George H.W. Bush - Classic or Dud

Incumbent pres getting 37% of vote in re-election bid is always lol to me

A solid obit.

n the end, Bush was probably an average president, but that’s really more about most of our presidents having been between bad and Trump. There’s nothing particularly wrong with being an average president. But he’s also been more than a touch romanticized by liberals because a casual glance makes it seem he led a Republican Party far to the left to that today. That’s not wrong per se, but it also lacks context. Bush pushed the party to the right from his first engagement with politics. His nomination of Clarence Thomas, his pushing Dan Quayle on the national scene, his Lee Atwater ad, the War on Drugs, naming Dick Cheney Secretary of Defense, and leaving Iraqi rebels out to dry—these are very bad, no good things. And they need to be remembered more than an imagined moderate Republicanism of 1989.

That was good, best thing I've read since he passed

I'm listening to Schwarzenegger talk about Bush on CNN, and all I can think about is Albert Brooks in Broadcast News: "Arnold just said that he's been making three million a movie now. But he's not ever gonna change. He's still the same person when he was making two million dollars a movie. He feels no different. He also bought a brand-new condo with Maria, they gonna furnish tastefully."

My second groped friend said that was a common occurrence between Bush and actresses in the employ of a particular major Houston theatre company when he did photo-ops. She showed me the photo taken during her incident and BARBARA WAS RIGHT THERE BEHIND THE WHEELCHAIR.

I was on our private terrace, overlooking Sydney Bay, doing some warm-up yoga exercises, so close to the water I could almost touch it, when who should pop into view, two or three yards away, just below me on the esplanade separating the hotel from the sea, but Poppy himself, walking briskly towards the city skyline. He was casually dressed, as if about to play golf, and surrounded by a sizeable entourage – some muscled security heavies, some suited confederates, perhaps a secretary or two, all of them quietly obsequious, all of them situated at a prudent distance, respectful of an invisible protective boundary that isolated the politician who had once been the most powerful person on Earth. Closest to Bush, half a step behind him, was a bulky, crew-cut military man, with so many medals on his uniform that it was a miracle he wasn’t sagging from the burden. A general, at least, I thought.

Suddenly, the former president lifted his right arm into the air, his fingers extended backward, snapping them without, however, deigning to look at the man behind him. The officer reacted with celerity, producing, seemingly out of nowhere, a tube that he deposited in his master’s hand. It turned out to be a sun tan lotion, as George Senior, without losing his stride and definitely without thanking the aide, began to lavishly apply it to his exposed forearms and neck.

the rest of it is pretty good, too

Ew.

My BFF just shared this news segment featuring her husband, discussing GHWB and the Americans with Disabilities Act:

https://wjla.com/news/local/remembering-george-hw-bush-a-champion-for-those-with-disabilities?fbclid=IwAR3cPovgOXtBnevGe9kvVMoA9s2EjoLiux7XyGme3QDwYR9NSTYPAMJLsxI

Americans with Disabilities Act

Bob Dole was the real mover behind that.

...as I’m sure my friend’s doctoral thesis mentioned in segment points out.

I'm not going to argue with the many liberal friends on FB who loathed the Reagan-Bush era who nevertheless reminded me that his signing this act made their lives easier.

Again: least worst GOP president since Ike.

The run up to 2020 is gonna be a great time to take a break from all social media.

(That's not aimed at this thread, btw, or ILX, but more widely used social media platforms. A general statement.)

I'm not convinced of Bush's loathsomeness from Ariel Dorfman, revealing one level of #firstworldproblems against another. I'm sure there's better.

if nothing else it contains probably the best account of the process of applying suntan lotion to a former president that i, personally, have ever read

"worst GOP President since" is like rating bouts of food poisoning

i'm kind of amused at the "gop" qualifier yall are using. In the long run, Clinton was more harmful and Obama might've been too.

theeeeeeeeee supreme court tho

yeah, his most damaging contribution -- which could've been stopped by Biden and the Dems

In the long run, Clinton was more harmful and Obama might've been too.

