Help Jonah Define Bush's Legacy
By Bill W. Monday May 12, 2008 8:30am
(illustration by Tom Tomorrow)
Revisionist wingnut Jonah Golberg, aka Doughy Pantload, is asking for input on what you "think Bush’s legacy will be."
Not kidding. I suspect we may have at least a few readers who wouldn't mind helping him out.
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Absolute catastrophic policies created to inflict revenge on humanity for ills bush has imagined the world has caused him.
His legacy? Even the most incompetent frat boy can bring a nation to its' knees when he picks the most corrupt people to work for him.
Yeah, let's talk about the president who lied about a threat and caused thousands of human deaths as a result.
Or maybe the president who wanted to use the constitution as toilet tissue.
Or the president who strummed a guitar while NOLA was drowning.
And my favorite, the president who was responsible for the torture of human beings.
All these things and more make him the worst and most evil president. Hell of a legacy, george.
Worst president ever sums it up quite nicely I think.
How about Worst President since his direct ancestor Franklin Pierce. Seriously. I didn't know that until a month ago.
Here's my new video, by the way, where I explain why I'm a liberal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F1MlJer_ck
Put him down as the construction engineer for the first two little piggies.
boosh good
Clinton's jelly-beans
Obama eclair
mccain...belch.
Eight of the worst years in this nation's history, led by a lazy, spoiled, rich entitled punk who has spent his entire life getting others to do his work for him. His latest and worst victims are the troops, who he unmercifully pimped into fighting another useless, unnecessary, predicament he started, and of course, can't finish.
"redefining the gold standard for failure"
It's quite simple: Complete and utter failure.
a lazy, spoiled, rich entitled punk who has spent his entire life getting others to do his work for him.
Doesn't that describe the Doughy Pantload as well??
Literal Fascism
Bush's Legacy.....
Nah nah na Nah na.......
By the majority in this country, george bush will be remembered as a war criminal, a domestic criminal, an international criminal, an unrepentant liar, a torturer, a "dry" drunk (or quite possibly "wet" drunk), a former druggie (or quite possibly a user), an AWOL during his own service to the country who gleefully sent thousands of American military personnel to die in a "religious crusade" of christians versus muslims....
All of these, and the many hundreds more negative terms that can be applied to bush's disastrous time in the WH pale however, to his self-chosen role as the "Mission Accomplished President". We are bruised and bleeding as a country, but lucky that he was not completely successful at his mission of destroying the United States of America.
Bush's Legacy......
He is the man that set forth the complete implosion of the Republican Party.
It OK if you are a Republican
Criminal
Hopefully he'll be remembered as the first president to spend his retirement years in prison.
I think Goldberg has the more difficult task. Its easy to point to all of Bush's failures, crimes, rampant cronyism, etc. because they are so numerous. Heck, even a person who only took a vague notice of Bush's entire presidency can point some of them out. Goldberg is going to have to produce some glimmer of positive Bush achievements and that may prove to be impossible even for Goldberg. No one has failed or been so completely corrupt as Bush.
Copy of my letter to Jonah follows:::
Jonah,
Perhaps you should keep FACT's in front of what you write about the Legacy of this President. Such as:
$50 billion -estimated cost of the Iraq war on entering.
$1.2 Trillion - Present estimation as a finality.
$10 Billion - how much money is unaccounted for in Iraq and post Katrina.
45 Billion - How many Americans living without Health Insurance.
5 Billion - How many Americans LOST Health Insurance under George Bush
$3 Trillion - How much the National Debt has risen under George Bush.
24% - How much of our Debt is owed to Foreign Countries.
You might also mention how the loosening the Banking regulations for lending has helped bring about the scandalous crisis in the Lending Industry. A mention of the Lies that were told to keep the drum beat going about WMD's in Iraq also will be something that is known (even if you try to hide the facts from Americans.) and a mention of the failure to take care of our Returning Veterans should have some mention.
Sincerely,
Bangkok-Bob
One word: Neckbeard.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 18:
Hey Bob, ya might wanna check the numbers...45 billion Americans minus insurance? 5 billion lost insurance...seems a little high.
Agent_M @ 1:
I second that.
Legacy? We don wan his steeking legacy, Senor.
