Trimming some of the unnecessary fat from a bloated, resource gobbling military that outspends the rest of the world by using public debt and placing it in a pure defense posture as originally intended will certainly do that.

[/quote]

Dunno about Canada, but I guarantee you that cancer patients don't have to wait a month to see an oncologist in France. And what's this about unlimited demand? Would you spend your time in a hospital, even if you could do it for free?

Is there a website somewhere that makes this shit up so people can repeat it at discussion forums? If there is, I suspect it is a site favored by American conservatives!

Put it this way, just about every reputable comparable survey of healthcare amongst nations places the Canadian system much higher than the US system. If the Canadian system is even half as bad as you presume to make it out to be, can you imagine how bad the American system would have to be in order to be ranked so much lower than the Canadian system on every comparison survey?

No, Democracy in Iraq is still in shambles as much as every even despite the fact that there have been less deaths overall recently. As for Afghanistan, the Taliban are back. Why? They never really were stomped out, they went across the boarder to Pakistan where their ideology flourishes. Of course its a good thing Pakistan is a good stable democratic country or such extremist might push for power.

As for Saddam, please show me proof of WMD, of at the least some concret proof that Saddam was a threat to anybody. Or did you forget about the
[quote=wrxsti;1037577]spotty intelligence that the President ran with? Colin
Powell said that without a doubt that Iraq had WMD, and yet the intelligence was proven to be false.


Good thing it isn't his fault that we may be headed to a recession, and that inflation is on the rise huh? I mean he has NOTHING to do with that, its all Clinton's fault huh?


This just makes me laugh, because NCLB has done more damage than good. Of course I wont try to convince you otherwise, because you already seem to be living in LA LA land.


You can't be serious! Honor and dignity? So perjury is an honorable act these day eh? I could go on, but I wont. That being said, which Foreign nations are ya talking about?

Oh really, it was all the DEMS fault, the President played no role in that mess. None what so ever. Them evil DEMS!

If you say so, that doesn't make it true though. That being said, I'm glad that Bush had nothing to do with some of the serious matters concerning our Government. Oh, and I'm glad that the state of our nation is absolutely great and near perfection. Oh, and of course I'm being sarcastic.

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I don't pretend to know everything, educate me, and I'll try to educate you. Shouting matches and insults aren't going to convince me.

Gotta bump...bump wars with the whitey threads.

Oh, yeah...Bush IS a great president.

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I am an American. That's the way most of us put it, just matter of factly. They are plain words, those four: you could write them on your thumbnail, or sweep them clear across this bright autumn sky. But remember too, that they are more than just words. They are a way of life. So whenever you speak them, speak them firmly, speak them proudly, speak them gratefully. I am an American. ...a tradition

Thats the whole point when I say universal health care is not welfare, but essential. Nobody gets sick and spends time on a hospital for fun. Of course there might be a couple out of 100.000, but those are nutbags who likes to be nursed.

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Jesus was a communist!

Yes. Me.

I'd rather have him for a third term than anybody currently in the GOP primary field, as they have presented themselves thus far.

My my favorite president ever by any stretch, but he was and is the right man for the right job at the right time.

History will be much kinder to GWB than most of you are currently willing to believe. Whatever.

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"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.

I agree.

While I think he could have done better (immigration), I also know that he was the right person during this time.....I fear what could have been had Kerry, Gore and even some of the GOPs would have been elected.


Reminds me of the Reagan years...I heard so much anti-Reagan rants while he was president it wasn't funny.

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Anyone who thinks freedom comes cheap, please put the blindfold on and stand against the wall.

Many times I believe Americans will have to take back the country and start a new government.

Even I see now that bush has served the people well. Those in control wanted a puppet, but they got a flaming idiot that has exposed the agenda of the Elite towards Global economic dominance through his over-reaching attempts to blow them.

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I forget how long confidential presidential and executive documents take to be declassified.

Until that time, a shroud of mystery will hang over the events of Bush's presidency. But after that time, it will likely be clear who is responsible for all the scandals that have transpired during his terms in office.

History will actually 20/20 hindsight at that point, and Bush will be judged accordingly.

But really, I don't have to wait until that time to render my verdict. The piss-poor appointments of incompetents, the amount of spending, the blocking of legislation, the misguided threats and rhetoric, the soiling of America's reputation around the world.....

All of these are enough to me to draw the conclusion that Bush is/was a horrible president.

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Screw Change!! Let's have a Seamless Transition of Power and Policy.. John McSame in 2008!

I second that motion. If he's not at the top of the bad list I'd be very surprised.

