Bush: The Stupidest Modern President?

Off Topic Politics & World Issues
61

[quote]Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
My issue is this…Kerry, at the very least, volunteered to go to Vietnam and actually got shot at.

Keep 'em coming, this is a laugh-riot! Kerry got drafted, but then volunteered for the Navy. He wanted to be on a nice, big, safe aircraft carrier. “Uh, John, guess what? They put you on a Swifty.” A guy at my church was a Swift Boat guy, also a Master Chief, and he hated Kerry with a passion! I’ve never seen this man get so worked up as when you mentioned Kerry to him. He never called him by name, just ‘that sonofabitch’.

62

The title of this thread is the stupidest Modern President, I simply can’t see how George Bush is smarter then any of them and hence he is the stupidest modern president.

Again, this is all about personal opinions, and if anyone want scientific proof how his IQ is higher or lower then anyone else, I ain’t got it.

63

[quote]ZEB wrote:
Offensive to foreign people,

Wahahah…thanks for the laugh! :)[/quote]

This is not to piss you off ZEB, but why do you think people who live outside of US love Bush?

64

[quote]fahd wrote:
The title of this thread is the stupidest Modern President, I simply can’t see how George Bush is smarter then any of them and hence he is the stupidest modern president.

Again, this is all about personal opinions, and if anyone want scientific proof how his IQ is higher or lower then anyone else, I ain’t got it.
[/quote]

I asked you to prove that he couldn’t have gotten into Havard Business School with out help from his daddy’s friends.

Define modern times wrt this forum.

Do you really truly belive that Bush is dumber than Gerald Ford? Harry Truman? Woodrow Wilson? Hoover?

65

[quote]rainjack wrote:
Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
And no one mentions the fact that this “war” is the only one in our history that didn’t create an economic boom. It’s actually destroying our economy. Or the way it’s being handled is destroying our economy. Either way — I think it’s an interesting point. All other wars brought us out of a recession, and this “war” prolonged one.

We have had 10 straight quarters with GDP growth of at least 3% in each quarter. The last report that came out just this week has us at 4% growth. 210,000 jods were added to the economy last quarter and the national unemployment rate is at 5% - which, if you have taken an economic class, is statistical full employment. Real wages are up - and exceeding personal spending.

So there might be a pretty damn good reason no one is saying that things are bad. It’s a fucking lie.

Now tell me why Bush is a moron.

[/quote]

Ok, i’ll give it a shot. Greenspan , the chairman of the fed, our CHIEF economist, recently said that the budget deficets threaten to seriously hurt the living standards of generations of americans. He’s basically telling Bush that he needs to quit spending so much or tax us up. Why are we spending so much? well milatary spending has shot up dramatically and a guess is that most of it is covered from the Iraq conflict. Think about it, would you in your right mind RJ sell the good living standards of the next generation of americans so some iraqi kids can live in a " democratic " governement , where they were doing OK by all starndards before? Now they will do worse RJ, there is basically no way that Iraq will not keep itself out of a civil war.

Face it RJ , GWB fucked up. And he’s fucking up the lives of Americans.

66

[quote]fahd wrote:
The title of this thread is the stupidest Modern President, I simply can’t see how George Bush is smarter then any of them and hence he is the stupidest modern president.

Again, this is all about personal opinions, and if anyone want scientific proof how his IQ is higher or lower then anyone else, I ain’t got it.

[/quote]

http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/presidents/george-w-bush/

This link claims to have some information on his IQ, and some funny pictures, as well a possible explanation of why he acts dumb. He’s a funny guy i’ll give him that, but they claim that he is a smart cookie if you bother to read anything from it.

67

[quote]rainjack wrote:
Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
And no one mentions the fact that this “war” is the only one in our history that didn’t create an economic boom. It’s actually destroying our economy. Or the way it’s being handled is destroying our economy. Either way — I think it’s an interesting point. All other wars brought us out of a recession, and this “war” prolonged one.

We have had 10 straight quarters with GDP growth of at least 3% in each quarter. The last report that came out just this week has us at 4% growth. 210,000 jods were added to the economy last quarter and the national unemployment rate is at 5% - which, if you have taken an economic class, is statistical full employment. Real wages are up - and exceeding personal spending.

