Comments on: So Is This http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/ A blog about politics. Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:39:33 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Hey, you wanna see Barack Obama speak like Sarah Palin? You Betcha… : P.U.M.A http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21830 Hey, you wanna see Barack Obama speak like Sarah Palin? You Betcha… : P.U.M.A Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:38:21 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21830 [...] she speaks Lingua Americana, please read this transcript of Obama’s 60 minutes interview from Time Magazine’s Swampland blog and judge for yourself what Obama’s new style of speaking seems to [...] [...] she speaks Lingua Americana, please read this transcript of Obama’s 60 minutes interview from Time Magazine’s Swampland blog and judge for yourself what Obama’s new style of speaking seems to [...]

]]> By: 53_3 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21540 53_3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:39:28 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21540 <i> "Oblivious, anyone?" </i> . Yes. you... "Oblivious, anyone?"
.
Yes. you...

]]> By: textee http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21517 textee Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:17:29 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21517 Lovestruck Jay Carney hails the thoroughly unqualified, terrorist fraternizing, community organizer's "seemingly obvious but all-too-rare, refreshingly non-ideological declaration about how best to govern." This is a parody of a Washington press corps, boilerplate, useful idiot, right? Evidently, the entire history (unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, Jeremiah "God *#@$ America" Wright, Michelle "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country" Obama, "community organizing" and voting record) of the thoroughly unqualified, terrorist fraternizing, community organizer are completely foreign to the lovestruck Carney. Oblivious, anyone? Lovestruck Jay Carney hails the thoroughly unqualified, terrorist fraternizing, community organizer's "seemingly obvious but all-too-rare, refreshingly non-ideological declaration about how best to govern." This is a parody of a Washington press corps, boilerplate, useful idiot, right?

Evidently, the entire history (unrepentant terrorist William Ayers, Jeremiah "God *#@$ America" Wright, Michelle "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country" Obama, "community organizing" and voting record) of the thoroughly unqualified, terrorist fraternizing, community organizer are completely foreign to the lovestruck Carney. Oblivious, anyone?

]]> By: 53_3 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21301 53_3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:30:12 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21301 But see, Aaron? . These things are <i> good! </i> . I mean any "hard working" "right minded" "American" would realize that these things are good! . Besides, Palin and Limbaugh say so! So does O'Reilly, Buchannon and Hannity! . Now <i> how </i> could you argue against such esteemed fvckers? But see, Aaron?
.
These things are good!
.
I mean any "hard working" "right minded" "American" would realize that these things are good!
.
Besides, Palin and Limbaugh say so! So does O'Reilly, Buchannon and Hannity!
.
Now how could you argue against such esteemed fvckers?

]]> By: 53_3 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21299 53_3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:26:55 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21299 <i> "...without acknowledging what went right too." </i> . Nice list of "talking points". Right? . Like Katrina, it's only right <i> if </i> you are one of those "staunch" GOPers. . And they've been tossed out like yesterday's garbage... "...without acknowledging what went right too."
.
Nice list of "talking points". Right?
.
Like Katrina, it's only right if you are one of those "staunch" GOPers.
.
And they've been tossed out like yesterday's garbage...

]]> By: Aaron http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21289 Aaron Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:14:43 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21289 1. No Child Left Behind does not apply national standards to schools; standards are set by each individual state. . 2. We've not so secretly replaced some torturers with American-sponsored torturers. Now Iraqis can blame the United States for all there troubles with good reason! . 3. The Taliban and their allies control most of Afghanistan. . 4. I fail to see how satisfying the bloodlust of warmongers is a good thing that George Bush did. . 5. George Bush closed negotiations with Iran and North Korea. (Technically, Bill Clinton opened negotiations with North Korea; George Bush closed them, and then finally opened them again.) . 6. George Bush tried to destroy Social Security. (Long-term insolvency was averted in the mid-1980s when Ronald Reagan raised payroll taxes.) . 7. Free-trade agreements as supported by George Bush are problematic for the U.S. because they accelerate income inequality when enacted by structural reform. . Surely, you can think of good things George Bush has done that were not failures? 1. No Child Left Behind does not apply national standards to schools; standards are set by each individual state.
.
2. We've not so secretly replaced some torturers with American-sponsored torturers. Now Iraqis can blame the United States for all there troubles with good reason!
.
3. The Taliban and their allies control most of Afghanistan.
.
4. I fail to see how satisfying the bloodlust of warmongers is a good thing that George Bush did.
.
5. George Bush closed negotiations with Iran and North Korea. (Technically, Bill Clinton opened negotiations with North Korea; George Bush closed them, and then finally opened them again.)
.
6. George Bush tried to destroy Social Security. (Long-term insolvency was averted in the mid-1980s when Ronald Reagan raised payroll taxes.)
.
7. Free-trade agreements as supported by George Bush are problematic for the U.S. because they accelerate income inequality when enacted by structural reform.
.
Surely, you can think of good things George Bush has done that were not failures?

