Oh Snap!

[banned commenter. content deleted.]

Or, perhaps being prosecuted for war crimes in the Hague.

I have no animosity toward the president. I look forward to when he's out of office, maybe going to a ballgame or something

Reid must be under a lot pressure and stress these days. He says a lot of irrelevant things of late, or maybe it's just our worthless, gossip hungry members of the US press - those fact hating, work hateing members of the US media, whom have a exteme fondness for taking causal comments completely out of context – which is what I strongly suspect here.

Yeap, Reid said something dumb, but seeing as how everytime little Bushie opens his big dumb month, and always says something utterly stupid and completely out of context in it's own right, I see no reason to play the media's new liberal court jester game.

I wonder if Dean Broder will get another 50 member Dem Party letter after saying Reid is somehow like Albert Gonzales, because there isn't any similarity at all, except of course to a nasty armchair, partisan pundit like Broder.

Give 'em hell Harry!

(Obviously he is making a sly reference to Bush's cocaine-induced public nosepicking at a Texas Ranger game:
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/bushvideos/v/bushnosepick.htm)

What has Sen. Reid said that was dumb?

Harry Reid is kind to the point of insanity.

me_again- I don't think this is Reid saying something dumb or being reported as such. it's the expected "oh nothing personal" but with an added subtext of: "bush would be a fine person if we could just get him out of office where he can't mess anything else up."

I would visit Bush in prison, where he belongs - the dirt bag.

Reid is clearly stating what he thinks Bush is good at - whooping it up at sporting events. Note that Reid doesn't plan on asking Bush for foreign policy advice once Bush is gone.

Yes, one of Dubya's rare successes has been to throw off the yolk of having to get advice from people who've been there--especially if the lousy douchebag is your goddam father! (Did I just shay that out loud? Heh-heh.)

Let's see. We have a "free trade" bill being worked out in secret, a lobbying sunshine bill being gutted in secret, and Harry Reid saying he really thinks George W. "Torture" Bush is really a great guy (Iraq war, Scooter Libby, and the US Attys notwithstanding).

I start to get a bit worried.

Cranky

William Kristol made an absolute fool of himself this morning (as he seems to every Sunday morning.)Since none of the belief tankers like Kristol are willing to send any family member to the Iraq fight or even pay for it out of their own pockets, their opinions are worthless. Isn't it time for the mainstream media to tell all the Neo-Con Nazis like Kristol to sit down and shut up.

As to Harry Reid. He does seem to speak softly, but I think the stick on his shoulder seems to be mighty big.

Yeah, what's "stupid" about this comment. Reid is politely wishing in public we were rid of the dolt in the White House. Unlike the rest of us, he still has to go to work with fifty or so Republicans every morning, five days a week, and has to avoid letting out how corrupt, weak, and stupid he probably thinks they all are.

I would visit Bush in prison, where he belongs - the dirt bag.

When George W is in prison, if I were on vacation in the same city as the prison, and if I were sick that day and had nothing to do, I'd go visit him and take him some magazines.

So, he's got that going for him.

Berken: Yeah, what's "stupid" about this comment. Reid is politely wishing in public we were rid of the dolt in the White House

How can it be polite to imply that Bush is a dolt and to wish we were rid of him? If Berken's interpretation is correct, then Reid's comment was rude. It's generally not smart for a politician to make rude comments.

But, who knows what Reid actually meant? I'm willing to give Reid the benefit of the doubt and take his comment at face value.

.... It's generally not smart for a politician to make rude comments. ...ex-lax at 4:46 PM

It's far more damning to treat Junta Boy as a thumping great irrelevancy that to treat him as the second coming of Prof. Moriarty.

I laughed out loud when I read the quote. It hit exactly the right note.

I think some "folks" may not have noticed that Harry's humor is as dry as the Nevada desert.

FBI agent who interceded in Ann Coulter voter fraud case alleged to be her former boyfriend.

I think some "folks" may not have noticed that Harry's humor is as dry as the Nevada desert.

It' the '...or something' that does all the work. It's perfect.

How can it be polite to imply that Bush is a dolt and to wish we were rid of him?

He didn't ask for his noose size, which would be my first question. But I never claimed to be polite. (Or electable.)

Kenji,

Regarding your 3:58 post - Fewer eggs in your ale.

But, well meant.

How can it be polite to imply that Bush is a dolt and to wish we were rid of him?

Because calling Bush merely a "dolt" is a kindness, and to wish the country were rid of him is to share in the hopes for a better America.

Tool.