So there might be a pretty damn good reason no one is saying that things are bad. It’s a fucking lie.

But to answer your previous question - I tend to think that a guy with a BA from Princeton, and a Harvard MBA is above average in the intelligence area. Especially one that was elected to the Texas Governor’s Mansion twice, and the Whitehouse twice. Plus Bush knows what a weight room looks like and is in bettershape than any President we have had since Kennedy. Yep - what a moron.

Kerry? Tell me what he has done in his life besides marry money, and run for public office. He is a moron because he, like most of the current dem leadership in D.C., have no message. They have no plan other than to be against everything that Bush is for. For getting paid the big bucks - you’d think they could come up with something better than “ABB”.

Now tell me why Bush is a moron.

--------EDIT--------

Bush got a BA from Yale - not Princeton. I forgot which Ivy League school he attended.[/quote]

So, let me get this straight. You’re using the fact that a kid from an ultra-rich family, whose dad was a senator and DCI up to that point, and managed to get into his dad’s alma mater, as “proof” that he’s not a moron. What did he do while he was there? Did he sleep? Did he go to class? What was his GPA, considering that you only need a 2.0 to graduate? I mean, geez, no other rich kid in history has ever managed to get into a school for no other reason than it was his dad’s alma mater, and then sleep their way through 4 years of school just so they would have a piece of paper to say “hey, look I’m smart!” Come on. Anyone whose been to college will tell you that you don’t have to be a friggin genius to graduate. All you have to do is show up.

On the same note — there are those rich kids who also happen to be smart who get a thing called a Rhodes sholarship to attend Oxford university in England. Yes, Kerry is a Rhodes scholar. Yes, he’s a piece of shit politician like all the rest, but you can’t be a moron and get a Rhodes scholarship.

68

[quote]derek wrote:
Jeff_with_a_G wrote:

So , you’re saying that no one is government can have a child overseas serving in the military because it’s a risk to national security?

Did I SAY that? Again, I was refering to the Director of the CIA. I did not even come close to making a blanket statement about “no one in government”.

I need to look this up but I’d have to think the Director of the CIA may be an exception.

Note: “Director of the CIA” ONLY. Please do not extend my reply to places it was not intended. It confuses the issue.

[/quote]

That would either imply 1) that the DCI is telling his kid classified information (not good) or 2) that the DCI is the only position in government important enough (besides senators and congressman who get intel briefs every day) who might warrant blackmail or some such thing. Come on man. Gimme a break. The DCI isn’t some kind of magical holder of intel. He’s just at the top of the heap. There are a lot of people in D.C. who know what he knows.
Besides, like I said before, if this was true it would have made the whole “he’s a dodger” argument completely moot. The Repubs would have slammed the Dems with it on day one of the campaign, and they didn’t. That alone tells me you’re wrong.

69

[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
My issue is this…Kerry, at the very least, volunteered to go to Vietnam and actually got shot at.

Keep 'em coming, this is a laugh-riot! Kerry got drafted, but then volunteered for the Navy. He wanted to be on a nice, big, safe aircraft carrier. “Uh, John, guess what? They put you on a Swifty.” A guy at my church was a Swift Boat guy, also a Master Chief, and he hated Kerry with a passion! I’ve never seen this man get so worked up as when you mentioned Kerry to him. He never called him by name, just ‘that sonofabitch’. [/quote]

You trying to tell me that Kerry couldn’t have gotten 5 college deferments like Cheney did? He could have chosen to hide in college by getting two more degrees or some shit, but he didn’t. His choice not to pursue a deferment (which a rich boy like him would have been granted in a heartbeat) means he volunteered. Regardless of which post he wanted, he didn’t use his Daddy to hide him in the Texas Air Guard by jumping him to the head of a line with a 3-year long waiting list. Anyone ever wonder why Bush Senior tried so hard to get him in a unit with such a long waiting list and managed to do so in less than a week? You guys that overlook that bullshit crack me up. That unit was never going to Vietnam and all the rich Daddy’s in Texas knew it.

