Please help me list all of the missteps taken by Bush and his administr.

[The Backlash Cometh]

(1) Bankrupted three corporations.

(2) Won't take responsibility for Iraq. Claims that the November 2004 election absolves him from the information presented to the public on January 15, 2005 -- NO WMDs! (One wonders how they would have voted if the media whores had printed that information BEFORE the election.)

(3) His Administration leaked information that revealed the identity of a CIA spy.

(4) Cheney was in the CIA meetings pushing for reports that supported a war on Iraq.

(5) Made improper public statements which created bigger problems for our soldiers abroad.

(6) May have had a more direct say in the decision to allow the torture of prisoners.

(7) Doesn't see anything wrong with the Dept. of Education bribing Armstrong, but blames Armstrong for taking the bribe.

(8) Condoleeza Rice was an abysmal failure in National Security.

(9) Continues a policy of not answering questions to the press.

What have I missed?

[MSgt213]

1. What you think, I got all week to spend on one post?

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Look at it this way:

If you had to select one post to spend a week on, this one is it.

[MSgt213]

4. Your right. But I fear after the end of that week we would both look back

and say "we left out so much."

[G_j]

2. my question is..

were they really mistakes?

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I know what you're asking, but the answer will still be yes.

Actually, no and yes. No, it wasn't a mistake that they went into Iraq because they intentionally wanted to do it. But, yes, it ended up a gross mistake because they miscalculated everything. They thought it would be a clean win. They thought they would get Saddaam in the first bombing in that first hour. Then Cheney, Halliburton could go in and control Iraq's oil. But now they have figured out that the Iraqis hate them for the long drawn bloody battle; and that Cheney and Oil Co. will have to find another way to control oil fields because the American people won't sacrifice their children for oil.

[G_j]

15. granted, it appears that there were real 'miscalculations'

concerning Iraq. Though after four years of observing this crew, I end up questioning more and more the real motives.
The CIA and many military leaders warned them outright about Iraq.
Granted also the arrogance of these people knows no bounds.
Still, I can't help but question if chaos and anarchy in the ME were the desired result, at least in some minds.

I also know that many have started to wonder if the looting of the economy, the destruction of the environment, the assault on the constitution etc. are not all part of a deliberate attempt to undermine the stability of the world at large.
Once people needed tinfoil hats for these questions. I find completely sane and intelligent people scratching their heads at this point.

[The Backlash Cometh]

18. Well, we now have the world and half the American people pointing

the blame to the right people. The question is, when will the other half wake up?

[ismnotwasm]

6. How about

Gutted certain enviromental laws and Violated the integrity of the constitution

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11. You have to be specific. Remember, the lurkers may be conservatives

that need to learn a thing or two about the monster they enabled.

[hang a left]

7. Medicare

"When the House of Representatives passed the controversial benefit by five votes last November, the White House was embracing an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that it would cost $395 billion in the first 10 years. But for months the administration's own analysts in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had concluded repeatedly that the drug benefit could cost upward of $100 billion more than that."

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. So, he's developing a track record of quoting reports which prove

to be false or inaccurate.

[LynnTheDem]

And even non-existant.

He's twice that I know of quoted reports that in fact never existed.

[The Backlash Cometh]

22. Can you remember the instances? That sounds too good to be true.

[LynnTheDem]

25. Found them...

Non-existant Economic report:

"President Bush proclaimed that a report by leading economists concluded that the economy would grow by 3.3 percent in 2003 if his tax cut proposals were adopted. No such report exists."

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0602-04.htm

"There was only one problem with President George W. Bush's claim Thursday that the nation's top economists forecast substantial economic growth if Congress passed the president's tax cut: The forecast with that conclusion doesn't exist.

