NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.pamspaulding.com/graphics/codpiecarama.jpg

3 years ago today, Commander Codpiece executed the second-greatest photo-op of his presidency. (His bullhorn moment amid the WTC rubble was probably his best work.)

I must give him credit--the Mission Accomplished banner, the turning around of the carrier so that the cameras would see only ocean instead of the shoreline, the keeping the Abraham Lincoln out at sea an extra day so they could pull this off, the jet landing instead of the Marine One helicopter--an extraordinary piece of propaganda work.

So what are your feelings on the third anniversary of Mission Accomplished day? Feel a little queasy, like I do?

Wow, loads of crap happens on May 1st. It should be everything day from now on.

I can't think of a better way to crap on an official Communist holiday. Pile more crap on it.

It just brings up a large question:

What was his true mission all along?

Now now!

The mission was accomplished; the troops are in Iraq.

Now now!

The mission was accomplished; the troops are in Iraq.

Not quite. He hasn't revealed his clone troopers or declared himself emperor yet.:rolleyes:

Not quite. He hasn't revealed his clone troopers or declared himself emperor yet.:rolleyes:

Actually the Emperor is right now trying to convince the Swiss Guard to put on the neat new red uniforms :D

It just brings up a large question:

What was his true mission all along?
One of the drawbacks of military operations is that all operations end when the attack ends - few truly military operations that begin with an attack have a really good plan for the aftermath (the invasion of Europe during WW II by the Allies and the occupation of Japan being notable exceptions).

You will notice that in the case of the exceptions, you had largely homogeneous populations who viewed themselves as utterly defeated.

In this age of modern warfare, although there is some collateral damage on the way to occupying a country in two weeks, one might also note that the damage is nowhere near as crippling and obvious as the damage sustained in an old-style WW II invasion. Thus, the general populace has an initial impression that the army gave up for no particular reason. It's a shock, but not the one you want to convince people that the war is REALLY over.

Actually the Emperor is right now trying to convince the Swiss Guard to put on the neat new red uniforms :D

Cool. Now all we need are lightsabres, and the world will be complete.:p

http://www.pamspaulding.com/graphics/codpiecarama.jpg
So what are your feelings on the third anniversary of Mission Accomplished day? Feel a little queasy, like I do?
Nah, since its "Loyalty day" today, I won't do anything as subversive as ask questions -
Happy Loyalty day everyone! :)

Nah, since its "Loyalty day" today, I won't do anything as subversive as ask questions -
Happy Loyalty day everyone! :)


http://webpages.charter.net/micah/oath.jpg

I would like to make a toast to the Bush Administration for having the balls to act like they are awesome in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

i googled "mission accomplished" and this was one of the first results"http://www.dmoma.org/lobby/exhibitions/presidentially_speaking/images/mission_accomplished.jpeg
Oh that makes me giggle...now i need to lay down...

I'm gonna celebrate by taking the family out on a drive in the Ford Excursion. I think I'll take them to the rifle range where my daughter, Betty Sue, can fire off a few rounds from her new AR-17 vintage assault rifle I bought her for her 5th birthday last month. My sone, Billy Bob, will probably want to take a few shots with his 20-gauge. I accidently shot him wit that last year at his 8th birthday party. I'd had a couple beers and I peppered him real good in the face, but he's okay now and he apologized for what he put me through.

Anyhoo, what are you guys gonna do?

I'm gonna celebrate by taking the family out on a drive in the Ford Excursion.

No, you want the 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 2WD...that only gets 9 miles per gallon compared to your tree-hugging Excursion's 14!

No, you want the 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 2WD...that only gets 9 miles per gallon compared to your tree-hugging Excursion's 14!
Yeah? You think you're tough in your Ram? Imma use my Hummer to tow my Excursion to the gun range. :mad:

I can't think of a better way to crap on an official Communist holiday. Pile more crap on it.Communist?! Screw you, it's the anarchist martyrs day.

I farted.

It just brings up a large question:

What was his true mission all along?

To prove his package was bigger than Dick Cheney's ....

http://www12.brinkster.com/poptarts/dickcheney.jpg

Oops.

Yeah? You think you're tough in your Ram? Imma use my Hummer to tow my Excursion to the gun range. :mad:

I'll just tow the Ram to the range with my RV.

I would like to make a toast to the Bush Administration for having the balls to act like they are awesome in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Hear hear! A toast! A toast!

