Friday, July 29, 2005
Insomnia post (liberal partisan edition)
OK, those among us who hate party-line conservative hacks, a couple of my regular political blogs linked to this doozy of a principled promotion for Bushism from noneother than Powerline :
It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.
It just hurts so much reading that, doesn't it? It's not just a partisan rah-rah "Our leader is good, our leader is great!" that Powerline is doing, that could be expected in different forms from both sides. Nope, this is the President who can't complete sentences not written for him, this is the President who cannot articulate a substantive policy proposal, off-the-kuff, without using the most simple and intelligence-insulting language unfitting for the principle statesmen for our country. Yeah, that guy, who us Democrats dare criticize, is a misunderstood Michaelango of Presidents, whose brilliance, no wait... "GENUIS" we could just see if we simply abandoned our liberal ways and became Bush supporters, open-minded and principled souls that they are.
Give me a break. And I actually read the post that the quote was from for context. Some interesting, factual information on Bush's alternative proposal to curb global warming. There was no need to bookend the post with words reserved for artists or Medeival kings, other than to fan Powerline's self-delusion that this President is a better human and person than any of us. There is a 110% certainty that Bush did not come up with that global warming plan all by himself, secluding himself in his private study at Crawford until he came up with the perfect way to curb greenhouse gasses. His genuis probably consisted of an advisor telling him this would be a good idea to look into and him giving the thumbs up on it before going back to pressing matters, like how he's going to manage any executive discipline when Karl Rove and other top advisers are sent to prison (getting ahead of myself here).
Believe or not, there are conservatives, bloggers even, that can honestly present policy proposals and defend them intelligently. Some of them might even be considered brilliant. Unless you want to deny your eyes and ears, President Bush isn't one of them. The lockstep belief of the cult of Bush that their leader is more than he seems is incredible.
And for an encore, he's what funny blogger Tbogg said about the above quote:
C'mon. If you said that in front of Laura Bush at lunch she would probably shoot milk out of her nose.
It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can't get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.
It just hurts so much reading that, doesn't it? It's not just a partisan rah-rah "Our leader is good, our leader is great!" that Powerline is doing, that could be expected in different forms from both sides. Nope, this is the President who can't complete sentences not written for him, this is the President who cannot articulate a substantive policy proposal, off-the-kuff, without using the most simple and intelligence-insulting language unfitting for the principle statesmen for our country. Yeah, that guy, who us Democrats dare criticize, is a misunderstood Michaelango of Presidents, whose brilliance, no wait... "GENUIS" we could just see if we simply abandoned our liberal ways and became Bush supporters, open-minded and principled souls that they are.
Give me a break. And I actually read the post that the quote was from for context. Some interesting, factual information on Bush's alternative proposal to curb global warming. There was no need to bookend the post with words reserved for artists or Medeival kings, other than to fan Powerline's self-delusion that this President is a better human and person than any of us. There is a 110% certainty that Bush did not come up with that global warming plan all by himself, secluding himself in his private study at Crawford until he came up with the perfect way to curb greenhouse gasses. His genuis probably consisted of an advisor telling him this would be a good idea to look into and him giving the thumbs up on it before going back to pressing matters, like how he's going to manage any executive discipline when Karl Rove and other top advisers are sent to prison (getting ahead of myself here).
Believe or not, there are conservatives, bloggers even, that can honestly present policy proposals and defend them intelligently. Some of them might even be considered brilliant. Unless you want to deny your eyes and ears, President Bush isn't one of them. The lockstep belief of the cult of Bush that their leader is more than he seems is incredible.
And for an encore, he's what funny blogger Tbogg said about the above quote:
C'mon. If you said that in front of Laura Bush at lunch she would probably shoot milk out of her nose.
Comments:
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I don't want to sound overly simplistic, but, by definition, I think U.S. presidents have to be at least political geniuses.
I would say that the President gives a majority of people what they want. I think it's well established that people do not know what's good for them.
The genius of Bush lies in his ability to make his agenda seem beneficial to the average American. This average American doesn't know enough about running the country to say what's good, so this patriotic simpleton elects whomever seems most presidential. The trouble the democrats have is that they do not communicate with the average American.
I would say that the President gives a majority of people what they want. I think it's well established that people do not know what's good for them.
The genius of Bush lies in his ability to make his agenda seem beneficial to the average American. This average American doesn't know enough about running the country to say what's good, so this patriotic simpleton elects whomever seems most presidential. The trouble the democrats have is that they do not communicate with the average American.
# posted by 
: 10:35 AM
: 10:35 AM
Hey Mark:
Thanks for your comment. I occasionally ponder responding to your old comment regarding the effectiveness of Bush's war on terrorism (whoops "war on violent extremism" now, and we were always at war with Eurasia too!), but I got tied up and there were a lot of things to address in your response, which will likely come out in another post regarding the next terrorist attack outside the Middle East. The worldly America-haters sure do like to travel, huh? Given that we are fighting them there so they can't attack us here, they must do a little insurgency in Najaf then hop the next place to start an Al-Queada cell in London, then hop right back for a massacre at a Iraqi army recruiting station. Not to be hostile, I just don't think an argument that we are in Iraq to stop attacks works, given that there is a major terrorist attack on the Western world at the same frequency (once every 18 months or so) as what it was before we invaded.
