Bush Address - Thoughts?

[Hazarrd 1]

So what did you think?

All I have to say is... "i do the best i do" - gwbush

.-.

[marks 0]

uhhh... uhhh... uhhhh ... uhhh... hmmmmmm..

[andrewstewart 0]

I thought it was hilarious when he got asked that "unscripted" question about what his biggest mistake was. He looked like he was going to cry.

[Ian84 0]

Hmmm.....only saw a small portion of it and wasn't too impressed. Found it difficult to follow what he was trying to say a lot of the time. I guess what I'd like to know is if this press conference had any effect on opinion in America.

[SkydiverRick 0]

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I guess what I'd like to know is if this press conference had any effect on opinion in America.

It didn't change mine. I'm still voting for him.

never pull low......unless you are

[kiltboy 0]

The sad part is there were points I could agree with wrt to Afghanistan.
The transition/link to Iraq was more of a stretch and he looked at parts as if he didn't believe it himself.
The planted questions were pretty obvious and the answers were certainly repetitive.

Hasn't changed my opinion.

David

[Ian84 0]

What did you think of his performance tonight though?? Honestly.

Again I didn't see much of it but I'm curious as to what your thoughts are. Being that you're the first Bush supporter to respond to this thread I'm gonna stick that question to ya

[skydyvr 0]

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So what did you think?

As usual, Bush came across as bumbling yet very sincere and determined to stick to his guns.

He remains a far better choice than 'ole two-faced, blowing in the wind Kerry.

. . =(_8^(1)

[SkydiverRick 0]

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What did you think of his performance tonight though?? Honestly.

Again I didn't see much of it but I'm curious as to what your thoughts are. Being that you're the first Bush supporter to respond to this thread I'm gonna stick that question to ya

I didn't see where Bush broke any new ground. The republicans will agree with him and the democrats won't.

never pull low......unless you are

[Ian84 0]

True I'm sure. Thanks for your answer.

[DALAILAMA 0]

I felt a little sorry for him at times, the rest of the time I was semi-laughing.
I was fliping channels and 3 times in a row when I went back he was repeating the exact same words.
You could read Mrs. Rice thoughts, everytime they panned to her she was thinking "thank god it's not me this time".
I am a Bush supporter as well and I thought he didn't do too bad.
I was however disgusted with the questions about he didn't act fast enough with Osama and he acted too quickly with Iraq.
Either way you respond someone is going to criticize you for your actions.
Let them criticize all they want....Aaah! the "freedom" of speech, isn't it great and wonderful thing, after all, isn't freedom from oppression is what this war is all about!

"Dropzone.com, where uneducated people measuring penises, has become an art form"

[quade 3]

I didn't get to see all of it -- only his speech and the first several questions.

I actually started to feel a little sorry for him, however in what I did see, the man simply could not admit he made any mistakes. The NBC reporter asked him flat out and GWB hemmed and hawwed and he just couldn't do it.

People like to say that GWB is sticks to his guns -- and clearly he does -- but at some point don't you have to admit nobody can be 100 percent right all of the time?

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[skydyvr 0]

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People like to say that GWB is sticks to his guns -- and clearly he does -- but at some point don't you have to admit nobody can be 100 percent right all of the time?

Bush admitted that he'd made mistakes later in the broadcast.

. . =(_8^(1)

[pajarito 0]

GWB isn't half the public speaker his Dad was who wasn't half the public speaker Ronald Reagan was (as far as Republicans go). I believe his sincerity, however, and I believe it when he says that he's committed to the betterment and security of the country. His opponent, on the other hand, doesn't hold my trust. You've got to demonstrate consistency in order to gain my trust. Kerry has most definitely not. The decision, in my mind, is still very clear. There's more to being president than putting on a pretty face and being able to feed B.S. to the liberal press. But it helps, of course.

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[Greene 0]

He was Ronald Regan all over again. Good and honest in all his questions and answers. Some he hesitated on, he is the President, but also human.

If you did not see it all, to bad. Americians like the good home town talk, honesty and sincerity.

Liberals on the other hand can always find fault. That is human nature.

That is why the USA is great, we can agree to disagree.

Lee, not Jim

Lee, not Jim

[quade 3]

I would have dearly loved to watch every second of it -- seriously. I think you all know what a political junkie I am and I live to watch the speeches in particular.

Unfortunately, I was working. I -had- to move on and finish what I was doing.

I will read the full transcript a bit later tonight, but the transcripts never have the full flavor of the moment.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[billvon 2,380]

I thought it was pretty much the same as his other public statments with a few differences:

-It became clear that he is simply incapable of admitting that he can make a mistake. Sure, other people make mistakes, and he wishes things were different, but after two people asked him directly if he made any mistakes he either said no or evaded the question entirely.

-I wasn't aware this was a religious war.

"I also have this belief, strong belief, that freedom is not this country’s gift to the world. Freedom is the Almighty’s gift to every man and woman in this world. And as the greatest power on the face of the earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom."

