Winger Pundit: Bush's Apathy to People's Will is a Good Thing

[BurtWorm]

REMEMBERING WHY WE PRAYED FOR A BUSH VICTORY
For those conservatives who feel dismayed at the anti-Bush fashion trend now increasingly in evidence among conservative commentators, several moments in the President's press conference earlier today fell like rain on parched earth. The President took the following question:

Q Mr. President, polls continue to show sagging support for the war in Iraq. I'm curious as to how you see this developing. Is it your belief that long-term results will vindicate your strategy and people will change their mind about it, or is this the kind of thing you're doing because you think it's right and you don't care if you ever gain public support for it? Thank you.

Before we get to the President's answer, recall the presidents this country has known (and will know) who were obsessed with their own popularity. Think of the many times Bill Clinton allowed polling data and political advisers to shape military strategy. Imagine how horrifying it would be right now to have a John Kerry or Al Gore as president — no clear statements of policy, military decisions transparently shaped by "how it's going to look", a White House that smells to high heaven of vacillation, weakness, and even corruption. Imagine all of this for a second — and then consider the President's response:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Look, Presidents care about whether people support their policies. I don't mean to say, I don't care. Of course, I care.... On the other hand, Ken, I don't think you've ever heard me say — and you've now been covering me for quite a while, 12 years — I don't think I've — 12 years? Yes. I don't think you've ever heard me say, gosh, I'd better change positions because the polls say this or that. I've been here long enough to understand you cannot make good decisions if you're trying to chase a poll. And so the second part of your question is, look, I'm going to do what I think is right, and if people don't like me for it, that's just the way it is.

Bush has virtually never in his political career made a decision that he didn't think was the right thing to do and the right way to do it. Conservatives who are piling on the anti-Bush bandwagon should consider that this trait—which makes the Bush family historically great—is a historical rarity to be treasured. This administration would do well to be more concerned with its popularity — the President and even Vice President should appear every week in press conferences and on the Sunday talk shows — if only to strengthen the political viability of their agenda, and be able to shape the terms of debate. But it was not so long ago that Americans could only wish for a president who was obviously trustworthy, upstanding, and principled. And the day is not far off when we will think ourselves lucky to have seen this President defend the honor and integrity of his office—and the American people—for eight years. The times are difficult, and nobody could have gotten through the last five years without making mistakes. But in that station to which God called him, George W. Bush has been himself honestly, and thank God for that.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=NGFiMmExMjEzOWI0NTY3ZTA5OTNmNWI4NTNjNmE5MWQ=

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

The same morons who believe this tripe also think Bush is a genius when he says the best way to fight terrorism is to counter that "ideology" with governments that are responsive to the will of the people.

What utterly frustrating twits they are on the right, aren't they?

[kurth]

1. Most criminals believe they're doing the right thing

for them.

[Karmageddon]

2. Holy sh*t, that's freaking hilarious! He should write for Sat. Night Live

or Mad Magazine.

[MrCoffee]

3. "George W. Bush has been himself honestly"--well, that's true.

He has been himself honestly. He really is that stubborn, that pig-headed, that obnoxious.

[sendero]

10. And most of all.

... that completely and totally WRONG.

[yellerpup]

4. Honestly!

"But in that station to which God called him, George W. Bush has been himself honestly, and thank God for that." Yes, he has been Himself. Liar, deceiver, decider, war criminal, and more...

[sinkingfeeling]

5. Yeah, everybody wants a mule as president. Let's just keep on sticking

our fingers in the electrical outlet because it's what I think it's the right thing to do.

[Bandit]

6. He is sure he handled Katrina correctly by ignoring it

and eating cake. Also he is sure he had the right person in Harriet Meyers, that is why he withdrew her name when the polls said people didn't like her and what about those Port deals?????

[MrScorpio]

7. Bush: "I never do any wrong." - Pundit "That's just his way."

Looks like a confluence of crazy people to me

[EstimatedProphet]

8. Textbook example of the authoritarian mindset

Bush is justified in doing exactly what he wants because he just does it, and doesn't care about the consequences. This is so blatantly stupid it's not really worth analyzing, but leaving it unanalyed means that the chickenheaded pundit who wrote that gets his point off unopposed. So:

1) The obvious point is that the president is representative of the people, not the other way around. He works for US. If he is botching his job, then he should be fired just like any other employee. He is not above reproach.

2) He's not the one doing the dying. The people that have died for this lie won't be coming back. He stole their lives.

