Goodbye, George
An American president can wreck his country and blow up the world, but he cannot recreate either of them. —Chilton Williamson
A recent book on the George W. Bush presidency is called A Tragic Legacy. But tragedy suggests the fall of something high and noble. There never has been anything high and noble about Bush. His career began as low comedy and ends as bloody farce.
How many killings does it take to make a war criminal? Is ignorance and incompetence a defense?
Nothing is so easy and gratifying as spending other people's money—especially if you are praised for your good works—and get a cut yourself. This is the long-established cynical practice of Congress. But with Bush one has the sense that it is something else. In his own universe, which he mistakes for the world, he has no experience with the consequences of over-spending and debt. Consequences of any kind have little reality for him. Moral responsibility is not part of his universe.
Shopping is the great American pastime. Everyone likes to participate whether they are good at it or not. One of the high points of George's reign was when, just after catastrophic terror attacks, he urged his fellow countrymen to comfort themselves by shopping.
Or perhaps the highest point came when it was pointed out that al Qaeda was not a problem in Iraq until after his invasion. Showing the pungent truthfulness and courageous spirit of the true patriot and statesman, Bush responded: "So what?"
Can you imagine a post-emperor Bush? Here is a man who has never done anything worthwhile, who has never done a single thing to serve his fellow man before or during his public career. What is such a man to do now? If Americans learn nothing else from the Bush fiasco, assuming they are able to learn anything, it should be never again to elect a spoiled brat to high office.
Perhaps George's most lasting "accomplishment" is the discrediting of Christianity as a political force in America. It is assumed that his strongest support came from "evangelicals," with whom he pretended kinship. Liberal commentators like to imagine that Christians conspire to impose a puritan reign of terror on the country, and so pundits and historians will continue to write about the evil domination of the Bush administrations by Christians. But of course, this is to misstate the facts, as usual.
The fact is that the Republican party has always dictated to the organised "evangelicals" but they have never dictated any Republican act or policy of significance. In the 1960’s George Wallace showed the vote-getting potential of the "social issues," something which no Republican had the insight or daring to do. But the party did see the potential votes from "silent majority" rhetoric. And so the "leaders" of the organised "evangelicals" were seduced by pretenses of fellowship and shared values. For the most part, those "leaders" were people of such shallow intellect and character that once allowed to actually meet a President they were enslaved for life. They wanted more than anything what too many Americans want—superior respectability and status within the herd. (Both Tocqueville and Solzhenitsyn observed that this is a predominant aspect of American behaviour.)
But, of course, the Republican politicians generally hold in contempt the Christian groups and their concerns, a minor distraction from their pursuit of power and profit. They have had zero impact upon Republicans in power. The last believing and practising Christian in the White House was Jimmy Carter. Given the disgrace brought down on the faith by Bush, there will probably never be another.
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Howdy, Clyde. Just for you, I'll repeat something I attached to PJB's column, then I'll say no more on yankee bush. Yes, he was the worst president ever. Just look who americans turned to in '08. After the '04 election, rank and file Republicans wanted border security. bush, the stubborn fool, said no and started peddling amnesty instead. When bush gave his last State of the Union address, I had my youngest son watch it. I told him, "take a good look at that man. This is the last time a white man will be president of the United States." Then I turned the set off, 'cause some people in this world are just no damn good. Thanks for nothing, george.
Bush has been just the president that the shopaholic, militarist, pseudo-patriots and pseudo-Christians who supported him deserved. Too bad the rest of us were stuck with him too, but that's how democracy works - ain't it wonderful?
"..just after catastrophic terror attacks, he urged his fellow countrymen to comfort themselves by shopping."
A small clarification here. Bush and one of his cabinet members did this at the time, but it wasn't just to bring "comfort" to Americans. Bush was terrified that a collapse of what is mincingly called "consumer confidence" by business types would slow down a white-hot economy, and begin the major unraveling of our credit fraud that finally hit us last year.
I remember when Bush and the cabinet member said it. It was the final straw for me. I realized that the Republican Party was as rotten as a dead cat in the August sun.
