George H.W. Bush dead

[T.G.G. Moogly]

RIP George Bush I.

To me at least, he was the last halfway decent Republican president. I didn't like him very much when he was president, but he wasn't a horrible one, and I preferred him to his predecessor. Also to his successors, including his son.

Pretty much my thoughts.

It always seemed to me he was dragging along a lot of republican party baggage that he didn't own. I remember his "voodoo economics" stab at Reagan that was spot on. He put party first later, unfortunately, so to become prez.

But not a bad guy to have in the office.

 

[blastula]

I like Navy pilots who don't get shot down.

 

[untermensche]

I like real winners.

Not people who play with the hundreds of millions, and fail at many things, they are given by their daddy.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

He wasn't a great president, but he wasnt a horrible one either. He was kinda meh. I can't comment on him as a person. Said he died and my condolences to his family.

 

[lpetrich]

 Historical rankings of presidents of the United States -- collects several rankings of the presidents, and George Bush I is typically halfway between best and worst. Not a very good president, but not a very bad one either.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

He was neck deep in the Iran-Scam cover up. His whole cabinet was. Cap Weinberger at the meeting to plot and coordinate this cover up took copious notes, as was his habit. When special prosecutor Walsh started inquiring about the where abouts of these notes, Weinberger lied, and the others didn't admit they knew he took notes as was Weinberger's habit. Bush didn't either. Weinberger had hidden them in the national archives. When Weinberger's investigators found these incriminating notes, Bush pardoned 5 of his guilty cabinet members to prevent them from going to prison. The $#@!! Democrats did not follow up. They did not haul Bush or these guilty bastards before Congressional committees to wring the truth and facts out of them. They did not start well deserved impeachment proceedings against Bush. 30 years later and I am still furious about this all. And many other things. The Republicans are crooks and liars and the Democrats are lily livered, weak kneed, spineless wimps. A bad combination.

 

[Worldtraveller]

It is impolite I suppose to speak ill of the dead so I will tread lightly.

The Republican party unleased two false and certain to fail paradigms on the US that diminished the US's value to the world and that harmed the economy of the US and the vast majority of the residents of the US all to achieve the singular end of directing more income to the already rich. These two paradigms are neoliberalism and neoconservatism.

Papa Bush was complicit in the selling of both to conservatives in the US. He was undoubtedly a decent human being. But it is the decent ones who should have called out the Republicans to stop this. He didn't. For this, it is impossible for me to forgive him and all of the decent human beings in the Republican party.

Pretty much this. I understand from the people who knew him personally, that he was a decent guy, even if one disagreed with his politics. (Unlike the current shitheel in chief). He still let the party run over his principles on more than one occasion, and as head of the CIA, there are probably a lot more things that we may never know about that would put him in the 'not so good' category.

I was never much of any fan of H. W. I will never forgive him commenting his doubts that atheist could ever be good citizens. His conservative policies were not as extreme as today's conservatives but right wing enough for me not to approve of him.

But he at least behaved like a statesman and contrasts well with our current Thug-in-Chief.

I thought the comment on atheism was one of those things that was a rumor and never really confirmed, and I thought he even denied it later, but I could be wrong.

 

[PyramidHead]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

 

[James Brown]

I thought the comment on atheism was one of those things that was a rumor and never really confirmed, and I thought he even denied it later, but I could be wrong.

Definitely was not confirmed.

Did George H. W. Bush Really Say Atheists Shouldn’t Be Considered Citizens?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I didn't like HW Bush. He beat our Governor for the White House. HW Bush was a patriotic good statesman and a decent President (we have learned since then just how bad they can get), before the word "patriotic" was perverted by the right. HW Bush had a very successful and very inexpensive military victory in the Gulf, but ultimately the economy, which had recovered enough by the election hurt him.

HW Bush was the last of the Statesmen for the Republican Party for top leadership. He was betrayed by the right-wing likes of Buchanan and Limbaugh that would set the stage for Donald Trump to become the President a few decades later. I can't think of a single Republicans in the Senate that rises to the level of a Statesman like HW Bush.

I thought the comment on atheism was one of those things that was a rumor and never really confirmed, and I thought he even denied it later, but I could be wrong.

Definitely was not confirmed.

Did George H. W. Bush Really Say Atheists Shouldn’t Be Considered Citizens?

This hasn't been confirmed, and never will be. I have no reason to believe he actually said it.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

Yeah, I'm really tired of how people aren't taking an honest look at this and instead are giving blind praise.

 

[Ford]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

His successor was arguably a much better President, but I think you'd have to work really hard to make the case that Bill Clinton was a better human being than 41.

 

[SLD]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

His successor was arguably a much better President, but I think you'd have to work really hard to make the case that Bill Clinton was a better human being than 41.

The President of the United States is supposed to represent the nation. Sometimes that means being an asshole. Political morality and personal morality are two very different things.

 

[PyramidHead]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

His successor was arguably a much better President, but I think you'd have to work really hard to make the case that Bill Clinton was a better human being than 41.

The President of the United States is supposed to represent the nation. Sometimes that means being an asshole. Political morality and personal morality are two very different things.

 

[Trausti]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

His successor was arguably a much better President, but I think you'd have to work really hard to make the case that Bill Clinton was a better human being than 41.

The President of the United States is supposed to represent the nation. Sometimes that means being an asshole. Political morality and personal morality are two very different things.

#MAGA

 

[Trausti]

To read this -

I have not the slightest care about twenty-something college students who demand a "safe space."

 

[Harry Bosch]

Bush senior was the last of the republicans who wasn't owned by the religious right.

 

[Underseer]

[YOUTUBE]k02EYvX0_jU[/YOUTUBE]

Welcome to America, where war criminals die of old age, then are celebrated for their "accomplishments."

(Also, the mainstream media is fucking racist.)

 

[Trausti]

Damn. Underseer really hates White people.

 

[Underseer]

Man, you guys set the bar really low for who you consider decent human beings.

His successor was arguably a much better President, but I think you'd have to work really hard to make the case that Bill Clinton was a better human being than 41.

The President of the United States is supposed to represent the nation. Sometimes that means being an asshole. Political morality and personal morality are two very different things.

So war crimes are good when we do them, but bad when other people do them?

How do we go about determining when war crimes are something we should prosecute and execute people for, and how do we decide when to celebrate the "accomplishments" of war criminals?

What about the mass torture of Bush II? Is that just an understandable part of managing a nation? If so, why did we execute Germans and Japanese for torturing prisoners after WW2?

What about the hundreds of thousands if not millions of dead civilians between the two Bushes? We insisted (correctly in my opinion) that Osama bin Laden was a monster for killing thousands, but it's worthy of praise and a state burial when Americans do it? Again, how do you go about deciding when war crimes are bad and worthy of summary execution by military force, and when it is worthy of praise? How do you go about deciding between the two?

I'm sorry, but this is all horse shit.

Either we admit that America is a moral cesspool with zero regard for the rule of law, or else we start prosecuting war crimes. Yes, even when rich white conservatives do it.