You're ignoring that I prefer Clinton and Obama's judicial picks.

i'm not ignoring anything.

You haven't responded to my last few texts

join the club

Ran the CIA, campaigned on racist ads, lied to sell a war—real nice. https://t.co/lewiDw6p9P

— Doug Henwood (@DougHenwood) December 2, 2018

the broad & long lasting reach of Dana Carvey's SNL imitation of Bush is pretty incredible, I think it shapes ppl's view of him even today

If, like Morbs, you take as your starting position that every POTUS is a criminal, then it makes sense to conclude that two-term presidents must do more harm than one-term presidents. However, GHWB qualifies for extra credit because of his CIA directorship.

Mission complete. #Remembering41 pic.twitter.com/rXdyXAS4lk

— Jim McGrath (@jgm41) December 3, 2018

Say what you will about Hitler, he loved his dog Blondi, who was a loyal companion to the end. #NaziPups #Awww pic.twitter.com/uYk6wycXYn

— Dennis Perrin (@DennisThePerrin) December 3, 2018

how big is the check that Perrin cuts you for promoting him?

In the end, his bio will be: one errant sperm of his led to the worst presidency of our lifetimes

Posts that have not aged well?

how big is the check that Perrin cuts you for promoting him?

We're talking Dennis Perrin here. At best it's enough to cover a food-truck burrito once a week.

Trump hasn't come close to GWB yet xp

agreed, wake me up when 45 has killed a million directly or indirectly thx

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Po8HEqpmUzc/U6pOhwAF4aI/AAAAAAAAMgQ/B4ihU0ipJyI/s1600/Ronald+Reagan+Thumbs+Up+Sincere+Smile+Nonverbal+Communication+Expert+Body+Language+Expert+Speaker+Keynote+Consultant+Las+Vegas+Los+Angeles+Orlando+New+York+City.png

but good manners are the important thing

xp Nothing sets a high bar for worst president like coordinating a huge misinformation propaganda campaign in order to start an unnecessary war that kills hundreds of thousands of civilians, costs more than a trillion dollars, and indirectly gives rise to ISIS, all without gaining any of its major war aims (except killing Saddam Hussein). And that's just the turkey, not the trimmings.

Like I said on Saturday, if Donald Trump has his uses, it’s to destroy the fiction that our presidents must be gentlemen.

i think 'even Hitler loved his dog' is a good general point

Disappointing news. I was really looking forward to two sentences of rote tribute followed by fifteen minutes of riffing on his Electoral College victory.

Trump will attend but not speak at this week’s funeral service for former President George Bush https://t.co/ONo7GLTijW

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 3, 2018

start an unnecessary war that kills hundreds of thousands of civilians, 

imagine his chagrin on learning that Poppy was the last GOP prez to win California.

your mistake there is the assumption that trump has the capacity to learn

oops sorry

"Some people say he's the last one to do it. Some say others could still do it, maybe me. Well, I'll just say it: I could probably do it. But right now, they're saying, he's the last one."

I forgot to keep paying attention over the weekend. Were we able to collectively as a nation shave all the rough ages off and fully rehabilitate one of the finest presidents, indeed one of the finest men, to have ever graced humanity with his beneficence and wisdom?

totally

Noice.

I forgot to keep paying attention over the weekend. Were we able to collectively as a nation shave all the rough ages off and fully rehabilitate one of the finest presidents, indeed one of the finest men, to have ever graced humanity with his beneficence and wisdom?

― all lite up and very romatic (Old Lunch), Monday, December 3, 2018 2:56 PM (thirteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

they tried but perrin shut that shit down

In observance of the national day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, the Clinton Presidential Library, 42 bar and table, and the Clinton Museum Store will be closed on Wednesday, December 5. However, the library lobby will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for visitors to sign the condolence book.

I sure hope the radio plays something besides Lee Greenwood on Wednesday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btCNAMna-PE