It sure seems like Bush is winning a lot lately, doesn't it?

You get credit for the realization that Pres. Bush is only going to be around another year.  That's far more than some have done.

I continue to be amazed at the fascination that one individual here has with all things Bush related.  That last person I knew that was that bush obscessed was obscessed with a totally different type of bush (actually two totally different types of bushes if you will, one of the mary jane variety, and another of a totally different type of Mary Jane variety).

Honestly though, even most Bush haters would have to admit that things have been going President Bush's way quite a bit lately.  Some would try to give credit to others, or totally denigrate the President's efforts by saying that 'well, if it wasn't for the Democrats it would be far worse....' or 'it would be much better if someone else was leading...' but would it really?

The point of the article (and the ones that proceeded, which were not intended to be spam) is that people give too much credit and too much blame to the guy at the top, and that applies not just to the Presidency of the United States, but also to business (which I recall also included some also recent discussion where someone with socialist leanings complained about how CEOs were overpaid, such as in replies in this article here: You Can't Balance the Budget By Increasing Social Spending)

Is one guy really the anti-Christ or the superman that does it all?  No.  What happens in Washington (especially) is the result of hundreds, if not thousands (by the time you count all of the behind the scenese people), of people coming together to get things done.  All bring something to the plan, and all make little changes along the way.  The President comments in various ways that he can't accept this or that, the Congress responds that they can't accept this or that, and eventually we get a compromise solution and normally we get the better solution because of that.

When there's a veto-proof majority or filibuster-proof majority in control things get more dicey as we tend to have the majority ruling and ramming things down the throat of the minority.  Again, a bad thing (and something else that was talked about in some recent articles here: It's Not Always What the "Majority" Wants)

In reality, I have to honestly say I realize that of course President Bush didn't do all of the things I mention aboved, nor should he get credit for all of them, but for that to be the case, he certainly shouldn't be blamed for all of society's ills either (or be called a Scrooge, or be spoken about as if he should never have been born.  Heck, if we are going to talk about people we wish were never born, I have a few suggestions....)

Huh? We're a blog site. People can blog about whatever they want.

Yummm, I like spam.  Fried especially (just kiddin', just kiddin' ... I haven't touched that stuff in years and am damned thankful for not having to eat it.  Just the thought of the smell of the stuff coming out of the can is disgusting to me.  Sorry Hormel, or whomever owns the Spam company now.  Yick.)

(You know, I could write an article about things that stink that I do eat... Dinty Moore beef stew comes to mind.  Stinks like dog food coming out of the can, but with some southern style biscuits, it makes good eatin' when it's hot.)

Meanwhile, /nod to Draginol for being a most gracious host, and I do promise to try hard not to spam the site as I don't appreciate it any more than the next person does.

That's true Loca, but since it hasn't played out completely through the court system yet, it may be too early for anyone to celebrate there...

I was just giving you a bad time for posting like four or five articles at once.

Would that be like the 4 or 5 (in a row) "THAT'S A LIE!!!  I USED FACTS!!!" replies made by some people in debates in their threads?

tee-hee! Bush "winning" indeed!

There comes a point when the dammage done is so great that anything you do to try and make things right is essentially fruitless. I see Bush's current actions more akin to putting some nice window dressing on the titanic as it's sinking. Did you know that Bush, your great leader knows how utterly screwed the average American is going to be in a few years and has planned for this? I said average, not all Americans- there will be a bubble of about 20-30% that will be okay living in gated communities and guarded by Blackwater. Another 10-20% will be the "middle class" and then about 50-60%, depending on how the other two categories turn out, will be a massive pool of cheap labour, disposable people. They, along with many in the middle class will get to experience the true joys of a real unregulated free market! (read into that massive unemployment or even better, full employment but prices so high that the average joe will spend most of their income on bread)

Bush knows this- this is why he has purchased a massive amount of land in Nicaragua and will be retiring there. Think about that. Your great leader loves his country so much he is not planning on living there in the future. Surrounded by countless acres in Nicaragua he'll be safe and guarded away from all the soon to be angry American people when they see just how badly the wool was pulled over their eyes! If you think what Enron did was bad, that was just the dress-rehearsal! Bush knows the fundamental dammage he's contributed to (I don't blame him for everything, but he is a key piece of the puzzle) and so he's not going to be sticking around to see the fruits of his labor. Although he and his friends already have and will continue to get a nice ROI from it!

So yes, Terpfan, you're absolutely right that Bush is winning lately. In fact, he's been winning since shortly after 9/11 (things weren't so stellar before that). Thing is, while Bush and his special interest friends have been winning, the U.S has been losing in order to make that happen. In regards to budgetary affairs, did you know that the U.S requires 3 billion dollars a day of foreign capital just to stay afloat? The entire Iraq and Afghanistan wars have gone on the biggest VISA bill in history, and one day your foreign creditors will come knocking. When Bush and his friends have finished sapping as much wealth from the U.S as they possibly can, they will leave for greener pastures, and the American people will be left holding the bill!

Wow.  What...an interesting apraisal.

I'm game though. Specifically, how are we screwed?

Economy is doing decent.

Unemployment is low.

Standard of living continues to improve.

Our deficit spending is actually low as a % of GDP (only 2% of the budget goes to interest payments -- very small historically speaking).

What exactly is your problem?

Re-arranging deck chairs on the titanic.

I saw the news on that.  Since I live in one of those other states that would have imposed the restrictions, it affects me directly.

It also affects every other potential car or truck buyer too.  People in other states that would perhaps have benefited from vehicles that had to meet the tougher fuel economy and emissions standards, but in doing so might have had to pay much more for their vehicles than they otherwise would have.

There's also the issue of the automotive manufacturers that would have to make vehicles that meet these various standards if some states are permitted to use tougher standards while others don't have to.

The folly of the plans of California and the other states is that absolutely nothing keeps the emissions of vehicles from neighboring states from affecting their own air.  Unless the states prevent the vehicles from neighbor states from passing through, the exhaust from the visitors will be there, and oh, yeah, the neighbor states will continue to use fuel more quickly than would those in the states that followed California.

I'd love to see some of what California was proposing become national law, but the place to do that is in the U.S. congress, not in individual legislatures across the country.