Dr. Wilson,
Thanks for these comments. One of the contemporary requirements for Christian discourse in public is that it be stupid. Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson, Hagie, etc.. Honest defenders of the tradition are rather wise and either stay out of it completely or they write for Chronicles which thus precludes them from any possible political future. The third way was once tried in a War.(between the States) It was defeated. We are stuck for the time being with twiddle demon rats or twaddle christian crats. We have had eight years of twaddle, now steaming towards at least four of twiddle.I hope God will soon provide a happy end to it all because as Aristotle said in his lost fragment on comedy --"when it goes on forever, it isn't funny."
The last believing and practising Christian in the White House was Jimmy Carter.
Oyez! Oyez! The 1977 inauguration is the first and last I'll ever attend. I was working nights back then and decided to spend the day in Washington. I did the monuments, the Smithsonian, and at some point walked over to 15th St, in front of the Hotel Washington. Pennsylavania Avenue was lined with boarded up buildings, most notably the Willard. Somebody had left a ladder against the hotel's awning, so I climbed up to get a snapshot when the big moment arrived. Drunken brother Billy walked right under my perch and I got a great photo. The weather was bitterly cold and I only had one glove. Finally the Carters walked past and everybody cheered, my frozen fingers were barely able to press the shutter let alone focus.
Now Washington considers itself the capital of the free world, and I detest the place. I still like the Hotel Washington's rooftop terrace in the spring and fall. As inept as Carter's tenure was, I truly miss the man and his colorful Dixie mafia cabinet. Even with a democrat congress, he accomplished next to nothing. I do not fear Obama's administration, he'll accomplish even less.
In the January 5 online edition of The Weekly Standard, Fred Barnes writes:
"Bush has a personal interest in Lincoln as a fellow wartime president, though he never puts himself in Lincoln's class as a leader. When Union forces faltered during the Civil War and Lincoln's popularity sagged, two groups stuck by him firmly: evangelical Christians and the military. Those were the same groups that supported him unfailingly when the war in Iraq was going badly, Bush says."
Well, if nothing else, at least George W. Bush did achieve something useful as President: He once and for all smashed one of America's most cherished myths - that we're a MERITOCRACY. If we weren't such a sinkhole of cronyism and nepotism, there is no way in Hell a lifelong ne'er-do-well like GWB would have gotten anywhere near the White House, let alone be re-elected. And everybody knows it.
Is it not disconcerting that George W. Bush, who aggressively emphasizes that he is a Texan, admires Abraham Lincoln, a historical enemy of Texas?
Many good people supported Pres. Bush (unfortunately). They were betrayed by a combination of Republican duplicity, bad theology (e.g., Christian Zionism) and their own self-delusions. It is not easy for anyone who loves his country to face up to how badly it has gone off the rails. Pretending that a politician or political party is the Messiah who will save it is the path of least resistance.
The U.S. needs a functioning Christian Democrat party to work for Gospel principles in our public and political life.
#10, Larkin
Yes. But I would prefer a name other than Christian "Democrat." Those parties so called usually end up focusing more on "democracy" than Christian concepts. But I think the basic idea is good and I wouldn't make the name "Christian Democrat" a major issue. I would conceive such a party as being: pro-life; dedicated to the idea of true federalism and subsidiarity; dedicated to the concept of establishing intermediate entities in society that do most of the administering of society's needs with the state acting more or less as an orchestra conductor to ensure balance and justice; supportive of traditional family life (with subsidies and/or substantial tax incentives for families with "stay at home" mothers) and updated child allowances to allow for inflation; supportive of family wages in one way or another (minimum wage laws are not the only nor necessarily the best way to accomplish this); in favor of some sort of "distributist" economic system to encourage relatively widespread ownership of productive property and protection of small property against large entities; pursuing a foreign policy based upon national interest tempered by historic Christian concepts of international law, i.e., the end of the militaristic neo-con state. Well, now that that is settled, who's running for Congress next time under this banner?