I would like to make a toast to the Bush Administration for having the balls to act like they are awesome in the face of such overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Whatever. At least he has enough integrity to stick to his guns even when there is overwhelming evidence that he is wrong, unlike some people who change their minds about anything just because evidence suggests they should.

Whatever. At least he has enough integrity to stick to his guns even when there is overwhelming evidence that he is wrong, unlike some people who change their minds about anything just because evidence suggests they should.
Who cares about evidence? We used to have a President who was led by the polls - if the polls changed, his position changed within 15 seconds.

Good "leadership", that.

Who cares about evidence? We used to have a President who was led by the polls - if the polls changed, his position changed within 15 seconds.

Good "leadership", that.
Shit worked a lot better under that guy. Just sayin'.

Shit worked a lot better under that guy. Just sayin'.
He was lucky. We didn't have anyone fly planes into buildings back then.

Not that he wasn't above pointless attacks against various nations - I seem to recall two military debacles in particular, the Ranger incident in Somalia, and the firing of cruise missiles at a "nerve gas facility" in Sudan (turns out to be a pharmaceutical company).

The last one was merely a distraction from a certain blue dress.

He was lucky. We didn't have anyone fly planes into buildings back then.

Not that he wasn't above pointless attacks against various nations - I seem to recall two military debacles in particular, the Ranger incident in Somalia, and the firing of cruise missiles at a "nerve gas facility" in Sudan (turns out to be a pharmaceutical company).

The last one was merely a distraction from a certain blue dress.Even if luck was all it was--and you know damn well that's not the case--the fact remains that this guy is the most incompetent boob ever to hold the office, and he's fucked up shit that had absolutely nothing to do with planes flying into office buildings. (And I'm not even going to get into how his incompetence might have contributed to the aforementioned planes-buildings debacle.)

I'm gonna celebrate by taking the family out on a drive in the Ford Excursion. I think I'll take them to the rifle range where my daughter, Betty Sue, can fire off a few rounds from her new AR-17 vintage assault rifle I bought her for her 5th birthday last month. My sone, Billy Bob, will probably want to take a few shots with his 20-gauge. I accidently shot him wit that last year at his 8th birthday party. I'd had a couple beers and I peppered him real good in the face, but he's okay now and he apologized for what he put me through.

Anyhoo, what are you guys gonna do?

Oh Christ, just because people are gun owners does not make them a redneck/hillbilly/southerner. I am a gun owner without the redneck. And I don't know any rednecks that own an AR-15 (what is an AR-17?). In fact it is really difficult to acquire an automatics liscense; it took my brother a while.

Oh Christ, just because people are gun owners does not make them a redneck/hillbilly/southerner. I am a gun owner without the redneck. And I don't know any rednecks that own an AR-15 (what is an AR-17?). In fact it is really difficult to acquire an automatics liscense; it took my brother a while.
It wasn't a dig at gun owners. I'm a gun owner, too. It was a dig at a stereotype Bush supporter and gun nut, which I think is different than gun owner, its the stereotype. All labradors are dogs does not mean all dogs are labradors.

Even if luck was all it was--and you know damn well that's not the case--the fact remains that this guy is the most incompetent boob ever to hold the office, and he's fucked up shit that had absolutely nothing to do with planes flying into office buildings. (And I'm not even going to get into how his incompetence might have contributed to the aforementioned planes-buildings debacle.)

You can be an incompetent boob - largely because it's the bureaucracy that runs things in the US - and the President has precious little ability to change it.

You'll note that it's the bureaucracy where the screw-ups related to the planes occurred. Not in the Presidency or Congress.

As for the worst President, I suggest you look at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_U.S._Presidents

which seems to be a relatively good survey across surveys.

Bush isn't on the list of worst amongst historians.

Who cares about evidence?

Damn skippy! "The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday, that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday. Events can change, this man's beliefs never will." -- Stephen Colbert

Who cares about evidence? We used to have a President who was led by the polls - if the polls changed, his position changed within 15 seconds.

Good "leadership", that.

Holy shit, Batman! A President actually following the will of the people?!

My God ... Hell hath frozen over!

Wait a minute ... isn't that what the President is *supposed* to do?

Bush isn't on the list of worst amongst historians.

He's not history yet. Give it a few years.

Holy shit, Batman! A President actually following the will of the people?!

My God ... Hell hath frozen over!

Wait a minute ... isn't that what the President is *supposed* to do?

