gonzojournals
Better than You
Name the last Republican president who had voted on forign policy issues prior to becoming President?
Name the last Republican who won with only 3 years of real experience (bonus points if it is experience as senator).
Name the last Republican president who had voted on forign policy issues prior to becoming President?
In many ways, George Bush's experience was much thinner than Obama's. People like to cite the role of "chief executive," but TX is notorious for having among the weakest executive positions in the union. His daily agenda there actually included a nap & a game of Nintendo.
He was a drunk for 20 years prior to that, and failed in several major business ventures, despite help from wealthy friends of his father & other connections.
In many ways, George Bush's experience was much thinner than Obama's. People like to cite the role of "chief executive," but TX is notorious for having among the weakest executive positions in the union. His daily agenda there actually included a nap & a game of Nintendo.
He was a drunk for 20 years prior to that, and failed in several major business ventures, despite help from wealthy friends of his father & other connections.
You can make excuses all you want (and I am sure you will), but the fact remains that Bush was a governor, a governor his state loved, and wasn't a new kid on the block (so to speak) with some fancy rhetoric and a pocket full of dreams.
I'm not making excuses.
I'm citing facts about the nature of the governorship in TX, and the extent of Bush's experience.
Deal with it.
Here. I'll "cite" something, that anyone who reads anything about politics already knows.
"In terms of formal powers, the Texas governor is among the weakest in the nation. The plural executive structure and weak removal powers limit the governor’s ability to influence the executive branch. Informal powers, particularly the ability to persuade and access to the media, are crucial sources of gubernatorial influence. Legislative bargaining is also critical to gubernatorial success. The diffused power structure of government and a weak governor allow more influence by powerful business interests in Texas politics. "
http://www.worthpublishers.com/Texas_IM/txchap6.html
I've gone over the Obama quote on Iraq a few times, on a few different threads, with WRL. He knows that this is a dishonest, somewhat out-of-context representation of Obama's position, which has been solidly anti-war and anti-invasion since 2002. The "agreement" he references with Bush has nothing to do with the decision to invade or the conduct of the war for much of the time leading up to that quote. The "iffy" nature that he portrays about not knowing how he would have voted is part of a broader conversation with Tim Russert on his Senate colleagues, in which he passes on the opportunity to roast them for their vote yet again.
WRL has, and will continue to, portray this in the most dishonest way possible, for nothing but partisan reasons. If you know WRL's postings on this & the other board, you understand that this is what he does. This is what a lot of posters do, but it's important to call him & others on it when they do. It's a total misrepresentation of Obama's position to try to portray him as some sort of serial waffler on Iraq & the invasion.