shrub's attitude..a BIG reason to vote against him:
Attitude: The Man Without Doubt: George Bush
Almost a thousand American troops have died, and No WMD have been found in Iraq; but President Bush still has "no doubt" that his war was a good idea. Sometimes doubt is a good thing.
Consider these statements made by the Bush Administration:
--"Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."-- President George W. Bush, 3/6/03
--"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."-- Dick Cheney, Speech to VFW National Convention, 8/26/02 Intervention Thursday August 26, 2004
Attitude: Card says president sees America as a child needing a parent
NEW YORK -- White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said yesterday that President Bush views America as a ''10-year-old child" in need of the sort of protection provided by a parent.
Card's remark, criticized later by Democrat John F. Kerry's campaign as ''condescending," came in a speech to Republican delegates from Maine and Massachusetts that was threaded with references to Bush's role as protector of the country. Republicans have sounded that theme repeatedly at the GOP convention as they discuss the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq.
''It struck me as I was speaking to people in Bangor, Maine, that this president sees America as we think about a 10-year-old child," Card said. ''I know as a parent I would sacrifice all for my children."
The comment underscored an argument put forth some by political pundits, such as MSNBC talk-show host Chris Matthews, that the Republican Party has cast itself as the ''daddy party." Boston Globe Tuesday September 07, 2004
Attitude: The Character Question
People remember embarrassing phrases from the last Bush campaign: The promise to be "a uniter, not a divider," which presaged the most polarizing presidency of recent times; the promise to conduct a "humble" foreign policy. But if you read George W. Bush's convention speech of four years ago, it's amazing how honestly it heralds the hair-raising radicalism that followed. It's full of macho lines about bold action and seizing the moment and appointments with greatness. And the central rhetorical device in the first part of the speech is a refrain:
"This administration had its moment; they had their chance; they have not led. We will," Bush declared repeatedly.
He wasn't kidding. Washington Post Monday August 30, 2004
Attitude: Bush's "bullying drumbeat"
Angered by what she views as the Bush administration's bullying drumbeat, Thomas referred early and often to her own hatred of war, quoting from poets and politicians to bear down on President Bush and his colleagues. Helen Thomas, speech Wednesday November 06, 2002
Attitude: Bush's promise of "humble" foreign policy becomes preemptive war
Dangerous days lie ahead, thanks to Mr. Bush and his new strategic doctrine of global preventive war. Things were supposed to be different. Does anyone remember that day ages ago when then-candidate Bush promised a "humble" foreign policy? I guess to Orwell's "War is Peace" and "Freedom is Slavery" we may now add Bush's "Arrogance is Humility." The Future of Freedom Foundation Wednesday December 04, 2002
Attitude: Bush and Rumsfeld arrogantly refuse to provide WMD evidence
This has not stopped our national misleaders from insisting that they are our ticket to security. But for that assertion there has been as little evidence offered as there has been for the claims that Saddam Hussein is a threat to Americans or that he had anything to do with al-Qaeda. "We don't need no stinkin' evidence" is the attitude that oozes from President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Future of Freedom Foundation Wednesday December 04, 2002
Attitude: Bush squanders 9/11 sympathy with arrogant behavior
After the 9/11 attacks, the United States enjoyed an enormous wellspring of sympathy from people around the world. Bush has squandered this support by projecting an unfortunately all-too -typically arrogant attitude toward the world. Seattle Post Intelligencer Saturday December 07, 2002
Attitude: Bush ignored NASA warnings about shuttle dangers
Given this arrogant, we-know-it-all attitude, there was no reason, then, for Bush and his subordinates to listen to the technical experts who warned early last year (1), and even as recently as last August (2) about the disaster-in-the-making for the Space Shuttle and its crews unless certain procedures and processes were fixed. These NASA experts were ignored by Bush and his advisors, and removed from their positions. The Crisis Papers Thursday February 06, 2003
Attitude: Bush and Cheney try to stop 9/11 investigation
You do remember that both Bush and Cheney quietly asked the then-leaders of the House and Senate, Gephardt and Daschle, not to investigate the pre-9/11 period for reasons of national security. Perhaps one of the things they'd like to keep hidden was the fact that they were warned by the outgoing Clinton Administration specifically about the enormous dangers posed by Osama bin Laden/Al Qaida, but, in their arrogance, the incoming Bush Administration decided not to pay any attention to those warnings; instead, they said they were going to set up their own commission to look into terrorism, with Dick Cheney as head. Cheney -- too busy putting together an energy policy with Kenneth Lay's Enron and the other energy companies -- did nothing and the promised report on terrorism never materialized. The Crisis Papers Thursday February 06, 2003
Attitude: Bush exhibits "perils of hubris"
As Richard Helms, the CIA director for much of the Vietnam War, said in 1981, "We were dealing with a complicated cultural and ethnic problem which we never came to understand. In other words, it was our ignorance or innocence, if you will, which led us to misassess, not comprehend, and make a lot of wrong decisions, which one way or another helped to affect the outcome." This time out, the nation is more fortunate: the perils of hubris have become evident within days of the first attack. The Nation Monday March 31, 2003