No. Obviously you haven't read anything written by the Founding Fathers, and their intent behind the Constitution.

The President is supposed to "lead". That means that somehow, he is supposed to have the wisdom and foresight to take the nation in the direction that is best for the nation. Not just because it's popular.

Hell, it would be popular to hand out checks from the Treasury. If we held a poll tomorrow, and 90 percent of the people thought it was a good idea, should we then do it?

You can be an incompetent boob - largely because it's the bureaucracy that runs things in the US - and the President has precious little ability to change it.

You'll note that it's the bureaucracy where the screw-ups related to the planes occurred. Not in the Presidency or Congress.

As for the worst President, I suggest you look at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_U.S._Presidents

which seems to be a relatively good survey across surveys.

Bush isn't on the list of worst amongst historians.

How about this assessment then? (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history)

How about this assessment then? (http://www.rollingstone.com/news/profile/story/9961300/the_worst_president_in_history)
Sorry, it's not an assessment across time in the same way as the multiple surveys addressed in the wikipedia article.

You can be an incompetent boob - largely because it's the bureaucracy that runs things in the US - and the President has precious little ability to change it.

You'll note that it's the bureaucracy where the screw-ups related to the planes occurred. Not in the Presidency or Congress.

As for the worst President, I suggest you look at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_U.S._Presidents

which seems to be a relatively good survey across surveys.

Bush isn't on the list of worst amongst historians.
You're right. It is the bureaucracy that runs things. All the more reason you should appoint competent people to run them.

http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/bushbeat/archive/images/bush-and-mike-brown-9-22-03-thumb.jpg
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/10/images/20051003_p100305pm-0032jpg-250h.jpg
http://www.peteykins.com/sparklepony/Rumsfeld60105b.jpg
http://www.thinkandask.com/images/chertoff.gif

No. Obviously you haven't read anything written by the Founding Fathers, and their intent behind the Constitution.

Oh yeah ... that's just so damned obvious. You get all manner of assumption brownie points. Standard conservative debate tactic: Assume the ignorance of the person you're speaking to because if they don't share your view, they must be uneducated.

The President is supposed to "lead".

By will of the people. That's why there's all those nice checks and balances in place. Keeps the President what he is intended to be: civil servant, not king.

Go take a civics class.

That's ok, though, again this is typical conservative debate technique. Our guy is doing it right and all others are not.

Hell, it would be popular to hand out checks from the Treasury. If we held a poll tomorrow, and 90 percent of the people thought it was a good idea, should we then do it?

And there's the standard convservative slippery slope. You people really need a new schtick. Oh, and incidently, Bush did hand out checks from the Treasury ... twice, I believe.

Clinton asked the people where he should go on vacation. I can think of no other examples of your hamfisted slam.

Sorry, it's not an assessment across time in the same way as the multiple surveys addressed in the wikipedia article.


Your link did show that polls don't put GWB as the worst President in history but it certainly does show that polls consistently put Clinton (the guy you point to when Bush is attacked as somehow beign worse than Bush) near the top and always above GWB.

Historians debate feverishly over who is the best president in American history. However, there is little disagreement over who was the worst. His name was Warren G. Harding (1921-1923), and he sucked.

The resons why he sucked are many, and, to be truthful, have been well documented in the annals of presendential history. So, with your indulgence, I'd like to focus instead onthe intensity of his sucking.

Warren G. Harding was a worthless piece of shit. Fuck him. His presidency was a taint, not just in the sense of a "stain on the office," but literally a taint - the anatomical area between the anus and the testicles.

I hate Warren G. Harding.

There you have it. Bush is, at most, the second worst president ever.

Sorry, it's not an assessment across time in the same way as the multiple surveys addressed in the wikipedia article.

Really?

From time to time, after hours, I kick back with my colleagues at Princeton to argue idly about which president really was the worst of them all. For years, these perennial debates have largely focused on the same handful of chief executives whom national polls of historians, from across the ideological and political spectrum, routinely cite as the bottom of the presidential barrel. Was the lousiest James Buchanan, who, confronted with Southern secession in 1860, dithered to a degree that, as his most recent biographer has said, probably amounted to disloyalty -- and who handed to his successor, Abraham Lincoln, a nation already torn asunder? Was it Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, who actively sided with former Confederates and undermined Reconstruction? What about the amiably incompetent Warren G. Harding, whose administration was fabulously corrupt? Or, though he has his defenders, Herbert Hoover, who tried some reforms but remained imprisoned in his own outmoded individualist ethic and collapsed under the weight of the stock-market crash of 1929 and the Depression's onset? The younger historians always put in a word for Richard M. Nixon, the only American president forced to resign from office.

