Rate the President

[BlueDragon1981]

I think not only the president is doing a horrible job but his whole cabinet is doing a horrible job.

Rating on grade scale of A-F .... Z-
Rating on number scale 1-10..... -1000000000000000

 

[Cryozombie]

I think most of the government is, not Just the prez and his people.

The leadership in Illinois, and chicago especially, is attrocious, as far as i am concerned.

 

[jfarnsworth]

I think he is doing a ****** job.

I had a guy in my office in the latter part of last week that said to 3 of us "I love Bush, I think he's doing a great job". :idunno:

 

[evenflow1121]

I think he is not doing a very good job, but I also think he has run into a bad streak of luck or events. Its not just him though, Congress is also not very effective and I dont mean just republicans, both democrats and republicans a like just whine about things these days and get very little done. For example, the Katrina ordeal, you have a bunch of politicians sitting impeccably in national media studios very far away from New Orleans or Mississipi and pointing fingers at each other for the ordeal, rather than helping those who need help the most.

 

[michaeledward]

I think this speaks volumes.

-Moderator Note-

Attachment removed due to profanity

Technopunk

MT Super Mod

 

[Kempogeek]

I think he is doing a ****** job.

I had a guy in my office in the latter part of last week that said to 3 of us "I love Bush, I think he's doing a great job". :idunno:

Maybe he should take off those rose colored glasses and see the world in real life. I dare him to say that to a friend of mine who in an email this morning ripped the Bush administration a new one for the slow response to the Gulf Coast.......Steve

 

[Phoenix44]

I think he is not doing a very good job, but I also think he has run into a bad streak of luck or events.

Yeah, but the president, like the rest of us, create our own bad luck to a great extent.

Sure, he couldn't prevent Katrina, but he didn't have to cut federal funding for the flood management efforts in the past few years. A major hurricane was predictable. And he could have sent buses to remove people from New Orleans days BEFORE it hit, not a week AFTER.

It's debatable whether he could have prevented 9/11, but he certainly didn't have to go to war in Iraq...that could have saved the country billions of dollars and thousands of lives.

And having made the decision to go to war, he could have accepted the opinions of the experts on how to run the war...instead of firing them.

And I find it hard to believe that he couldn't have done something to control fuel prices AND fuel consumption. But his connection to the Sauds made that unlikely.

 

[michaeledward]

I think this speaks volumes.

-Moderator Note-

Attachment removed due to profanity

Technopunk

MT Super Mod

I would like to note that the attachment was an unaltered video image of the President.

Technopunk, apparently, thinks the President is profane.

:uhyeah:

 

[Cryozombie]

I would like to note that the attachment was an unaltered video image of the President.

Technopunk, apparently, thinks the President is profane.

:uhyeah:

LOL.

He certainly was in that video clip.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Let me reply in 2 parts.

How do I think George W Bush is doing?
Poorly.

Do I blame all of this on him?
No.

At the start, he is not an intelligent man. He lacks the presence, the speaking ability, the vocabulary. He is also blinded by poor research, poor planning, and a staff of advisor's who control what information reaches him. This combines to make him honestly little more than a figurehead.

Issues like gas gouging, budgets, etc all go through the House and the Senate. Those are the individuals who truly deserve our ire. They are the ones who allow the crap to continue, taking payoffs from PACs and SIGs while continuing to rape us. They are the ones who pass laws without reading them. They are the ones who while their pants were still wet from the fear dripping down their legs passed some of the most sweeping rights removal acts. They are the ones who allowed this nation to fight a multi-front war against random enemies, while neglecting our own infrastructure.

I do not like George Bush, but I don't believe it's fair to blame him for everything. He is not the King. During his 2 terms, he has had to deal with 3 major disasters. 9/11, 2 wars, and now Katrina. He still has 3 years left. In the back of him mind I'm certain is the question "What Next?". People claim he doesn't care, but I think he does. The power and the powerlessness of his position has aged him. It does all who sit in that seat. He has to rely on those who advise him, and those who work for him. When they fail, he fails.

As to the oil....
http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/...ons/company_level_imports/current/import.html
Table indicating where the US gets it's oil from.

 

[jfarnsworth]

Do I blame all of this on him?
No.

At the start, he is not an intelligent man. He lacks the presence, the speaking ability, the vocabulary. He is also blinded by poor research, poor planning, and a staff of advisor's who control what information reaches him. This combines to make him honestly little more than a figurehead.

I agree. We can't blame everything on him. That would be impossible. There are way too many variables running the U.S. Personally I think we would have been better off with John Kerry however that's my own opinion.

 

[arnisador]

Let me reply in 2 parts.

How do I think George W Bush is doing?
Poorly.

Do I blame all of this on him?
No.

Yup. As usual, Kaith and I agree on politics!

 

[Flatlander]

As a Northern neighbour, my feelings on your current administration are mixed. My feelings are based primarily on two subjects: security, trade, and economics.

On the subject of economics, I am afraid for both of us. The US seems to be putting itself in a very high pressure situation with regard to national debt, annual deficit, increased spending, social security concerns, and record low levels of household savings vs. household debt. Given the depth of economic linkage between our nations, this jeopardizes our economic health here.

