Quote :

"Bushed on Bush-whacking By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist | May 21, 2006 THE COUNTRY still has George W. Bush to kick around for 2 1/2 more years. But the thrill is gone. Bush-whacking isn't as much fun as it used to be. For one thing, everyone's doing it. The joyless political left started up in 2000 and shows no signs of letting up. Today, you can add bitter political conservatives to the anti-Bush brew. Radio host Rush Limbaugh lambastes the president as regularly as Boston Globe columnists and the Michael Moore crowd. And Bush's current critics dish it out right in the president's face, as Comedy Central's faux talk show host Stephen Colbert did at the recent White House Correspondents Dinner. But, truthfully, lampooning a president is much less satisfying when the president is as diminished as Bush. The swagger is gone from the presidential hips; the smirk is missing from the presidential lips. Job approval ratings in the low 30s knock the cowboy boots off a fellow. Bush's public support is down around the lowly point of no return for Richard Nixon, right before the Watergate scandal forced him to resign. The men behind the Bush administration curtain are weakened as well. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had to fight off a statistically tiny but annoyingly loud battalion of retired generals who called for his resignation over administration policy in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney is a punchline in hunting jokes, after he accidentally shot a friend in Texas last February. More seriously, Cheney is being drawn more closely into the CIA leak case. In a recent court filing, the prosecutor in the case revealed that Cheney made handwritten references to CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson before her identity was publicly exposed. Presidential adviser Karl Rove is also under scrutiny for his role in the CIA leak case. Perhaps that distraction caused Rove's recent, painful stating of the obvious. In an interview, Rove blamed the conflict in Iraq for dragging down Bush's job approval ratings in public opinion polls. ''People like this president, " Rove insists. ''They're just sour right now on the war." Actually, there is a lot to be sour on: Iraq, the poor response to Hurricane Katrina, torture allegations, domestic spying, and a general sense of going nowhere on any number of critical issues. It all undercuts Bush, as it should. The critiques and complaints seemingly stretch into infinity, or at least until the next president takes office. And who knows what special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald might turn up before then? But the joy of ''I-told-you-so" fades with the realization that Bush looks less like a worthy opponent than a sorry dog, waiting for the next kick. Tax cuts are about all that remain for a Republican-dominated Congress to rally around. General Michael V. Hayden, Bush's choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency, seems to be headed for confirmation after facing initial challenges. According to some recent polls, the public is interested in compromise on the contentious immigration control issue, but conservatives hate the Bush plan. Bush's sorry state translates into a sorry state for the country. Washington sees the problems as his, not theirs -- or ours. As a result, the country is in store for more finger-pointing and gridlock. Republicans are divided on the agenda going forward. Democrats are united in one pursuit -- beating Republicans on election day. Presidential hopefuls from both parties are making the rounds in Iowa and New Hampshire and cultivating media attention. The ceaseless presidential campaign season adds to the sensation of an administration out of clout, if not yet out of office. It's depressing. Not the valid critiques of an administration that took the country in a direction only 29 percent now believe is the right one; but the inability to figure out how to get back on the right path, and the unwillingness of political opponents to try. In rare instances, a Republican such as Senator John McCain of Arizona works with a Democrat such as Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts on immigration. But the fringe on both sides of the issue suffocates the voice of reason. Second-term presidents by definition are lame ducks. Bush gives the definition new meaning. Lacking public and party support, this administration lingers and languishes. ''You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore," Nixon said in 1962 when he failed to win election as governor of California, after losing the presidency in 1960. Bush is still around to be kicked. But there's little kick in doing it. © Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/05/21/bushed_on_bush_whacking/ "

5/25/2006 12:59:24 AM

Quote :

"THE COUNTRY still has George W. Bush to kick around for 2 1/2 more years. But the thrill is gone. Bush-whacking isn't as much fun as it used to be. "

Im the decider, Ive decided its still fun.

5/25/2006 1:01:43 AM

the worst part of this article

Quote :

"Bush looks less like a worthy opponent than a sorry dog, waiting for the next kick. "

is that comparing Bush to a sorry dog, is an insult to sorry dogs.

5/25/2006 1:03:55 AM

God this thread was an awful idea!!!!

Hey dudes, let's make a boring thread about how boring it is to make fun of the president.

joe_schmoe you really nailed your dismount with this one buddy!!! perfect 10.

now I understand why this thread was created:

http://brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=410996

5/25/2006 1:44:06 AM

its not fun cause people are tired of him fucking up so much

its like watching a retard in the special olympics

it was funny at first, now its just played out

5/25/2006 2:03:43 AM

too bad we can't fire him.

[Edited on May 25, 2006 at 2:07 AM. Reason : going to go down as one of the worst presidents]

5/25/2006 2:07:24 AM

~30% of people still haven't been reached yet though.

5/25/2006 2:13:24 AM

this thread gets a picture of Bush dropping his own dog:

5/25/2006 2:23:10 AM

dogs are pretty resilient, you can kick them and stuff

5/25/2006 2:27:53 AM

It's actually getting more and more entertaining the more apparent his screw-ups become.

5/25/2006 2:46:16 AM

Quote :

"~30% of people still haven't been reached yet though."

Actually a 70% "enlightened" rating is pretty good for America.

5/25/2006 7:18:05 AM

Quote :

"Radio host Rush Limbaugh lambastes the president as regularly as Boston Globe columnists and the Michael Moore crowd."

i see the point the article is making but is he really trying to convince anybody that Rush Limbaugh is dissing the president as much as Michael Moore? I completely disagree

5/25/2006 11:25:51 AM

Rush isn't lambasting the president-- he's occasionally admitting nowadays that Bush isn't infallible.

5/25/2006 1:50:18 PM

It really makes you wonder what those other 30% are thinking

5/25/2006 1:52:03 PM

And as stupid or pathetic as he is... Bush is still undefeated against the Democrats. HOPE IS ON THE WAY!!1

5/25/2006 2:19:47 PM

ScubaSteve.

there's one of the 30%'ers now ^. ask him. he still has a hard on for GWB.

5/26/2006 1:56:02 AM

Personally, I have moved from simply bashing Shrubya to taking it to those around me who so avidly supported him during the campaign and are now, for various reasons, questioning their decision.

The b.s. responce that gets me is when they say "Yeah, like Kerry would have been soooo much better...." Heh. Who knows? It's always fun to think in hypotheticals when reality sucks.

5/26/2006 5:30:42 AM

Quote :

"THE COUNTRY still has George W. Bush to kick around for 2 1/2 more years. But the thrill is gone. Bush-whacking isn't as much fun as it used to be. For one thing, everyone's doing it."

Signed,

Gamecat

5/26/2006 8:00:55 AM

Quote :

"there's one of the 30%'ers now ^. ask him. he still has a hard on for GWB."

What in the world makes you think I have a "hard on for GWB" based on me calling him stupid and pathetic? I love making fun of Bush. Hell, I love making fun of anyone. Just had to offer a friendly reminder of how sad it is that he has never been beaten by the Democrats.

5/26/2006 9:00:45 AM

^ o sorry. i think i was thinking you were someone else, being sarcastic.

my bad

5/26/2006 6:40:59 PM