Jay Leno Asks Why - OT

Johnny8

Member
Oct 18, 2006
308
2
18
Ames, IA
Stumpy, I agree that the article doesn't entirely stick to the poll. However, I think the majority of people the article is geared toward is the group of people that want George Bushs and co.'s heads at the end of a stick because they believe he has ruined this country.

Now I, for one, don't completely agree with a lot of what Bush has done. But in the wake of things that have happened during his administration, I think he's done a heck of a job with some things, but only gets credit for the negative things that he does.

I really think the article has some great things to say, and is a much different perspective than I'm used to hearing concerning this topic, so kudos for posting (regardless of who wrote it).
 

Kyle

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2006
4,074
119
63
A bunch of correct stuff.
Being unhappy with the direction the country is heading is different than being unhappy with the country, or an unhappy person in general.

Here's an analogous argument for the conservatives on the board.

Are you happy with the direction the morals of our society are heading in? Oh, no? What are you not happy with? The fact that we don't kill and rape people? That people give to charity and volunteer their time? Blah blah....
 

benjay

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2006
5,141
372
83
Nice argument. You have anything else to say? Any reasons why it was a waste of bandwidth? Probably not....

I specialize in one-liners, but since you asked, I shall elaborate.

In the sense of taking things for granted, the author certainly has a point. We, as Americans, take many things for granted. However, he is using this fact as a mitigation for the Bush administration's political blunders.

In other words, who cares about what our president does.... WE OWN HOUSES!! :)

It's just more propaganda, not worthy of the bandwidth it takes to propagate it.
 
Last edited:

benjay

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2006
5,141
372
83
I don't know if you meant that about my post, but basically I agree with stumpy. The author is mixing unrelated topics to lead the reader to his conclusion. If we were lawyers, we'd object.
 

Wesley

Well-Known Member
Apr 12, 2006
70,923
546
113
Omaha
All story aside in the article, we are lucky to have this country. Does anyone want to move permanently?
Las Vegas has 15 of 20 of the largest hotels in the world. We have many different cable channels. We have both religious and smut bookstores. We have all ethnic foods. We have car choices galore. We can work in the office or at home. We have several airlines. We have only Canada and Mexico on our borders. We essentially are assuming the role of world protector. We have large banking systems to choose from. We may marry any race with no problem. Women can run for President. Arnold can be a guvenator. We have an advanced array of defense weapons for our protection. We can aid other people in the world. We are not perfect at all but we keep trying to do what is right. Yet we are composed of millions of little peole who count. We should be able to find a way to be happy today. If not, we still should try to appreciate our luck that we are here and now. And we have the Clones.
 
Last edited:

cmoore_23

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2006
4,446
58
48
36
Ankeny, IA
All story aside in the article, we are lucky to have this country. Does anyone want to move permanently?
Las Vegas has 15 of 20 of the largest hotels in the world. We have many different cable channels. We have boyj religious and smut bookstores. We have all ethnic foods. We have car choices galore. We can work in the office or at home. We have several airlines. We have only Canada and Mexico on our vborders. We essentially are assuming the role of world protector. We have large banking systems to choose from. We may marry any race with no problem. Women can run for President. Arnold can be a guvenator. We have an advanced array of defense weapons for our protection. We can aid other people in the world. We are not perfect at all but we keep trying to do what is right. Yet we are composed of millions of little peole who count. We should be able to find a way to be happy today. If not, we still should try to appreciate our luck that we are here and now. And we have the Clones.

very well put
 

AirWalke

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2006
7,040
1,625
113
Des Moines
A lot of you who strongly agree with this "essay" are still missing the point. Yeah, the US is a wonderful country, but people can still be in disapproval of the president for what he has done. After all, the essay lists many reasons what we take for granted, but was it really Bush who made living in the US what it is today?
 

cstrunk

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2006
14,453
4,865
113
38
Longview, TX
A lot of you who strongly agree with this "essay" are still missing the point. Yeah, the US is a wonderful country, but people can still be in disapproval of the president for what he has done. After all, the essay lists many reasons what we take for granted, but was it really Bush who made living in the US what it is today?

In respect to what I have seen in regards to people's disapproval of President's is that many of them have no idea about the real situation. If no good news (aka from the media) comes from a topic of discussion, they will tend to think negatively about it (the sky is falling!) and ultimately disapprove of the job the President and staff have accomplished. I would say that the educated that disapprove is largely inferior to the number of less educated that disapprove

What I'm trying to say is that people can and will disapprove of our President for what he has done (or hasn't in some cases), but it is mainly because of the negative media and the lack of obviously positive outcomes from such situations (a.k.a., people dislike the war in Iraq, but don't see mass genocide's from a single dictator (Saddam) anymore, or mass troops in foreign countries fighting a seemingly "impossible war" but don't realize there hasn't been a major terrorist attack since 9/11).

People only remember for so long, and if all they remember are negative images, that's how they will view the leaders. JMO.
 

mapnerd

Well-Known Member
Aug 17, 2006
4,249
2,668
113
46
Ames
So, Dubya is a good president just because we don't live in Bartertown? (Yeah, that's right, it's a Mad Max reference.) That is false logic. I demand more from my president. This article is just a bunch of non-coherent statements put together to resemble an intelligent point...but it fails at that attempt. I agree with Benjay - not worth the bandwidth.

By the way, does anyone remember when the word 'God' was put in the Pledge of Allegiance? 1954. Not that long ago. It was a reactionary idea put in place during the McCarthy witch hunts. Basically, we wanted to show that we weren't like those 'godless communists.' Funny part is, the Pledge was written by a socialist. Ah, that's good stuff.

