What If George W. Bush Had ...

What If George W. Bush had ... 

• made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?
• If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?
• If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
• If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?
• If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
• If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?
• If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the Fifth of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
• If George W. Bush had misspelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potato as “proof” of what a dunce he is?
• If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?
• If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?
• If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he is inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
• If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
• If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?
• If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
• If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?
• So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 10 weeks -- so you'll have three years and nine-and-a-half months to come up with an answer.  

from Grouchy Old Cripple

Comments

[Bruce Oksol]

The answer: hero worship.

I have posted almost the same thing on various pages on my website. These Obama facts are not going unnoticed.

Right now, it's all about hero worship. If we are still at 10% unemployment next January, the year of mid-term elections, it will be an interesting election cycle.

[Gail S]

Thanks for a great list of Obama's various gaffes and blunders. He is such a bad leader and president that even with 4 of 5 of the major television networks advocating on his behalf instead of reporting honestly, his approval rating on Rasmussen is at -5% within 6 months of taking office.

What a disgrace!

Best regards,
Gail S
http://backyardfence.wordpress.com

[Matt]

Well, I'd say that Bush has been beating Obama pretty well so far

[sharon colona]

> IN GOD WE TRUST
>
> If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

Baracks self deprecating humour got the best of him. Not in good tase and cannot defend this. The chairman of Special Olympics did accept his apology and offered to have a special Olympian who had bowled 3 perfect games to go to white house and give the President some lessons. :)

> If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

George bush gave Gordon Brown a Bomber Jacket in which Gordon Brown promptly gave to charity, I imagine that was a better gift?

>
> If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
>
It would...if only the ipod had any Obama Speeches on it. It did however have show tunes that she has been well known to like and pictures of a visit she had to the U.S. Nothing about Obama was on the IPOD... so this is just a flat out lie. but while we have the queen in mind I would be a little mortified if my president winked at her.

> If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved? Are we seriously going there?
Someone google Goerge bush and the King of Saudi so you can see them kissing and holding hands.

>
> If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian
> language ," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
This did actually happen and is remnicent of Bush thanking Australian premier John Howard for allowing him to visit their 'Austrian' troops... funny how soon we forget.
Also, who can forget when Bush said he "doesn't speak mexican"....Is that a language?

>
> If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to
> keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?

If Tim Geitner is considered "FILLING HIS CABINET AND CIRCLE OF ADVISORS" then this is correct. There is not one other cabinet or advisor that has had any discrepencies in taxes.

>
> If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of
> the Mexican ambassador when it was the fourth of May (Cuatro de Mayo), and continued to flub it
> when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
yes that would have been embarassing. However, another lie. (You have to question why there would be so many lies in only one e-mail. What do republicans have against the truth?)
It was a joke becasue they were celebrating it a day early.
Quote: "Bienvenidos. Welcome to Cinco de Cuatro -- (laughter) -- Cinco de Mayo at the White House. We are a day early, but we always like to get a head start here at the Obama White House." was the exact quote.

>
> If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years
> like Dan Quayle and potatoe as “proof” of what a dunce he is?
This is just incorrect. It is a handwritten letter that had the word "advice" in it and someone mused that his "c" looked like an "s"..... Seriously? This is to the point it is humorous.
>
> If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”,
> would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?
In 2004 Bush flew to wells maine to celebrate earth day, In 2005 Bush flew to Tenessee to celebrate earth day...we could go on and on....but no one seems to care how much Bush spent so this would be pointless. Otherwise we would have seen big e-mails making fun of bush flying around for earth day, which did not happen.

>
> If George W. Bush’s administration had OK’ed Air Force One flying low over millions of people
> followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have
> wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?

If the George Bush administartion allowed saudi evacuees to leave our country within 6 days of the attacks and then denied it until the 9/11 commission record came out and then rewound the first lie and stated ... When Roemer asked "why the Saudis were allowed to leave the country, who were on the planes, how many, and why the decision was made," Clarke said the government "feared for their lives...some of them were bin Laden family members, and the Saudi embassy requested their evacuation."
The Saudi embassy requested there evacuation after we had been hit by all Saudi Ariabians and this was allowed?????? WTF?
Where was your anger and "wondering" then???
>
> If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to
> get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept
> he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
The president uses a telaprompter for his opening remarks at press conferences, after that it is never used for questions. IF YOU HAVE EVER WATCHED THE PRESIDENT IN A PRESS CONFERENCE YOU WOULD KNOW THIS.
>
> If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid=2 0to flood victims throughout the Midwest with
> more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major
> ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

