? That's disturbing.
-------------- Original message ----------------------
From: "Martin Baxter" <truthseeker...@lycos.com>
> Keith, I wish I could give him the benefit of the doubt in anything. But he
> indicted himself in my eyes with his, IMO, willful misprosecution of the War
> on
> Terror (reg, TM, copy), disregarding the advice of senior commanders (whose
> job
> it is to prosecute wars, if memory serves) and a single damning moment, as
> recounted by Pat Robertson. Normally not one I'm likely to quote in any
> fashion,
> his words, reported widely soon after the announcement that the US would
> begin
> military operations in Iraq, still chill me to the bone.
>
> He says that he called Mister Bush, to advise him to prepare the American
> public
> for the distinct possibility that American soldiers would be coming home in
> body
> bags. Mister Bush said, basically, "We're not going to lose any soldiers over
> there. God told me so."
>
> Behold, the Ultimate Disconnect From Reality.
>
> George W Bush, Worst POTUS EVER.
>
>
>
>
> ---------[ Received Mail Content ]----------
>
> Subject : [scifinoir2] OT: Does an Introspective Bush Mean Anything Now?
>
> Date : Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:38:04 +0000
>
> From : keithbjohn...@comcast.net
>
> To : scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
>
>
> Been thinking a lot about President Bush, what he's done for (to) the world,
> what he intended to do, what his legacy will be, what he feels about
> everything.
> I find myself in some combination of anger, contempt, sympathy, bemusement,
> and
> pity for this man who now seems to be feeling the weight of what's gone
> wrong,
> but is still convinced that he did what was right and necessary. It's like
> chewing on a piece of food that you can't quite identify, working it over and
> over in the mouth, trying to decide whether to spit it out, or chew some more
> to
> decide on whether it's good or not.
>
> Here's my take on Bush: he's not a bad man, not even necessarily a "stupid"
> one,
> as many (me included) have often characterized him. Rather, I think he might
> fall more into the category of well-meaning bungler, or
> confident-but-clueless.
> The kind of guy who comes into a room and greats everyone by name, whether
> it's
> the help or the master of the house, who can make everyone laugh at a joke
> and
> put them at ease, but who then says something just kinda--well...hell,
> stupid.
> Maybe telling an off-color joke or ribbing someone a bit too much. A man who
> injects stories about how much he can bench press into a conversation about
> foreign policy. The kind of guy that makes you later say "Nice enough guy,
> but a
> bit clueless..."
>
> The more I hear his retrospectives and introspective musings, that's what I
> think. Stuff like "Well, I guess the 'Mission Accomplished' banner was a
> mistake", or "Yeah we made mistakes with Katrina--but what about all the
> people
> we *did* help?" makes me feel that way. Stuff said with a sense of regret and
> second-guessing, but still bolstered by a game belief in his *rightness* make
> me
> think that. The more I read about him and listen to him and see him--gray and
> older, bowed but not beaten, impossibly upbeat even amidst the sense of
> melancholy that must be attacking him--the more I realize he really truly did
> what he thought was right and best for America. I contrast that to people
> like
> Cheney and Rumsfeld, who in my opinion really are egotistical, elitist,
> power-mad megalomaniacs.
>
> No, not a bad or ill-intentioned guy was George Bush the second, but still
> hurtful. A child with a gun can still kill someone, I say. Ever seen a kid
> accidentally cause a friend or pet to get injured? That look the child has in
> his eyes, wide-eyed and tearful, fearful of what he's done, not quite
> believing
> how that innocent rock throw at Fido or stab at a friend's eye with a stick
> could turn out so badly? The way that child wails, afraid both of what he's
> done, and of being punished, gamely trying to defend himself while tearfully
> admitting his guilt, pleading and defending, "I didn't know that would
> happen. I
> didn't mean it. It's not my fault!"?
>
> That's Bush, a child playing with something way beyond his ability to control
> or
> understand, now standing back going "I didn't know *that* would happen! I
> didn't
> mean it! It's not my fault!"
>
> But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, they say. And in the end,
> perhaps that will Bush's epithet: a well-meaning fool who led this country
> down
> the wrong path, who harmed us without meaning too, and then stood by when it
> was
> done, thinking "I didn't know that would happen!"
>
> Somehow, George, it doesn't make me feel any better. Go to Dallas and build
> your
> library. Rest on your front porch and put up your boots while you sip whiskey
> and trade tall tales with your rich friends. Chop all the wood you can in
> Crawford. Play with your grandkids and tell 'em about the days when old
> Grandpa
> was the most powerful Texan in the world. Write your book and try to explain
> how
> it went so wrong. Watch the news about all of us who have lost jobs and
> homes,
> who are driving beat-up old cars for fear of taking on new payments, who stay
> in
> miserable jobs for fear of being jobless. Watch the coverage of dying
> soldiers
> in the Mideast, of terrorism barely abated, of New Orleans changed forever,
> of a
> people whoses very privacy is now less sacred. And at the end of the day,
> when
> the sun's setting and Laura and everyone's inside, and there's no one in the
> world but you and God, look up and whisper "I didn't know that would happen,
> God. I didn't mean it It's not my fault--i!
