George H.W. Bush - Classic or Dud

Usually with just the one finger, but I think he'll be able to rein it in this time.

There's tons of pernicious political correctness in the US. 94% of it is stuff like this, which is never called political correctness because powerful people like it. https://t.co/zSPFfRhxj9

— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) December 3, 2018

That grocery scanner: read somewhere earlier this year that that was misleading, that he was being shown some new model that was different than whatever had been previously used. No idea if that's true.

And also the correct answer to "How has the National Debt affected you personally?" was "It messes with my approval ratings. How has it affected yours?"

Dole made it! always there for WW2's worst veterans.

WATCH: Former Sen. Bob Dole is helped out of his wheelchair to salute the casket of George H.W. Bush in the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/BeIz3USrHr

— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 4, 2018

stop lying about my record

lol

you can't hear Dole saying "WE BELONG DEAD"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypzRDq3PGI

Charlie Pierce and Jennifer Rubin go at it.

While crediting him for raising taxes despite a campaign pledge, Pierce went on to slam Bush for changing his positions on abortion and “voodoo economics,” and said that “The primary legacy of George H.W. Bush, as president, is that battlefield courage does not necessarily translate into political courage.”

Rubin, who has become one of the most prominent anti-Trump conservatives, leapt to defend Bush.

“Oh my, I couldn’t disagree more,” Rubin said, adding that “you can pick small things, small mistakes in anyone’s career,” but praised Bush for his handling of the end of the Cold War, his decision not to occupy Iraq after the first Gulf War, the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, and his signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“He bent the knee of fealty to the elements that created the modern Republican party,” Pierce said.

“No, I don’t think so. The far-right was there when Ronald Reagan was there, he just came along after him,” Rubin replied, then took aim at Trump by contrasting Bush’s foreign policy chops with Trump, whom she said is “so disruptive and so at odds with our allies.”

“Donald Trump has never been part of a conspiracy to sell missiles to the Ayatollah,” Pierce blurted out, a reference to the Iran-Contra scandal.

what they actually want is for us to hush so they don’t have to think about what it means that they *still* adore someone who voted against the civil rights act, pushed the drug war and resorted to “hey, black crime” in an effort to retain political power.

— Joel D. Anderson (@byjoelanderson) December 4, 2018

“Donald Trump has never been part of a conspiracy to sell missiles to the Ayatollah,” Pierce blurted out, a reference to the Iran-Contra scandal.

it's true, Trump's conspiracies are generally worse

meanwhile, over in the nyt, ross douthat longs to feel once more the reassuring pressure of the white anglo-saxon protestant jackboot upon his eager, panting throat

Put simply, Americans miss Bush because we miss the WASPs — because we feel, at some level, that their more meritocratic and diverse and secular successors rule us neither as wisely nor as well.

not sure I have the intestinal fortitude for this take this morning

Uh, I highly douthat, Ross.

i'm savouring the extremely spicy thought that people who got to their station in life on merit are nonetheless unquestionably inferior to someone else of a white anglo-saxon protestant persuasion who could be - should be! - holding that station instead

the new york times, folks - it's good

sweet! I can't wait!

It kinda all depends on your perspective. If you're an accelerationist who believes we should purge human life from the planet ASAP, Anglo-Saxon leadership kinda seems like the way to go.

my god, than you! That Douthat column was an even better than my most lurid imaginings.

I can't even type straight!

it's a glittering gem of a piece, i'm glad someone else was as moved by it as i was

I will defend to the death Douthat's right to indulge whatever kink tickles his particular fancy so long as he refrains from getting all prescriptive about it.

douthat - marquis de sade of op-eds

Every VP since 1977 is at President Bush’s funeral, except one. Mondale, Quayle, Gore, Cheney, Biden, and Pence are there. The only one missing is President Reagan’s VP, George HW Bush.

— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) December 5, 2018

He’s there

what a horribly formed "joek"

wow ari fleischer is blowing the lid off this whole fuckin' scam - bush faked his death and has joined jfk jr and trump to expose the international elite's paedophile ring #qanon #WWG1WGA #GreatAwakening

TBF did anyone get close enough to say with 100% certainty that the casket didn't just contain an animation cel from 'Two Bad Neighbors'?

If I could have had a few days of Bush lying in state wearing a shaved-down rainbow afro wig, I could have died happy.

Oh god, and this was our very last opportunity to make that a reality.

At last, I am in mourning.

a good mourning, I trust

“Donald Trump has never been part of a conspiracy to sell missiles to the Ayatollah,” Pierce blurted out, a reference to the Iran-Contra scandal.

it's true, Trump's conspiracies are generally worse

― Οὖτις, Tuesday, December 4, 2018 2:14 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

come on

i see W broke down

boo fuckin hoo

reunited with Saddam

it’s a regular shot shots part deux! up down there

so is he still dead, asking for a friend

tell your friend he is

is your friend Manuel Noriega? Tell him Poppy's on his way.

(my friend is Lee Atwater fwiw)

maybe i jut didn't pay enough attn to Ari back in the day but i gotta say it's a little odd to see him become one of the brain-wormiest of the OG W crew

was Reagan at the funeral or

lololol the body language

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-YCbWZlRrw

xpost No he wasn't and I don't know how these republicans can claim to be about values when neither he nor his veep could be bothered to attend.

haha hillary's ice stare is so great

You can see Trump opening his mouth to take a gulp of air as he moves, like a big fish.

This is your "Christian" evangelical president. pic.twitter.com/u0478FoSyR

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) December 5, 2018

^this won't be even discussed in the "liberal" media, i.e. the same folks who would have shat their Depends every bit as full as Fox if this had been Obama

yeah but Obama was ARROGANT whereas Trump carries the world on his shoulders, probably thinkin bout tariffs

So, joeks aside, now that this man is almost in the ground, what's his legacy: approving new taxes, giving Kohl the okay to push for German reunification, giving Gorby support for post-glasnost (and dithering after the '88 election so as not to piss off the hardliners Reagan had already pissed off)? I've written my own denunciations but it's good to clear the air.