That moronic Monica Crowley on The McLaughlin Group constantly gives credit to the Bush administration for protecting the US from terror attacks 7 years on from 9/11.
Perhaps because there is no international terrorist threat against the US. Have they even convicted a single cell in the US of planning attacks inside the country?
Alan Curtis BBC documentary The Power of Nightmares part 3 covered the fraud of an international terror organisation and those arrested and hyped up by the media turn out to be false.
In fact Bush’s biggest achievement was one of his biggest failures totally ignoring multiple foreign and domestic warnings about 9/11 including the memo handed to Rice titled “Bin Laden determined to attack America” and the media praised on him afterwards.
@12 george
They should have busted a few mossad useful idiots, but somehow the flawed legal system keeps letting the sayanim go.
@Etienne Gervaise
In the Pravda forum in the 9/11 section someone posted this.
"Remember Zaid al-Jarrah, allegedly one of 19 hijackers – who commandeered United Airlines flight 93 – which, according to Zionists’ story, crashed into a Pennsylvania field after it was hit by a missile fired from a US Air Force plane – leaving no traces of human or plane bodyparts!
Well, last month – according to Jordanian English daily, Daily Star, Lebanese army arrested Zaid’s two uncles, Ali and Youssef al-Jarrah, operating in Jlela region of the Beqaa Valley – working as spies for Israel.
“Indeed, a few days its discovery, the Lebanese Army Intelligence has reportedly put its hands on new details pertaining to the Israeli linked terrorist network, composed of Ali al-Jarrah and his brother Youssef, as well as its way of operation.”
Maybe the US government is using Larry Silverstein and his amazing psychic abilities after all he was able to predict the WTC and other building he owned might get hit with terrorists attacks when he took out a record insurance cover of £2 billion 2 months before 9/11 buying all 7 building at the WTC complex specifically set to cover terrorist attacks and amazingly all 7 of his buildings and only his building collapsed or were damaged enough to be brought down.
Alex Jones did a good video which is in the 9/11 segment of brasschecktv website of what was in building 7 which includes offices of the CIA, FEMA, Department of Defense, etc and a reinforced bunker.
Theodore@ #9,
Couldn't have said it better than myself. Putting hope in politicians to try and reestablish a Christian nation was folly to begin with. In the end Christians became only useful dupes in discrediting their religion and helping promote Marxism.
@ Clyde:
I can add nothing further to this except that your article is one of the most coherent descriptions of that empty-eyed, disgraceful, double digit IQ moron, George W. Bush.
#10, Tom Flinn
You've got it right. I would add, justice for Catholic school families in the distribution of taxes for education. I nominate you. Is there a 'second?'
Mr. Larkin, @17, I second.
#17,18:
I'm flattered. Please forward campaign contributions (preferably in small, unmarked bills) to............Well, never mind.
Seriously, I really would like to see a party of this type started. I'm in Ohio so if there are any Buckeyes out there interested let's get together. I know parties aren't a panacea but that's the way the game is played right now.
Off topic, yes, but couldn't let a few of these internet hobgoblins go without comment.
“Indeed, a few days its discovery, the Lebanese Army Intelligence has reportedly put its hands on new details pertaining to the Israeli linked terrorist network, composed of Ali al-Jarrah and his brother Youssef, as well as its way of operation.”
On its face it seems absurd to believe that Al-Jarrah and others, suppossedly paid and supported by Israel, would sacrafice their lives in the 911 attacks for Israel. Now I am willing to believe that Al-Jarrah was an unwitting dupe of Israel provocateurs, but that is not the contention of the latest gossip. Ali al-Jarrah, his brother and two uncles (no less) are knowing collaborators with Israeli intelligence. I am willing to believe that partisans are willing to give their life for a cause, but it strains credulity to argue that a double agent would give his life for his employer!
"Maybe the US government is using Larry Silverstein and his amazing psychic abilities after all he was able to predict the WTC and other building he owned might get hit with terrorists attacks when he took out a record insurance cover of £2 billion 2 months before 9/11 buying all 7 building at the WTC complex specifically set to cover terrorist attacks and amazingly all 7 of his buildings and only his building collapsed or were damaged enough to be brought down."
