Does Bush even want to be president?

[tinrobot]

Seriously, he doesn't act like it. Any other president would have been all over Katrina. Helping people through disasters is a very simple way for presidents to gain tons of political capital. If Bush wanted to get more capital to "spend," he would have at least showed up. Instead, he seemed totally disinterested and was just plain absent - like the guy who's mentally decided to quit his job, but is still going through the motions.

In fact, even during the election, it seemed like he wasn't all that interested in the office. He totally screwed up the debates, and that crack about "hard work" is telling in many ways. It's pretty much a fact that he doesn't like "hard work," so why was he looking for more?

Here's a theory... Bush thought being president would be easy, but it wasn't, so he hoped to lose in '04, exit gracefully and go back to riding his bike, watching baseball and covorting with his buddies. Instead, the real power brokers (Cheney, etc) fixed the vote counts and installed him. Now he's stuck in a job he doesn't really want because it's "hard work."

Of course, Bush is a heartless prick, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have done more about Katrina, even if it was just a political show. He didnt even do that much. I mean even Nixon did something about Camille because, at the very least, it was good politics, and at the most, it was the right thing to do.

[quiet.american]

1. No, Bush wants to be a dictator, a la, IL BUSHO.

Dictators don't have to care.

[trof]

2. I think you're right.

From the outside looking it, it seemed cool.
It's not.

[mopaul]

3. i've always suspected he was pressured into it by mom and dad

and maybe told it would be a cake walk, like his whole life has been.
but now, i bet he regrets it suddenly. he hates it when life makes waves and things don't go his way. he doesn't feel the horror in NO, he feels put upon and bothered by the fact that it's interrupting his precious war.

[etherealtruth]

21. Requires too much "hard work" n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

31. If anybody

then Poppy so they can continue the family legacy and make money for them. I wouldn't be surprised if in several years Jeb makes a run or some other unknown Bush member with a dirty past.

[whistle]

4. No, he wants to be dictator!

[Tiggeroshii]

5. Well there's the idea he's in it for the money

Moore's idea about Bush being in there for deals with the Saudi's for personal profit isn't too far fetched if you give it some thought.

[watercolors]

6. I feel he wil eventually resign

Its getting to be too much work and they don't like me ,so I'll just go back to my ranch. The pressure is building, sure don't want Stoneface tho!

[Dulcinea]

7. He wants to outdo Daddy & Jeb.

His family thought he'd never amount to anything; Jeb was the anointed one & Babs's favorite. Kitty Kelley's book goes into some depth on this subject.

But I agree that he hates the job & would just as soon go back to Texas where he doesn't have to pretend he gives a shit about anyone but himself.

[undeterred]

8. Compare him to his opposite, Bill Clinton

The man loved being president, and wishes he were still president. He loved it and he was good at it. He can't stop being a leader, whereas Bush doesn't have an ounce of leadership- he's just a spoiled brat.

[Alamom]

9. The country looked to be in pretty good shape after 8 years

with Clinton.....he probably thought it would be a cake walk and he could vacation most of the time.

[teknomanzer]

10. You make a valid point...

Bush was already dead in the polls. If anyone had a clue they would have seen this as an opportunity to show some leadership... pick up some points... look like you care! But as it has been said elsewhere Katrina demonstrates not just incompetence, and indifference, it shows how fucked up Republican policy truly is... They have cut important programs to the bone, filled positions with unqualified cronies, shelled out money to corporations and the rest on a useless sham of a war, and in the end it took a toll in lives here and abroad.

The Republican Party... the party of graft and death.

[dbt]

11. Thank you, tinrobot!

It has been obvious since (Dark) Day One that the WLF* does NOT want this gig. Look at any picture of him taken at any event that has lasted longer than two minutes. See the disgust on his Reptile face. Look at the undisguised contempt he shows for those on whose behalf he had to actually get up and go somewhere. He would rather be anywhere but here, wherever the job takes him.

Do you think he wanted to make that trip to the Gulf Coast to be among the hurricane victims? Hell, no! Mommy probably had to pull a knife on him.

I don't know what Poppy dangled over Junior's bony little head to make him serve as the family puppet for two stolen terms, but it must be some Serious Shit. He's a stick figure and he knows it.

*WLF: Worthless Little Fuck.

Remember New Orleans.

[tinrobot]

23. I think he likes the status, but not the work

He saw his Daddy in the White House. He lusted after the respect, the cool toys, the power, and he thought it would be easy. He could enjoy the perks and let Dick do the hard work. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. The buck still stops with him, at least in the public's eye.

[FreedomAngel82]

32. Yes

There is a scene in F911 that shows this. It's when Bush was working at Harken and he's interviewed and said how his father is president and he can go and talk to his dad anytime he wants and people in DC respect that (that his dad is president) and respect you more. So he probably likes the popularity and making money. The most important thing to remember about Bush is this: everything they do always is about making money. See Denny Hasert, see Tom DeLay, Dick Cheney and Halliburton. Does Bush give a damn about this country? Hell freakin no. Anybody who takes the time to really get to know Bush will see this for themselves.

[charlie]

12. Nope

His lassitude was already showing before 911. Then he became a demigod. Point a finger and venerable institutions were upended and reshaped to his will. That was fun for the self-besotted brat. Whupping the interloper who dared to take the job he wasn't especially fond of was fun too.

Fun's ending. Poor George.

[zippy890]

13. Way too much work for him

He doesn't want the job, & I think your right, that he didn't really want the second term, but he was 'compelled' by the 'power brokers' as you call them.

He's too lazy & stupid for the presidency.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. And now he's got "short-timers' disease"...

