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Annals of Inopportune Op-Eds
Take it away, Stanley Fish.
Within a year of the day he leaves office, and no matter who succeeds him, George W. Bush will be a popular public figure, regarded with affection and a little nostalgia even by those who voted against him and thought he was the worst president in our history.
...
What does Bush have to do? Not much, just be himself, not the wise and inspiring leader of the Western world — he never quite got that one right — but the amiable, funny, folksy and gregarious guy who tricked himself and the rest of us into thinking he was something more. Now he doesn’t have to do that. We’ll not be depending on him, so we’ll be free to like him.
You know who had a great sense of humor? Herbert Hoover.
KT|9.29.08 @ 2:39PM|#
This is like saying you'll be friends with the guy who did your wife and drove your car off a cliff because he has a sense of humor. He's a good person at heart! And he's at peace with himself! I swear!
DannyK|9.29.08 @ 2:46PM|#
Not the silliest thing Stanley Fish has written in that column, but close.
Abdul|9.29.08 @ 2:50PM|#
I don't think Frank Rich is that crazy. Nixon resigned in
disgrace and was every bit as hated as Bush is. But a couple years
of inactivity and Nixon started to look pretty good. Lots of Nixon
obituaries were flattering--even thouse written by democrats.
With time healing the wounds of the Bush administration, some of
the "Bush=Hitler!!!" stuff will start to look hysterical.
MarkySparky|9.29.08 @ 2:53PM|#
The thesis seems to be that the seething hatred of GWB will die down after he leaves office. Not a shocker, really.
|9.29.08 @ 2:54PM|#
We'll not be depending on him, so we'll be free to like
him
Who the fuck is depending on him now?
|9.29.08 @ 2:59PM|#
George W. Bush will be a popular public figure, regarded
with affection and a little nostalgia even by those who voted
against him and thought he was the worst president in our
history.
Yeah...that's gonna happen.
As recently as last Thursday, conservative friends of mine were
still bitching about how much they hated Bill Clinton and Jimmy
Carter.
But, I imagine there's a bunch of injured Iraq War vets, kids who
couldn't get financial aid for college, people who lost their homes
to foreclosure and ex-national Guardsmen who agree with you there,
Stanley.
David Weigel|9.29.08 @ 3:01PM|#
The thesis seems to be that the seething hatred of GWB will
die down after he leaves office. Not a shocker, really.
Seething hatred, sure. But at the moment Bush looks like he'll be
remembered as a new Nixon or Hoover. Do we think he'll even be
invited to speak at the 2012 Romney/Jindal convention?
|9.29.08 @ 3:05PM|#
Hmmm...... not for me. For me, I will always associate Bush with torture and utter stupidity. Somehow, I don't think he will ever denounce torture and I know he isn't going to get any smarter.
Gorgeous Gus the Wonder Dog|9.29.08 @ 3:07PM|#
"Billionaires seeking handouts?"
And David Weigel's gall bladder.
|9.29.08 @ 3:19PM|#
Billionaires seeking handouts?
Fuck you, Warren Buffet!
Depends on who Bush pardons as he leaves.
Himself, probably.
TallDave|9.29.08 @ 3:25PM|#
In the long run, Bush will be remembered as the guy who took
down the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and left some semblance of
freedom and human rights in their wake.
I guess some people will remember him for waterboarding Khalid
Sheik Mohammed, too, but not in a bad way.
|9.29.08 @ 3:34PM|#
A new President is going to come and we are going to find to our
shock that Russia is still an aggressive imperialistic power, Iran
is still run by religious lunatics bent on obtaining nuclear
weapons, Europe is still feckless, demographically dying and filled
with large, radical Muslim minorities, New Orleans is still a
poverty infested banana republic, and that overall the enemy and
fate gets a lot bigger vote in our problems than the President
does. At that point, Bush's stock will start rise as we realize the
oceans are not beginning to recede and the sun rises on the same
problems we always had.
Fortunately when that happens Weigel will be no closer to any
position of responsibility and probably won't be self aware enough
to learn anything from it. The story will be just how the next
President, whoever he is, caused all these problems.
dhex|9.29.08 @ 3:36PM|#
In the long run, Bush will be remembered as the guy who took
down the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and left some semblance of
freedom and human rights in their wake.
aw man, that's great. i'm going to use that at the next next upper
east side cocktail party.
|9.29.08 @ 3:37PM|#
I want to see the liberals explain things when Obama is rendering people to other countries to be tortured, just like Clinton did, using the living hell out of the new FISA legislation, and bombs Iran to keep them from getting nuclear weapons or ends up in a colonial war in Africa to keep the Sudan or Somalia from becoming a failed state. It is going to be damned entertaining to watch.
|9.29.08 @ 3:37PM|#
dhex,
You have to admire his ability to type something like that with a
straight face.
Ronald Reagan|9.29.08 @ 3:39PM|#
utter stupidity... I know he isn't going to get any
smarter.
