Thread: Blackwater out of Iraq ?

Originally Posted by Bluesman

I disagree. Govern and lead by PRINCIPLE, and not by some notion of accomodation with people that you believe are wrong. A compromise is nothing more than being half-wrong, in order to do something half-right.

That's not what pragmatism necessarily means, what you are referring to is more accurately political bargaining. I will retract if astralis meant something else, but it's more like improving your policy based on its past performance, even when it does go against your principle. Learning from your mistakes, in simpler words. An example would be, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, the more hands-on approach of the surge compared to the Rumsfeld days of disband the Iraqi Army, don't have a plan etc

historicaldavid,

yes, partially that is what i meant.

bluesman,

I disagree. Govern and lead by PRINCIPLE, and not by some notion of accomodation with people that you believe are wrong. A compromise is nothing more than being half-wrong, in order to do something half-right.

that's only true when it comes to absolutely vital situations. we shouldn't negotiate or compromise with osama bin ladin, for instance.

however, for the vast majority of decisions, such as when it comes to "what should we do about social security", or "should we have free trade or not"- i'll take useful half-measures that get passed, rather than great measures that never get out of the sub-committee.

"The government that governs least, governs best."

I'll take gridlock, rather than progress towards mediocrity.

Originally Posted by Bluesman

Then you managed, as you always seem to do, to take entirely the wrong lesson away from this.

Try this on instead: the more the Bush-Haters spin everything he says into a scandal/controversy/gaffe, the worse things are for everybody.

THAT is what happened here. Nothing Bush said could be construed by a reasonable person as improper in any way. And yet, look what it was turned into by people of ill-will.

I give you credit Blues, I'd have lost my resolve to show the others just what the media has been doing lately with quotes because some are just too blind to catch it. Now I've seen Bush make some odd statements but this one had me confused......

I suppose if I were a Julie or S-2 my hatred for Bush would have left me without the resolve to do some further research on this speach too, alas I can't get this worked up about the Liberal government in Canada so Dion could say something similar and I'd likely still have the same objective veiw, "he can't be that stupid, must have been taken out of context..."

Even CNN had a segment showing just how words can be taken out of context from partial quotes. You know its getting bad when the media highlites its own tricks!

This is further proof that the media is nothing more than a creative writing assignment for many journalists rather than a fact finding mission...

Ray I'm saddened that you didn't understand the real gaff and couldn't admit you were fooled, I don't know what to say because you have some rather intelligent things to say and are a major contributor to the WAB board...

Julie, sad to say I think there's little hope you will find your objectivity any time soon....

Originally Posted by smilingassassin

Even CNN had a segment showing just how words can be taken out of context from partial quotes. You know its getting bad when the media highlites its own tricks!

This is further proof that the media is nothing more than a creative writing assignment for many journalists rather than a fact finding mission...

Ray I'm saddened that you didn't understand the real gaff and couldn't admit you were fooled, I don't know what to say because you have some rather intelligent things to say and are a major contributor to the WAB board...

Julie, sad to say I think there's little hope you will find your objectivity any time soon....

There are hundreds of gaffes, but a few of my personal favorite:

-There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, probably Tennessee, that says 'Fool me once [pause], shame on…shame on you. [Long pause] Fool me. [Pause] You can't get fooled again.

-The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur.

-We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.


Speeches and answers should come from principles, and I do not think Bush knows what his principles are, or even if he has any.

And you're telling me I need to find my objectivity? ) You're funny.

You can Google; but can you READ?

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bush and French Word For Entrepreneur

Originally Posted by Bluesman

You can Google; but can you READ?

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Bush and French Word For Entrepreneur

Hey that's like how Gore claimed to have invented the internet...

Do not misunderestimate the power of rumors.

Originally Posted by Julie

Speeches and answers should come from principles, and I do not think Bush knows what his principles are, or even if he has any.

....of course you can't, your too busy hating the man to look for his principles.

If I didn't know better, I'd think that Bush did something horrible to you personally. At any rate no one here can have a discussion about Bush with you unless it involves a "group hate in" because in the end thats all your capable of seeing as , yet again, one of your "facts" has been debunked....

Bush Derangement Syndrome:

The term BDS refers to a purported tendency by some American liberals to blame President George W. Bush for virtually every ill in the world.[9][10] It also purportedly refers to opposing a position advocated by the President just because he supports it, regardless of the position's merits.[11]

Krauthammer, a former psychiatrist who earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, defined BDS as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush".[2][12] While Krauthammer's column was somewhat tongue-in-cheek (eg., "What is worrying epidemiologists about the Dean incident, however, is that heretofore no case had been reported in Vermont, or any other dairy state"), the term reflects a serious belief that some criticisms of President Bush—for example, a description of President Bush as the greatest current threat to American lives—are of emotional origins rather than based on facts or logic.[13]

Bush Derangement Syndrome - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Julie

And you're telling me I need to find my objectivity? ) You're funny.

I am DEFINITELY telling you that. It's past arguing about.

And yet, I'm willing to bet that you can't see it.

We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.

More aptly, it should have been: "We need [national] energy [legislation] that [stimulates the economy]".

There's an old saying in Tennessee, I know it's in Texas, probably Tennessee, that says 'Fool me once [pause], shame on…shame on you. [Long pause] Fool me. [Pause] You can't get fooled again.

He slipped up half-quote, but clearly went for the comedic effect with "Fool me. [Pause] You can't get fooled again." after getting a chuckle out of the audience.

Actually Bush thinks faster than his mouth and he thinks that he has said what he has thought.

Hence, it come out as odd.

Some people have this effect.

Otherwise, he is a nice man. At least he says what he means and tries to back it up with action even if it is not palatable.

I read that 'consumption' quote from the White House's website, on which the text of the speech includes a '[sic]' after the word 'consumption', indicating he MEANT to say 'conservation'.

Now, I wonder: who among any of us geniuses, so far superior to that idiot Bush, could possibly get through 24/7 scrutiny without making some miniscule mispronunciation that will be quoted and trotted out as evidence of our complete and utter unsuitability for the intellectual rigors of the Office of the Presidency of the United States?

Hell, even with the advantage of being able to WRITE what she wants to say, not counting speeches, impromptu and on-the-fly comments, ambushes by a hostile media and all the rest of it, can the WABbit who has posted this meaningless, easliy-explained mistake get even the majority of her comments straight, with even the barest minimum of logic in her posts?

Nope.

As to Bush's intellectual capacity for the office, I'd say he's infinitely better suited than just about any of his most vicious critics.

Originally Posted by Julie

The problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur.

It is a French word...m'amie.

Speeches and answers should come from principles, and I do not think Bush knows what his principles are, or even if he has any.

You're entitiled to think what you want. Of course, it wouldn't have a thing to do with your opposition to his policies.