He scraped out the soul of america with a spoon.
He murdered a million Iraqis - for starters - based upon lies.
The damage he has done to humanity goes beyond description. He has many accomplices. They can be easily ID'd by the medals on their jackets or the names of their companies.
He is insane, and yet we gave him the keys to the pentagon.
Yes indeed, we get the Change we Deserve.
For some reason the Black Plaque comes to mind.
This is what I emailed Jonah yesterday -
Well, let's see what Bush is leaving behind....
*The war in Iraq - 4000 dead military members (so far), countless Iraqis dead and misplaced - 1000 suicide attempts per MONTH by military members. The most journalists injured/dead covering any/all other conflicts.
*Billions of dollars spent but unaccounted for in Iraq
*The resurgence of the Taliban - because he sent all of our resources to Iraq
*Overstretched military and National Reserve
*Highest rates of PTSD our military has ever seen
*Osama Bin Laden and Mulah Omar - still out there
*Abu Graib
*Clear Skies - clearing the skies of birds
*Relaxed environmental standards
*Underfunded No Child Left Behind so our kids can't actually succeed.
*Abstinence policies that actually had the rate of teen pregnancies RISE (not to mention the spread of STDs)
*HURRICANE KATRINA
*Suspension of Habeas Corpus
*Presidential Signing Statements
*The Bankruptcy Bill of 2005, - S. 256 - a bill that made it harder for people to declare bankruptcy when their debts overwhelmed them, made it harder for struggling people to keep basic assets like a roof over their heads when working out bankruptcy arrangements, and increased the return for credit card companies that were already
making huge profits.
*SKYROCKETING gas/oil prices
*The mortgage and credit-crunch crisis
*Brought crony-ism to a new level
*Putting more money into the pockets of corporations and CEOs than any other president.
*Gutting of the constitution.
*The Protect America Act - removed the warrant requirement for
government surveillance of foreign intelligence targets
*Suspension of the Geneva Convention
*The United States Military Commissions Act of 2006, Pub. L. No.
109-366, 120 Stat. 2600 (Oct. 17, 2006), enacting Chapter 47A of title 10 of the United States Code (as well as amending section 2241 of title 28), is an Act of Congress (Senate Bill 3930[1]) signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006.- This Act changes pre-existing law to forbid explicitly the invocation of the Geneva Conventions when executing the writ of habeas corpus or in other civil actions [Act sec. 5(a)]. This provision applies to all cases pending at the time the Act is enacted, as well as to all such future cases.
I could go on but I think you've got a lot for your talk at this point.
You know your faced with a daunting task if you have to ask a wide audience for help to find any positive achievements for Bush's legacy. I bet Goldberg is even drawing a blank because I know I sure am.
Che's Lounge @ 23:
We didn't, some, including myself fought him every step of the way.
His legacy in three words:
Ass stains everywhere.
-The Political Jerk
How about: The least popular, least prepared, least intellectually curious, least truthful president whom nobody ever said "no" to, including a Democratic led congress who did not have the guts to impeach him on more than one outstanding issue, beginning with torture.
No wonder he thinks of himself as successful. He got away with murder!
His legacy is ongoing and could continue if the next President does not end it and try to reverse it.
A total Waste.
Warpig.
Wrong on everything.
Whacko.
A true Wuss who overcompensates by acting "tough".
Pat J @ 29:
So far he has gotten away with murder...so far.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 32:
And just who is going to charge, indict and prosecute? The DOJ doesn't go after rethugs.
George W. became president/Dick Cheney's pool boy and got another incompetent mama's boy a gig with the Los Angeles Times and (with plenty of money from the usual far right-wingers and a large landfill) a fictional best seller.
You know Bush's legacy is going to be virtually impossible to spin especially since he recently polled as the most disapproved of President in modern history. Not to mention the fact that even the Devil himself had better approval ratings than Bush at one point as I recall.
Bush's legacy? Serial mass-murderer, war criminal, worst criminal in nation's history
(president or otherwise), snatched from Paraguay and forced to stand trial at the Hague for crimes against humanity, imprisoned for life and stripped of all assets.
The only positive thing I can think of regarding his legacy is that he wasn't able to do all the things he wanted to do. Things like privatizing social security
the first president given an honorary PHD degree in brush removal by jerry fallhard's famed church. and the fatbastard himself will do the incantation.
