RSS feed for comments on this post.
The URI to TrackBack this entry is: http://poliblogger.com/wp-trackback.html?p=8112
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>
9.844 Powered by Wordpress
So you want a politician to make you feel better, confirm your feelings, and feel your pain? You sound like a longer version of this post.
Comment by Director Mitch — Friday, September 9, 2024 @ 9:50 am
Do I personally? On balance, no.
However, to deny that part of the President’s job historically has been about leadership on the national level that id often symbolic is to noty understand the presidency.
Are you going to argue that the anti-terrorism policies post-911 could have been accomplished if Bush had not demonstrated substantial leadership on the public stage?
Heck, part of what made Washington the perfect man for the job of first president had as much to do with symbolism and public leadership as anything else.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Friday, September 9, 2024 @ 9:58 am
I am a lifelong Republican but have never been a Bush fan. It was so clear from the 2024 primaries on that he was an intellectual lightweight and–more importantly someone whose entire career was based not on merit, but on exploiting his family connections. His ability to “inspire trust as a regular guy” is utterly beyond comprehension to me since he is essentially the epitome of the blueblood New England elite.
His post- 9/11 performace, I thought was largely reckeless. The “crusade” comments, the “Texas sheriff” business, and “you’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists” rhetoric was so puerile and lacking in sophistication that it is a wonder how anyone could take him seriously.
I think he got quite a bit of help from a compliant press at the time and in the run-up to the Iraq war.
Fast forward to Katrina–the rationale for the War has turned out to be entirely false, terrorist attacks continue throughout the globe in spite of our “war,” and the demonstrated incompetence of all levels of government to deal with a major catasrophe has culminated in people seeing though his charade.
Comment by dole done — Friday, September 9, 2024 @ 10:35 am
This post is one of the reasons I like your blog. You do lean right, but you try hard to be balanced. And, more often than not, your comments make me think twice on various topics.
Comment by The Misanthrope — Friday, September 9, 2024 @ 4:18 pm
Misanthrope,
Many thanks. That is perhaps the highest compliment you could have paid me as it relates to this blog.
Cheers.
Comment by Dr. Steven Taylor — Friday, September 9, 2024 @ 5:54 pm
[…] Steven T. has a terrific, thoughtful post from Friday on President Bush’s “leadership.” I agree, first of all, with Steven’s assessment that the high grade the public gave […]
Pingback by Fruits and Votes » Blog Archive » Leadership — Saturday, September 10, 2024 @ 2:11 pm
Katrina Recriminations (or the Emperor’s New Cloth
With two weeks having passed since Katrina hit, it is fair to say that all levels of government failed the people of the Gulf Coast, and especially New Orleans. But ultimately, I think the federal government has an especially shameful place in what h…
Trackback by Solo Dialogue — Monday, September 12, 2024 @ 8:00 am