Heh, sounds familiar.
|9.29.08 @ 3:41PM|#
He can't pardon himself. Next contestant?
Well, he couldn't do warrantless wiretaps either, right? Ah
ha!
You have to admire his ability to type something like that with
a straight face.
It is possible he was giggling when he wrote it. You can't see
him.
gmatts|9.29.08 @ 3:44PM|#
"Do we think he'll even be invited to speak at the 2012
Romney/Jindal convention?"
Well they'll do their best to make sure another hurricane will
touch down some time around the '12 convention.
FDR|9.29.08 @ 3:45PM|#
I wouldn't worry, judging from Reaon's approving citations of Glenn Greenwald's constant flagrant misuse of the word "unprecedented" no one remembers executive overreach very long anyway.
gmatts|9.29.08 @ 3:46PM|#
"In the long run, Bush will be remembered as the guy who took
down the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and left some semblance of
freedom and human rights in their wake."
Iran is forever in Bush's debt.
|9.29.08 @ 3:46PM|#
I don't think Frank Rich is that crazy. Nixon resigned in
disgrace and was every bit as hated as Bush is. But a couple years
of inactivity and Nixon started to look pretty good. Lots of Nixon
obituaries were flattering--even thouse written by
democrats.
He had the kinder obits because of the dumb, you don't speak ill of
the dead rule. Nixon is still seen as a shitty guy and a shitty
president.
|9.29.08 @ 3:47PM|#
In the long run, Bush will be remembered as the guy who took
down the Taliban and Saddam Hussein and left some semblance of
freedom and human rights in their wake.
Right, because pulling out of Vietnam did so much to make Nixon
look good.
|9.29.08 @ 3:48PM|#
Bush will look better if the next president sucks ass. I think there's a good chance of that.
Iranian Mullah|9.29.08 @ 3:50PM|#
Iran is forever in Bush's debt.
Maybe he could ask Maliki to stop smashing all our militias?
Also, the whole "free elections" and "free speech" things happening
on the other side of our border is really problematic for our
theocratic thugocracy. Think he could get them to stop that?
Nixon|9.29.08 @ 3:52PM|#
Right, because pulling out of Vietnam did so much to make
Nixon look good.
Well, we'll just to hope N Vietnam doesn't invade and conquer
Iraq.
|9.29.08 @ 3:54PM|#
Let me just go on record as predicting that President McCain will find some reason to invade Vietnam.
dhex|9.29.08 @ 3:56PM|#
You guys keep right on ignoring reality.
i don't own an AM-receiving radio, so i miss out on reality all the
time.
|9.29.08 @ 4:00PM|#
Dear God. Invade first and ask questions later. The Axis of Pleasure must be stopped!
TallDave|9.29.08 @ 4:01PM|#
i don't own an AM-receiving radio, so i miss out on reality
all the time.
You don't exactly need an AM radio to notice that Afghanistan's
government isn't executing women in soccer stadiums anymore, or
that Iraq has held several free and fair elections while doubling
GDP and most basic services. You just need to have your eyes
open.
|9.29.08 @ 4:02PM|#
Within a year of the day he leaves office, and no matter who
succeeds him, George W. Bush will be a popular public figure,
regarded with affection and a little nostalgia even by those who
voted against him and thought he was the worst president in our
history.
That's just stupid. I voted for the dumbass in '00 and have been
regretting it for 6 years or so. I do hold hinm as one of the worst
two presidents in U.S. History, and seriously doubt my mind will
change, even given the rose colored glasses effect.
Posterity has been kind to Ford and Clinton, as it should be. I
still hate LBJ and Nixon. Bush the second will fare no better than
them.
|9.29.08 @ 4:03PM|#
Strong words, TallDave, but would you say the same to the liberation of Vietnam?
gmatts|9.29.08 @ 4:03PM|#
"Also, the whole "free elections" and "free speech" things
happening on the other side of our border is really problematic for
our theocratic thugocracy. Think he could get them to stop
that?"
Free elections?? Like when former Sunni insurgents, who then helped
US forces drive out al-Qaeda, manage to get arrested and roughed up
just as they announce their candidacy for local councils? Thats the
kind of free speech and democracy in action that gets me all warm
and fuzzy inside.
Maybe Maliki and his al-Dawa party learned those types of tricks
when they were busy being funded by Tehran and blowing up our
embassy in Kuwait.
But hey, at least the current head of the Iraqi gov't has no ties
to international terrorism. Because then we might have to do
something crazy and overthrow him.
Iranian Mullahs|9.29.08 @ 4:06PM|#
Free elections?? Like when former Sunni insurgents, who then
helped US forces drive out al-Qaeda, manage to get arrested and
roughed up just as they announce their candidacy for local
councils?
Gee, next you'll tell me Obama's people are threatening state
violence against those who criticize him, or that Mark Steyn is on
trial in Canada for criticizing Islam.