Dr. Acula @ 33:
Maybe things will change after bush is gone. Christ Doc, a man can dream can't he?
Maybe bushco will be dragged to the Hague!
Heh. Yeah, I saw this request last night and banged off a message defining Bush's legacy as one of death and destruction, followed by musings on what has made him happy. I remember Bush being happy when he announced the death of Zarqawi and when he and John McCain were celebrating McCain's birthday in 2005 while New Orleans drowned.
Giving Hitler a run for his money.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 39:
Or maybe he'll be treated like another fascist dictator, after he fell from power.
Bush probably entertains a desire to return to the earth and reincarnate as a "deadly virus" to thin the human population.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 20:
Thanks LH ... I corrected it and sent an apology with the corrections. I appreciate you catching that for me though. Evening like this when I get a few tequilas in me, ..... well, you know.
CEO of the corporation called the "United States of America".
Enriched hundreds of corporations profit margin.
Stole BILLIONS from the worker class useless eaters.
Left the border wide open in the fraudulent war on terror.
Signed into law dictatorial powers.
Left hundreds of thousands dead by invading 2 countries illegally.
Pretty fucked up if you ask me.
The Bush Administration Legacy: The Bush Administration marked the beginning of the end for the American experiment in Democracy, and the decline of American influence in World affairs.
Pre-emptive strike. We all heard this word floating around washington and the media before the Iraq war. Every American. This has been the real crime of the last 7 years, that we Americans did not do enough to question the justification of "pre-emptive strike."
No country (NO COUNTRY!!) has the "right" to attack another because they think it's a threat.
I bring this point up because douglas feith clearly states in his interview with jon stewart that the bush adminstration was taking a new approach to international threats. Jon lets this pass (as if preemtive strike might be justifiable under certain circumstances) and states that the negative consequences weren't "revealed" to the American people enough.
No Jon. Usually I agree with you. But what you fail to nail feith on is the fact that pre-emptive strikes are NOT justifiable under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!
Incompetence is next to Godliness.
Everything Dad did was wrong. Better undo it!
Cheney knows best.
Condi kept me informed about about upcoming events.
I'm rich. You're not. That must suck for you.
History will remember me.
Made the Warren G. Harding fan club feel better about themselves?
I always felt his presidential library should be on one of the low lying islands in the Maldives. Since he thinks global warming is a great hoax, he can get a great price for land that everyone else thinks is going under soon.
If his successor goes after him for crimes, the sight of him doing a perp walk in an orange jumpsuit might raise our standing in world opinion and in the eyes of history. That would be a good legacy. They could give him a job fitting his skills. (No George, we weren't thinking of letting you manage the prison baseball team, we'd actually like you out in the desert sun clearing brush.)
The Worst Eight Years in the History of the Republic.
The Worst Eight Years in the History of the Republic.
"Next time before you vote: Think about who are voting for and vote for the more qualified candidate regardless of which party they are from. Corollary, don't vote for someone who is clearly isn't up to the job - don't say numerous people didn't try to warn you before 2000."*
*Not including people who voted Democrat in 2000 - which I imagine would be most people here.
Actually, all of this animosity is somewhat midirected. The Real Powers that put him in place deserve much more punishment than they will ever get. He really always was just a pathetic puppet, the sad part is the truly Corporate weasels who benefited from breaking up America and selling the pieces will never have to pay.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 42:
Mussolini...Busholini...
Joe Tseng @ 47:
Well Stewart IS Jewish, and Israel is all about pre-emptive strikes...so maybe he didn't want to bring that up, because it might have given Feith ammunition.
biff diggerence @ 50:
What republic?
Dr. Acula @ 53:
Exactly!
44 ♠Bangkok-Bob♠ Says
Shouldn't that be sake?
GW Barnum and PT Barnum
Dream Team
mudshark hussein @ 24:
Try Pepsodent.
liberalHUSSEINmoderation @ 54:
And NO I'm NOT anti-semitic! I loves me some Jewish folk...just not too keen on Israels treatment of the Palestinians. Not too keen at all.