1836 people killed and over 275,000 homes were lost in Katrina. The midwest flood killed 24 people and approx. 10,000 homes were lost. What is the comparison and what does it have to do with Barack that has passed additional funding for the midwest flood relief?
This e-mail is ignorant to the point of embarrasing... does anyone fact check this stuff at all or do you just send it out hoping people will believe it?
>
> If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two
> centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
The national debt in Jan. 2001 was 5.7 Trillion
The National debt in Jan 2009 was 10.7 trillion.
Was this a trick question? What if Bush nearly doubled the debt?
>
> If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again 10 times within years, would you
> have approved?
Can I get the place that proposal came from? Funny enough I cannot find a quote from Obama proposing to double the debt again 10 times within the next few years. and by the fact checks of this e-mail I am going to go out on a limb and say this too has been fabricated.
>
> If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the
> unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?
>

Someone please tell me who was president when this chart finally stopped plumeting and starting going up?( Let's see what major change did we have in Feb 2009)??

> If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved? George Bush took a total of 237 Vacations (1020 DAYS) during his presidency. This is an average of 2.5 vacations per month every month he was in office. Are we seriously talking about baracks ONE NIGHT IN NEW YORK?
"George W. Bush had made 149 trips to and spent 487 days at Camp David, with another 77 getaways to (and 490 days at) Crawford. Toss in 11 visits and 43 days at his folks' compound in Kennebunkport, Maine and President Bush spent 1020 days - 35% of his presidency - getting away from the White House. Breaking the record for vaction days."
HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK THAT RAN US?

[Tom McMahon]

Sharon, you might want to consider switching to decaf. Nice summary of the Obama Talking Points, tho.

[Glen Muse]

Many of the responses seem to just point out that Bush was an idiot too.

[MIke P]

Nice job Sharon!!

[Jess]

Sharon thank you for giving me a daily dose of awesome.

And yeah people are desparate to find something bad to say about the president.

[Alan]

>If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

Despite the latest Republican conspiracy theories, every president since Republican Dwight David Eisenhower has used a teleprompter, including George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan... even Sen.John McCain, who came up with the genius idea that Obama was the Teleprompter President.

>If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If Barack Obama spent billions of dollars on the homicidal neo-Crusader mercenary contractors, who say they’re on a mission to eracidate Islam, who have killed innocent civilians for fun, who have done shoddy electrical work that killed several US soldiers and got paid more for it than what our *real* soldiers have done to protect our freedoms by risking their lives every day on the front lines, would *you* have approved?

>If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If Barack Obama had kept the tax cuts to the top 1% of earners in this country and privatized Social Security despite the imminent stock market crash as John McCain had planned, would *you* have approved?

>If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If Barack Obama had been a good candidate for the Special Olympics, would *you* have approved? (my aplologies in advance to actual Special Olympians)

>If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If Barack Obama had given Saddam Hussein a hangman’s noose despite worldwide opposition, would *you* have approved?

>If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If Barack Obama had given Halliburton and Blackwater billions of dollars in government contracts, would you have been furious that he was relying on greedy, bloodthirsty mercenaries more than our own soldiers?

>If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia , would you have approved?

If Barack Obama had burned the US Constitution and repealed our civil liberties in the name of counterterrorism, would *you* have approved?

>If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

Would *you* have brushed off as a minor slip how hard it was for George W. Bush to put food on your family?

>If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?

If Barack Obama had filled his cabinet and circle of advisors with people who cannot seem to keep their slimy hands out of your income taxes, would *you* have approved?

>If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If Barack Obama had been so Italian illiterate as to call Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy “Amigo,” would *you* have winced in embarrassment? On that note, if Barack Obama had waved to Stevie Wonder, would *you* have winced in embarrassment?

>If George W. Bush had mis-spelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as proof of what a dunce he is?

If Barack Obama had declared that Al Qaeda had “misunderestimated" the will and determination of the commander-in-chief time and time again, would *you* have hammered him for it for years like John McCain and the Iraq/Pakistan border as proof of what a dunce *he* is?

>If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?

