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Here's another Bush Bash from the left.

Obviously, they're run out things to criticize him about.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chait22jul22,0,3359930.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

I'll take the liberty of pulling a few quotes from the peice and adding my commentary.



That is the first paragraph. Idle chit-chat if you ask me.



Maybe he should spend less time jogging and biking and more time getting BJ's from interns?



Maybe he should publish where he is every waking minute to alert terrorists and Hinkleys? Like the writer even cares how the President spends his days.



Yes, he should stay in the White House every day to instantly turn on a "sky net" to capture errant aircraft. That is simply a stupid remark. Where was Clinton when his staff tried to get ahold of him to get the word to make a try to capture OBL? Golfing with no communication link, that's where.



If I recall, there's been a President's Council on Physical Fitness program around long before W's initiatives.



If that's true, then Lindsey's got quite a lawsuit on his hands. I believe that there are two distinct situations. One: He's fat. Two, He undercut his boss and he had to be let go because of it.



As part of a group (liberals) so concerned about political correctness and sensitivity to those with disabilities, (which for those readers here are unaware, alcoholism has been deemed such), the writer takes a very insensitive shot at a recovering alcoholic by calling him a booze-hound. Hey Max Cleland..GIMP GIMP GIMP!!!



Writing this crap is demanding? Give me a break. If a professional spent more than ten minutes writing that piece, (his entire contribution to society for the day), I'd be very surprised.

Hey! Wasn't the President's Council on Physical Fitness program started by...

JFK?!?!

But at least JFK wasn't getting a BJ from... oh wait... ummmm... Hmmmm... Yeah... ummmm... Marilyn Monroe... on the desk of the oval office... shared with Bobby even... Hmmmm... At least he was discrete about it.

I still have to wonder why those on the right keep going after Clinton being with Monica... Come on... Clinton sold our missile guidance technology to communist China! Oh, but that wasn't really treason because he put out an executive order saying it was OK first!

But the best thing is that it benefits us Citizens when the politicians aren't "doing their job"! The more time a politician spends exercising (with or without an intern to help) the less time they spend pushing pork barrel spending and anti-freedom legislation up our... ummmm... down our throats!

If Jon Chait (the author of the fluff piece you liked to) wanted something to really complain about why not the indefinite extention of the PATRIOT act and the fact that the most despicable parts of the awful legislation, which Congress knows most Americans find outrageous, were given a "sunset" date of TEN frickin' years!

Such BS complaints (such as how much someone exercises or who boffed who) merely take the minds of the citizenry off the onerous things that are being done without their knowledge and against their freedoms, liberties, and rights. Sheesh...

- Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, On Combat

And it's my understanding that President Clinton also enjoyed getting it on with a heavy bag before falling fast asleep. [Hey! - Ed.]

Glad to see that out-of-shape, opinionated columnists think their jobs are more important than POTUS.

- Bill

Hey Kevin,

It boggles my mind that there are people out there who consider anyone against the Bush administration and the job he has done (or not done as the case may be) is considered a "Bleeding Heart" liberal. I won't speak for everyone, but as for myself, I consider myself a moderate, but I don't see much of what Bush has done as being great. In fact, I disagree with most of his foreign and domestic policies. I don't think that makes me a liberal (well, maybe in Texas).

I do agree that the author of that article was tad off with some of his remarks, but I do agree with that are many more important jobs out there than POTUS (as Bill puts it). I don't say this because I'm anti-Bush, but because the President's job, although extremely stressful I'm sure, is not one of absolute authority. The balance of power in the United States is a wonderful concept designed not to put the onus solely on the president. I do consider jobs such as educators, doctors, firefighters, police and those who defend our country every day to be more important than one man's position at the White House. And please don't say that without the president, we wouldn't have all those other jobs. The thing is, we do have a person in charge of the Executive Branch and we always will. I don't buy the what ifs.

Anyway, I hope that doesn't sound too liberal.


mike

Mike, your response was nowhere near a typical liberal response. You didn’t resort to name calling or contradict yourself even once. .