Out of interest. Who:
a) Voted for Gore in 2000: would still have voted for Gore in light of the last 8 years.
b) Voted for Bush in 2000: would now have voted for Gore in light of the last 8 years.
c) Voted for Gore in 2000: would now have voted for Gore in light of the last 8 years.
d) Voted for Bush in 2000: would still have voted for Bush in light of the last 8 years.
e) Voted for Other in 2000: would still have voted Other in light of the last 8 years.
f) Voted for Other in 2000: would now have voted for Gore in light of the last 8 years.
g) Voted for Other in 2000: would now have voted for Bush in light of the last 8 years.
I can sort of guess the results of a poll like this here. Maybe in theory the results would be more telling from a website like that freeperville one we all know of but I accidently ended up there from a google link yesterday and too many of them are still clearly nuts.
Just out of interest, does anyone have a rough idea what percentage of people who voted for Bush in 2000 now would have voted for Gore given what the last 8 years have been like?
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 44:
Anytime Bob, I completely understand. I thought I made a mistake once, but I was wrong.
;)
Sorry, c) should have read:
c) Voted for Gore in 2000: would now have voted for Bush in light of the last 8 years.
Hand of Freud?
Or just my brain trying to stop me from posing a ridiculous question?
Shan @ 61:
ZER0 %
I'm sure doughy pantload thinks boosh's legacy is showing how everything is the Democrats fault.
ysbaddaden @ 57:
Here (I'm presently in Luang Prabang getting my VISA stamped) one of the local drinks is Mekong Whiskey, but the stuff comes with a killer headache.
Dead people
Shan @ 63:
Yep.
What still manages to amaze me is that there still are people who come to his defense! I mean, just what is it that he has to do to turn off some of these morons? Just what crime is left that he can stoop to that they will at least come out and admit, okay, he has reached a level that even I cannot defend. He has outed a CIA operative, declared war on false premises, subverted the Constitution, damaged relations all over the world, the list is endless. If he was caught in the act kicking a puppy in the nude while dancing with Andrew Sullivan and spitting on the cross for laughs would that even do it?
Bush Legacy.
"Can you believe I actually got away with all this stuff"
Bush- First U.S. president to actually be hated by people who weren't alive when he was in office.
legacy: History's jackass, Cheney's stooge, and Eternal punchline.
Pat J @ 69:
If you don't have it on video, did it happen?
The main missing ingredient in America ...... OUTRAGE !! Where is it?
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 74:
What, you can't tell that I'm outraged? Can't you hear me yelling at my TV?
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 74:
Directed at Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, whenever a favorite gets voted off.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 74:
Huh?
Anyone still making a list:
Please put Katrina at the top.
I know Iraq is worse,
but Katrina exemplifies this mis-fit's total incompetence.
Here are a few of my suggestions, which I'm going to send to Jonah by way of helping him out:
1. Bush set a new standard for fear-mongering, secrecy, lies, deceit and corruption over any previous administration
2. Took the most vacations of any President
3. When Bush took office, gasoline was $1.39 a gallon, now it's $3.50
4. In January 2001, the personal savings rate was +2.3%, now it's -0.5% [Ibid]
5. Median household incomes in January 2001 were $49,163, a $6,000 increase in 8 years. Today the median income is $48,023, a $1,100 decrease in 6 years. [Ibid]
6. In January 2001, the number of Americans in poverty was 31.6 million, today it's 36.5 million. [ibid]
7. In January 2001, 38 million people were uninsured, today it's 47 million. [ibid]
8. Military combat readiness: In January 2001, all units were combat ready. Today none of them are. [ibid]
9. Sanctioning of torture
10. Increased hatred of the US around the world, but especially in Muslim and Arab countries
11. Weakening the separation of church and state
12. Massive tax cuts leading to unprecedented deficits during war time
13. Preemptive wars against non-aggressive nations, who never attacked us
14. Spying on Americans
15. Increase in terrorist attacks worldwide since 9/11
16. Neglect of poverty in the US and abroad
17. Shifting the tax burden from wealthy corporations, such as the oil companies making record profits, and wealthy individuals to wage earners
18. An inarticulate president who doesn't read promoting anti-intellectualism
Here's mine:
Hi Jonah. I love your article. I'm sorry you mismarked your calendar and are rushing to put together your piece. I hope my notes will jog your memory.