...that feeling you get when you know you're leaving your job in a couple of weeks (or 3 years in **'s case) and you just don't give a fuck anymore. After all, you don't really owe anybody anything at that point -- unless you have a conscience or a work ethic.

[Lochloosa]

17. I agree with you

I did something I will never do again. Give 4 weeks notice on leaving a job. After one week all I could think about was getting out of there. I was done.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. Yeah, even with the aforementioned conscience or

work ethic, it's hard as hell to hang in there. Been there a few times myself. And, of course, we know the Chimp has neither.

[journalist3072]

15. Avenging 1992

Although he has said otherwise, I think Bush was all about avenging his father's loss in 1992.

I think all of the Republicans were like "How dare this Bill Clinton beat us."

[halobeam]

16. I think he did want the job, but underestimated the work he'd have

to do. He probably wanted to out-do Daddy and brother. He craves the spotlight for the high end fancy gatherings, loves the power he has and plays viciously with it, like that kid in Toy Story, that ripped off the heads of the sisters dolls, just to scare the hell out of her. He is a spoiled child that stomps his foot when he has to do something like "hard work", something he really doesn't want to do. He fails at everything he's ever actually given any effort in doing and he is scared to try anything else, because of it. Hence the reluctance, tenfold.

That's my little bit on that pea brain.

[goforit]

18. I've never thought he did. Only to please dear old DAD.

[Zynx]

20. He loves being president, but he hates the responsibility of being pres.

He likes the idea of power, but doesn't like doing his actual job which is supposed to be protecting and improving the country.

[Spinzonner]

22. He likes playing one on TV

but prefers to delegate everything else - including thinking

[Magginkat]

24. NAH.............

Bu$h wanted the title & the power. He never expected to actually have to work.

[electron_blue]

25. this bugs me too

How could someone not have even the most basic compassion that they would want to help if they could?

It isn't as rare as I think it should be, as I discovered last week when a fellow democrat totally looked down on those in N.O. who suffered. In her view - they were idiots to move there in the first place. She has no compassion for those who evacuated (but lost everything) or those who stayed. Maybe Bush is like my neighbor.

[ryan_cats]

26. Great analogy

...like the guy who's mentally decided to quit his job, but is still going through the motions.

That is a great analogy. It must have been all fun and games until he started to realize that once again, people died on HIS watch.
He may be able to spin it externally but he has to know inside-he's so f*cked.

Hell, put Dick in charge for real and end the charade.

[SheilaT]

27. Go back to the rumors

that were out there in the summer of 2001. There were persistent ones that he hated the job, found it was much more work than he'd been led to believe -- even with the minuscule amount he actually did -- and it was said he was thinking of retiring somehow. August of 2001 was his first long vacation in Crawford, remember.

Then, boom! Sept 11, 2001 happens, and he can no longer be quite as disconnected from the job as he'd been able to be up until then. Nonetheless, I doubt he puts in the kind of time and attention the job really requires.

And personally I don't think he hoped he'd lose last year so he could go back to Crawford or whatever. By re-election season he'd had a taste of the sheer power of the presidency, of his (and his cronies') ability to shape this country the way they want it by lowering taxes, starving government services, demonizing anyone who opposes them in the smallest way.

It's important to remember that we are for all practical purposes living in a military dictatorship. It hasn't permeated everyday life for most of us yet, but the militarization of New Orleans is just the first overt step.

And do not hold out hopes for regaining power in 2006 or 2008. These bastards still control the Diebold voting machines.

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. He wants to be baseball commissioner. nt

[Media_Lies_Daily]

29. He's NOT a president....he's a dictator since December 2000? Wake up!!!

[FreedomAngel82]

30. I wonder myself

And yes Nixon was at least a real president even though he was a crook and all that. I wonder about Bush all the time. Such a disgrace what he did. I think Bush just likes fundraising and being adored. If you can stomach it go and watch last year's convention speech he did. You can see it in his eyes that he likes the power and he likes the fame. The only time I know he was honest was in 1978 when he was asked if he'd ever run for public office and he said he wouldn't because he would just be a media creation. I think that was the only time he was ever honest.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

33. Remember what Bush's Harvard Professor said?

I'm not saying that there isn't truth in what you say, that Bush likes being a figurehead, but doesn't want to spend the effort it takes to be a true leader. His energy level seems to have dropped quite a bit lately, even for him, the vacation King. But George Bush's Harvard Professor Yoshi Tsurumi also suggested that Bush doesn't like a strong federal government a la Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal Administration. He doesn't like the SEC or the FTC. He doesn't like social security or medicare. Maybe Bush just can't bring himself to even pretend that he cares. In private, I would imagine that Bush actually blames the people of New Orleans for being poor and uneducated and that they brought this on themselves. Now that Bush has no more elections to win, he doesn't have to pander anymore. He can be himself. We are seeing his true face. To Bush, FEMA itself is probably a socialist program and it must be killing him to see money spent on the poor:

http://www.glocom.org/opinions/essays/20040301_tsurumi_president/

"...At Harvard Business School, thirty years ago, George Bush was a student of mine. I still vividly remember him. In my class, he declared that "people are poor because they are lazy." He was opposed to labor unions, social security, environmental protection, Medicare, and public schools. To him, the antitrust watch dog, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Securities Exchange Commission were unnecessary hindrances to "free market competition." To him, Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal was "socialism." Recently, President Bush's Federal Appeals Court Nominee, California's Supreme Court Justice Janice Brown, repeated the same broadside at her Senate hearing. She knew that her pronouncement would please President Bush and Karl Rove and their Senators. President Bush and his brain, Karl Rove, are leading a radical revolution of destroying all the democratic political, social, judiciary, and economic institutions that both Democrats and moderate Republicans had built together since Roosevelt's New Deal..."