Eggplant999

http://tinyurl.com/hrsz8

Linked from SA Forums:
http://forums.somethingawful.com/sho...readid=1855673
(Their content might not be safe for work)

Here is what I posted:
I dislike bush as much as the next guy, and for the most part agree with this whole article. Except this paragraph:

"With the benefit of hindsight, it is now almost impossible to look at the president's handling of the war in Iraq in isolation from his handling of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Certainly any investigation of the president and his administration should include both disasters. Before 9/11, Bush and Condoleezza Rice had been warned in the starkest of terms—by their own aides, by the outgoing Clinton administration, and by experts on terrorism—of the urgent danger of a spectacular al-Qaeda attack in the United States. Yet the first top-level National Security Council meeting to discuss the subject was not held until September 4, 2001—just as the F.B.I. hierarchy had been warned by field agents that there were suspected Islamic radicals learning to fly 747s with no legitimate reasons for doing so, but the bureau ultimately ignored the urgency of problem, just as Bush had ample opportunity (despite what he said later) to review and competently execute a disaster plan for the hurricane heading toward New Orleans."

I don't think a clinton admin, bush admin, or gore admin would have stopped 9/11. Blaming it on bush hurts this guy's credibility in my opinion. But his knowledge of how the nixon impeachment & his conclusions about the current situation make a lot of sense to me.

The last few paragraphs are pretty awesome however, I hope it comes true:

"After Nixon's resignation, it was often said that the system had worked. Confronted by an aberrant president, the checks and balances on the executive by the legislative and judicial branches of government, and by a free press, had functioned as the founders had envisioned.

The system has thus far failed during the presidency of George W. Bush—at incalculable cost in human lives, to the American political system, to undertaking an intelligent and effective war against terror, and to the standing of the United States in parts of the world where it previously had been held in the highest regard.

There was understandable reluctance in the Congress to begin a serious investigation of the Nixon presidency. Then there came a time when it was unavoidable. That time in the Bush presidency has arrived."

Lucky Shot

I think there are better ways to enact change starting at the ballot box. This impeachment drum that has sounded for the last 16 years is absurd and only serves to create logjams in actually getting useful things done.

Lucky Shot

Steeler

I assume you found the last impeachment equally distasteful, Lucky?

/needle

I agree that we are beyond the point of blaming people for 9/11. Unless some massive damning evidence emerges to the contrary, I think we can chalk that failure up to rank incompetance on a variety of fronts. Far more important is what our leaders have done since then with knowledge aforethought. That track record is eminently reviewable and severely lacking. Katrina may be a red herring in terms of impeachable offenses, but it was an indicator of gross incompetance, spin, and mismanagement. There are plenty of other questionable actions one could reasonably "get" the President on.

__________________

Lucky Shot

I said the last 16 years.

Lucky Shot

xTYBALTx

Hey, that's why I like it!

But then, I don't consider much of what they do to be useful in the first place.

edit: Wow we got off-topic quick this time.

__________________
A policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy. -F.A. Hayek

Eggplant999

Also , the writer of this article is carl bernstein, 50% of the reason watergate broke.

Lucky Shot

If you have the kind of tips that Deep Throat provided, any hack could have put the pieces together. Don't get me wrong, his opinions are interesting to some, fish wrap to others.

Lucky Shot

Steeler

Just checking. Hindsight is 20/20, after all. You hear a lot of Republicans decry the recent acrimony of Washington as tragic, as if they themselves weren't some of the cheif architects of it.

__________________

AMosely

I've never supported Bush, but being an incompetent, awkward, arrogant and ignorant president is not an impeachable offense, even if it costs the country trillions of dollars and thousands of lives. However, I would fully support Congress in changing the laws to make this so.

leejo

Here's to a do-nothing Congress!!

Eggplant999

Lying is however.

xTYBALTx

I don't think so. . . Isn't the exact wording "high crimes and misdemeanors"?

__________________
A policy of freedom for the individual is the only truly progressive policy. -F.A. Hayek

leejo

No I think this is a fantastic idea, and typical of liberal thinking. President Cheney....I like it!

Rincewind

I agree. Seriously.

__________________
~~ Veritas simplex oratio est ~~
No matter how far a wizard goes, he will always come back for his hat. --T. Pratchett

<---- You know you're getting old when you rely on your forum meta-data to remind you how old you are.

Required Reading for all TG sandboxers

Eggplant999

I don't think that's the point, this isn't liberal. Check bernsteins credentials. Also even if it did let cheney in he would be a lame duck president for the rest of the term (hi 17% approval rating), but it would almost hand the 08 election to the dems.

By the way, the amount of coalition troops that have died in iraq have almost passed the amount that died from the wtc terrorist attack.