I myself would agree with you on many points about W’s lack of performance in the job. I’ll go a step further and point out that he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But right now, he’s the only knife we’ve got. (BTW, I have these same discussions with my moderate wife!)

My commentary in my critique of the article is that the writer simply has no point to make other than show his distain for a person. In paragraph he says the job’s is important; then in his conclusion, he says it’s not. Huh?

I was glad to see that you list of those with important jobs excluded newspaper columnists. For my money, the woman who poured my coffee this morning had the most important job of the day.

Best regards,

Kevin

Labels like liberal or conservative are relative. In the 80's I considered myself a moderate. Now that the spectrum has shifted and I live in Kansas, my neighbors probably think I'm way out in leftfield...When I lived in Maryland, my neighbors probably thought the opposite. I have voted for candidates from different parties- it often depends on the issue and the person.

Now back to the subject...

I have read other articles that criticized President Bush for questioning potential Supreme Court nominees about exercise. What's wrong with that? Although I may not agree with many of his beliefs and policies, Bush wants to leave a lasting legacy with a well-conditioned Supreme Court Justice. After all, a Justice who cares about his health will probably have fewer illnesses and serve a longer tenure. Also, folks who exercise see things in a certain way and have more discipline than an overweight reporter or columnist.

As for being obsessive about exercise, let's face it- this country has a problem with obesity. Bush is setting a good example. It would be good if the rest of the country would follow his lead (in the area of exercise that is).

When the columnist said, "It's nice for Bush that he can take an hour or two out of every day to run, bike or pump iron. Unfortunately, most of us have more demanding jobs than he does," I highly disagreed. Folks who claim they lack the time to exercise need to learn how to multitask. Those of us who run realize the benefits of being able to organize our thoughts and plan our day with a morning run (usually it's only 20-40 minutes and not a whopping hour). Also, I have seen many people work out with a hands free unit attached to a cell phone. Plus the refreshing feeling a well-conditioned person gets from increased metabolism and increased circulation helps to keep us more productive throughout the day.

Sorry but I don't buy excuses from those who refuse to take care of their health. Exercise is not a luxury but a necessity!

Take care,
Andrew

Thomas Jefferson
Founder of The University of Virginia
Signer/author of The Declaration of Independence
Author of a bill on religious freedom
Third president of The United States
Orchestrator of the Louisianna Purchase
Organizer of the Lewis and Clarke expedition
Designer of buildings deemed to be top ten architectural masterpieces



But what does TJ know? And what the heck kind of legacy did he leave, anyhow?

- Bill

Bill Sensei,

<But what does TJ know? And what the heck kind of legacy did he leave, anyhow?>

You defending a man from the left? What would George "Dubba" think of you. I think you are just being a "homer"

Also, you forgot in your list of accomplishments, Jefferson's sheer determination to start his own race of people. That took some exercise I'm sure!

mike

I'm not sure where you get that TJ was from the left. He is better-described as a libertarian, which is pretty much where I lean.

W's gotta do what he's gotta do. I'll keep my own points of view, which cause me to vote for both parties. Neither major party represents my political viewpoints, and I find many who share my point of view here. Unfortunately those kinds of subtleties are beyond the grasp of bone-headed, one-dimensional political thinkers.

Careful about TJ's reputation. There's quite the fury over all that.

Years ago, I was visiting Monticello (TJ's home) with my parents and older sister. We were getting the typical tour, which pretty much is the product of the individual who brings you around. They are allowed to emphasize what parts of history they love best, and so personalize the whole delivery. In any case, we were looking at the bedrooms of his daughters, one of whom produced all the descendents from his marriage. The tour guide happily announced that there were presently "x" living descendents of Thomas Jefferson today.

Well... Me being the logical scientist geek that I am, I asked "Are you talking about only the legitimate descendents of Mr. Jefferson?" You could have heard a pin drop. The tour guide responded that there was no proof that Thomas Jefferson ever fathered any children out of wedlock.