I heard Ukraine has election problems and violence too, I guess
things were better under the Soviets.
Mass Grave Dweller|9.29.08 @ 4:08PM|#
Kids today have it so good. I remember when I ran against
Saddam.
Lemme tell ya, campaign laws are a bitch when they're enforced with
nerve gas.
dhex|9.29.08 @ 4:09PM|#
You just need to have your eyes open.
stop it! you're killing me! if i laugh any harder i'm going to pee
myself!
William Ayers|9.29.08 @ 4:10PM|#
But hey, at least the current head of the Iraqi gov't has no
ties to international terrorism
Hey, leave Obama alone!
|9.29.08 @ 4:11PM|#
If I could just get these pesky blinders off, I would totally
see that the present state of Iraq was worth spending trillions of
tax dollars and wasting thousands of American lives to
accomplish.
Just like welfare fans, I also tell warfare fans: Pay for your
hobbies out of your own goddamn pocket.
gmatts|9.29.08 @ 4:14PM|#
"I heard Ukraine has election problems and violence too, I guess
things were better under the Soviets."
There was no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
TallDave|9.29.08 @ 4:18PM|#
dhex,
Yes, reality is amusing. You should try exposing yourself to it
more often.
SugarFree,
Funny, people said the same thing about S Korea once. How many
lives was that worth "wasting?" How about Afghanistan? Europe?
dhex|9.29.08 @ 4:19PM|#
i already told you i don't have AM radio.
where else can one find this precious reality you speak of?
TallDave|9.29.08 @ 4:21PM|#
And I already told you to just open your eyes.
http://www.brookings.edu/saban/iraq-index.aspx
http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=1
Good places to start.
Kruschev|9.29.08 @ 4:24PM|#
There was no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.
Da, is true. People wanted Communism. had to build wall to keep
Westerners from crowding utopian socialist states.
|9.29.08 @ 4:25PM|#
TallDave,
Bathe in the blood of as many military men and women as you want,
your skin's not going to look any better.
Afghanistan was justified and worth the blood and treasure as a
pure revenge trip. I'm fine with royally fucking over as hard as
possible anyone that attacks us.
Iraq was a house of cards. The feeble attempts to defend at this
point it is just sort of sad.
But it makes a useful marker of people too stupid or too crazy to
pay attention to. (Hint: I'm talking about you.)
gmatts|9.29.08 @ 4:26PM|#
"where else can one find this precious reality you speak
of?"
It's most intense during REM sleep.
TallDave|9.29.08 @ 4:41PM|#
Bathe in the blood of as many military men and women as you
want, your skin's not going to look any better.
Ooh scary rhetoric! I give you an A for imagery, but an F for
content or making any sense.
Afghanistan was justified and worth the blood and treasure as a
pure revenge trip.
So, bathing in the blood of soldiers is OK, as long as our
motivation is revenge.
Iraq was a house of cards.
I would respond to this if I could tell what it meant.
Well, enjoy your worldview, I guess.
North Korean|9.29.08 @ 4:51PM|#
Funny, people said the same thing about S Korea once. How
many lives was that worth "wasting?"
You imperialist capitalist pigs just don't get it.
We like being 3 inches shorter than S Koreans due to malnutrition.
And they would like it to, if you'd just let us force them
to.
If you were a REAL libertarian, you would respect our freedom to
oppress.
Kolohe|9.29.08 @ 5:00PM|#
You know who had a great sense of humor? Herbert
Hoover.
To be fair, Hoover lived just about longer pos-presidency than just
anyone ever has, and did a lot to personally rehabilite his
personal and professional reputation, a la Carter, although did not
quite get the public recognition that Carter did.
|9.29.08 @ 5:58PM|#
If you were a REAL libertarian, you would respect our
freedom to oppress.
The hardcore multiculturalist/relativist worldview in a nutshell.
Well done, sir.
|9.29.08 @ 9:56PM|#
I predict that within a year, liberals won't give a damn, but
conservatives will hate his guts.
Personally, after this bailout bill, I am thinking of getting one
of those "Fuck Bush" stickers myself.
I'll put it right next to the NRA, Free market, and Support the
Troops ones, just to make the point clearer.
|9.30.08 @ 11:26AM|#
Free Speech and Free Elections in Iraq are the reason why Ahmedinejad had flowers thrown at him as he triumphantly rode into Baghdad to meet with the president of the country that had invaded Iran under the dictator we deposed. Yeah, the Iranians are really bummed out about that, I'm sure.
|9.30.08 @ 11:30AM|#
So, the theory here is that and Iraq that is just barely being
held together by the presence of 150,000 American troops, and which
will fall apart if we dare leave, has produced a 2:1 split against
the war and against Bush by the American public.
But once we're out - an event that TallDave thinks will lead to
chaos - things are going to turn around, and people will think Bush
and his war were really awesome.
'kay.
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