As the long national nightmare comes to an end...

[Unimatrix11]

...
Most of his important actions seem from a stupid man. And I know a stupid
person never arrives where he did. So, the question is not about intelligence
but honesty.

Does someone remember when short time ago he spoke about sending missiles to Poland? He did nothing to implement it, just the talk, and not with
the Polish. So, the only consequence was a climb in the prices of crude.

If his job was crude seller marketeer, then I should recognize he was very
efficient. But as President of the States, no.

Best regards,

Bingo. The question about GWB is not competence but allegience. Who did he serve and what purposes? You can find reasons under which his actions are not that dumb at all...

As for the reading-in-school-matter: Even if he had nothing to do in particular, when he heard about the towers, it would have looked a lot better to do nothing somewhere where nobody could see him, than to do nothing, where he is in full display. And if he had only sat in some corner of some secret HQ somewhere, knitting socks, while someone else handles the crisis, it would have been better. What was he doing there, anyway? I mean ´president of the USA´ is not a figurehead-job (like the Queen of England f.e.), right? I think, Bush was a puppet, not much more. He did what he was told to do. And it wasnt the american people telling him.

[MikeH]

Sure, except that there wasn't anything he could do - it was already being handled by experts such as police, firedepartments, military etc.

The President in this situation is the figurehead of the government. His role is to be the public face of "the government is doing everything it can in this emergency, to save people and protect against further attacks". Whether he can actually doing anything useful or not, people want to feel that their leader is actively involved in any major decisions, it's reassuring. That's basically his job in this situation to reassure the public that the government is still working and looking after them. Dismissing "crap like "showing leadership" etc." as irrelevant as it is totally missing the point.

And I think that when he was notified, how could he possibly know that there wasn't anything he could do? It could have been a military attack, their could have been other planes in the air (there were) I don't see how his inaction can be defended.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Actually, Bush knew it wasn't a military attack at the time and had no reason to think there were any more planes in the air. His own staff told him to sit tight and not say anything about the attack until a proper response could be formulated. He gave that response at the school in question, a mere 20 minutes after finding out that the first crash hadn't been an accident.

[DaShi]

Seriously?

[Naked Gents Rut]

Yes. I read a detailed timeline yesterday, since I was tired of the typically uninformed speculation here.

[DaShi]

That's not the problem. Think about it. And show us this timeline.

[DaShi]

Bush is a Military Genius!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/us/19recruits.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

January 19, 2009
More Americans Joining Military as Jobs Dwindle
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ
As the number of jobs across the nation dwindles, more Americans are joining the military, lured by a steady paycheck, benefits and training.

The last fiscal year was a banner one for the military, with all active-duty and reserve forces meeting or exceeding their recruitment goals for the first time since 2004, the year that violence in Iraq intensified drastically, Pentagon officials said.

And the trend seems to be accelerating. The Army exceeded its targets each month for October, November and December — the first quarter of the new fiscal year — bringing in 21,443 new soldiers on active duty and in the reserves. December figures were released last week.

Recruiters also report that more people are inquiring about joining the military, a trend that could further bolster the ranks. Of the four armed services, the Army has faced the toughest recruiting challenge in recent years because of high casualty rates in Iraq and long deployments overseas. Recruitment is also strong for the Army National Guard, according to Pentagon figures. The Guard tends to draw older people.

“When the economy slackens and unemployment rises and jobs become more scarce in civilian society, recruiting is less challenging,” said Curtis Gilroy, the director of accession policy for the Department of Defense.

Still, the economy alone does not account for the military’s success in attracting more recruits. The recent decline in violence in Iraq has “also had a positive effect,” Dr. Gilroy said.

Another lure is the new G. I. Bill, which will significantly expand education benefits. Beginning this August, service members who spend at least three years on active duty can attend any public college at government expense or apply the payment toward tuition at a private university. No data exist yet, but there has traditionally been a strong link between increased education benefits and new enlistments.

The Army and Marine Corps have also added more recruiters to offices around the country in the past few years, increased bonuses and capitalized on an expensive marketing campaign.

The Army has managed to meet its goals each year since 2006, but not without difficulty.

As casualties in Iraq mounted, the Army began luring new soldiers by increasing signing bonuses for recruits and accepting a greater number of people who had medical and criminal histories, who scored low on entrance exams and who failed to graduate from high school.

The recession has provided a jolt for the Army, which hopes to decrease its roster of less qualified applicants in the coming year. It also has helped ease the job of recruiters who face one of the most stressful assignments in the military. Recruiters must typically talk to 150 people before finding one person who meets military qualifications and is interested in enlisting. Dr. Gilroy said the term “all-volunteer force” should really be “an all-recruited force.”

Now, at least, the pool has widened. Recruiting offices are reporting a jump in the number of young men and women inquiring about joining the service in the past three months.

As a rule, when unemployment rates climb so do military enlistments. In November, the Army recruited 5,605 active-duty soldiers, 6 percent more than its target, and the Army Reserve signed up 3,270 soldiers, 16 percent more than its goal. December, when the jobless rate reached 7.2 percent, saw similar increases in recruitments.

“They are saying, ‘There are no jobs, no one is hiring,’ or if someone is hiring they are not getting enough hours to support their families or themselves,” said Sgt. First Class Phillip Lee, 41, the senior recruiter in the Army office in Bridgeport, Conn.

The Bridgeport recruitment center is not exactly a hotbed for enlistments. But Sergeant Lee said it had signed up more than a dozen people since October, which is above average.

He said he had been struck by the number of unemployed construction workers and older potential recruits — people in their 30s and beyond — who had contacted him to explore the possibility. The Army age limit is 42, which was raised from 35 in 2006 to draw more applicants.

