“I’ve just spoken with the vice president…”
Xkot hit the nail on the head in an e-mail to me today when he said Bush “looked like a frightened little boy” in the face of this monumental crisis. I saw Bush on TV at lunchtime, and when he said, with his Alfred E. Newman face screwed up in an expression of utter bewilderment, “I want you to know that I’ve just spoken to the vice president,” I thought, yeah, I bet you have.
He’s not up to the job, folks. Let’s face up to that.
I don’t like him. I’m the first to call him a dope. But let’s give the guy a chance. He’s all we’ve got right now. Let’s be positive in a moment full of so much negativity. Unity will allow us to succeed.
When I was talking to Adam I basically said that I was REALLY hoping Bush would rise to the occaision and step up as a leader. This was the situation that could make or break him, and I was disappointed that he seemed so unsure of himself and scared.
I don’t share Adam’s strong feelings that Bush is totally incompetent. Unfortunately he is a very poor public speaker, and he doesn’t convey the sense of confidence that we need now. I hope that people will put some faith in him, because at this point we have to.
He is giving a speech at 8:30. I hope he pulls it off. It’s vitally important that, as the representation of our country to the world, he seem bold, strong, and ready to deal with whoever did this. He had the right words at his last speech, but the delivery was off. Even if you don’t like Bush, we need him to get this right.
By the way, I want to point out that I’m not saying Adam may not be right… I just hope that he’s not. I hope Bush surprises everyone by stepping up to the plate.
Well, he said what I wanted to hear about any country that is haboring these creatures.
He does come across as a little boy in his expression. But, regardless of how he looks, as long as he sticks to his guns, I really don’t care. I just want those bastards found and brought to justice.
Well his speech at 8:30 wasn’t bad. It could have been much better, though.
I am glad that he has Cheney at his side, since he has a great deal of experience. Colin Powell can’t hurt either.
Bush may not be everything we want right now, but I am confident that he has surrounded himself with good people. Essentially every president is only as good as his staff and advisors. With Bush it’s just a little more obvious.
I’m not happy that he can’t make a single speech under ANY circumstances that isn’t padded to the gills with rhetoric. If he can’t say something concrete I’d prefer that he say nothing.
Not much concrete he could say right now, frankly.
His speech was not as stirring as some (Reagan, even Clinton) might have made it. Nor was it the fiasco that some would have expected.
Actions will tell louder than his words.
It’s pathetic that a nation of 270 million people is being expected to blindly hand over trust to a man like dubya. He is completely incapable of speaking off the cuff on any subject let alone speaking in a compelling way with a team of presumably top-notch speechwriters. He’s a little boy dressed up in a suit and tie, and at this moment America needs much, much more than that.
an empty shell of a little boy.
on strings.
I think he needs to take speech lessons. He kept having to refer back to his notes in the middle of sentences and on important points, he just didn’t make them hit home.
Ha. This is pathetic. I’m saying he needs speech lessons and the man is having to cope with being the leader of the free world in the middle of a huge crisis. How the hell would I do if I were in that situation? It’s easy to point fingers at other’s faults when you aren’t in their shoes. Let’s all hope that he’s doing much better behind the scenes than the face that he is putting the public. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be where he is right now.
Well, whatever our opinions, we need to stand behind our president (and his advisors, who are a competent-seeming bunch). We need to stand together as a nation.
Though it may seem reasonable in this time of crisis, the “standing behind our president” sentiment is as flawed as the “support our troops:” slogan was in the Gulf War. It’s a PR spin that generates long-term goodwill for actions that aren’t necessarily supported.
I have no control over what dubya and his crew will do, but as an American I will be praised or blamed for it. I don’t trust dubya. I won’t necessarily support his actions. I have marginal faith in his staff given their past conflicts of interest. I’m biding my time waiting to see whether they do something productive or whether they escalate this.
Acting like 270 million people who all think the same is not the answer. It’s not an accurate representation of America. America is about freedom of opinions. It’s about debate. If we are expected to set all that aside, we are no longer living up to the promise of America and the terrorists accomplished their goal.