When one thinks of Bush and Cheney, one is reminded of the long and dignified history of tar and feathers.

[banned commenter. content deleted.]

>>on an old man who has dedicated most of his half life to public service.

Isn't that what they used to call Chairman Mao? Just "an old man who has dedicated most of his half life to public service?" Poor, honest, lovable Chairman Mao. Or was it Stalin?

George Bush? What a joke! No, I have absolutely no problem wishing him ill. Or you, Hawk.

> most of his half life to public service.

by the way, what is Bush's half-life? Has he been carbon dated recently?

I would like to kill him approximately 3500 times, in fact.

>>I would like to kill him approximately 3500 times, in fact.

Calling for the death of your political opponents and saying you would like to kill them is generally a bad idea. First, it is morally repugnant and fascist. Second, and far less important, it is stupid from a tactical point of view.

Please leave this kind of stuff to the Malkins and Coulters.

You know what Jim? you are right about that. And I don't want to be in their company.

I couldn't fathom socializing with these people on any level. Of course, that they probably wouldn't invite me to do so is beside the point ...

I think the thing I hate most about George Bush is the fact that I can truly hate him, on a visceral level, deeper than any mere disliking I have felt in the past.

ex-lib: How can it be polite to imply that Bush is a dolt and to wish we were rid of him?

58% say they wish the Bush presidency were simply over. - Newsweek 1/27/07

Note that Reid doesn't plan on asking Bush for foreign policy advice once Bush is gone.

Posted by: Fred

This would be short-sighted on the part of Reid, or any other politician for that matter. When you look at Bush's record on foreign policy, it's glaringly obvious he's made the wrong call on every single issue of note, with the exception of the Afghanistan invasion, which he subsequently botched. Given that track record, any smart politician given a tough decision could ask Bush what he would do and then do the opposite. No Wise Man or group of Wise Men (or Wise People, for the gender sensitive) could possibly hope to compete against such an oracular source of wisdom.

If Harry Reid were thinking of going on a three-day bender in Houston with a kilo of Peruvian flake and a case of Jack Daniels, he might want to seek a little guidance from ol' Dubya on those matters...

"or something" is usually a code word for sex, at least for me.

Or maybe they could take a trip to Europe together. Just leave all the Secret Service behind and go see Paris and Berlin and then just casually stop by the Hague and then BAM!!! they throw Bush in handcuffs and push his head down as they put him in the back seat of the Human Rights Policeman's car and take that motherfucker off to be tried for war crimes.

Something like that.

"I think the thing I hate most about George Bush is the fact that I can truly hate him, on a visceral level, deeper than any mere disliking I have felt in the past."

I couldn't agree more Blue Girl. I don't comment often because you usually say what I want to say. Thanks!!

BGRS: "I think the thing I hate most about George Bush is the fact that I can truly hate him..."

The man truly has no qualities to recommend him. It may be facile to say that Richard Nixon was a paragon by comparison -- he wasn't. But Tricky Dick, one can see in retrospect, genuinely thought of himself as a public servant. His self-loathing made it impossible for him to feel true compassion, and his intellectual curiosity was stunted by fears and phobias. But he was primarily a serious person, which is why his failures have taken on a near-Shakespearian quality.

The current resident, who seems to not yet grasp the temporary nature of his job, and his importance, is utterly uninteresting--once you set aside the massive destruction he set in motion, mostly without comprehending what he was doing from day one.

The fact that Cowardly Al and the other sorry lickspittles can admire such a empty vessel is a sad testament to how our culture has been denuded of heroism, moral wisdom, and ordinary common sense. Fortunately, charalatan fatigue is doing the public work (i.e. reviving some sense of shared values) that commitment to democracy should have ensured six and a half long years ago.

But happy Mother's Day anyway. Try not to hate the mosquito that doesn't know any better than to bite its host. That's its nature. Of course, we still need the Raid!

Thanks Kenji - the regulars can probably pinpoint by now when the one day of 28 that I could destroy the universe with a glare.

Hell hath no wrath like a redhead with PMS...

He had me at "I look forward to when he's out of office...".

Will Bush still have Secret Service protection when he's in prison?

kenji: [Bush] truly has no qualities to recommend him. It may be facile to say that Richard Nixon was a paragon by comparison -- he wasn't. But Tricky Dick, one can see in retrospect, genuinely thought of himself as a public servant. His self-loathing made it impossible for him to feel true compassion, and his intellectual curiosity was stunted by fears and phobias. But he was primarily a serious person, which is why his failures have taken on a near-Shakespearian quality.