“Some are past the age limit, and they come in and say, ‘Will the military take me now?’ ” Sergeant Lee said. “They are having trouble finding well-paying jobs.”

Of the high school graduates, a few told him recently that they had to scratch college plans because they could not get students loans or financial aid. The new G. I. bill is an especially attractive incentive for that group.

The Army Reserve and the National Guard have also received a boost from people eager to supplement their falling incomes.

Sean D. O’Neil, a 22-year-old who stood shivering outside an Army recruitment office in St. Louis, said he was forgoing plans to become a guitar maker for now, realizing that instruments are seen as a luxury during a recession. Mr. O’Neil, a Texas native, ventured to St. Louis for an apprenticeship but found himself $30,000 in debt. Joining the Army, his Plan B, was a purely financial decision. With President-elect Barack Obama in office, he expects the troop levels in Iraq to be lowered.

Going to war, although likely, feels safer to him. “I’m doing this for eight years,” he said. “Hopefully, when I get out, I’ll have all my fingers and toes and arms, and the economy will have turned around, and I’ll have a little egg to start up my own guitar line.”

Ryen Trexler, 21, saw the recession barreling toward him as he was fixing truck tires for Allegheny Trucks in Altoona, Pa. By last summer, his workload had dropped from fixing 10 to 15 tires a day to mending two to four, or sometimes none. As the new guy on the job, he knew he would be the first to go.

He quit and signed up for the Jobs Corps Center in Pittsburgh, a federal labor program that would pay for two years of training, figuring he would learn to be a heavy equipment operator. When a local Army recruiter walked into the center, his pitch hit a nerve. Mr. Trexler figured he could earn more money and learn leadership skills in the Army. Just as important, he could ride out the recession for four years and walk out ready to work in civilian construction.

Although the other branches of the military have not struggled as much as the Army to recruit, they, too, are attracting people who would not ordinarily consider enlisting.

Just a few months ago, Guy Derenoncourt was working as an equity trader at a boutique investment firm in New York. Then the equity market fell apart and he quit.

Last week, he enlisted for a four-year stint in the Navy, a military branch he chose because it would keep him out of Afghanistan and offer him a variety of aviation-related jobs.

“I really had no intention to join if it weren’t for the financial turmoil, because I was doing quite well,” Mr. Derenoncourt, 25, said, adding that a sense of patriotism made it an easier choice.

The Army has struggled to attract the same caliber of enlistee that it did before the war. In 2003, 94 percent of new active-duty recruits had high school degrees. Last year, the number increased slightly from 2007, but it was still 82 percent. The percentage of new recruits who score poorly on the military entrance exam also remains comparatively high. The same is true for enlistees who need permission to enter the military for medical or “moral” reasons, typically misdemeanor juvenile convictions. Last year, 21.5 percent of the 80,000 new recruits in the Army required a so-called medical or moral waiver, 2 percent higher than in 2006. Fewer recruits needed waivers for felony convictions, though, compared with 2007.

Malcolm Gay and Sean Hamill contributed reporting.

[Alinestra Covelia]

The Bush 30% (die hard Republicans) have remained true believers who reject all reason right up to this very day. They're literally his last supporters.

Actually the only thing I would say to clarify this point is that a lot of Republicans hate Bush and think he's not really a Republican per se - he's a neoconservative. I've got friends at law school who are old-school Republicans and who think Bush is the worst thing to happen to the party in living memory.

Then there's the one friend I have who's a registered Republican but who is actually very liberal and did it just to tick all the "liberal" answers on their intra-party campaign questionnaires. He just thinks Bush is funny.

[rah]

The ten minutes reading the story never bothered me. Why instantly react when you can wait a few minutes to get additional information. It can be argued either way.
But I agree that my favorite was the "mission accomplished fiasco" I remember watching and thinking, nothing good can come from this and it's going to eventually come back and bit him in the ass. Which dumbass thought this one up.

[Dinner]

The President in this situation is the figurehead of the government. His role is to be the public face of "the government is doing everything it can in this emergency, to save people and protect against further attacks". Whether he can actually doing anything useful or not, people want to feel that their leader is actively involved in any major decisions, it's reassuring. That's basically his job in this situation to reassure the public that the government is still working and looking after them. Dismissing "crap like "showing leadership" etc." as irrelevant as it is totally missing the point.

Reading this I am reminded of the pictures of Winston Churchill and King George VI surveying the damage during the blitz. Sure, they probably never moved a single brick or put out a single fire but they showed real leadership and inspired everyone who fought against the Nazis just because they walked the streets, showed the people they weren't afraid, and told the people they felt their pain. That's leadership.

[rah]

Didn't Bush go to ground zero and do basically the same thing?

[Guynemer]

True enough on that point, rah. Poor example, Oerdin.

[Alinestra Covelia]

America bent over and took it from Sarkozy and the EU.

Oh wait, I've read ahead...

That's kind of unfair, given that Sarkozy is one of the few politicians that Bush was able to build good relations with in his second term of belated diplomatic offensive.

[Ben Kenobi]

Bush didn't fly to Europe to give campaign speeches.

[Ben Kenobi]

Actually the only thing I would say to clarify this point is that a lot of Republicans hate Bush and think he's not really a Republican per se - he's a neoconservative. I've got friends at law school who are old-school Republicans and who think Bush is the worst thing to happen to the party in living memory.

What would they regard as an 'old school conservative?' Reagan wasn't one of those either. Reagan ran deficits by cutting taxes on the assumption (correct), that they would be paid off.

I don't think the US has really had an old school conservative since Coolidge. Hoover was considered liberal at the time.

Heck, I'm not an old-school conservative either. I'm Catholic for one, more of a 'prairie populist', (NYE will know the term), then anything else.