3) Bush has waffled so many times it's pathetic. It is an absolute lie to say he hasn't. Kerry and the others would pay attention to what the public thinks is right, then stick to that. Bush does what he wants, then panics when he is confronted and says he's sticking to his guns while he sneaks away in the dark like a coward.

I do think it is a sign of strength to stay with your convictions when they are unpopular. That's not what Bush is doing though - he's simply uncaring about how many people are killed to feed his ego.

[underpants]

9. This is Dominionists stuff- priniciples and intuition

I am reading a piece at home from Yurica report (not a great sourse IMHo but it is informative) about the Dominionists and RJ Rushdoony. Long story short this article exemplifies the Dominionists belief that a good and just leader makes decisions on principle not merely what is popular or what the constituents want. Nice way of never being wrong huh?

When I read this all the "he decides from his gut" stuff made sense, it really is their belief AND it is basically code to the faithful (like " "Dred Scott" in the debate).

[BurtWorm]

11. Yurica is very informative on that shit.

It's scary stuff. Once upon a time, this was the stuff of fringe people. Now it's opinion casually expressed in the online version of the highest circulation newspaper in the country.

[underpants]

13. I can't find the part about ignoring constituents but here is the article

http://www.yuricareport.com/Dominionism/OutingCreepingDominionism.html

[BurtWorm]

18. Something like this?

Frederick Clarkson, author of Eternal Hostility: the Struggle between Theocracy and Democracy, said recently that a dominionist is “one who supports taking over and dominating the political process.” <56> In his own essay Clarkson states that there are three elements common to followers:



1. “Dominionists celebrate Christian Nationalism, in that they believe that the United States once was, and should once again be, a Christian nation. In this way, they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy.





2. “Dominionists promote Religious Supremacy, insofar as they generally do not respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity.





3. “Dominionists endorse Theocratic Visions, insofar as they believe that the Ten Commandments, or “biblical law,” should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles.”





These definitions of Dominionism are instructive because they are based upon the beliefs, actions, precepts and testimony of those who are categorized. In other words, the term Dominionism is a descriptive term and is not meant to be pejorative.

[lectrobyte]

12. There's a lot to be said for standing by your principles. Assuming,

of course, you have principles...

[The2ndWheel]

14. No such thing exists

Never has, never will. That's probably why he's apathetic towards it.

[BurtWorm]

15. In a manner of speaking, yes there is such a thing. Elections reflect them

Even polls, when scientifically conducted, reflect them. Democracy is all about reflecting the will of the public at large. Of course there's no such thing as One Will of the People. However, this expression merely refers to what the electorate wants as it expresses itself through democratic institutions--voting, campaigning, petitioning, protesting, etc.

Bush is apathetic to anyone's will but his own.

[The2ndWheel]

19. You didn't say the public at large

You said the will of the people. Or at least that's what the title of the story said. There is the will of the majority of people who were told of an event to show up at and were allowed to participate. That does exist.

[BurtWorm]

20. It's a figure of speech. If you read it literally, I can only say

you shouldn't. :shrug:

The point is that Bush is indifferent to anyone's will but his own, as I said in the last post. Least of all is he interested in the desires of the voters who aren't already part of his base.

[EC]

16. The "imagine" argument goes both ways

Just Imagine what more this president could do, now that's really scary...

And when I imagine what Kerry or Gore would do, I see it as a plus...because brains would finally be involved in decissions...


I just hope that at the end of this year we can FIRE THE SON-OF-A-BITCH (literally)

[mac56]

17. "in that station to which God called him"

:banghead:

[gratuitous]

21. What a conveniently selective memory those folks have

Yeah, George W. Bush, ruled by his omniscient gut and appointed by God, never, e-e-e-ever consults the polls or changes his tack based on the prevailing popular winds. Except, of course, for all those times when he did. But that was because the popular winds just happened to get to where the Bush omniscient gut was going a little before it actually got there. So it's just a coincidence, and the Bush omniscient gut was really right all along, and for all the right reasons. Popular opinion was just lucky.

Are these people total morons, or do they think we're total morons? I know their usual readership is notably lacking in brain-power, but if they're going to put this kind of tripe in some tubes on the internets, they'd better be ready for a dump truck load of reality.

Fookin' idjits.

[FUGW]

22. Is this ignoramus saying to question GWB is to question God's chosen one?

[BurtWorm]

23. If he's not saying it outright, he's certainly strongly hinting at it.

The moron!