When Eisenhower was President, Dems said he was an idiot.

The Dems said President Nixon was evil incarnate.

They said President Ford couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time.

They said President Reagan was an ignoramus who probably had Alzheimers.

Now, Ike is respected for his achievements and his canniness. Ford is regarded as an honest public servant who did a reasonable job. Reagan is given grudging respect by Dems. And now kenji even finds nice things to say about Nixon.

I can't wait for the next Republican President to take office. I expect the Dems to then explain how Goerge W. Bush was far superior to whichever Republican President is in office at the time.

I don't think so, ex-lib. Redemption for Bush is simply not going to happen. The scope of the perfidy is too great. There is to yardstick to measure him against. He will be the yardstick by which all others are measured for fecklessness for at least the rest of my natural life.

I wish you long life, but I doubt that you see another Republican president, outside a reprise of the mechanism by which Ford ascended.

You truly are a numb-skulled individual, ex-thinker.

What part of Nixon "was primarily a serious person" is so hard to understand? Georgie porgie will never been seen that way in his lifetime, and history will be even harder on him, when there are no dimwitted enablers around to defend him. He has done his level best to ruin this country, motherfucker, and you can't see it because you are either blind, stupid, or brainwashed -- if not all three.

So tell us why, again, you aren't over there, killing and dying in the place of our noble soldiers? Really like to know why such brave typists aren't willing to go to Iraq, or to send their children there. While you beat your chest black and blue, real people are dying--most of them better than you!

Kenji,

I think the Watergate tapes make it clear that Nixon reached a point where he did not think of himself as a public servant any longer; his motivations had become simply the acquisition and preservation of power, and any good or evil that might do to the country was, at best, a secondary consideration. That doesn't invalidate your point that Nixon was a serious person (serious to a fault), and that W is not; but I suspect that Nixon took the "imperial presidency" even more seriously than does W.

ex-liberal:

I think you need to look again at your "they said" list and consider just who "they" are, as well as the accuracy of what "they" supposedly said:

There were plenty of Republicans (my father and grandfather, for example), who thought Eisenhower was intellectually limited, and his record at West Point and as president of Columbia would seem to bear that out. Douglas MacArthur thought Eisenhower was a good secretary, and that's about it, but it was Eisenhower and not MacArthur who got the Republican nomination in 1952. He certainly wasn't particularly swift, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't canny, and an awesomely gifted politician.

Nixon, well... (see above post)

The perception of Ford as dim was popularized by none other than Ronald Reagan, who accused Ford of playing too much football without a helmet. There were plenty of Republicans who considered him a lightweight even after he assumed the presidency, which is why Reagan nearly unseated him in the Republican primary campaign. It must have stung Ford to hear such a charge from someone who was clearly his intellectual and athletic inferior, but he was too decent to reply in kind.

Reagan was respected by people across the spectrum -- from movement conservatives to "Reagan democrats" to Tip O'Neill -- for his political skills. I don't recall anyone proposing that he had Alzheimer's until late in his second term... at which point he did have Alzheimer's. In fact, Saturday Night Live did a brilliant skit in which Reagan (played by Phil Hartman) was portrayed as an energetic genius who used the mask of friendly dimness as political camoflage.

When Eisenhower was President, Dems said he was an idiot.

The Dems said President Nixon was evil incarnate.>

They said President Ford couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time.

They said President Reagan was an ignoramus who probably had Alzheimers.

Now, Ike is respected for his achievements and his canniness. Ford is regarded as an honest public servant who did a reasonable job. Reagan is given grudging respect by Dems. And now kenji even finds nice things to say about Nixon.

Oh, good Ford..."ex-liberal" is reduced to the hackneyed "history will vindicate Bush" argument. Yiou're really phoning it in these days, aren't you?

Besides: Ford is regarded as an honest public servant who did a reasonable job.

And couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time -- there's a reason Chevy Chase's impersonations of him were so funny.

Reagan is given grudging respect by Dems.

Only for the fact that, unlike Bush, Reagan did a few things that did help the nation -- includign raise taxes when necessary. But his incipient Alzheimer's is obvious, the fact that for all his tough talk on terrorism, he cut and ran from Lebanon and nmade deals with Iran is no credit to him, and Iran-Contra remains a blot on his legacy for which incompetence is his best and oncly defense.

And now kenji even finds nice things to say about Nixon.

Which doesn't change a whit the damange that Nixon's paranoia and megalomania did to this country. Besides, "not as bad as Bush" is truly damning with faint praise, and only underscores that fact that, while one can recognize Nixon had some redeeming qualities -- and he's always been given credit for the EPA and China -- Bush has none.