70

[quote]fahd wrote:
ZEB wrote:
Offensive to foreign people,

Wahahah…thanks for the laugh! :slight_smile:

This is not to piss you off ZEB, but why do you think people who live outside of US love Bush?
[/quote]

Everything that I’ve read says that Bush is the most hated man on the planet. Most foreigners consider him even more dangerous than Kim Jong Il. Go figure.

71

You all are a bunch of “Armchair Presidents”. So quick to criticize when you couldn’t do a better job yourself. Which one of you idiots has got the magical plan to bring about world peace? I’m all ears.

DD

72

[quote]Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
So, let me get this straight. You’re using the fact that a kid from an ultra-rich family, whose dad was a senator and DCI up to that point, and managed to get into his dad’s alma mater, as “proof” that he’s not a moron.[/quote]

No - I am using the fact that he went to Yale - got an degree then went to Harvard and got an MBA from one of the most prestigous business schools in the nation. They don’t hand those out to the highest bidder.

I am also using the fact that he was Governor of Texas - twice, and President of the United States twice.

Is it really that hard for you to admit that he might just have something between his ears? Evidently so - But that is your opinion.

Now - tell me why he is a moron. Is he a moron because he is rich? Is he a moron because he went to prestigous schools? Is he a moron because he lived in West Texas? Is he a moron for any real reason other than the fact that you don’t like him?

My bet is you can come up with nothing concrete that would support you argument. The best you can do is try and excuse away the facts that have p been presented. But that’s about right for a left-winger these days. Good job.

73

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:

We have had 10 straight quarters with GDP growth of at least 3% in each quarter. The last report that came out just this week has us at 4% growth. 210,000 jods were added to the economy last quarter and the national unemployment rate is at 5% - which, if you have taken an economic class, is statistical full employment. Real wages are up - and exceeding personal spending.

So there might be a pretty damn good reason no one is saying that things are bad. It’s a fucking lie.

Now tell me why Bush is a moron.

Ok, i’ll give it a shot. Greenspan , the chairman of the fed, our CHIEF economist, recently said that the budget deficets threaten to seriously hurt the living standards of generations of americans. He’s basically telling Bush that he needs to quit spending so much or tax us up. Why are we spending so much? well milatary spending has shot up dramatically and a guess is that most of it is covered from the Iraq conflict. Think about it, would you in your right mind RJ sell the good living standards of the next generation of americans so some iraqi kids can live in a " democratic " governement , where they were doing OK by all starndards before? Now they will do worse RJ, there is basically no way that Iraq will not keep itself out of a civil war.

Face it RJ , GWB fucked up. And he’s fucking up the lives of Americans.[/quote]

Let’s not forget that the last two times Greenspan has testified before Congress he’s said, in effect, “The economy is growing BUT…”

What comes after the “but” is very important. Greenspan is worried, very worried, because ALL of the growth of the last few years has been due to debt financing. Absolutely all of it. Housing market anyone? And Greenspan knows that growth based on debt financing cannot possibly last for long.

WWII was financed on war bonds, and the entire economy grew at well over 10% for years. Vietnam wasn’t financed on war bonds (someone correct me if I’m wrong), but the defense industry was so overwhelmed by defense orders that they had to ask other private industries to help — which further boosted the natonal economy.

The problem with Iraq is that only a few chosen companies are benefitting — Halliburton and its subsidiaries and a half dozen private defense firms. So, the contracts to supply the military aren’t benefitting the national economy, the contracts to rebuild Iraq are only benefitting a few companies, and the entire war was financed by deficit spending on top of tax cuts. Add all that up and you get a war that, in the long run, is going to drive our economy right into the toilet. My point was that “real” wars (I’m not really sure what to call this one) didn’t just help the economy but boosted the economy through the roof for years.

One last thing. If you truly think that our economy is in “good shape” consider this. Gold went over $500 an ounce yesterday. The last time gold was this high was in the late 70’s and early 80’s when the country was looking at double digit inflation. The guys on the CNBC morning show this week didn’t seem too encouraged by the recent buying of gold. It worries them cuz they know what it means.

74

[quote]Devil0351Dog wrote:
You all are a bunch of “Armchair Presidents”. So quick to criticize when you couldn’t do a better job yourself. Which one of you idiots has got the magical plan to bring about world peace? I’m all ears.