> s it
> ?"
>
> Can't answer that one, Georgie. That's for you and the Big Man upstairs to
> decide. You just go on inside now, George, and let us grown folk clean up the
> mess. And don't you come back out unless we tell you to, alright?
>
> Goodnight, George, don't forget to say your prayers--and say one for the rest
> of
> us while you're at it.
>
>
>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
--- Begin Message ---
Keith, I wish I could give him the benefit of the doubt in anything. But he indicted himself in my eyes with his, IMO, willful misprosecution of the War on Terror (reg, TM, copy), disregarding the advice of senior commanders (whose job it is to prosecute wars, if memory serves) and a single damning moment, as recounted by Pat Robertson. Normally not one I'm likely to quote in any fashion, his words, reported widely soon after the announcement that the US would begin military operations in Iraq, still chill me to the bone.
He says that he called Mister Bush, to advise him to prepare the American public for the distinct possibility that American soldiers would be coming home in body bags. Mister Bush said, basically, "We're not going to lose any soldiers over there. God told me so."
Beho!
ld, the Ultimate Disconnect From Reality.
George W Bush, Worst POTUS EVER.
---------[ Received Mail Content ]----------
Subject : [scifinoir2] OT: Does an Introspective Bush Mean Anything Now?
Date : Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:38:04 +0000
From : KeithBJohnson@comcast.net
To : scifino...@yahoogroups.com
Been thinking a lot about President Bush, what he's done for (to) the world, what he intended to do, what his legacy will be, what he feels about everything. I find myself in some combination of anger, contempt, sympathy, bemusement, and pity for this man who now seems to be feeling the weight of what's gone wrong, but is still convinced that he did what was right and necessary. It's like chewing on a piece of food that you can't quite identify, working it over and over in the mouth, trying to decide whether to spit it out, or chew some more to decide on whether it's good or not.
Here's my take on Bush: he's not a bad man, not even necessarily a "stupid" one, as many (me included) have often characterized him. Rather, I think he might fall more into the category of well-meaning bungler, or confident-but-clueless. The kind of guy who comes into a room and greats everyone by name, whether it's the help or the master of the house, who can make everyone laugh at a joke and put them at ease, but who then says something just kinda--well...hell, stupid. Maybe telling an off-color joke or ribbing someone a bit too much. A man who injects stories about how much he can bench press into a conversation about foreign policy. The kind of guy that makes you later say "Nice enough guy, but a bit clueless..."
The more I hear his retrospectives and introspective musings, that's what I think. Stuff like "Well, I guess the 'Mission Accomplished' banner was a mistake", or "Yeah we made mistakes with Katrina--but what about all the people we *did* help?" makes me feel that way. Stuff said with a sense of regret and second-guessing, but still bolstered by a game belief in his *rightness* make me think that. The more I read about him and listen to him and see him--gray and older, bowed but not beaten, impossibly upbeat even amidst the sense of melancholy that must be attacking him--the more I realize he really truly did what he thought was right and best for America. I contrast that to people like Cheney and Rumsfeld, who in my opinion really are egotistical, elitist, power-mad megalomaniacs.
No, not a bad or ill-intentioned guy was George Bush the second, but still hurtful. A child with a gun can still kill someone, I say. Ever seen a kid accidentally cause a friend or pet to get injured? That look the child has in his eyes, wide-eyed and tearful, fearful of what he's done, not quite believing how that innocent rock throw at Fido or stab at a friend's eye with a stick could turn out so badly? The way that child wails, afraid both of what he's done, and of being punished, gamely trying to defend himself while tearfully admitting his guilt, pleading and defending, "I didn't know that would happen. I didn't mean it. It's not my fault!"?
That's Bush, a child playing with something way beyond his ability to control or understand, now standing back going "I didn't know *that* would happen! I didn't mean it! It's not my fault!"
But the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, they say. And in the end, perhaps that will Bush's epithet: a well-meaning fool who led this country down the wrong path, who harmed us without meaning too, and then stood by when it was done, thinking "I didn't know that would happen!"
Somehow, George, it doesn't make me feel any better. Go to Dallas and build your library. Rest on your front porch and put up your boots while you sip whiskey and trade tall tales with your rich friends. Chop all the wood you can in Crawford. Play with your grandkids and tell 'em about the days when old Grandpa was the most powerful Texan in the world. Write your book and try to explain how it went so wrong. Watch the news about all of us who have lost jobs and homes, who are driving beat-up old cars for fear of taking on new payments, who stay in miserable jobs for fear of being jobless. Watch the coverage of dying soldiers in the Mideast, of terrorism barely abated, of New Orleans changed forever, of a people whoses very privacy is now less sacred. And at the end of the day, when the sun's setting and Laura and everyone's inside, and there's no one in the world but you and God, look up and whisper "I didn't know that would happen, God. I didn't mean it It's not my f!
ault--is it
?"
Can't answer that one, Georgie. That's for you and the Big Man upstairs to decide. You just go on inside now, George, and let us grown folk clean up the mess. And don't you come back out unless we tell you to, alright?
Goodnight, George, don't forget to say your prayers--and say one for the rest of us while you're at it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
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--- End Message ---