Just my 2 cents...
 

Kyle

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2006
4,074
119
63
I would say that the educated that disapprove is largely inferior to the number of less educated that disapprove.
I think I agree with what you are saying here. However, this is because the educated are largely inferior in number to the less educated in general, not just in that population.

What I'm trying to say is that people can and will disapprove of our President for what he has done (or hasn't in some cases), but it is mainly because of the negative media and the lack of obviously positive outcomes from such situations (a.k.a., people dislike the war in Iraq, but don't see mass genocide's from a single dictator (Saddam) anymore, or mass troops in foreign countries fighting a seemingly "impossible war" but don't realize there hasn't been a major terrorist attack since 9/11).
I think you are giving Bush way to much credit here. At the risk of totally derailing this topic, I honestly have a difficult time thinking of about anything I would say Bush has done right.
 

cstrunk

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2006
14,453
4,865
113
38
Longview, TX
I think you are giving Bush way to much credit here. At the risk of totally derailing this topic, I honestly have a difficult time thinking of about anything I would say Bush has done right.

Ok, Bush may have not done everything 100% right, but I would say he could have handled things much worse. So I am saying he didn't do that bad of a job.
 

jparker22

Member
May 1, 2006
481
0
16
50
Ames
A lot of you who strongly agree with this "essay" are still missing the point. Yeah, the US is a wonderful country, but people can still be in disapproval of the president for what he has done. After all, the essay lists many reasons what we take for granted, but was it really Bush who made living in the US what it is today?

Short answer in relation to home ownership and the economy. YES.

He hasn't been the best president we've ever had and he has made mistakes, but given what he has had to deal with during his 2 terms I would say overall we are doing quite well. We'll see how everyone feels when inevitably a democrat is in office and has the full backing of a democratic house/senate. Goodbye 15% LT capitol gains tax hello increased taxes accross the board. hope you all have been saving and tucking away for the past 6 years while the market has been good. Take your gains at the 15% rate cause it will be at your income tax level if the dems have thier way.

As far as the first post not being worth the bandwidth...neither is that type of response.
 

Johnny8

Member
Oct 18, 2006
308
2
18
Ames, IA
I think it's hard to say right now whether Bush has done a good job or not. I mean, sure we can look at our present situation and take a gander at what he has done, but a lot of the decisions he makes take a lot of time to come into effect. Also, we (for the most part) don't have an objective view on him, because of the media and our personal situations.
 

Kyle

Well-Known Member
Mar 30, 2006
4,074
119
63
As far as the first post not being worth the bandwidth...neither is that type of response.
The bandwidth comment was with regards to the article not the post. I would agree with the original poster of that comment.
 

AirWalke

Well-Known Member
Aug 7, 2006
7,040
1,625
113
Des Moines
Short answer in relation to home ownership and the economy. YES.

I meant the points brought up by "Jay Leno". My point was that Bush didn't create the foundations upon what our nation is built upon. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone that disagreed with our law enforcement, education, etc.

It's much easier to disagree on short term stuff, for example, what the current president does.

I think the essay would have made a lot more sense if it clarified who was upset, and what they were upset with. Yes, 67% of people disapprove of the president, but they are not necessarily upset over the same things. The statistic is too vague to form a relevant argument. It'd be kind of like saying that "50% of people living in the US are female, which, by the way, are underpaid in the workplace."
 

jbhtexas

Well-Known Member
Oct 20, 2006
14,321
4,370
113
Arlington, TX
We'll see how everyone feels when inevitably a democrat is in office and has the full backing of a democratic house/senate. Goodbye 15% LT capitol gains tax hello increased taxes accross the board. hope you all have been saving and tucking away for the past 6 years while the market has been good. Take your gains at the 15% rate cause it will be at your income tax level if the dems have thier way.

Somebody's got to pay off the national debt...might as well be us. I'd be far more worried about the social agenda. Once all the hate crime laws get passed, 95% of the posts in this forum will be considered hate speech...

Any negative comments against the Huskers, Aggies, Sooners, Cowboys, and Red Raiders will be forbidden by the laws that are already being proposed in Congress to "protect" minority lifestyles.

Any negative comments against the Hawks, Jayhawks, Bears, Wildcats Tigers, Longhorns, and Buffaloes will be forbidden by the inevitable aniimal hate speech laws.

The only thing that will be permissible to make negative comments about will be Cyclones, Hurricanes, Red Storm, Flames, etc, because those are "Acts of God", and it's OK to bash him...
 

Klubber

Well-Known Member
SuperFanatic
SuperFanatic T2
Apr 11, 2006
1,780
2,096
113
Aurora, IL
We have a very objective view of him as a President.

The media has been in Bush's corner for most of his presidency. The lead up to the war in Iraq saw one media piece after another in support of the war and what the Bush administration was using as rationale.

The biggest offender was the NY Times, which printed story after story on the front page offering up all the Bush and Cheney b.s. (pretty much verbatim) from the aluminum tubes nonsense to how Iraq was close to having a nuclear bomb. Yeah, that old liberal media, right?
 
Last edited:

Stumpy

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2006
2,540
247
63
Tucson, AZ
The media has been in Bush's corner for most of his presidency. The lead up to the war in Iraq saw one media piece after another in support of the war and what the Bush administration was using as rationale.

Slightly off-topic but it's four years to the day since Bush landed on an aircraft carrier and declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq: Mission Accomplished.

And we wonder why people disapprove of him as a president and the direction he leads the nation?
 

Help Support Us

Become a patron