by Deb Cupples | In just a few days, George W. Bush will lose the "P" and become a mere resident of the United States. Straining to focus on the positive, I must admit that President Bush and his numerous spokespeople unfailingly demonstrated the amazing ability to say things that simply did not gel with reality -- while keeping a straight face.
Since the lead-up to the Iraq war, they have reminded me of those Madison Avenue types who sell hyper-processed, fat-laden fast food on TV using images of healthy, beautiful, happy-looking people.
For that reason, I cannot bring myself to watch a video of President Bush's farewell address to the nation. What's the point? [If you're really interested, you can read the transcript here.] Instead, I thought it would be interesting to read a few other people's reactions to the speech.
John Amato at Crooks and Liars:
"He [Bush] looked haggard and old after never fulfilling his promise of eight years of compassion. Instead we got corruption, cronyism, unaccountability, wars, lies, torture and a virus that has infected the entire government that leads us. Departments were filled with extreme Christians and Cheney loyalists right out of Regent University. That would be Pat Robertson's college."
Robert Stein at Connecting the Dots:
"Whatever else he is, George W. Bush
has not been a lucky president. Here he is, after eight disastrous
years in office, in the TV spotlight to make his case for history in a sentimental setting, and millions of viewers can't wait to see the last of him and get back to watching a miracle in Manhattan--a
crippled airliner with 155 people landing without loss of life on a
strip of river between the crowded shores of New York and New Jersey.
"As
the President was praising himself, Americans were impatient to learn
about a man his age named Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who piloted a
twin-jet Airbus safely into the water and then walked the aisles twice
to make sure everyone was safe before finally leaving his craft.
"An attentive mind and heart could not fail to be moved by the contrast between that airline captain
and the man in the White House who steered America into a bloodbath in
Iraq after 9/11 and who responded feebly to Katrina, telling us how he
kept the nation safe."
David Corn said this about the speech:
"Was the nation's safety ensured because Bush invaded Iraq and did not finish the fight in Afghanistan? No doubt, he and his ever-dwindling band of defenders will continue to insist that it is so--just as a rooster might insist there is a connection between his crowing and the rising of the sun. And Bush defended himself for having been 'willing to make the tough decisions'--as if making hard choices is the same as making wise ones.
"For most of the 13 minutes he spoke, Bush offered surface-level observations. He provided one quote, noting that President Thomas Jefferson once remarked, 'I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.' It's no wonder Bush fancies this line.
"Given that he is passing to Barack Obama a country burdened with two unresolved wars and an economy in severe decline, Bush certainly would rather look forward (and hope his now unpopular presidency comes to be seen in better terms down the road) than face the present-day consequences of his actions and inaction....
"What else is there to say? In the end, after eight long and traumatic years, Bush did not have much to tell us."
Opting for conciseness, TalkLeft's Big Tent Democrat said:
"What is there left to say? Worst President in history."
Even more concisely, Egregious at FiredogLake asks:
"Is it Tuesday yet?"
Memeorandum has commentary.
Other Buck Naked Politics Posts:
* Was Bush Bad for our Nation's Economy?
* Justice Dept. Lawyer Claims White House Found Lost Emails
* Judiciary Committee's Negative Report on Bush Admin.
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