If Barack Obama had declared that finding Osama bin Laden was our top priority days after 9-11, but less than one month later, declared that finding Bin Laden wasn’t even a priority, effectively letting Bin Laden get away with the single most successful terrorist attack in American history, would *you* have concluded he’s a hypocrite?

>If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If Barack Obama had deliberately ignored the August 6th, 2001 President’s Daily Brief titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US,” and kept on reading “My Pet Goat” when he was notified by Secret Service agents that the South Tower of the World Trade Center was falling, would *you* be enraged at how many lives he allowed to be lost on that fateful day?

>If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If Barack Obama had ordered the warrantless wiretapping of millions of innocent Americans and the torture of kidnapped iraqi civilians and “suspected terrorists,” even though he had no constitutional authority to do so and in violation of the Geneva Conventions, would *you* have approved?

>If George W Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken
more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
If Barack Obama had spent $5 trillion on invading a country that had nothing to do with 9-11, had no weapons of mass destruction, no ties to Al Qaeda, and hanged its leader anyway despite worldwide opposition, would *you* have approved?

>If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

How many Oxycontin pills does Rush Limbaugh have to pop to come up with his conspiracy theories?

Considering “the worst disaster to hit the US,” to quote Sky News Ireland, what is it about Bush that made him better and “smarterer” than Obama?

[Tom McMahon]

You guys sure are touchy about your Messiah. Sheesh.

[Zach]

May I note that while there are some good points here, some of them were results of the actions of others, not Obama, and some are either not really relevant or that bad, though the media would have made a larger outcry about Bush doing them. Also, some are just not true, such as filling the cabinet with tax cheats (since those who were at all not ethical withdrew their nominations as soon as their indiscretions were known).

Also, the UAW is not the majority owner of GM, the US government is, and any majority owner of a company has the right to hire and fire top executives to keep the company running effectively.

George W. Bush did not do any better on the gift-giving to Gordon Brown, giving him a fur-covered leather bomber jacket in the summer of 2007.

The claim that the Ipod given to the Queen contained video of Obama's speeches is an outright lie. It actually contained (according to the BBC) footage of the Queen's visit to America. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7973178.stm (scroll down on that page to where it says 1750 to see this news story)

Furthermore, how relevant are these things to Obama's leadership of America?

I have no problem with any President bowing to a foreign leader. It is a recognition of differences in culture that harms no one if we make it.

On the Austrian language mishap and spelling errors, Bush made enough slip-ups to fill calendars, books, and many other products... thankfully Obama has nowhere near that many yet... but you have to applaud them for providing jobs for the people who make that memorabilia... just kidding, kind of

On the Cinco de Cuatro incident, Obama was trying to make a joke... he failed at the joke, but he wasn't trying to call the fifth of may the fourth of may http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/05/obama-cinco-de-mayo.html

The use of the teleprompters is not proof of Obama being an idiot, but rather an attempt to prevent the type of slip ups that Bush had and represent America well.

Yes, Bush was possibly treated unfairly on the flood thing, but that does not mean we should do the same to Obama.

The claim that Obama's plan would double the accumulated national debt is false... it would rather double the budget deficit... there is a big difference, the debt is $10 trillion, and the deficit is less than $1 trillion http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed032409e.cfm

Let's end the flamboyant rhetoric and disrespect... our president should always be respected, regardless of party. Much of the treatment of President Bush was wrong, and the same treatment of President Obama would be wrong.

[Les]

Much of the treatment (by the liberal press) of President Bush was wrong.

So let's defend Obama by attacking Bush.

The liberal press did not show him respect. The liberal press slanted the news. The liberal press is still bias, and unfair.

Obama was elected to fix, change, improve the situation. All he does is blame it on others. Yes they (the Democrats in the Legislature) caused it, but Obama promised to fix it.

Now Obama's "dream team" is attacking the press that does not slant the news (very steep & slippery downward slope) in their favor.

So, let's end the flamboyant rhetoric and disrespect, until a Conservative is elected.

[Ben]

so if bush was considered the worst president in history? then why are we comparing obama to bush? shouldnt we be comparing him to what a president should be? this shouldnt be about whether obama is better or worse than bush. it should be about whether hes getting the job done. so, to all you dems.. is he getting the job done?

[Frank Farkel]

President Obama has made a few blunders during his first year in office, but I understand that for a person who makes as many statements as he does, it is not surprising that he sometimes stumbles.