Why not? Reagan started the process of Republican big spending and big government at public expense with no defensive war, deplorable to any traditional Republican. Bush Jr. added the war, but it was for purposes of enriching special interests, not national defense, which makes him a Southern Democrat by any honest definition.

To this, I look forward.

Tons on non-scandals. Yep. Can't wait for the juicy details. There is no mystery to me...well, only the particulars that are currently [rightfully] classified for national security reasons. That's what the History Channel is for.

In the previous media culture, I'd argue with you. But now, and especially later, the media won't be able to treat future unclassified knowledge like a Chinese Buffet - picking only the "damaging" stuff while leaving the positive buried.

Yes, Bush Derangement Syndrome allows one to get around all that ticky-tacky stuff like evidence.

You be sure to point out an administration that has made perfect appointments...

Additionally, it is a 100% fact that career Federal Government employees are typically Democrats...why do you think Pelosi was so hot on unionizing the Dept of Homeland Security? You could put Abraham Lincoln or Vince Lombardi in charge of any number of federal agencies and have them fail because - at least - from middle-management-on-down, they're lefties. Not satisfied with the inherent incompetence of themselves and big government, in general, they have been known to seize an opportunity to undermine a GOP administration. State Department is probably the worst in this regard.

Spending...yep...it is out of control. I'll say it again: highest tax revenues in history and your people and mine have managed to piss it away.

"Blocked legislation"? Thank God. At least some pork was blocked. At least the legislation that was an attempt to assure defeat in Iraq was blocked. At least stupid legislation that was nothing but a [giant] baby-step towards socialized healthcare was blocked.

"Misguided threats and rhetoric"? You mean stuff like "Evil Empire"? Oh, that was Reagan. "Axis of Evil"? Show me where that is inaccurate. Yeah, if you support or participate in terror, you will be punished. Doesn't matter if you are France, Libya, or Iraq. Sure beats the shit out of Albright playing basketball with Kim Jong Il.

When "the world" is wrong, I don't really care what they think of us for not going along with them. Here's to us continually and forever not getting involved in that hoax knowns as "man-made global warming".

4/28/1975: Newsweek - The Cooling World

And, certainly, by 4/2005 the sky was falling in the other direction... (Have yet to see any of those eggheads come forth an apologize for the false alarm).

Thirty years elapsed. The Earth is 4,500,000,000 years old. So, within the span of 1/150,000,000th (one one-hundred-fifty-millionth) of the Earth's age, the eggheads have totally reversed themselves, substituting "consensus" for hard science. They pretend to understand unfathomably long and complicated natural Earth/Solar climate cycles. Forget about the fact that our short stay on Earth - statistically speaking - likely does not represent Earth's "normal" climate. Ain't buying any of it, sorry.

Assuming that you'll take every non-scandal (i.e. "Plame" bullshit) and pump it up to ridiculous proportions and somehow conveniently, also, regard as "false propaganda" the future declassified information detailing terror tragedies averted because of our efforts...yeah, your mind will stay unchanged.

I do know that none of these "scandals" will turn out to be worth a spit. I also know that our economy is great, our War on Terror is progressing, taxes have been cut, employment is outstanding...

Good President.

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"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.

Whether or not one regards a United States President as "great" will depend on the criteria used. What those criteria are is subjective.

For example, one may regard President George W. Bush as a "great" president if any of these criteria are used to determine "great."

1. Has first name, "George."
2. Has middle initial "W."
3. Has last name, "Bush."
4. Was a state governor prior to becoming President
5. Has a brother who is also a state governor.
6. Has mother named, "Barbara."
7. Is a parent.

Whether or not one regards a United States President as "great" will depend on the criteria used. What those criteria are is subjective.

For example, one may regard President William J. Clinton as a "great" president if any of these criteria are used to determine "great."

1. Has first name, "William."
2. Has middle initial "J."
3. Has last name, "Clinton."
4. Was a state governor prior to becoming President
5. Has a brother who is also an absolute train wreck of a convicted felon who required a Presidential pardon from his brother.
6. Has mother named, "Virginia."
7. Is a parent.

Seems to me that, upon direct comparison, utilizing the parameters you set forth, GWB should be considered, at the very least, vastly superior to Clinton by anyone with anything resembling a logical mind.

In my analysis, I'd say the separating factor is definitely, um, #5 and the differences between a drug abusing, alcoholic felon and a successful and popular state governor are, well, stark.

Not that this outcome is anything terribly surprising to me, of course.

Always glad to meet another GWB fan! . Welcome aboard!

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"Compassionate Conservatism"?!?! That is a stupid phrase. Conservatism is inherently compassionate. It is liberalism that is cruel for the sake of maintaining a constituency.