That of course was before the DNA studies...

Good for TJ, I say; the man's wife had passed away. If Sally Hemings kept him warm at night, it's fine by me. It wasn't proper to marry a black woman back in those days - particularly one that legally was considered property. Furthermore if history is correct, this amounted to TJ coupling up with his wife's half sister. Would the emotional bond be surprising?

I find most men would do the same given the same power and charm of a man like TJ, and beauty of a woman such as Sally Hemings. They'd just never admit it.

- Bill

Bush can run all he wants.
If he ever finds himself in the ring with Putin I got my money on the Russian.





F.

_________________
Sans Peur Ne Obliviscaris
www.hinghamkarate.com

Bill Sensei,

I agree with you about TJ being more of a Libertarian, but that's still to the left.Top Ten George W. Bush Solutions For Global Warming


I was always skeptical about his "race-making" until I read about the DNA reports about a year or two ago. This, to me, doesn't change what the man did in his lifetime. One of the most incredible founding fathers indeed. I do wish to visit his home as well as Mount Vernon in the near future. Definately on my list. BTW, they have a whole society just for the decendants of Thomas Jefferson. Believe it not, I saw them on Oprah one afternoon (no I don't reguarly watch that show). But I couldnt' believe the number.

Anyway, here is something for your pleasure that someone just sent me:Top Ten George W. Bush Solutions For Global Warming

10. NASA mission to turn down the sun's thermostat
9. Federal subsidies to boost production of Cool Ranch Doritos
8. Fast track Rumsfeld's "Colonize Neptune" proposal
7. Convene Blue-Ribbon Committee to explore innovative ways of ignoring
the problem
6. Let Hillary worry about it when she takes over
5. I dunno---tax cuts for the rich?
4. Give the boys at Halliburton 90-billion dollar contract to patch hole
in ozone
3. Switch to celsius so scorching 98 becomes frosty 37
2. Keep plenty of Bud on ice
1. Invade Antarctica


mike

"I'm not sure where you get that TJ was from the left."

Bill: Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that TJ wanted a strong central government but with very limited powers... let the states take care of their business. I support that and see no left lean at all.

Rich

_________________
Member of the world's premier gun club, the USMC!

Bill is correct. TJ would best be described currently as a Libertarian.

TJ was not for a strong Federal government. He was very much at opposite ends from Hamilton, Adams, Monroe and the rest of the "Federalists". TJ was a strong Anti-Federalist and was a contributor to the Anti-Federalist papers (which were just as important and just as powerful as the more famous Federalist papers). TJ's anti-federalist, libertarian positions came out even more when he was POTUS.

During his administration, he allowed the States to do as they pleased, much to the chagrin of the Federalists in government. TJ and Adams exchanged many scathing letters on the various issues. Later, after leaving office, supposedly because of some of the things that occurred during his two-term administration, which were the result of his anti-federalist libertarian approach, TJ is said to have moved slightly away from his positions, BUT in correspondence with Adams, the letters from Adams indicated that he, too, was moving towards TJ. They never really did meet in the middle.

Adams uttered as he died, "Thomas Jefferson survives"... because he had always proclaimed that he would outlive TJ, who was 7 years younger. Both Adams and Jefferson died within hours of each other, on in VA, one in MA, exactly 50 years after the birth of the U.S. on July 4th, 1826...

I hope by now you see that this statement is not correct.

The best way to describe this is to think of political persuasion not on a one-dimensional, but rather a two-dimensional spectrum. One axis is the "fiscal" one, and one is the "social" one.

Democrats tend to want more spending, but less government intervention on social matters.

Republicans tend to want less spending, but more government intervention on social matters.

Populists tend to prefer a well-funded government that has a big say in social matters.

Libertarians want less spending, and want the government to mind its own business.

- Bill

To illustrate what Bill is saying AND to find out where YOU stand,

Take the Quiz...

http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html

I'm curious where people fall, please let us know.

According to the quiz, I'm neither liberal nor conservative... I'm a libertarian.