Attitude: Bush exhibits "unfathomable hypocrisy"
This is an eerie moment in American political history. George W. Bush was defeated in the popular vote by his more liberal opponent but rules from the most extreme wing of his party. He campaigned as a fiscal conservative but has pushed tax cuts that will create a deficit larger than any in US history. As a candidate, he articulated the need for a humble foreign policy but now conducts it with a degree of hubris that makes Lyndon Johnson look like the Dalai Lama. His hypocrisy, in other words, is so great as to be almost unfathomable, and yet he has somehow managed to convince the media to admire him for his moral clarity. The Nation Thursday April 17, 2003
Attitude: Bush lacks vision, focuses on "evil"
George W. Bush, who has a problem with the vision thing that causes his father's confusion over the matter to pale in comparison, is the man of these people. They didn't mind his inability to name the leaders of foreign countries when he was put into office, and now they don't mind the way he whips up frenzies through an incessant talk of evil. Liberal Slant Thursday July 17, 2003
Attitude: Administration has "bullyboy" attitude
But it's a larger issue, and here's where the Bush people are so vulnerable. Given that their bullyboy, in-your-face attitude had worked so well, in their hubris they really thought they could do and say anything and get away with it forever. So they told all sorts of whoppers about why Iraq supposedly was an 'imminent' danger to the U.S., and grossly manipulated non-existent facts to generate pro-war hysteria in time to meet the go-date for the bombing and invasion - which, of course, had been set a half-year before. All of that was so blatant and obvious, it was no wonder millions of protesters took to the streets, and the European leaders and the U.N. would have nothing to do with the Bush Administration and even shouted at them in public. Democratic Underground Friday July 25, 2003
Attitude: Arrogrance leads to fantastic predictions for Arab world
The Bush administration will now attempt to refashion Iraq as a U.S. ally in the Arab world, democratic and globalized, friendly to Israel, dotted with U.S. bases, open to foreign ideas, institutions, and missionary efforts. But the neocons' Achilles heel is arrogance. Counter Punch Saturday July 26, 2003
Attitude: Bush shifts blame for bad intelligence
So does GB2 step up to the plate and take responsibility for his deceptions, hubris, and Oedipal obsessions? No, he pins it on the CIA. It was George Tenet?s fault, who is obligated to publicly apologize. Liberal Slant Friday July 25, 2003
Attitude: Bush uses "faith-based" intelligence to support preconceived notions
Greg Thielmann, who worked until last fall as a proliferation expert in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, explains, This administration has had a faith-based intelligence Attitude: 'We know the answers, give us the intelligence to support those answers. Counter Punch Saturday July 26, 2003
Attitude: Hubris leads Bush to "nation building"
The faction that focuses on foreign policy has four core principles: Preserve U.S. sovereignty and freedom of action by marginalizing the United Nations. Reserve military interventions for reasons of U.S. national security, not altruism. Avoid peacekeeping operations that compromise the military's war-fighting proficiencies. Beware of the political hubris inherent in the intensely unconservative project of nation-building. Seattle Post Intelligencer Sunday July 27, 2003
Attitude: Oval office lacks humility, practices hubris and deceit
Perhaps the administration's parlay of hubris and deceit can be made right. These are still early days. George W. Bush said before his election that as the world's sole superpower, the United States should be willing to show some humility in international affairs. It was a good point, and this is a good time for it. And the Oval Office would be a good place to start. The Charlotte Observer Friday August 01, 2003
Attitude: Bush characterizes German anti-war behavior as undemocratic
The Americans have been furious with the Germans since last autumn's general election campaign when Gerhard Schroeder adopted a rather critical attitude towards Bush's policy on Iraq. Schroeder was well behind in the polls until he emphasised that Germany would not cooperate with the Americans in attacking Iraq. This struck a chord in the German people, because the campaign turned around and Schroeder's coalition won re-election. Yet this is depicted in Washington as undemocratic, which says more about the Bush administration than anyone else. Irish Examiner Saturday October 04, 2003
Attitude: Bush's "stupid and arrogant" behavior raise questions about ability to wage war
Through a combination of sheer stupidity and contemptible arrogance, the Bush administration has been making a mess of the public relations battle, which raises the most serious questions about its competence to wage a war. Irish Examiner Saturday October 04, 2003
Attitude: Bush insists on getting his way, even if democracy suffers
Now we should be asking if George W Bush understands democracy, not just because of his attitude towards the Germans, but also after what happened during the election count in Florida when he showed little concern for due process. He wanted his way regardless of the democratic implications. Irish Examiner Saturday October 04, 2003
Attitude: Hubris leads Bush to use out of date intelligence to justify war
It is an act of extreme hubris for this administration to repeatedly justify its invasion of Iraq by citing Iraq's attacks on Iran decades ago and its use of banned weapons in that war. Those old charges won't suffice for a world demanding hard and more recent evidence supporting the need for a preemptive attack. Daily Times Sunday October 05, 2003
