| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: Politix |
| W speaks about his ideas and visions for economy in Arkansas |
| 2007-10-16 |
| The link is the text of W's town hall meeting in Rogers, Arkansas yesterday. This is the second time recently that he has communicated anything like a broad outline of what he has in mind. Lots of good questions, and lots of good tidbits in his answers that help explain how he sees things. Perhaps you agree or disagree with him, but given the coherence of his answers I don't think you can say he is there for anything other than what he thinks is in the best interests of the US. And the world if at all possible. Some call him overbearing. I'm guessing that comes from his confidence in his convictions which are the type that can be difficult to dislodge because they are hard to disprove and come from his generally optimistic outlook on humanity. He seems humble enough to admit he makes mistakes and is willing to acknowledge them unlike many other unnamed world leaders who work against him for personal gain. He works patiently to correct those mistakes in the blast-furnace of ignorant public opinion that demands perfection and instant gratification from their armchairs. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #4 I have recognized the impact Islamic terrorism has had on our need to protect fervently our value system and so Bush in his efforts are applauded. He is a good man. The greatest compliment comes from a friend who is in the Secret Service and knows the Prez well. He was also there for Clinton's 2 terms. His feeling is this - if Hillary gets elected and the Clinton's come back to the WH, he is retiring. He says the nicest, down to earth people to ever occupy the WH has been W and his wife and daughters. He has time for everyone. Has a nickname for everyone including each of the personal detail. He is sure of himself and his beliefs and has no hangups, BS quotient or ego needs. I also know someone in the Rangers organization who says he was the same way there. Probably too nice a guy (compared to Steinbrenner) to run a major league franchise. He has my vote both times and I haven't regretted it. I don't agree with him on immigration but 1 out of 10 or 20 isn't bad. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-10-16 16:32 |
| #3 I remind my friends, Lefties and Reasonable People, that gauge of W's success is the standard that he himself established in 2000. Changing the tone in American politics. It has been a long slog, marred by scandals generated in the Clinton administration--Enron, Worldcom--and punctuated by an attack on America. And, I believe, the President has held constant to that one principle. Which goes a long way toward explaining why we have had trouble with W's reactions to the Left. Pelosi, Reid, the list of slights and wrongs, rudeness and misrepresentation is numbingly long. And yet the President treats those who work against him with politeness and gentility. Will he succeed in his pledge? From what I've seen, Harry Reid is having problems back home. Speaker Pelosi is safe in her district, but what impact are the Blue Dogs having in moderating her and the Lefty Cadre? I don't believe you should underestimate the Jacksonian impluse. People see and hear General Peter Pace and come away with their own conclusions. People see and hear General Petraeus and come away with their own conclusions. Where is Lefty Schumer's contempt for W's AG nomination? Why is Congress' approval rating so low, and what will those ratings do in the next election cycle? I still have hope that the President is successful. I'm a dreamer. I still remember what the Democrats did to Sherman Adams. The only way to remove lying and calumny from the political process is to remove Democrats from it. (Oops...I see my tone hasn't changed at all.) |
| Posted by: OregonGuy 2007-10-16 14:45 |
| #2 Glenmore, I'm with you on this. I think that Bush is a good man who has tried his best. Whether or not you agree with his positions, he started his presidency trying to build bipartisanship (see Kennedy, education, drug bill, etc.) I think he very much believes in the compassionate in "compassionate conservatism" and has been horribly slandered by the Slime-o-crats and their fellow travellers. There are many things I disagree with him on (immigration being #1) but... "A good man who tried his best" sums it up nicely. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2007-10-16 14:07 |
| #1 What would he want for his epitaph? "Here rests a good man who tried his best"? I often don't agree with him (e.g. border control) but I am constantly struck by the contrast between his private behavior (as occassionally revealed by families of wounded or deceased soldiers, for instance) and his predecessor's public posing (tears on cue, etc.) He seems an unusually 'honest' politician (oxymoron alert). |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-10-16 08:28 |