(I'm not going so far back as Ike, because he predates my time.)

In sum, "ex-liberal," basically your beef is that Democrats are intellectually honest about assessing their opponents' strengths and weaknesses, while your side merely reviles them. Your argument is dishonest and incorrect as usual. Why do you bother?

I think a lot of us "look forward to when he's out of office" and perhaps even look forward to getting close enough to him at a baseball game to tell him what we really think of his years of service.

Personally I'd show him a picture of my cousin and tell him to [banned comment. content deleted.] and take his little dog and put [banned commenter. content deleted.] until [banned commenter. content deleted.]

FBI agent who interceded in Ann Coulter voter fraud case alleged to be her former boyfriend.

Isn't that statistically likely anytime she interacts with a conservative male?

Maybe going to a ballgame ... or a local boxing ring where we could exchange the verbal jabs for the real ones. oh the sweet science.

calling all toasters,

Good question - He may have to play "drop the soap" all by his loathsomeness.

Well, hate to burst everybody's bubble, but there are still two more Hurricane Seasons to go just yet.

mhr: "Old Harry is such a clever man. Has a wonderful way with words."

Unlike some people, who lie AND fumble every time they open their mouths.

Harry Reid in outward appearance seems so meek and mild, yet, he is one tough bastard.

I'm proud of the job him and Pelosi are doing -
Keep it up dems -

Yesterday I just happened to be reading a book about the 1950's. The author quoted Kim Philby (British spy for the Soviet Union for decades) as saying in the late 1960's that history would vindicate him, presumably at the same time history rescues poor Stalin's reputation from the dung heap.

You know what? I don't think Stalin and Philby are ever going to be rehabilitated.

I don't think Bush will be either. There is nothing that will ever make him look smart or effective--even another terrorist attack in the U.S. after Bush is forced to withdraw our troops from Iraq. A successful attack would just prove how far off track he was mucking around in Iraq and taking away Americans' civil liberties instead of hardening U.S. borders and improving working relationships on terrorist matters with other nations.

And even if global warming turned out not to be caused by human activity, the Bush administration's procrastination in acknowledging its existence will only be seen as preventing us from taking steps to cope with the results.

I would not be surprised if fifty years from now Iraq is seen as a minor stupid action by Bush, while his refusal to take vigorous action to improve the environment is seen as his greatest failure. But failure will be the final word on his presidency.

Will Bush still have Secret Service protection when he's in prison?" Posted by: calling all toasters on May 14, 2007 at 12:50 AM

Why yes, he will believe them all to be his personal security service, surrounded as he will be in an ever tightening circle of men in the exersize yard. And I believe he will give as elegant a state dinner for his cellmates as he has for the queeen. And even with his busy prison schedule he will make time to pop off to play surprise conductor for the Harmonic All-male Prison Orchestra.

I do believe his scintillating mental life will be no less thrilling in championing the cause of prisonhood as it has been championing democracy across the global landscape at the helm of this great United States of America.

I love it. It shows what a great guy the democrat Reid is. And how Dubya has been in over his head.
He probably wakes up every day pinching himself in glee that he is the president.
That he has totally blown it is irrelevant to his ego.
That's why he can arrogantly answer when asked how historians
will view his presidency--"Who cares? We'll all be dead."
He will be known for encroachment on our civil liberties and lying to start a war. Worst ever, and worse than Nixon. One time I went to the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian Institute and there on the wall by some Nixon memorabilia was scralled in pen the words "Tricky Dicky."
I was stunned, but I understood.

Exactly. Hanging around the fringes, taking potshots from their mothers' basements.

Hey, we lure 'em here so you don't have to fight 'em there -- wherever that is.

"Since none of the belief tankers like Kristol are willing to send any family member to the Iraq fight or even pay for it out of their own pockets, their opinions are worthless."
_____________________

I've often wondered, exactly how does one send a family member to fight in Iraq? Is it like sending a kid to military school, only with shooting? Does it count if you want to send somebody, but none of your relatives will cooperate? Is there some sort of bonus program, as in the Civil War, where one can pay a substitute to go? Does it count if you have shares in Blackwater?

This is an important issue. After all, if your opinion doesn't count unless you fill that particular square, well then, there's gotta be a way. Maybe Kristol can buy "opinion shares" like carbon shares. Maybe my brother-in-law, whose son, Josh, has spent over two years in Iraq, could sell his excess opinion, since he admits he "don't know shit about it, all he wants is Josh safe."