]]> By: Aaron http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21291 Aaron Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:12:43 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21291 1. No Child Left Behind does not apply national standards to schools; standards are set by each individual state. . 2. We've not so secretly replaced some torturers with American-sponsored torturers. Now Iraqis can blame the United States for all there troubles with good reason! . 3. The Taliban and their allies control most of Afghanistan. . 4. I fail to see how satisfying the bloodlust of warmongers is a good thing that George Bush did. . 5. George Bush closed negotiations with Iran and North Korea. (Technically, Bill Clinton opened negotiations with North Korea; George Bush closed them, and then finally opened them again.) . 6. George Bush tried to destroy Social Security. (Long-term insolvency was averted in the mid-1980s when Ronald Reagan raised payroll taxes.) . 7. Free-trade agreements as supported by George Bush are problematic for the U.S. because they accelerate income inequality when enacted by structural reform. . Surely, you can think of good things George Bush has done that were not failures? 1. No Child Left Behind does not apply national standards to schools; standards are set by each individual state.
.
2. We've not so secretly replaced some torturers with American-sponsored torturers. Now Iraqis can blame the United States for all there troubles with good reason!
.
3. The Taliban and their allies control most of Afghanistan.
.
4. I fail to see how satisfying the bloodlust of warmongers is a good thing that George Bush did.
.
5. George Bush closed negotiations with Iran and North Korea. (Technically, Bill Clinton opened negotiations with North Korea; George Bush closed them, and then finally opened them again.)
.
6. George Bush tried to destroy Social Security. (Long-term insolvency was averted in the mid-1980s when Ronald Reagan raised payroll taxes.)
.
7. Free-trade agreements as supported by George Bush are problematic for the U.S. because they accelerate income inequality when enacted by structural reform.
.
Surely, you can think of good things George Bush has done that were not failures?