I'd rather not respond to you in a tit for tat manner, but I think it is important to note that President Bush's 8 years in office were replete with mistakes and bad policies, all of which plunged our nation deeper into debt, turned allies away and laid the ground work for one of the most severe financial crises in history. That is why Americans overwhelmingly voted for change.

Conservatives have derided the President of allegedly bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia. The White House says that it was not a bow, but whether it was or was not, how did you react when George Bush actually kissed the Saudi King?

Were you upset? Did you protest?

You note that President Obama made a mistake when speaking Spanish. It appears that he was making a joke. Nevertheless, how did you react when President Bush addressed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Spanish. You will note that most Italians do not speak Spanish. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/science/earth/10notebook.html?ref=world

President Obama has made a few gaffes but during his 8 years in office, President Bush misspoke hundreds of times. Here is a compilation: http://www.slate.com/id/76886/

For example: "John Thune has got a common-sense vision for good forest policy. I look forward to working with him in the United Nations Senate to preserve these national heritages."

Did you post another page on your blog every time President Bush said something silly?

You note that President Obama uses a teleprompter. I am sure you know that George Bush used a teleprompter. Oh yeah, Ronald Reagan also used a teleprompter. Check out the links: http://tinyurl.com/mlqz7h and http://tinyurl.com/r43fxj

Your blog notes that more people were killed by floods in the Midwest than died as a result of Hurricane Katrina. I looked it up and it just is not true. Wow. A blog that isn't factual. It's almost a cliché.

Of the many storms in the Midwest in 2009, the highest death toll thus far is 36 confirmed deaths. http://prod.newsday.com/flash-flood-warning-issued-for-louisville-area-1.1347443

In comparison, there were 1,836 confirmed deaths caused by Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/page.asp?ID=192&Detail=5248

President Obama inherited an economy in disarray and since taking office, has aimed to drastically revamp our nation's health care system and our crumbling infrastructure. I was curious to see how the national debt changed during the Bush years and according to PolitiFact.com, "When Bush took office; the national debt was $5.73 trillion. When he left, it was $10.7 trillion." http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jan/22/rahm-emanuel/5-trillion-added-national-debt-under-bush/

Did you know that billions of dollars were wasted during the Bush administration, particularly in massive contracts given out to private contractors that operate in Iraq and Afghanistan: According to one commission set up to investigate the use of private contractors, "billions of dollars of that amount ended up wasted due to poorly defined work orders, inadequate oversight and contractor inefficiencies.

In one example, defense auditors challenged KBR after it billed the government for $100 million in costs for private security even though the contract prohibited the use of for-hire guards." http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-06-08-report-dod-spending_N.htm

I hope that we are always critical of those we elect, but I see that you are not being consistent in your criticism. Your complaints about President Obama are ironic, given the fact that President Bush did in fact make so many of the same mistakes and made them much more often.

Have you heard that expression? People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[discount coach handbags]

Did Mr. Geithner say where this $15 billion would come from?

Sorry to be a buzzkill, Bill, but I am wary of yet one more rescue plan. We've heard this song before - every $100 or $800 or $700 billion the Treasury throws at the credit freeze leads to the same end, a continued freeze. How should this be any different?

I agree small business needs all the help it can get. But I would be more supportive of a plan that would offer small businesses lots of long-term incentives (tax breaks, credits, etc) as opposed to the Treasury trusting that buying securities will accomplish the credit thaw.

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[Betsy Ross Conservative]

You guys all SUCK! Seriously, if you're going to steal my blog posts at least give me credit of them! This is ridiculous! I posted this list on Sept 9th, 2009! http://thebetsyrossconservative.blogspot.com/2009/09/list-of-obama-screw-ups.html

[thistle burr]

Has any of this been fact checked? Picked one random item, the czars...
http://www.factcheck.org/UploadedFiles/Czars.pdf
That is just one...the rant is bogus.

[thistle burr]

Let's fact check another...
The debt at the beginning of the Bush administration stood at $5.73 trillion. At the time Bush handed Obama the keys to the Oval Office, it had increased to $10.63 trillion, for a jump of $4.9 trillion. As of Sept. 30 of this year, it was $13.56 trillion, which means under Obama it has gone up another $2.93 trillion. That’s sizable, but it’s not more of an increase than occurred during Bush’s eight years.

http://www.factcheck.org/2010/10/sunday-replay-24/

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