Was bush* selected to lead the republican's pResidental ticket

[madokie]

in '00 because he is as dumb as a box of rocks, unlearned if you will, and easily manipulated. Did the powers to be really know what they were getting with him or are they somewhat taken aback at the show of arrogance and outright disregard for the rule of law by the annointed one? :shrug:

[Captain Hilts]

1. He had the resources and access to money. BIG bucks. nt

[tanyev]

2. He was chosen by Gawd Almighty, heretic!

[annabanana]

3. I seem to remember that B*sh, although inexperienced,

would be guided by the people in his Daddy's admin, that they were supposed to "keep him out of trouble". . Cheney (of all people) was the safeguard.

Dear God.

[madokie]

4. big time picked himself to be the vp after all

[Democrat 4 Ever]

8. Said it before, will say it again, will believe it to my grave that

Chucklenuts is just the strawman for a cabal of PNACers that knew he was dumber than a post. Chucklenuts has the "lineage" and the Saudi and big businesses connections needed to fund his campaign. He is the Howdy Doody candidate always favored by repugs (Reagan, Bush 41 ring any bells?) - just put on a stupid cowboy outfit, grin like a fool and let someone pull his strings. George Allen was just another dumbass "moran" being groomed to be served up as another strawman, too bad he left a trail that Daddy couldn't scrub like Chimpy's.

Take a look at every single person who is being touted as a possible repug candidate in '08 - all of them are just strawmen - not a single intellectual, original, free thinker in the bunch.

*Edit for typos - not enough coffee!

[yurbud]

21. yeah, he is the corporate prince, perfect empty suit

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. He was chosen because he is totally Amoral. n/t

[madokie]

6. I forgot about that angle

apparently he had all the bad qualities they were wanting.

[Junkdrawer]

7. The biggest, most treasonous attack on America was planned...

And they needed an impeachment proof idiot in the White House to:

1.) make ridiculous any talk of conspiracy

2.) have incompetence as fallback cover

[phiddle]

9. Reagan Redux

I think that the pooh-bahs of the party wanted a genial front man to sell to the American people policies which they would never support otherwise. (Remember, polls during the Reagan years showed that the public consistently liked him and the job he was doing, and just as consistently disagreed with his policies.) This is why so much of campaign 2000 was spent on refashioning the image of this lazy incompetent son of privilege as "the guy you'd like to have a beer with". Cheney was installed to coordinate policy and people, while Bush was to be the salesman, not the authority.
This plan has broken down in 2 ways: Bush is even less competent (socially, intellectually, and personally) than their worst nightmares, and also, the policies themselves have brought us to disaster in so many obvious ways.

[madokie]

10. correct

the reign of the hold-overs is almost finished. No intellects in the fold.

[kskiska]

11. I've always wondered whether Poppy was consulted in the choice

Surely he must have had serious reservations, knowing what he knows about his wastrel son. How could he have, in good conscience, recommended his disappointment of a son to be president?

[phiddle]

17. If Poppy had not approved,

Jr. could not have aced everyone in fundraising in 2000. That year the Repukes had 3 candidates with substantial resumes, if not achievements: Libby Dole, Lamar Alexander and McCain. None of them could raise enough money to mount a realistic challenge to W. who had all of the party financing locked up. That's Poppy.
Remember also, in '94, the first election after Poppy lost to Clinton, both W and Jeb won governors' races. This was the start of the planned dynastic succession. W was right then being groomed for 2000 and Jeb to succeed him. Dole, as a reward for good service was made a sacrificial lamb in '96 while Clinton was hounded into ineffectiveness.
We can anticipate that misfortune might befall any Republican who might challenge Jeb, for example the current (deserved) thrashing of George Allen. Let's see if Hagel and McCain get taken down in the next year.

[madokie]

20. it has definitely been a concerted effort on the part of the powers

to be.

[hang a left]

18. They were grooming him for years

With the re-born christian cover. I remember a year before it was even announced that he was running, talking heads spewing that he was the ONLY choice for the repugs.

[lutefisk]

12. Similar to the Reign of Reagan- we even get Negroponte back

The same outrageous, incompetent, and downright evil slimeballs from the Reagan (and even Nixon) administrations are running the show again. They'd all be indicted by now if not for the enabling, conspiratorial corporate media. Junior's arrogance and incompetence might still do them in, though.

[madokie]

15. I'm holding out that it will

its impossible to continue for all time to live a lie and this has been one hell of a lie, I would get up and do my okie dance right now but Roxy my dog wouldn't understand

[peacetalksforall]

13. Absolutely selected. Using think tanks and teams of consultants.

They needed someone who could raise money, pass as a fundamentalist, be down home to appeal to down homers in their voting base. There voting base is very volatile - people who have one agenda and sub-agendas all surrounding the their main agenda. Abortion, American supremacy, Armageddon, guns, and a wide array of bigotries - race, religion, especially plain homosexuality (there wasn't as much talk about same sex marriage back then).

Notice how his 'problems' with drink and drugs endeared him to their voting base - why he's just like us and see how he pulled himself out of it.

How would they find a 'normal' white shirted Republican who could pass this down home religious voting base screen of eligibility?

His Ivy League 'degrees' would make him OK with the country club set.

They could mold him into anything they wanted because of his narrow interests and the absence of learning that would result in him having ideas on his own - outside the interests that drive him -loyalty, betrayal, and revenge, plus back slapping, joking, and playing take and conquer games.

Rove, Card, Hughes, Bartlett, Laura, and others probably promised the selectors that they could manage and tutor him. And they went to town 'cleaning' him up. Finding photos and public records and destroying them? Redacting and removing reserve records. Promising to lock up all the Bush records as soon as possible after 'winning'.

I think they failed. They didn't tell him not to sit while talking to his peer, eat and chewing a big chunk of bread in the face of his peer, while leaning back in his chair, and looking up and doing his thing of sneering and cussing - as an example.

All the circumstantial evidence is there. Looks like they were over optimistic in many ways because we have been able to see that Dick is trying to run the country while whatever they have told George to make him think he is a loved President is backfiring. He's showing his loyalty, betrayal, revenge, stupid joke side in an embarrassing way and the back slapping transitioned to looking into souls.

Rove's performance in managing George flounders and fails.

[madokie]

16. By far the best explanation I have read yet.

Perfect.

[leftofthedial]

14. he's the gilded-turd hood ornament

on the shitmobile that is the contemporary American "conservative" movement

his family is connected to vast sums of illicit money, has no qualms about selling out their country for personal gain, and is known to be dumb and easy to manipulate due to genetic damage and multi-generational drug-fueled degeneracy.

[mtnester]

19. More like auctioned off to the highest bidder.

anyway...