DD[/quote]

No one’s asking G.W. to bring about world peace. Just leave the country a little safer and a little more prosperous than when he started. He started with about 300 billion in surplus now he’s 450 billion in debt. Iraq wasn’t a terrorist haven 3 years ago. Now it is. After 9/11 and Afghanistan there were people in Iran having moments of silence for fallen Americans! Now the entire world hates us and burns our flag in the street. Why? Because Bush couldn’t stay in Afghanistan and keep looking for UBL. He had to have his little war with Iraq.

I was a lowly Sgt 3 years ago sitting in a dark room in Georgia looking at a computer screen. I said then that going into Iraq was a big mistake, that we would be seen as invaders and that the country would eventually dissolve into civil war when American troops finally left. Can I do a better job than him? You watch the news and tell me…

75

[quote]thabigdon24 wrote:
Ok, i’ll give it a shot. Greenspan , the chairman of the fed, our CHIEF economist, recently said that the budget deficets threaten to seriously hurt the living standards of generations of americans. He’s basically telling Bush that he needs to quit spending so much or tax us up. Why are we spending so much? well milatary spending has shot up dramatically and a guess is that most of it is covered from the Iraq conflict. Think about it, would you in your right mind RJ sell the good living standards of the next generation of americans so some iraqi kids can live in a " democratic " governement , where they were doing OK by all starndards before? Now they will do worse RJ, there is basically no way that Iraq will not keep itself out of a civil war. [/quote]

Face it RJ , GWB fucked up. And he’s fucking up the lives of Americans.[/quote]

The original attack was that GWB and the Iraqi war has thrown us into economic disaster. Present tense. Greenspan is looking into his crystal ball, and guessing. He’s done that before. That’s really not what he was hired to do.

I don’t think it’s governmental spending that will cause the problems the Greenspan is warning us about. It is our personal mismanagement of our finances that will do more to destroy the future generations than runaway spending.

I do agree that the government is spending way too much. But no one on the left has the balss to cut anything except intelligence and defense spending. I don’t think it is all on the shoulders of Bush. He certainly doesn’t seem to know how to veto anything, but The War, the 9/11 clean up, Katrina, and Rita have all contributed to our bloated spending.

But I don’t think increased spending proves Bush is a moron. If that were the case - LBJ and FDR would be at the front of that line - way ahead of Bush.

76

I’ve got it. Here’s the proof :

http://www.wimp.com/announcement/

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[quote]derek wrote:
jsbrook wrote:
That’s true. That no doubt is not the policy.

Any facts to back this up? I don’t say this to antagonize. And I wasn’t stating fact when I suggested it… just a thought I had. You however seem to know this is untrue for a fact. Please elaborate with the facts if you will.
[/quote]

No facts. Just common-sense. How could Bush, his advisors, the party possibly not mention that it’s against policy for sons of high officials to go overseas to fight if that’s the case after he received so much criticism for being a draft dodger? They’d have to be criminally stupid. And that’s one thing they’re not. I may not agree with all of this administration’s policies, but they are certainly intelligent and politically savvy.

78

[quote]rainjack wrote:
Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
So, let me get this straight. You’re using the fact that a kid from an ultra-rich family, whose dad was a senator and DCI up to that point, and managed to get into his dad’s alma mater, as “proof” that he’s not a moron.

No - I am using the fact that he went to Yale - got an degree then went to Harvard and got an MBA from one of the most prestigous business schools in the nation. They don’t hand those out to the highest bidder.

I am also using the fact that he was Governor of Texas - twice, and President of the United States twice.

Is it really that hard for you to admit that he might just have something between his ears? Evidently so - But that is your opinion.

Now - tell me why he is a moron. Is he a moron because he is rich? Is he a moron because he went to prestigous schools? Is he a moron because he lived in West Texas? Is he a moron for any real reason other than the fact that you don’t like him?

My bet is you can come up with nothing concrete that would support you argument. The best you can do is try and excuse away the facts that have p been presented. But that’s about right for a left-winger these days. Good job.

