Decius wrote:

] Ted Rall is a crackpot. He is entertaining but he is not a
] reasonable source of information.

I didn't read the article, so I have no comments on it. But I do have comments on W1ld's initial comment and the jist of the article, that being that Bush is acting contrary to typical GOP values.

] My issues with Bush:
] 1. He is not a very inspiring leader. They should have run
] Powell, but I guess that would appear "radical" because there
] are still too many racists in this country.

McCain would've been a better candidate, IMHO. He had a much better resume, and actually could articulate himself without embarassment. Powell is very strong with affairs of diplomacy, but has very little experience in terms of operational experience within the state. Bush got picked because he could raise money. Period. But this is a scary trend for the GOP. They could've put Dole over Clinton had they let Dole act like himself before the election. The GOP is too distracted with trying to appease the far right in order to get anything useful done.

Ironically, most of the dems that are getting elected in congress, the senate, and in state g'ment, are GOP leaning. Cooper and Bredesen notwithstanding locally.

] 2. Iraq is a cop out. I, for one, am prepared to handle the
] fact that dealing with Al'Q is not simple, and I don't need
] the US to beat Iraq over the head to know that Americans are
] fearsome enemies and that they are doing something about the
] problem. I'd rather he be straight forward about this. The
] ruse is too thin.

It's a sin, not just a cop out.

It's motivated by all the wrong things. It has very little to do with terrorism, proliferation of WoMD, or militant fundementalism and more to do with oil investment, appeasing the Israelis, giving the military something to do with all their new found budget, and settling a score for 'Daddy'. It's unconciounable. If it was truly about the former things, then we'd be bombing the Saudi's.

I predict the UN inspectors won't find jack shit, but we'll still bomb Saddam anyways.

] 3. The economy is fucked. What it NEEDS is a carrot. People
] need to beleive that things are moving somewhere. They need to
] be inspired to work hard. Bush is not offering a carrot. I
] want to see long term planning on what is going to happen in
] the next ten years economically, of the sort the Dems were
] busting out in the early 90's. If it exists, I don't know
] where it is. I don't think it does. Bush doesn't seem to be
] doing anything at all on this front.

I disagree here sorta. The economy is not fucked. The economy is doing fine. Productivity is WAY up. Growth is a healthy 3%. Considering that growth was at 7% in 1999, and that half of that was probably froth from the dot com explosion and Y2K spending, 3% is about where we should be. The problem is that EARNINGS are not up, and so the stock market is FUCKED. The stock market =! the economy. This is what is creating the problem. People (and really, companies) are hoarding because of uncertainty. With 24hour news networks focusing on nothing but layoffs and bad news and imminent 'war', there's nothing positive to focus on. The fact is, there are companies and industries that are growing. There are immense positives in the economy. But the collective view is that we're in a recession and hoard all your money. Here's where I do agree with you: Bush needs to push out the message that things are getting back to normal. And more importantly, normal is more like 1994 and not 1999.

] 4. I don't like watching personal liberties/checks and
] balances falling like dominoes. I don't think this is Bush as
] much as its the federal beaurocracy taking advantage of the
] opportunity to expand itself, but he certainly isn't helping
] matters.

This is what concerns me the most. And this is where I agree with you that it's not so much Bush as his cabinet and appointees grabbing power. But it IS his responsibility, and he is such a fucking wet noodle that everything is quickly spiraling out of control. My whole issue is that he isn't leading anything. He is just a figurehead for the cabinet members and other party interests that are now controlling the g'ment. This is very concerning due to the fact that the GOP has some very devilish influences.

We are now at the point where it's going to take another 4 year term from somebody just to dismantle all of this bullshit. We (our generation) are going to be left the task of fixing what's left instead of building on a strong foundation. I don't look forward to the future in terms of way of life.

RE: GEORGE W. BUSH, LIBERAL