I don't like him, but I don't have the enthusiasm for disliking him that a lot of UUs have.
That said, ye Gods...
I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."
"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," Bush said.
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I wouldn't describe my dislike of George W as enthusiastic. A better word would be steadfast. But I disliked him even before he was put in office the first time - and that was on the basis of my 3rd year environmental law school roommate from Texas who I watched break down into hopeless sobs the day they announced he was our next President. She knew all about what he had allowed to be done to the environment in Texas, and feared what would happen to the country as a whole if he were in charge.
I think that experience of listening to her talk about his work as governor actually had more of impact on me than anything else.
At this point in his Presidency, I see Mr. Bush in more of a tragic light than an evil one. He seems so clueless and genuine that he cannot even see the irony in his own words.
One time, I disliked him and viewed him as a dangerous fascist. Now I view him as an incompetent fascist. The US population seems to want to be led, and as this leader has been so clueless, he's even damaged the authoritarian/libertarian ideology of the people who follow him.
I agree totally with authoritarian, but I don't know any libertarian who would be remotely OK with the way he has expanded his own power.
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Libertarians generally view all government power as suspect, with a particular dislike for federal power. I don't know many who find executive power somehow worse than congressional power, and there are many self-identified libertarians (e.g., InstaPundit) who are supportive of Bush's grab for power in foreign affairs as consistent with a unitary executive's authority in this area. Bush hasn't done much that gathers more power to the government than other people thought the government already possessed; he's simply unusual in thinking that the executive should be essentially unchecked and unbalanced by the other two branches in its exercise of governmental power.
With regard to what Bush said to Americans working in Afghanistan, I don't think it's completely nuts. If not for a mortgage that demands a fairly high income to feed it, I might have applied for a job helping Liberia formulate legal policies. Assisting at the birth of a new democracy does sound pretty exciting, at least in theory. The people in the video-conference were unlikely to be so far down the food chain as to be getting shot at in the regular way soldiers are (though they might be assassination/ kidnapping targets).
He could have gone to Vietnam, but he didn't. He hid out in the Texas Air National Guard instead.
That's why it's distasteful at best and deeply offensive at worst.
I know a few soldiers gearing up for deployment (again) that would LOVE for him to come take a turn.
"Ye Gods" is a bit mild when contemplating the bad taste of the man who would say that, knowing that he had a chance to go to Viet Nam but chickened out and then even chickened out of serving his easy duty in the National Guard. And I don't believe that he really has any interest in helping a "young democracy succeed." Because you don't go around killing people in order to convince them to think democratically. Can he really be stupid enough to believe that you do it that way?
Do you denounce and reject him? *grins*
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