Using up credibility

[johnlal]

Bush seems to be really good at using up peoples' credibility.
Colin Powell was once very respected. In fact, he was eyed as presidential material. After his UN presentation on WMD's he has zero credibility with may at home and more internationally.

Alan Greenspan used to be a powerful voice in calming the rough seas of the economy. He was forced to toe the line on the Bush tax cuts, and he has lost credibility.

John McCain was a threat to Bush AND to the Democrats because of his appeal to the moderates on both sides of the aisle. He got even more points when he fought back against the smear campaign waged by Bush, calling him unpatriotic after having been a POW in Viet Nam, and serving his nation honorably. McCain denounced Bush for the Swiftboat scandal. However, now he appears at Bush rallies,and has even been photographed giving Bush a bear hug. Bush has scrapped McCain's credibility.

Bob Dole. Whatever you say about Bob Dole, we all had to concede he was a war hero. In WWII he was seriously injured, and even the most virulent lefty couldn't take that away from him. George Bush could, however. In falling into line with the Bush attack machine Dole opined (without independent knowledge, of course) that "Kerry never bled" in his service in Viet Nam. He was forced to stab a fellow veteran in the back. All credibility he ever had was gone in an instant.

US Veterans: Bush has even turned US Veterans against each other in this nasty political event. By turning out veterans, asking them to sign affidavits that they KNOW aren't true, and mixing them in with his cadre of liars, cheats and cutthroats, he is using up the credibility of our American Heros.

The whistle blowers and detractors. What about Joseph Wilson, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, John J. DiIulio Jr., the former head of Bush's faith-based policy office, Hans Blix, etc. Bush has mounted smear campaigns against these folks to undermine their credibility.

On edit: I forgot to mention one of the biggest of all, the Supreme Court of the United States. Sure, we knew that there were political hacks on the bench who had their own agendas. But the case of Bush v. Gore actually robbed the Supreme Court of its mantle of legitimacy.

Whose next? How many people are standing in line to be used, abused and discarded by this administration?

[KurtNYC]

1. and what is the cost of not having credibility in the World?

going it alone in Iraq and future wars?

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

2. Excellent observation...

You might want to add foreign leaders to the list too (Blair comes to mind immediately)...

[bloom]

3. You do have to wonder

what has been done to coerce and/or bribe these people.

[msmcghee]

4. Good observations

The pattern I see here is the same as what he did to get a majority in congress to vote for the IWR - including Kerry of course.

He places them in a position of potentially great risk of appearing unpatriotic but assures them (by assuring voters) that his intentions are good. Once he's used them, their credibility damaged, he moves on to the next event.

Then, when people challenge him later for his fuck-ups, he says, "Yes, but the CIA, Colin Powell, Tony Blair, John Kerry, etc. - agreed with me. I followed their advice - so you can't blame me."

The perfect combination of Machiavelli (Rove) and the spolied frat rat.

[tomfodw]

5. The biggest credibility Bush has used up...

...is America's. Under Clinton, we were admired and respected in most of the world. Clinton could travel abroad and be welcomed like the Pope. Bush has to slink in and out of countries like Ken Lay doing the perp-walk with a raincoat over his head and hands to hide the cuffs.

[TwentyFive]

6. What about conservatism?

Add conservatism to the list of Bush casualties.

Didn't conservatism have something to do with balanced budgets and individual freedom from government tyranny?

[mistertrickster]

10. Right--and individual freedoms. Now they want to check your

library books and phone records.

[TwentyFive]

7. ....and the Consititution

How many presidents have wanted to amend the US Constitution, in order to DENY people their civil rights?

This is a first, if I'm not mistaken.

[citizen]

8. He has none of his own to use.

He lost all remains of his own credibility on May 1, 2003 when he stood on the deck of that carrier.

I've posted a 30-second video today on to commemorate the event. It's my small contribution as a laid-off Ohioan.

Feel free to download & share if you have high-speed access.

[mistertrickster]

9. This is brilliant--you should polish it up and send it to The Nation.

You're exactly right--in pre-Bush America, the President brought stature to the people he supported or championed.

Now it's the exact opposite. Bush USES people to try to build his stature but only demeans them in the process.

He's such a little man, isn't he?

I don't mean that in any physical sense--what I mean is he makes the world around him a mean, little place, turns people into petty things, makes our great democracy into a venal set of graspers, just like him.

[tomfodw]

11. He's a little man in spirit, too

He has no grandeur of spirit, no vision of a truly better world. He has no soul. He has to tear others down to feel good about himself - look at all the executions he approved in Texas, a sure sign of a little man who has to hurt others to feel big.

[obiwan]

12. Headline

I can hardly wait until the morning after the election. I will pick up my Times, and the headline announcing Kerry's victory over Bush will read:

"They've Fired The Shit Heard 'Round The World!"

After this guy's reign, I am no longer afraid of Hell.