Now, though, George W. Bush is in serious contention for the title of worst ever. In early 2004, an informal survey of 415 historians conducted by the nonpartisan History News Network found that eighty-one percent considered the Bush administration a "failure." Among those who called Bush a success, many gave the president high marks only for his ability to mobilize public support and get Congress to go along with what one historian called the administration's "pursuit of disastrous policies." In fact, roughly one in ten of those who called Bush a success was being facetious, rating him only as the best president since Bill Clinton -- a category in which Bush is the only contestant.

I find it amusing that you'd try to apologize for Bush's incompetence by bringing up other Presidential blunders in history in an effort to make it seem lesser, especially considering you were one of the first on NSG who dismissed the relevance of historical context as a valid explanation of why Islamic fundamentalism is raging out of control in the Middle East and believe Muslims are a barbaric Borg-ish collective that needs a good dose of extinction. If Muslims have no excuse because of modern times, why should Bush?

It's also funny how you say no historian rates Bush as among the worst president in US history, but you immediately dismiss Sean Wilentz's credentials when I linked the article.

Also, I believe you were in the past contemptuous of Wikipedia as an information source especially when cited in an argument against Bush or some other topic. I suppose it's no holds barred in the pursuit of Truthiness, Justice and the Real American Way huh?

Hell, it would be popular to hand out checks from the Treasury. If we held a poll tomorrow, and 90 percent of the people thought it was a good idea, should we then do it?


Or if you follow the news of the day the Republicans are trying to hand out checks of $100 to everyone to compensate for the high gas prices and conservatives and liberals are equally pissed about it.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/27/gas.rebate/

There you have it. Bush is, at most, the second worst president ever.

Ahh but he still has two more years to win the title! ;)

Ahh but he still has two more years to win the title! ;)

Good point. I will withhold my judgement until then.

Good point. I will withhold my judgement until then.

There is the Wilentz article I linked to. And apparently Bush manifests most if not all of the behavioral traits of the worst presidents in past history from what it says.

Ahh but he still has two more years to win the title! ;)
Shush! Be quiet you! You're ruining Loyalty Day for everyone with your subversive behaviour (i.e. lack of unquestioning loyalty)

Can't we all just hold hands, eat apple pie and sing "America, F**k yeah!" (or Let the eagle soar! (http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2002/02/25/ashcroft.sings.wbtv.med.html)) and be happy/blissfully ignorant for just one day?
:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:

Let the eagle soar,

Like she’s never soared before.

From rocky coast to golden shore,

Let the mighty eagle soar.

Why did I read "let the eagle roar"?

Anyway, how does George W.Bush do in the category for worst presidents - who got reelected? Hehe, what a silly title to hold - whoever holds it.

/Foreigner, ignorant on US presidential history

Shush! Be quiet you! You're ruining Loyalty Day for everyone with your subversive behaviour (i.e. lack of unquestioning loyalty)

Can't we all just hold hands, eat apple pie and sing "America, F**k yeah!" (or Let the eagle soar! (http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2002/02/25/ashcroft.sings.wbtv.med.html)) and be happy/blissfully ignorant for just one day?
:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:
Man, fuck you. Now I'm never gonna get that damn song out of my head. :p

Anyway, how does George W.Bush do in the category for worst presidents - who got reelected? Hehe, what a silly title to hold - whoever holds it.

So far it's Richard Nixon and Bush is looking to take away the title from him in a landslide.

Shush! Be quiet you! You're ruining Loyalty Day for everyone with your subversive behaviour (i.e. lack of unquestioning loyalty)

Can't we all just hold hands, eat apple pie and sing "America, F**k yeah!" (or Let the eagle soar! (http://www.cnn.com/video/us/2002/02/25/ashcroft.sings.wbtv.med.html)) and be happy/blissfully ignorant for just one day?
:fluffle: :fluffle: :fluffle:


ALRIGHT ALLLLRIGHT TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW! I WILL TALK JUST MAKE IT STOP!

ALRIGHT ALLLLRIGHT TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW! I WILL TALK JUST MAKE IT STOP!
:D

*Files song under "efficient methods"*