[/quote]

Okay. Let’s see. Masters in Business Administration. What did Bush learn in business school? First of all, he took $300,000 of his Dad’s friends’ money (mostly Saudi businessmen) and put it into Arbusto Energy. Drilled nothing but dry holes. At least two more ventures (on other people’s money) that I know of. All went bust. Looks to me like he learned how to piss away other people’s money real well. Go Harvard.

By the way “arbusto” isn’t spanish for “bush” it’s spanish for “shrub.” Could have looked that one up in an english/spanish dictionary but he apparently didn’t have the time. Or maybe you don’t necessarily need to be able to read in order to graduate from Harvard.

Ronald Reagan tried the whole “trickle down” economics theory on top of massive defense spending and ended up handing the next president a huge budget deficit and a nice little recession. So, being the high-speed Business student that Bush is, does he learn from history (and Economics class)? Nope. What does he do less than one year after taking office? Tax cuts and massive defense spending which eats up Clinton’s surplus plus another $400 billion. I guess he was off running someone’s political campaign the day they covered that one in class.

As for Texas. Well, first of all, what made an MBA think for a second that he could reform an entire state’s educational system? We’ll never know, but he really fucked that one up. My wife is a former teacher from San Antonio who informed me of the following: Bush’s educational reforms nearly destroyed the Texas school system. Standardized testing is nothing more than a hoot. The system became mired in corruption as teachers and administrators focused on nothing more than getting their numbers up so they wouldn’t lose their jobs. So many students have to pass in order for a teacher to keep his/her job, and the entire district’s numbers have to stay up so the administrators keep their jobs. The superintendent of Houston made the front page headlines in a massive corruption case that could be traced to (drum roll here) Bush’s new educational standards. Nothing like taking the focus off of students and placing it on people who want to keep their jobs any damn way they can. Nice system. Moral of the story — MBA’s should keep their noses out of education.

If you want more examples please say so. The great thing about G.W. is that he hasn’t kept his incompetence a secret. It’s everywhere you look.

79

RJ : you should be a GWB cheerleader. Yes you are correct that merely spending a lot doesnt make you stupid…but spending a lot on stupid things , that will make it more expensive down the line, and will hurt americans down the line b/c our budget/belt will have to be tight as heck in the future. Educational spending ,environmental, science , milatary , all these nice things that governments do will have to take a cut in the future. How hard is that for you to get?

80

[quote]Jeff_with_a_G wrote:
Let’s not forget that the last two times Greenspan has testified before Congress he’s said, in effect, “The economy is growing BUT…”[/quote]

He always has a but when he testifies.

How is Bush to blame for this? How does the fact that people are in massive personal debt make GWB a moron?

10%? You really want to stick with that number? I’d like to see something to back that up. But even if it is true -0 the econmy grew so fast because we were coming out of the worst depression in the history of our nation.

And if you think for a second that FDR didn’t run up massive deficits to fund his programs - well you are delusional.

Will you lefties ever realize that Haliburton and KBR are the only companies in the nation capable of handling the logistical nightmare over there? We didn’t have private industry do any of the reparaion work in WWII - we used our money and European labor.

I find it comical that you think getting KBR, or Haliburton to handle things is destroying our economy. That is just a fucking crock. You hate Haliburton. You hate Bush. Your logic is so screwed up that you can’t even make a valid piont.

Viet Nam boosted our economy for years? Are you fucking kidding me? Were you alive in the 70’s? How about the early 80’s? You are full of shit if you can divine anything that was booming in the 70’s other than the unemployment rates and interest rates. Remember “WIN” buttons? You are fucking clueless in your hatred, sparky

Gold spikes in times of war and in times of runaway inflation. These are uncertain times - gold should be on the rise. but is still nearly half the value it was 25 - 30 years ago.

The economy is expanding at 4%. Unemployment can’t get much lower. People are making more than they spend for the first time in a long time. Things are good. In fact things are better than they have been in a while And you want to try and tell me that, because Greenspan has concerns, and some dill holes on CNBC are worried about $500 gold, the economy is in the crapper?

Once again - how does this prove Bush is a moron? I think it just proves how much you hate Bush, and how badly you want the country to suffer so that you and the rest of the lefties can feel justified in your hatred.