Bush's legacy:
1. First president in almost 16 years NOT to be involved in a sex scandal while in the White House. (that's a good one!)
2. First president since Truman to attack TWO countries simulaneously (who cares about the reasons...really) and smash them to pieces to have democracies emerge (unless the Dems mess it up in January 09')
3. A booming economy that, even when it went bellyup, the people that mattered (corporations and upper middle class) still made tons of money.
4. Raised two kids that turned out to be NOT GAY (even though his VP can't say the same)
5. Increased executive priviledge and power for the oval office so that future presidents (may they all be Republican) can get around do-nothing or (worse) Democratic Congresses.
6. Put in a solid conservative majority on the Supreme Court so that at least the activist judges will be on our side.
7. Put the world on notice that if you have WMDs, you need to either get rid of them (or at least move them to another country) or we will be knocking on your door.
I guess if I had to point out his shortcomings they would be....failed to make any movement on abortion, couldn't ram a social security fix down Teddy K's throat, and let Iran off the hook (on this date, at least). I guess, chief to that, was that the Republicans in Congress didn't hold up their end...otherwise the second term...well, the sky was the limit. Now we're left praying that McCain gets in, who btw is no George Bush. Now that was a man!
ysbaddaden @ 76:
I'm saving my outrage...if/when Booshy declares martial law, if, (and I don't think he's got a snowballs chance in hades) McBain wins...then my outrage will rise, quite rapidly, to the surface. I don't think I'm the only one.
earl @ 78:
Gutted FEMA, then played guitar as a US city drowned.
Ok, so why is he called doughy pantload? He looks doughy. Pantload? Is this saying he's a poopypants?
Brought pinhead fascists like Jonah Goldberg to the MSM, which does two things: de-legitimizes the MSM and pumps that nitwit full of the idea that he may be smarter than a slug.
Lilybelle @ 83:
Poopypants...heheheheheheee!
81 liberalHUSSEINmoderation
I put it as a snowballs chance in Texas.
Does Frosty the Snowman have snowballs?
George W Bush is a genius! Where Jefferson Davis, Kaiser Wilhelm III, Hitler, Tojo, Stalin, Kruschev failed - George W Bush has succeeded! Our America is under the command of a dictatorial cartel of corporate CEOs, it's Constitution is in shreds and there hasn't been a free election in a decade. The rule of law has been replaced by the rule of money and the ideology of American Corporate Global Hegemony. The Corporate Media blathers Republican propaganda and banal gossip 24/7. Habeas Corpus was the rule of law for 800 years until the Bush Government and their "Democratic" collaborationists killed it. A miserable failure?!! This autumn will see another staged election in which the Supreme "Court" has already decided John McCain is the winner via it's recent ruling on restrictive voting requirements. George W Bush will be remembered as the greatest American President as soon as the corporations crank out the textbooks that proclaim this as fact. It will take more than another faked election to put an end to this obscenity.
ysbaddaden @ 86:
and he's got a big carrot too.
Think about it: does he really have to go away? Can't we just keep him like forever? And I was just beginning to appreciate that terrific sense of humor. Those eyes that were getting closer together. His remarkable ability to shake those bony shoulders when he laughed. Those thrilling, uplifting, inspiring speeches! That jaunty walk exuding c.o.f.i.d.e. n.c.e. That secret smile that said so much. Those cute little dance steps. His strut when getting off the helicopter and managing to not get his head sheared off. Oh the memories!
His legacy? No politician will EVER call himself a "Bush Republican"!
My contribution to Mr. Goldberg:
To quote the Bard: "Shame, and eternal shame, nothing but shame!"
this is what i wrote -
I am not trying to be negative, just honest.
Undoubtedly it will be the illegal war in Iraq. Maybe the towering deficit our grandchildren will pay? Or Hurricane Katrina's aftermath? The gross constitutional violations, and the stripping of our vital civil liberties. His ultra conservative supreme court nominees might be on that list too. Our bankrupt economy, and the bankrupt concept of conservativism. The smearing of the republican name. The most unpopular president in history. That is his legacy, it is what people who loved him and hated him will remember him for, decades from now. None of his positives come close to balancing the gigantic negatives that you and I and the whole world will suffer for, for gene