Attitude: Bush equates pacifism with "doing nothing"
Pacifism does not have to translate into just doing nothing. Either-or-thinking, such as Either we attack or we do nothing, is just lazy, selfish and dangerously limited. Emma Goldman once said, It takes less mental effort to condemn than to think. The world and human beings are a lot more complicated than the 0 or 1 parameters we feel so comfortable imposing. psst! Sunday October 05, 2003
Attitude: Bush fails to recognize middle ground, resorts to either-or thinking
Either you're with us or against us.--George W. Bush America--Love It or Leave It.--bumper sticker common in the 1960's. The two statements above are examples of Aristotelian or two-valued logic, also known as either-or logic: i.e., left/right, war/peace, evil/good. Either you're with US or against US. Love US or leave US. The flaw in this system should be obvious: it recognizes no middle term, no grey area. What of those citizens who are neither for nor against? Andrew Williams Sunday October 05, 2003
Attitude: One Reason Not to Like Bush
This is not a policy disagreement. Or rather, it is not only a policy disagreement. If the president is not a complete moron -- and he probably is not -- he is a hardened cynic, staging moral anguish he does not feel, pandering to people he cannot possibly agree with and sacrificing the future of many American citizens for short-term political advantage. Is that a good enough reason to dislike him personally? Washington Post Friday October 24, 2003
Attitude: A Willful Ignorance
According to The New York Times, President Bush was genuinely surprised to learn from moderate Islamic leaders that they had become deeply distrustful of American intentions. The report on the "perception gap" suggests that the leader of the war on terror has no idea how badly that war -- which must, ultimately, be a war for hearts and minds -- is going. Mr. Bush's ignorance may reflect his lack of curiosity: "The best way to get the news," he says, "is from objective sources. And the most objective sources I have are people on my staff." Two words: emperor, clothes. NY Times Tuesday October 28, 2003
Attitude: American hypocrisy on democracy
With bombs going off in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and skirmishes raging in Afghanistan, George W. Bush is championing democracy for Muslims as an antidote to terrorism. But, as usual, he tells only half the truth. Toronto Star Thursday November 13, 2003
Attitude: Mourning in America
It is wrong, both morally and for the good of his political future, for the president to keep skipping funerals for fund-raisers. NY Times Wednesday November 19, 2003
Attitude: Bush's ugly cynicism
George W. Bush will deliver his State of the Union address this evening and, no doubt, he will talk about how he wants to unite America and Americans. But the president's comments should be viewed in the context of his recent actions. Last Thursday, while on a fund-raising trip to Atlanta, Bush inserted himself into the celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In doing so, the president upset the schedule of planned local events, but he got what he wanted: an opportunity to be photographed placing a wreath on the grave of the slain civil rights leader. Capital Times Tuesday January 20, 2004
Attitude: Bush jokes about search for WMD, but it's no laughing matter
President George Bush sparked a political firestorm yesterday after making what many judged a tasteless and ill-judged joke about the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Mr Bush made the joke at a black-tie event for radio and television journalists in Washington on Wednesday night. He narrated a slide show, described as the White House election year album, making hay of the administration's reputation for secrecy and strained relations with European allies. But it was the joke about the war in Iraq that drew attacks. Guardian Friday March 26, 2004
Attitude: Bush fails to see that all our lives are interrelated
President Bush did an excellent job in rallying the country against the perpetrators of the September 11 atrocities but we must not forget that all our lives are interrelated, that we are all citizens of this planet, that we need a new way of thinking different from 'linear thinking,' and that humanity comes first. Mario deSantis Tuesday September 25, 2001
Attitude: Bush threatens and bullies Europe over ICC
After months of threats and bullying, the Bush administration has apparently backed down in its confrontation with Western Europe over the newly formed International Criminal Court (ICC). World Socialist Web Site Saturday July 13, 2002
Attitude: US's bullying attitude abroad may have "distrous consequences"
Now, having said that, we must point out that the institutions in this country -- the Constitution, the courts, the legislative bodies, civil liberties, the Bill of Rights, the press, etc. -- are in as much danger as they've ever been in. And the U.S.'s bullying attitude abroad may well lead to disastrous consequences for America down the line. Counter Punch Saturday June 01, 2002
Attitude: Arrogance of power leads to assaults on critical thinking and dissent
They are clear that Washington's arrogance of power and reckless global war is leading to assaults on critical thinking and democratic dissent. American Friends Service Committee Sunday April 14, 2002
Attitude: Bush seeks global domination through nuclear arsenals
Stephen Hadley, one of Condolezzia Rice's senior deputies reports that, not unlike the elder Bush's New World Order, this Bush Administration seeks a whole new world, U.S. global domination based ultimately on its nuclear and high-tech arsenals. American Friends Service Committee Sunday April 14, 2002
Attitude: Arrogance, big-time
TO TAKE the measure of a man's character, so the saying goes, apply a little pressure. Anyone can behave well when life is easy. The true test comes when the going gets tough.