Anyway, in response to this comment, I'm not going to deny that Bush's handlers are political genuises, it's just the rhetoric of the Powerline guy is done to make it seem like the individual President Bush is responsible for every brilliant policy and poltiical stroke that comes out of his administration. And his demeanor, his personality, his speaking style, and his attitude just indicate that for this President that is not the case. He probably has been smart in mastering the simpleton talk to a form of political art, but if any individual would listen to the substance of what he was saying, even a hillbilly (well a literate one at least), you can see that he does not display a confidence in his rhetoric and policies to be able to expand a discussion of issues beyond buzzwords. The belief that President Bush is a misunderstood genuis is completely a partisan mindset, given that if a Democrat politician conducted himself in a blubbering way that Bush does whenever he's asked a question, that he would appear incompetent for office to many many Republicans.
Do you think what the Powerline guy, whose isn't a country bumpkin but a Minneapolis lawyer, is justified in glorifying Bush in this way, given that what the post talks about is a routine policy proposal the is a perfect example of something that isn't boldly crafted in the mind of an "artist" President, but by his policy staff?
You are a self-described moderate, so perhaps you are the bridge between these two different worlds conservatives and liberals live in. But it is increasingly hard to respect self-deluded conservatives who despite all objective and concrete evidence, continue to admit that this President doesn't have any faults. It approahces elevated a public figure to deity status, which is why I used the term cult of Bush.
You say people don't know what's best for them, but can W really know everything about the world so that he knows what's best for 51% of the country? I want my President to be smarter than me, I want him to have a breadth of experience that allows him to make tough decisions. I don't want him to not read newspapers and let his handlers shield him from bad news. Al Gore, Bill Clinton, despite their drawbacks, probably researched and read a lot about different issues. After 9/11, they would probably react with the same "smoke-em-out" anger and thirst for revenge, but it would be coupled with the willingness to listen to the best political and policy and strategy advice possible. I know I'm partisan, but viewing Bush talk it seems like there's nothing there, that he is an empty vessel. The governor of Texas is almost a strictly ceremonial position, so he never had to develop any ideas of his own, except on how to make good speeches. And I don't know about Reagan's Presidency, but I bet he probably understood the value in speaking eloquently (he was an actor).
Anyway, I'm waiting for Leigha and Vy to contact me about meeting up in Chicago so thanks for giving me something to do.
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Thanks for your comment. I occasionally ponder responding to your old comment regarding the effectiveness of Bush's war on terrorism (whoops "war on violent extremism" now, and we were always at war with Eurasia too!), but I got tied up and there were a lot of things to address in your response, which will likely come out in another post regarding the next terrorist attack outside the Middle East. The worldly America-haters sure do like to travel, huh? Given that we are fighting them there so they can't attack us here, they must do a little insurgency in Najaf then hop the next place to start an Al-Queada cell in London, then hop right back for a massacre at a Iraqi army recruiting station. Not to be hostile, I just don't think an argument that we are in Iraq to stop attacks works, given that there is a major terrorist attack on the Western world at the same frequency (once every 18 months or so) as what it was before we invaded.
Anyway, in response to this comment, I'm not going to deny that Bush's handlers are political genuises, it's just the rhetoric of the Powerline guy is done to make it seem like the individual President Bush is responsible for every brilliant policy and poltiical stroke that comes out of his administration. And his demeanor, his personality, his speaking style, and his attitude just indicate that for this President that is not the case. He probably has been smart in mastering the simpleton talk to a form of political art, but if any individual would listen to the substance of what he was saying, even a hillbilly (well a literate one at least), you can see that he does not display a confidence in his rhetoric and policies to be able to expand a discussion of issues beyond buzzwords. The belief that President Bush is a misunderstood genuis is completely a partisan mindset, given that if a Democrat politician conducted himself in a blubbering way that Bush does whenever he's asked a question, that he would appear incompetent for office to many many Republicans.
Do you think what the Powerline guy, whose isn't a country bumpkin but a Minneapolis lawyer, is justified in glorifying Bush in this way, given that what the post talks about is a routine policy proposal the is a perfect example of something that isn't boldly crafted in the mind of an "artist" President, but by his policy staff?
You are a self-described moderate, so perhaps you are the bridge between these two different worlds conservatives and liberals live in. But it is increasingly hard to respect self-deluded conservatives who despite all objective and concrete evidence, continue to admit that this President doesn't have any faults. It approahces elevated a public figure to deity status, which is why I used the term cult of Bush.
You say people don't know what's best for them, but can W really know everything about the world so that he knows what's best for 51% of the country? I want my President to be smarter than me, I want him to have a breadth of experience that allows him to make tough decisions. I don't want him to not read newspapers and let his handlers shield him from bad news. Al Gore, Bill Clinton, despite their drawbacks, probably researched and read a lot about different issues. After 9/11, they would probably react with the same "smoke-em-out" anger and thirst for revenge, but it would be coupled with the willingness to listen to the best political and policy and strategy advice possible. I know I'm partisan, but viewing Bush talk it seems like there's nothing there, that he is an empty vessel. The governor of Texas is almost a strictly ceremonial position, so he never had to develop any ideas of his own, except on how to make good speeches. And I don't know about Reagan's Presidency, but I bet he probably understood the value in speaking eloquently (he was an actor).
Anyway, I'm waiting for Leigha and Vy to contact me about meeting up in Chicago so thanks for giving me something to do.
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