Bush's lowered bars (IHT/NYT)

[Up2Late]

(Lot's of great, "I case you missed it" facts in this one!)

Bush's lowered bars

The New York Times

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2005
Throughout his campaigns in 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush talked about "the soft bigotry of low expectations": the mind-set that tolerates poor school performance and dead-end careers for minority students on the presumption that they are incapable of doing better. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said recently that this phrase attracted her to Bush more than anything else.

It was, indeed, a brilliant encapsulation of so much of what is wrong with American education. But while Bush has been worrying about low expectations in schools, he's been ratcheting the bar downward himself on almost everything else.

The president's recent schedule of nonstop disaster-scene photo-ops is reminiscent of the principal of a failing school who believes he's doing a great job because he makes it a point to drop in on every class play. And if there ever was an exhibit of the misguided conviction that for some people very little is good enough, it's the current administration spin that the proposed Iraqi constitution is fine because the American founding fathers didn't give women equal rights either.

The lack of expectations is evident even in areas where the president is supposed to be deeply engaged. The Treasury Department's hollowed-out leadership structure suggests an administration that is happy to coast along with a gentleman's C for handling the nation's finances. But it has been most graphically, and tragically, on display in Iraq and in the response to Hurricane Katrina.

<http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/25/opinion/edbush.php#>
(It only gets better at link above)

[Stand and Fight]

1. EXCELLENT! I'm glad to be the first to recommend this to the GREATEST!

The truth hurts. Let's hope it kills Bush's presidency.

[Up2Late]

3. Only need ONE more to make the Greatest page...

Hint, Hint, Hint!;-)

[Up2Late]

4. kick n/t

:kick:

[Stand and Fight]

2. Great rationale here about Iraqi constitution:

"It's true that the U.S. Constitution once allowed slavery, denied women the right to vote and granted property rights only to white men. But it's offensive for the administration to use that as an excuse for the failings of the Iraqi Constitution. The bar on democracy has been raised since 1787. We don't agree that the 218-year-old standard is good enough for Iraq."

[yellowcanine]

5. Fat Tony doesn't think our Constitution gives ANYBODY the right to

vote, let alone women or minorities. So maybe we could trade him to Iraq for oil?

[mom cat]

6. Are they finally noticing what DUers have known all along?