-Newsday, Feb 23, '03, now in for-pay archives; here's another link;

Bush Cited Report That Doesn't Exist

By James Toedtman
CHIEF ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT for Newsday

http://www.radioleft.com/article.php?sid=958&PHPSESSID=534948ddab86929f2f763ce4b551517f

Non-existant IAEA report; bush's Nuclear Lie

Bush and his representatives repeatedly dissembled last year with On Sept. 7, 2002, Bush said, "I would remind you that when the inspectors first went into Iraq and were denied -- finally denied access, a report came out of the Atomic -- the IAEA , that they were six months away from developing a weapon. I don't know what more evidence we need."

-"There's never been a report like that issued from this agency," The Washington Times quotes the IAEA's chief spokesman, Mark Gwozdecky. "We've never put a time frame on how long it might take Iraq to construct a nuclear weapon in 1998."

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?file=article&name=News&op=modload&sid=204

I think there were a couple other non-existant reports over the 4 years; I'll see what I can dig up. HTH! :)

[The Backlash Cometh]

26. Damn. This is too good. I'm bookmarking.

[hang a left]

8. Investigations into 9-11

Despite the U.S. spending close to a trillion dollars a year on its military, intelligence and law enforcement operations, 19 guys with box cutters managed to simultaneously hijack four airliners and turn those planes into missiles to kill more than 3,000 people. An intelligence and law enforcement failure of this magnitude demands an investigation.

But the Bush administration has fought hard against establishing an independent investigation into the event. When they relented last fall, once they got the right to name the chair of the investigation, they picked Henry Kissinger to lead it -- which spoke volumes about the contempt the Bush team had for the whole process.

After Kissinger stepped down and former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean -- a safe, non-boat rocking Republican -- was named as his replacement, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks was given a paltry $12 million to run its investigation -- or four times less than was spent by the Republicans to investigate Bill Clinton's sex life.

[The Backlash Cometh]

14. His appointments are calculated to minimize damage to his

administration. Which means that no report that has the Bush seal of approval, will ever be credible.

[hang a left]

9. Trading in Terror

A U.S. government plan to create a market allowing traders to bet on the likelihood of terror attacks and other events in the Middle East has been revived by the private firm that helped develop it.

The market, called the Policy Analysis Market (PAM), will allow traders to buy and sell contracts on political and economic events in the Middle East, including assassinations, the overthrow of regimes and terrorist attacks. The market is scheduled to start trading next spring.

It originally was developed and funded with the assistance of the Defense Department, where officials cited the uncanny ability of other futures markets to predict election results, weather patterns and other complex events.

Heated public criticism forced the Pentagon to end its association with the project, but its Web site, which was idle for several months, now has an announcement saying it will be open for business in March 2004.

[The Backlash Cometh]

17. John Poindexter.

Another Reagan recycled crook.

[hang a left]

10. Hunting for Scalia

JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, who declined to recuse himself from a case involving his friend and hunting companion, Vice President Dick Cheney. Printed in The New York Times, Friday March 19, 2004

[The Backlash Cometh]

19. More overt damage control -conflict of interest.

[hang a left]

13. Lying about air quality at ground zero.

Last month, the EPA's internal watchdog found the agency, at the urging of White House officials, gave misleading assurances there was no health risk from the dust in the air after the twin towers' collapse. ---

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20. Continual misinformation so they don't have to waste time resolving

problems.

[deek]

16. The Wage Slave Journal: gwb Scorecard of Evil

http://www.wage-slave.org/scorecard.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

21. BINGO! WE've got a winner!

Notice that in 2003 they used EPA funds to push forth advertisement to support his agenda.

[TWiley]

23. Here are a few:

10) Creating a huge government propaganda machine under the disguise of "news" by intimidating the FCC into changing the ownership rules that allow a huge single corporation to own multiple media outlets in a single media market area.

11) Implementing the "Faith based Initiates" program through MANDATE which illegally distributes unaccountable tax-payer money to religious groups. This legislation was voted down in every state where it was on the ballot. He created an nationwide tax free and tax financed campaign tool for the neo-conservative agenda through this effort.

12) He united this nation through hatred of a small group of its people under the battle flag of Christian fundamentalism in a manner that would make the most hard core KKK extremist applaud.

