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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dale Baker who wrote (47363)	1/30/2008 3:36:41 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541992

I don't disagree with what you said. There is no indication that Bush has ever been engaged enough or smart enough. What I questioned was why being a frat boy and a dilettante in one's youth is disqualifying. There have been periods in my life when I was not engaged in the politics of the day. My undergraduate years were four of them. I spent my time studying and socializing. I was pretty much confined to campus. Hardly anyone had cars. I was a cheerleader, yes, a cheerleader, in college and the only time I got off campus was to drive to games. I remember distinctly noticing my first trip to an away game that the car model year had changed and I didn't recognize the cars. The only time I watched TV while in college was when Kennedy was shot. The only time I read a newspaper was when I was taking Poli Sci. Does that somehow disqualify me from public office? I don't think so. What about someone who spent ten years becoming a doctor, perhaps holding a job in the process, or a single mom raising a family, and then in later life gets interested in politics. There are lots of doctors and moms in Congress. And lots of people who make big changes over the years or at mid-life. You don't have to be focused on becoming President consistently from kindergarten to qualify.

To: Dale Baker who wrote (47363)	1/30/2008 3:47:51 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 541992

In the White House, he never showed much genuine interested in working with diverse interests to get things done. In general the "diverse interests" showed little sign of wanting to work with him. When they did (Say "No child left behind"), I often don't like the results much, but he did try to get Democrats behind his policy proposals, and even altered those proposals to get Democratic support (NCLB is an obvious example, but its not unique). Certainly as Texas governor he often worked with Democrats. As for the rest, it might be true to a certain extent, but I don't think politicians in general have tended to be master businessmen or valedictorians, or in general people who hold a very flexible world view and who really make a major effort to understand and respond to the different sides of various issues. There are probably exceptions to each of these statements, but that's the point they are exceptions not the rule, even in high levels of national politics.