So, while the X-rated insult Vice President Dick Cheney hurled Tuesday at Vermont Democrat Patrick J. Leahy might be forgiven by the senator as the product of a "bad day," it fits so well into a broader pattern of arrogance as to be indicative of the inner life of the man who plays an enormous role in running this country. Baltimore Sun Sunday June 27, 2004
Attitude: To Err Is Human, to Flip-Flop Divine
NEW YORK -- President Bush is working hard to convince the American people that John F. Kerry has a fatal flaw: He changes his mind. Or, in the current political lexicon, he "flip-flops." But isn't a willingness to change course -- even to admit error -- an asset in a leader?
Throughout U.S. history, important decisions, some of monumental proportions, came about because presidents changed their minds. In his first political statement, in March 1832, the 23-year-old Abraham Lincoln said, "Upon the subjects of which I have treated, I have spoken as I thought. So soon as I discover my opinions to be erroneous, I shall be ready to renounce them." LA Times Tuesday July 06, 2004
Attitude: The 'don't blame me' president
THE IDEA that an administration would conveniently direct the finger of blame at one of its agencies with respect to matters so important as war and peace is manifestly immoral.
When Harry Truman was faced with miscalculations regarding the Korean conflict, his attitude was: "The buck stops here." And when John Kennedy was faced with the Bay of Pigs fiasco, he took full and unqualified blame. These men lived with the aftermath of their mistakes and blamed them on no one else.
George Bush must assume responsibility for the intelligence failures and all other mistakes made on his watch. And he must do so without qualification. That is what honorable men do. If they cannot or will not, they are not worthy of the offices they hold. Boston Globe Thursday July 15, 2004
Attitude: Not-so-Curious George (Bush)
President Bush claimed in an interview a while back that he does not read newspapers. His wife, Laura, later told a reporter that the president was fudging and that, in fact, he did actually peruse the press.
In matters involving the Bush family, it is generally wise to take Laura's word. And we were inclined to do so - until the president's latest pronouncement about the benefits that have supposedly come America's way as a result of occupying Iraq.
The man, who more than a year ago declared that the heavy lifting in Iraq was done, only to discover that the fight had barely started, is now back with another over-the-top pronouncement. "Today," Bush said last week, "because America has acted and because America has led, the forces of terror and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer."
By any measure, the president is wrong. Capital Times Monday July 19, 2004
Attitude: Path of Arrogance in Iraq
An independent panel that included two former secretaries of Defense and a separate investigating team led by two Army generals heaped yet more withering criticism this week on the Pentagon's handling of Iraq after the invasion. The findings dealt with the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, but they should be read as condemning more than just the sickening scenes of torture documented in widely seen photographs.
The independent team rejected the Bush administration's claim that the Abu Ghraib mistreatment was the work of a few rogue soldiers. The number of military police and military intelligence specialists who will be charged with criminal wrongdoing may be limited, but the panel traced some of the blame all the way to the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
The arrogant "we know best" attitude of the Pentagon's civilian leadership demands condemnation. The halfhearted acceptance of responsibility that Rumsfeld offered in his testimony in May before the Senate and House armed services committees doesn't let him off the hook for failing to provide consistent guidelines on the treatment of prisoners. LA Times Friday August 27, 2004 |