13) The 292 deliberate lies told by himself and his administration during the prelude to war. http://www.house.gov/reform/min/pdfs_108_2/pdfs_inves/pdf_admin_iraq_on_the_record_rep.pdf

14) Larceny by conversion through haliburton / carlyle group profits extracted from taxpayer money.

15) Attacking our civil liberties in the name of "National Security" see ACLU

16) Destroying the integrity of our vote through non-census year gerrymandering of voting districts, organized voter suppression of minority groups, and continuing support of non-audit-able voting mechanisms.

17) Alienating our nation and squandering our once good name among civilized nations through a foreign policy "which bristles with aggressive stupidity"

18) For propagating the use of "Extreme Hard-ball Politics" which escalates the use of these tactics on all sides, and which ultimately justifies world terrorism.

19) For complicity in the Enron scandal. How is it that he and Cheney sold their shares at the all time high price without inside information from their long time friend Kenneth Lay? The Bushtapo also appointed another top Enron executive *** White as Secretary of the Army.

20) His relentless attack upon the weak to enrich the super-wealthy as evidenced by his tax initiatives.

[The Backlash Cometh]

24. Jesus. Great list. Can't believe I forgot about Enron.

Let's not forget that little submarine accident at the beginning of his first term that involved Texas oil tycoons. Why didn't anyone stop to wonder what oil tycoons were doing getting a tour of a military sub? We should have known then that the presidency had been overtaken by special interests. We just never saw it coming because the right would scream like little girls with their first yeast infection every time that the Clinton Administration appeared to act favorably to corporations that came a courting.

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. TO EVERYONE WHO POSTED TO THIS THREAD.

Thanks for your collective memories of Bush's follies. I think this is the kind of information that should get into Demopedia. I'm nominating the thread because your contributions should not be ignored. I didn't come up with anything spectacular, but the contributions in total are pretty convincing that Bush is in his second term by wicked design. No President could possibly make as many mistakes as he has and get away with it if our democracy were functioning properly.

[deek]

28. "The scandal sheet" at Salon.com

Print it out, send it to Harry Reid, or just read it and weep. Here are 34 scandals from the first four years of George W. Bush's presidency -- every one of them worse than Whitewater.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Peter Dizikes

printe-mail

Jan. 18, 2005 | Once upon a time -- about five years ago -- conservative pundits often talked about "scandal fatigue." Remember scandal fatigue? It was an affliction supposedly either turning voters against Democrats or, alternatively, a weariness in the body politic preventing Republicans from pursuing even more grievances against Bill Clinton. By any objective measure, however, after four years of George W. Bush's presidency, the entire nation should be suffering from utter scandal exhaustion.

Consider the raw materials of scandal that this administration has produced: False claims about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction. Torture in Abu Ghraib. The virtually treasonous exposure of a CIA agent by White House officials. And those are just the best-known examples.

After all, how many citizens can name all the ongoing investigations of Halliburton, Vice President Dick Cheney's old firm? Who remembers that the administration illicitly diverted $700 million from Afghanistan to Iraq? Or that, on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans stole strategy memos from Democrats, while a House Republican said he was offered a bribe during a crucial vote? Even a conscientious citizen cannot be expected to keep score, so Salon has compiled a list.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/01/18/scandal/index.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

30. Thanks! I read it elsewhere, and it makes a find addition to this thread.

Though, I am disappointed that it hints that Bush & the fat man with the caterpillar brows may get off because it will be difficult to prove that Plame was a covert spy. I don't see how they could have concluded otherwise, but that's how it goes.

[Elwood P Dowd]

29. Massive budget and trade deficits

When Bush took office we had a budget surplus and small trade deficit. Now we have a 400 billion-dollar budget deficit and a 600 billion-dollar trade deficit. Between the two deficits, we've gone one trillion dollars
in the hole on an annual basis. The economy is in ruins. Jobs are leaving the country by the millions. The dollar has lost over 30% of it's value compared to the Euro. How does Bush propose to solve the problem - more NAFTA-like trade deals such as CAFTA and FTAA, which means even bigger deficits and even more job losses.