Regarding trade, I am significantly disappointed in the lack of US cohesion to NAFTA principles, most notably regarding softwood lumber and pork. Bob's great find with the table linked to above makes me think that its time to turn off the pumps here.

Regarding security, I begin to get mixed feelings. The truth is, I'm having difficulty deciding whether I feel any safer or not. I think the current US administration is exceptionally aggressive. I am unsure whether or not this will contribute to enhanced global security. The fact that they have invaded a sovereign nation based upon unreliable information sets a disturbing precedent. On the other hand, so much good has been and continues to be done because of the power, judgement, skill, and integrity of the US forces internationally.

The US is in a position of significant global influence, and wields an incredible amount of power. Managed the right way, I believe the US could have unlimited potential for prosperity. Currently, I foresee a monolithic challenge just in finding stability. Can I blame your current President? No, that would be unfair, as all American woes are not the result of events over the last 5 years. However, in no way can I say that he is repairing or even managing any of the problems my neighbours face, and that is unfortunate.

With approximately 295,734,134 people living there, I think that the US could have chosen a more capable leader.

 

[sgtmac_46]

I agree. We can't blame everything on him. That would be impossible. There are way too many variables running the U.S. Personally I think we would have been better off with John Kerry however that's my own opinion.

I'm wondering exactly how we would have been better with Kerry in charge? Would he have hopped on his swift boat and motored in to the Gulf of Mexico to steer the storm from New Orleans? I'm waiting for an explaination by those seeking political gain out of this mess, how it would have been any different with any other leader.

The problem, the core problem, is that decades of "it's not my problem" created a situation in New Orleans where no one wanted to fix a levee everyone knew had the potential to cause a disaster of epic proportions. The state and local government did not want to spend the billions required to fix the levee, so they played wait and see if the Feds would. The feds never found it to be a priority, despite other money drains of far less significance (Think "Big Dig").

Even worse, state and local governments, who are far closer to the problem, and far more vested interest in solutions, failed to even consider the possibility in a disaster plan. Then, when the possibility became reality, state local AND federal authorities were slow in responding. Though, in the case of federal authorities, I really don't count on them to respond quickly. The larger the bureaucracy, the slower it is to respond.

Again, if anyone wants to blame someone, there's more than enough to go around. But lets clean up the city, bury the dead and find homes for the survivors first.

 

[jfarnsworth]

I'm wondering exactly how we would have been better with Kerry in charge? Would he have hopped on his swift boat and motored in to the Gulf of Mexico to steer the storm from New Orleans? I'm waiting for an explaination by those seeking political gain out of this mess, how it would have been any different with any other leader.

I wasn't talking about the problem in new orleans. I'm talking about running a country in general. No one could have predicted this mess down south.

 

[michaeledward]

OK, let's try this again ... If the President is Obscene, maybe the media isn't.

 

[michaeledward]

From a Newsweek column:

The reality, say several aides who did not wish to be quoted because it might displease the president, did not really sink in until Thursday night. Some White House staffers were watching the evening news and thought the president needed to see the horrific reports coming out of New Orleans. Counselor Bartlett made up a DVD of the newscasts so Bush could see them in their entirety as he flew down to the Gulf Coast the next morning on Air Force One.

Hasn't this President told us he gets 'Good Information' from the people around him? He apparently gets this good information from a DVD, so the person giving him the information can be out of the room if its bad news.

Of course, I just loved the pictures of him meeting with the displaced, homeless, poor, black children huddled up in the Houston Astrodome ... I heard that those accomodations are working out very well for them.



P.S. .......

You know, let me add one more thought ....

I almost posted a couple of days ago how the President was going to attempt to tie Hurricane Katrina to the fourth anniversary of the September 11th attacks to re-invigorate the perception that he is a 'strong leader'. As I often get called out on my political leanings, I actually deleted the post before submitting it .... figuring it might be a bit sophomoric; trying to give the President (or his handlers) the benefit of the doubt.

To see the President today meeting with New York City Firefighters, on the fourth anniversary of the attacks is, perhaps a bit jingoistic, but eh ... wouldn't be too bad, I guess.

But to do that in the city of New Orleans, in the wake of Katrina is exactly what I almost posted. A blatant political attempt to re-kindle the nationalist unity of September 11th in the face of a completely different national tragedy.

Why can't he meet with some of the United States Citizens from New Orleans. Embarrassing.

 

[hardheadjarhead]

Gee...I think he's just zippy (he said, his voice dripping sarcasm).

He gets an "F" for "fool" from me.

And I don't know what Michael wrote...but it probably was something I'd agree with.



Regards,


Steve

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I think that he is doing very poorly. However, I think his handlers are doing both him and the country a major disservice by witholding unpleasant facts and advice from him. Were he given the plain, unadulterated story, I believe that both his decisions and his leadership would have far greater competence.

Also, as others have written, he's not the only one in government making bad choices. A competent Congress could have steered the Admin. in better directions - as a more competent Admin. could have steered the Congress into more productive directions.