]]> By: Sean DeCoursey forgot his password http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21270 Sean DeCoursey forgot his password Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:39:13 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21270 James, - Offhand, I'd say the good things Bush did are as follows: - 1. No Child Left Behind. Yes, I'm aware of all the myriad problems with it. I'm also very cognizant of the fact that it is the first time we've ever had any form of national standards and applied them to schools. It's imperfect, but first tries often are. Accountability was and still is desperately needed by the educational system. This is step one. - 2. Removed from power and killed Saddam, Usay, and Qusay Hussein. Yes, I know how messed up the war and invasion were. I was there. But because I was there I will never be convinced that eliminating these guys was a bad thing on balance. It could have been done better, but the world is better for it having been done. - 3. Removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. Obviously this was badly funged in the endgame. But it's still important to remember just how despicable these guys were when they were in power. - 4. Didn't cave on Iraq when things were going bad. This might surprise a lot of people, but Bush actually did do the right thing when faced with a losing situation in Iraq. He said no, we're not leaving. No we're not quitting. And he kept to it in the face of intense opposition from the public, media, and other world leaders. Then he kept firing a general every year until he found one that had a working strategy. We actually tried a lot of different approaches in Iraq before Petraeus got put in charge. None of them worked, but we did try them. Once he found that guy, Bush turned over as much authority to him as the Constitution allowed him to. - America needed to stick out an ugly fight. Everyone in the world learned the lessons of Lebanon and Somalia. Kill some Joe's, get it on CNN, the Americans go home. It's largely forgotten now, but we lost the first few years of WWII and the Civil War. The FDR and Lincoln just kept firing generals and promoting new ones until they found some that won and turned things over to them. One of the biggest failures of Vietnam was the consistency in the top ranks running the war. - 5. Opened negotiations with Iran and North Korea. This includes setting up a diplomatic post in Tehran. Yeah, you can make a good argument that it should have happened sooner, but it did happen. No American president has held talks with Iran since the Revolution in 1979. At least not until that noted internationalist and fan of diplomacy George W. Bush did. Obama won't be the first President to talk to Iran, we now have an interests office there thanks to W. - 6. Tried to fix Social Security. I'll give credit for the attempt here. It was a bad plan and failed horrifyingly, but every single leader since at least the 1970's has known the system was insolvent long-term and needed to be re-worked. None tried because it was political suicide. Bush tried and failed, but at least he saw the problem and tried to do something about it, which is more than you can say for Carter, Reagan, Bush I, or Clinton. - 7. Continued working out free-trade agreements. As the NYT notes this morning, Congress still hasn't passed the Columbian FTA. Trade agreements are important and usually benefit the U.S. disproportionately since we have very few tariffs on incoming goods already but other countries frequently heavily tax our goods. - Look, Bush's presidency has been a disaster for America and the world, but like Nixon, you can't honestly or credibly discuss the failings of his term in office without acknowledging what went right too. James,
-
Offhand, I'd say the good things Bush did are as follows:
-
1. No Child Left Behind. Yes, I'm aware of all the myriad problems with it. I'm also very cognizant of the fact that it is the first time we've ever had any form of national standards and applied them to schools. It's imperfect, but first tries often are. Accountability was and still is desperately needed by the educational system. This is step one.
-
2. Removed from power and killed Saddam, Usay, and Qusay Hussein. Yes, I know how messed up the war and invasion were. I was there. But because I was there I will never be convinced that eliminating these guys was a bad thing on balance. It could have been done better, but the world is better for it having been done.
-
3. Removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. Obviously this was badly funged in the endgame. But it's still important to remember just how despicable these guys were when they were in power.
-
4. Didn't cave on Iraq when things were going bad. This might surprise a lot of people, but Bush actually did do the right thing when faced with a losing situation in Iraq. He said no, we're not leaving. No we're not quitting. And he kept to it in the face of intense opposition from the public, media, and other world leaders. Then he kept firing a general every year until he found one that had a working strategy. We actually tried a lot of different approaches in Iraq before Petraeus got put in charge. None of them worked, but we did try them. Once he found that guy, Bush turned over as much authority to him as the Constitution allowed him to.
-
America needed to stick out an ugly fight. Everyone in the world learned the lessons of Lebanon and Somalia. Kill some Joe's, get it on CNN, the Americans go home. It's largely forgotten now, but we lost the first few years of WWII and the Civil War. The FDR and Lincoln just kept firing generals and promoting new ones until they found some that won and turned things over to them. One of the biggest failures of Vietnam was the consistency in the top ranks running the war.
-
5. Opened negotiations with Iran and North Korea. This includes setting up a diplomatic post in Tehran. Yeah, you can make a good argument that it should have happened sooner, but it did happen. No American president has held talks with Iran since the Revolution in 1979. At least not until that noted internationalist and fan of diplomacy George W. Bush did. Obama won't be the first President to talk to Iran, we now have an interests office there thanks to W.
-
6. Tried to fix Social Security. I'll give credit for the attempt here. It was a bad plan and failed horrifyingly, but every single leader since at least the 1970's has known the system was insolvent long-term and needed to be re-worked. None tried because it was political suicide. Bush tried and failed, but at least he saw the problem and tried to do something about it, which is more than you can say for Carter, Reagan, Bush I, or Clinton.
-
7. Continued working out free-trade agreements. As the NYT notes this morning, Congress still hasn't passed the Columbian FTA. Trade agreements are important and usually benefit the U.S. disproportionately since we have very few tariffs on incoming goods already but other countries frequently heavily tax our goods.
-
Look, Bush's presidency has been a disaster for America and the world, but like Nixon, you can't honestly or credibly discuss the failings of his term in office without acknowledging what went right too.

]]> By: pierogielunaire http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21267 pierogielunaire Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:25:56 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21267 It's almost like he wants to <i>govern</i>. It's almost like he wants to govern.

]]> By: 53_3 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2008/11/17/so-is-this/comment-page-3/#comment-21266 53_3 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:56:47 +0000 http://timeswampland.wordpress.com/?p=8317#comment-21266 ..................McCain.w .........................w .........................w........wwww .........................w........wwwww .......................wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ...\.|./...............wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ....\|/wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ..www*wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ...Lewis......................................... ................................................. ..................McCain.w .........................w .........................w........wwww .........................w........wwwww O......................wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww ..O.O..................wwwww\w|w/wwwwwwwwwwww ...O.O.wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww\|/wwwwwwwwww ..ww.O.wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww*wwwwwwwwww ............................Powell............... ................................................. ..OO............................................. .O.O............................................. ....O..O..........McCain.w .......O.................w .................................X.<-Palin....... ..................McCain.w
.........................w
.........................w........wwww
.........................w........wwwww
.......................wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
...\.|./...............wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
....\|/wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
..www*wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
...Lewis.........................................
.................................................
..................McCain.w
.........................w
.........................w........wwww
.........................w........wwwww
O......................wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
..O.O..................wwwww\w|w/wwwwwwwwwwww
...O.O.wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww\|/wwwwwwwwww
..ww.O.wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww*wwwwwwwwww
............................Powell...............
.................................................
..OO.............................................
.O.O.............................................
....O..O..........McCain.w
.......O.................w
.................................X.<-Palin.......

]]>