We'll have a new President soon - will you miss these?

[robert]

This isn't supposed to be offensive, but I guess could be interpreted that way.

 

There are dozens of these videos and I think they've been posted on here before.

 

I throw it on in the background when I'm typing.

 

Will you miss these?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05KMqyKk88&feature=related

[robert]

Some really funny ones here:

 

[xveganjoshx]

I might miss these if we get a certain president or two...

 

No one ever claimed Bush was a good orator...

These are funny though.

[robert]

I know...and he's an easy target because he's on camera all the time.....one could make anyone silly......W just makes it a bit easier and it's fun.

 

But for some reason..... a bunch of us have realized something strange...that the more we watch these videos, the more we kinda like W...he's just like a goofy neighbor who keeps screwing up and is fun to laugh at or laugh with.

 

I'll miss the videos but I'm sure he'll pop up and say some brilliant stuff from time to time to keep us all entertained.

[Zack]

who keeps screwing up

 

Check this out, maybe his worst mistake ever!

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSL17797120080217?feedType=RSS&feedName=politicsNews&rpc=22&sp=true

 

"Bush has spent more money on aid to Africa than his predecessor, Bill Clinton, and is popular for his personal programs to fight AIDS and malaria and to help hospitals and schools."

 

how evil.

[Guest]

I'm definitely gonna miss the stupidity. Maybe when Obama takes over...someone should tell "W" he's still president...not like he would know he wasn't.

 

As for Bush giving more aid than Clinton thats true but Clinton was giving away money we actually had...Bush tends to spend money that doesn't exist...very very stupid.

[Bill]

But for some reason..... a bunch of us have realized something strange...that the more we watch these videos, the more we kinda like W...

 

I agree.

 

I've always kind of liked his folksy style, and I don't think people should be punished too much if they're not great speakers.

 

On the other hand, I think it's worth pointing out that the "Bush" that people see in public is, to some degree, a self-made caricature. I think to understand the Bush public personna, you have to look back to his first political loss to Texan Kent Hance, in a run for Congress back in 1978. Here's what Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wrote about it in 2000:

 

Back then, Mr. Bush ran an energetic but deeply flawed campaign. He chose a race that may have been unwinnable, and then let himself be portrayed to many voters as an over-educated phony out of touch with ordinary voters -- ironically, a bit the way some Bush supporters now look at Vice President Al Gore.

 

...

 

So what did Mr. Bush learn from his first political contest? How did it change him?

 

.....

 

Mr. Hance believes he taught Mr. Bush two lessons. First, he said, he showed Mr. Bush the need to cultivate the religious right, those church-goers who he had largely ignored during the campaign and who in the end voted against him on the alcohol issue.

 

And second, he thinks, he helped teach Mr. Bush the need to be more folksy.

 

As Mr. Hance put it: ''He wasn't going to be out-Christianed or out-good-old-boyed again. He's going to be the good old boy next door.''

 

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E3D71F3AF934A15754C0A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print

 

Of course, I'm not claiming the Bush is a suave, cosmopolitan intellectual behind closed doors. But when people criticize him for being an "idiot" (ie. see: everyman/ common Joe) or "being a cowboy", in a sense, they are feeding a narrative that Bush, as the elite son of a President and grandson of a Senator, had to create for himself in order to be viable.

 

Although I disagree with him on most issues, I've always thought that Bush is a very capable politician compared to many of his opponents.

[Laura]

As for Bush giving more aid than Clinton thats true but Clinton was giving away money we actually had...Bush tends to spend money that doesn't exist...very very stupid.

 

Good point. For many reasons, I won't be sad to see Bush go.

[Guest]

Plus he makes you feel good about yourself

[Richard]

Some really funny ones here:

 

Sweet

[pelicanAndrew]

As for Bush giving more aid than Clinton thats true but Clinton was giving away money we actually had...Bush tends to spend money that doesn't exist...very very stupid.

 

Good point. For many reasons, I won't be sad to see Bush go.

 

Not to mention the money he gives to Africa helps US Business interests. Fun stuff.