So we're spreading the will of the Almighty to the heathens who oppose our freedom. Perhaps the christians of the US see no problem with that, but I have a feeling that a lot of other religions will react to that the way we react to the word jihad. Given that religious wars have caused a lot of problems of late it seemed a poor decision to turn it into war for the christian god.

[Unstable 8]

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As usual, Bush came across as bumbling yet very sincere and determined to stick to his guns.

He remains a far better choice than 'ole two-faced, blowing in the wind Kerry.

Agreed. He's got my vote.

=========Shaun ==========

[dubbayab 0]

I think Bush did a good job, a good job of ducking the question if he mad a mistake. I think a bigger mistake would be to elect Kerry. If Kerry is elected it will show weakness to our enemies. There may be many Americans who wish to bring our troops home and end the war, but the war will not end just cause most Aericans want it to. The war will end when our enimies are dead. I feel confident that when were are finished in Iraq, we will move on to another country like Iran, or N. Korea. Terrorisim is not going to go away by it self, I can't think of a better leader to fight it. Lets keep the fighting over there in those muslim countries where terror was spawned, and lets keep it peaceful here in our country. If we let our guard down they will get us. Kerry's whole plan is economy, and social security, and other "in house" policies, but what would he do in the face of war, shoot a few tomahawks like Clinton and hope Osama goes away. If we let them blow us up no ecomomy or social sesurity plan will help when were dead.
I hope most voter don't join the " band wagon" and vote for Kerry, or give in to peer pressure. I personally don't care what the French, or the rest of the world thinks of us, as long as we have homeland security.WB

[billvon 2,380]

>The war will end when our enimies are dead.

How did the Cold War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War end? How about the Six-Day War or the Yom Kippur wars? (all Israeli)

The days of being able to drop a few nukes on civilian cities and have the enemy surrender are gone. We cannot kill all those who dislike us. To try is to become what we are fighting.

[quade 3]

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Bush admitted that he'd made mistakes later in the broadcast.

Actually, I just finished reading the entire thing and that's not exactly right.

Transcript

The closest he gets is . . .

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Q Thank you, Mr. President. In the last campaign, you were asked a question about the biggest mistake you'd made in your life, and you used to like to joke that it was trading Sammy Sosa. You've looked back before 9/11 for what mistakes might have been made. After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?

THE PRESIDENT: I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it. (Laughter.) John, I'm sure historians will look back and say, gosh, he could have done it better this way, or that way. You know, I just -- I'm sure something will pop into my head here in the midst of this press conference, with all the pressure of trying to come up with an answer, but it hadn't yet.

and later in the same responce to this question . . .

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I hope I -- I don't want to sound like I've made no mistakes. I'm confident I have. I just haven't -- you just put me under the spot here, and maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with one.

So, even though he -knows- it is one of the greatest criticisms about him and it's more than likely something that was practiced in the mock press conferences . . . he still won't actually admit to a actual instance of making a mistake.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Gawain 0]

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How did the Cold War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War end? How about the Six-Day War or the Yom Kippur wars? (all Israeli)

The Cold War ended with the "death" of the USSR. The Korean War did not end (second time I've reminded you of that) and we took it on the chin with Vietnam (though, it was Nixon's final bombing campaign that finally "beat" the North back to the table). The Six-Day War ended when Israel wanted it to end, they were in a position to march on Cairo, Demascus, and Amman virtually unopposed.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[Gravitymaster 0]

What mistakes do you want him to admit to?

[quade 3]

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What mistakes do you want him to admit to?

Seriously? At this point almost anything.

I doubt he'd say it was a mistake to wear the tie he did for the press conference, but, um, that was a horrible choice! You can see it making moire patterns thoughout the entire range of zoom on the TV cameras. Remember, I'm a real live TV geek and wardrobe IS a big issue -- especially for the President.

But seriously, he needs to admit to something a bit bigger than that.

It's the height of hubris for him to not come out and say something to the effect of "Damn, you got me there. We could have done a quicker job on transitioning from the previous Administration. In retrospect it looks like we didn't get up to speed fast enough and Al Qaeda took advantage of the situation."

This would fit in almost perfectly with what Ms. Rice testified to, make him sound at least a little humble and he could move on from there.

I have a deeply rooted feeling that now it's become kind of a thing with him and the Republican leadership that any admission of any mistakes -- AT ALL -- will be seen as a sign of weakness.

I dunno. From -my- point of view it take a much stronger leader to admit they've made a mistake than one that ducks the issue time and again.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[Gravitymaster 0]

I never have understood why you libs put so much value in contrition. Not everyone is a Metro-sexual type male. I guess it's just a difference in individual psychological make-up. Many of past generations never talk about the horrors they experienced during WW2 as an example. I have friends who have suffered from intense physical pain and yet never complain. Maybe it's a macho thing, I don't know. I don't think you should assume he doesn't know he's made mistakes or that some of the mistakes he's made aren't painful to him. I'm sure he has gone through a lot of sleepless nights over the events of Sept 11. On the other hand, he probably doesn't see the point in public self-flagulation. Hope what I'm trying to say makes some sense to you.