Silverstein's was actually underinsured. He had a 3.5 billion dollar policy on the World Trade Center. He owed considerably more than this on the Trade Center Buildings. In fact, Silverstein wanted an insurance policy that only covered something like 2 billion, but the investors and banks refused this idea.
Silverstein latter sued the insurance company trying to get an additional 3.5 billion in order to actually payback his investors. I don't recall if the suit was successful. My guess is that it was not. Silverstein, from what I can tell, took a bath (or his investors did) after 9/11.
@stats
Jarrah was reported to be one of the 9/11 hijackers still alive.
These guys are mercenaries on Pentagon sub contractor payroll. Atta presence in Florida has him connected to a CIA flight school learning to fly light aircraft for drug transportation. and since 2000 has been on a US government terror watchlist.
Atta himself had email contacts with several US defence companies and military bases.
Even the 9/11 commissions BS report states that Atta was recruited to fight in Chechnya but redirected for the 9/11 assault. The question is when and by whom.
The big question intelligence agents and people is the $150,000 transferred from Pakistan by the ISI chief to the Atta in the US prior to 9/11 what was it for?
In Paul Murphy’s book Wolves of Islam it tells us exactly what it was used for and its intended purpose.
I believe they were recruited to carry out a typical airline hijacking and were duped into it being a suicide assault with air traffic system taking over the controls and guiding it to its target or an agent in the group guiding it to the target.
Rice had interesting comments that I initially dismissed a few years ago saying there was arguments among the hijackers which she claimed that only the hijacker pilots might have known of the operation and even a bomb or a gun might have been smuggled aboard.
As for Silverstein the WTC itself was a financial dud.
“SILVERSTEIN obtained a 99 year lease of the World Trade Center on July 24 2001 just seven weeks before the 9-11 attacks.
Silverstein obtained this lease from Lewis M Eisenberg, (who was then the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York), even though Vornado Realty outbid Silverstein by $50m.
Eisenberg aborted Vornado’s bid in favour of Silverstein. Eisenberg, who was a huge contributor to the Bush-Cheney campaign, is a member of the Republican Jewish Coalition and former partner of the Jewish bank, Goldman Sachs.
Silverstein and Eisenberg both held senior leadership positions with the United Jewish Appeal, a billion dollar Zionist organization. At present, Silverstein is on the UJA’s Board Of Directors. The UJA raises millions of dollars for its client, the State of Israel. Silverstein is also co-founder of the Israel Export Development Company.
Of particular note, the Wall Street Journal reported that Silverstein regularly had breakfast at the WTC’s Windows on the World every morning. Yet strangely enough, Silverstein had a doctor’s appointment the morning of the 9-11 attack”
The word Christian has lost its meaning nowadays. It's been remade into global liberalism without any basis, so Dubya might as well be the Evangelical candidate. Organised Christianity today seems to be anyone who justifies liberalism with the Bible instead of with Reason. It's the same liberalism at the end either way... There's no guiding moral center among... most any significant group that I'm aware of.
If you talk with folks with conservative but "positive" instincts, they generally like Bush and buy into whatever they're supposed to believe. And the same with other conservatives - they like their leaders, both religious and secular.
"I would prefer a name other than Christian “Democrat.” Those parties so called usually end up focusing more on “democracy” than Christian concepts. But I think the basic idea is good and I wouldn’t make the name “Christian Democrat” a major issue."
There are plenty of other European "conservative" parties with "Christian Democrat" themes but without the name and they are all just as useless as the CDU and the DC (Germany and Italy, respectively); the latter, in fact, was often used as a front by Cosa Nostra. Charles de Gaulle was supposedly a "Christian Democrat" and whatever his virtues, he did absolutely nothing to temper the laïcité or to arrest the moral and religious decline in France. The more one learns about the history of such parties, the more one wonders whether "Christian Democracy" is not in fact an oxymoron.
Else, perhaps I will attend the Mass for Louis XVI this Wednesday and pray to Christ the President.