When he delivers important speeches, President Bush benefits from being “misunderestimated,” to borrow a malapropism he muttered during his campaign four years ago. His acceptance speech at the Republican Convention in 2000, his inaugural address, his speech to the Joint Session of Congress after the 9/11 terror attacks, and his first two State of the Union addresses all were favorably… return to article
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Reader Comments (14)Page 1 of 1 pagesěThe only thing I have to offer is fear itself”
ěThis pudding has no theme.î
Those were great! Now if only he was offereing pretzels. . .
Posted by Ed Mellon on Feb 2, 2004 at 2:43 PM George W. Bush makes even the worst democrat sound like Demosthenes. Bush is a hole in the air.
Posted by ATS on Feb 2, 2004 at 2:53 PM I should have added:
Leaving us feeling like Diogenes of Sinope.
Posted by ATS on Feb 2, 2004 at 3:06 PM Shrub will probably go on a massive bombing spree in Iraq & Afghanistan right before the election. Anything to keep the rabble stirred up & distracted.
Posted by Paul Berry on Feb 2, 2004 at 9:41 PM Let’s hope David Kusnet is working on a new book, Speaking Southern: How the Democrats Can Win in 2003.
Posted by Carl Wernerhoff on Feb 3, 2004 at 12:35 AM Silly me - I meant to write in 2004! In These Times doesn’t let you edit what you’ve just written after you’ve seen it.
Posted by Carl Wernerhoff on Feb 3, 2004 at 12:36 AM Kusnet did a terrific job on this piece!
My Grandmother was a Churchill, cousin of Winston, and a Texan. She might well have said to shrub, if she were alive today: “This dog won’t hunt!” instead of “This pudding has no theme”, after hearing dubya’s ridiculous non-speech on the State of the Union.
Alan Taylor
Posted by Alan Taylor on Feb 3, 2004 at 10:11 AM What I have noticed is that this administration changes the facts of the story. For instance, when Bush landed on the aircraft carrier, he announched that it was the end of military operations. Later, after realizing that things in Irag were not going according to plan, the administration stated that he meant it “...the end oif military operations for the aircraft carrier”. (I wish I could do that with the IRS).
Posted by Herb Keltsch on Feb 3, 2004 at 12:49 PM Bush is a brainless fool. He lacks the intelligence to be president. He is only there because of his rich family. I hate how the adminstration tries to spin everything. For example, Wolfowitz recently said that the series of suicide bombing were a sign that the coalition was succeeding. How can hundreds of people being killed and injured be considered a success? Get these clowns out of the white house.
Posted by Dick Cheney on Feb 3, 2004 at 3:55 PM Kusnet wrote:
“the challenge is to discuss the real state of the union clearly and convincingly.”
No one in politics will do that, Democrat or Republican. You’d have to be extraordinarily naive to think that anyone in the present, money-infested politics really gives a damn.
The range of issues that the national security state and the corporate elites who control the media proscribes the discussion of all but a few controversial questions - and most of them are storms in the veritable teachup, like whether Bush was a deserter or not. (As if that affects the future!)
The most important issue in the world today is global warming. Who’s talking about that? Which candidate is going to tell the American people that its out of control lifestyle is destroying the planet?
Posted by Carl Wernerhoff on Feb 3, 2004 at 7:27 PM Carl, global warming is an important issue, but its not the most important; especially in America. The war in iraq is the most important issue in the election and in the country today.
On global warming, Carl, I believe you live in Australia, so you don’t know what the weather is on the east coast. It is currently our coldest winter ever, so its tough to convince peopel that global warming is an issue when we’re freezing our ass off.
Oh, I made a mistake. the war is the 2nd biggest issue in the country. The biggest, of course, is Janet Jackson’s boob.
Posted by brad on Feb 4, 2004 at 10:44 AM Did anyone expect President Biush to even attempt to connect his ‘truth’ with the ‘facts’ in the State of the Union speech?
This president will surely be viewed in 100 years as the most despicable liar ever to hold the office.
I am constantly amazed at how he takes facts and truns them into his own version of the ‘truth.’
When he said job were on the rise I almost laughed, except then I remembered the quite a few families I know who are struggling. And they’re not lazy, no-goods either. We’re talking people who had a job for 15 - 20 years in a factory that have sudenly found themselves back in school to hopefully catch a second career.
I don’t hate the president, I just want him out of office. My wallet can’t take another four years of his economy. (My wife and I don’t have children so we don’t get the $500 bribe he throws to the workers with families.)
Posted by chris on Feb 4, 2004 at 2:46 PM That $500 bribe-is actually nothing, as you have to figure in how much insurance has gone up, how little it actually covers, how much gas has gone up, food, clothes, rent, taxes, medicine...that $500 is a joke.
Posted by atlantaelaine on Feb 5, 2004 at 11:44 AM Thanks for the detailed look!
When Fred Barnes pans a
GOP speech, you KNOW W’s
in trouble.
Posted by Roy Frisvold on Feb 14, 2004 at 7:37 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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