We elect presidents in the hope the asshole will handle shit correctly, keep war and pestilence at bay. Some Americans pay more attention than others, and sometimes can actually see the smell — history provides the reality.
When I started this blog in 2007, most of the subject matter was unfortunately somehow connected to war, as at the time the US had two going way-badly (now just one), and started referring to then-President George W. Bush in posts as “Decider George,” based on his own interpretation of himself: “I’m the decider, and I decide what’s best.”
Most-likely in all of history not much tops that for pure stupid.
After the boy left office, he ain’t the decider no more. Now I refer to the little sonofabitch as “George Jr,” in deference to his daddy.
(Illustration: George Jr. introspects himself, found here).
In 2006, historian Sean Wilentz reamed junior a new asshole (via Truth-out), saying even back yonder he’s the worse of our presidential lot, and even more ill: History may ultimately hold Bush in the greatest contempt for expanding the powers of the presidency beyond the limits laid down by the U.S. Constitution.
History ain’t finished, yet.
Just yesterday, our current president tried to bullshit his way through Constitutional after-thoughts on how one single governmental entity is so out of control, there’s just no understanding the complexities of it all. President Obama may not be even close to the worse president in our history, but he’s way-for-sure the most disappointing. The way he’s handled the last year has shown a guy out of his depth — his only card left is still oral bullshit.
I listened to Obama’s speech on the NSA while at work (NPR), but just caught a few splashes here and there. Via video later, a few snips, but picked up good interpretations online.
An overview of the bullshit can be found at the Washington Post, and a more-realistic approach by Kevin Drum at Mother Jones, who concludes this about Obama and the NSA leaks:
This is fairly weak tea.
Nonetheless, I’m pretty certain that we wouldn’t have gotten even this much if it weren’t for Edward Snowden.
This is why I support Snowden’s disclosures despite the fact that I’m not happy about every last thing he’s disclosed.
Obama’s attempt to suggest that he would have done all this stuff even without Snowden’s disclosures strikes me as laughable.
And not ha-ha-ha funny, either. A frightful, bitter laugh.
Kevin Gosztola at Firedoglake also has a good take on the speech, but the most-detailed view of Obama’s tone-deaf remarks comes, of course, from the best at this shit, Marcy Wheeler at emptywheel, who provides a near-line-by-line analysis.
She picks apart the whole sham — well worth the read in its whole — but Wheeler seems to encapsulate Obama’s entire presentation (and maybe his presidency) in her response to this: “We saw, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, our government engaged in enhanced interrogation techniques that contradicted our values” reveals the deep-embedded problem: Obama’s use of this euphemism, EIT, is truly cowardly.
My underline for emphasis — he’s a chickenshit.
And has played dead to all the crapola frothed-up by George Jr.’s horrible tenure in office.
Speaking of which, earlier this month at The National Interest, editor Robert W. Merry, also author of ‘Where They Stand: The American Presidents in the Eyes of Voters and Historians,’ (here a New York Times review), listed the five top ‘worse‘ US presidents — the names of four come from sixth-grade history class, and the fifth from Texas.
Merry lists them in ascending order: James Buchanan, Franklin Pierce, Woodrow Wilson, George Jr., and Millard Fillmore.
An august body — Merry comments:
Getting back to George W. Bush, his foreign policy would almost have to be considered a failure, and it was a failure of commission.
He wasn’t responsible for the 9/11 attack in any meaningful way, of course, but his response — sending the U.S. military into the lands of Islam with the mission of remaking Islamic societies in the image of Western democracy — was delusional and doomed.
One need only read today’s headlines, with forces aligned with Al Qaeda taking over significant swaths of territory within Iraq, to see Bush’s failure in stark relief.
In addition, Bush’s wars sapped resources and threw the nation’s budget into deficit.
The president made no effort to inject fiscal austerity into governmental operations, eschewing his primary weapon of budgetary discipline, the veto pen.
The national debt shot up, and economic growth began a steady decline, culminating in negative growth in the 2008 campaign year.
The devastating financial crisis erupted on his watch.
Other than all that, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands, just another politician. Merry also asks whether Obama is destined for ‘worse presidency,’ status, but all he can extract is the fall-out off Obamacare. Murder and financial corruption it ain’t near.
(h/t The Big Picture).
Obama’s just a coward.