What was Ceasar * yammering about yesterday?

[Skidmore]

I was busy packing up my office. I'm now vacationing without employment. I just turned over to CSPAN and have been listening to a replay of this....whatever it was. What was the point of that speech yesterday? I can't identify a message other than a regurtitation of every talking point ever written in the last 5 years. Was that that speech for a purpose, or did someone just give him a podium and let him say anything he wanted to?

[rodeodance]

1. I have been listening for a while. He is pretending he knows what is goin

g on in America. Also telling up how great his Adm. is.

[rodeodance]

2. It started as a speech to the Newspaper Assoc. Now it is questions.

[rodeodance]

3. He is being 'folksy"---lots of talking about Freedom

[Skidmore]

7. Yeah, I just heard him say something about freedom of expression

and the right to speak in the public square. A freedom he REALLY embraces.

This man is so delusional that if he were anyone else, he'd be on a lock ward.

[ninkasi]

20. Did he mention "Free Speech" zones?

For him to comment on freedom of expression is a tad hypocritical, I think.

[SammyWinstonJack]

22. He's not delusional, he's a LIAR! That's why he only speaks

to audiences that buy into his LIES! He'd freak if a crowd of people stood up and in unison, called him a LIAR while he was giving one of his canned speeches. :rofl:

[rodeodance]

4. Freedom of speech is 'sacred freedom"--He said it twice.

[rodeodance]

5. "you get used to it"--all the criticism.

[rodeodance]

6. keeps talking about how many big (and little) decisions he makes.

[rodeodance]

8. seems to be saying God gave us free enterprize --He is on a rant.

[rodeodance]

9. boy, was that a rant or what!!

[Skidmore]

12. Came as an empty suit and mind to the office, and they filled his

head with talking points, which he now has rearranged in his mind to approximate a philosophy. Amazing, isn't it?

[nonconformist]

10. Presidentin' is hard work. nt

[Skidmore]

11. And it hard work, too....

He really sees himself as fulfilling some great destiny and striding like a Collossus across the centuries, doesn't he?

[Teaser]

13. You mean Emperor C+ Augustus?

nt

[bklyncowgirl]

14. Dont' call him Caesar--a little history lesson about Julius Caesar

First of all, the politics are all wrong. Julius Caesar was the leader of the Populares, a political party which represented the interests of working class Romans against the Optimates the senatorial class. In short Caesar was a Democrat. Think of him as FDR in a toga.

Secondly, Caesar was a brilliant orator and advocate. He was also a military genius who put his personal safety on the line time after time. He made a practice of getting off his horse and standing with his foot soldiers so that they would know that their general wasn't planning a quick getaway in case things went bad. As a result his soldiers would follow him into hell--or fight against other Romans if he ordered them to.

Third, Caesar was remarkably unvindictive by Roman standards. He set the grounds for the people he conquered to become integrated into the Roman world with considerable protection of their rights instead of simply raping the conquered territories. He forgave the Romans who fought against him and permitted them to keep their property and privileges.

I'm not saying he was a moral giant or anything. The guy was absolutely brutal in battle and could scheme and plot with the best of them. He did set the stage for the end of the Roman Republic--although he never abolished the Senate. By the standards of history's "great men"--who are usually mass murderers--Caesar was not that bad of a guy.

Now Bush reminds me more of one of the other Caesars maybe Caligula or Nero. I used to think Caligula but these days I'm more liking Nero as a role model for Dear Leader.

So hard to decide.

[Frank Cannon]

15. Didn't Caligula make his horse a general or something?

Bush is frightened of horses, so I would agree with you that Nero looks more like the model.

Plus there's the whole...



...while a large part of the country is destroyed thing.

[teamster633]

16. I had thought he made him a Senator.

But my only source close at hand states:

"Dio claims that Caligula promised to make Incitatus a consul, and Suetonius reports rumors of such a plan."

---from Caligula The Corruption of Power
by Anthony A. Barrett

[Frank Cannon]

17. Senator was my second guess

I'd heard he'd done something like that.

[bklyncowgirl]

18. Caligula made a horse co Consul--sort of like vice president

Caligula was heavy into sports, liked to dine with gladiators and charioteers. This pissed off the Senate so, to show his contempt for that august body, Caligula named Rome's premier sports hero to be president of the Senate.

That hero was Incitatus winner of over 100 races. Caligula had also invited him to dinner at the palace, giving him a marble stall and a manger made of gold. By all accounts Incitatus behaved with perfect dignity---the same could not be said of Caligula.

Caligula was assassinated after he pissed off the commander of the Praetorian Guard by forcing the hardbitten veteran--to tell his troops that the password of the day was something like "Kiss me Centurion".

I don't know what happened to Incitatus. I'd like to think that he was retired to stud and lived a long and happy life but that's probably not what happened. The next emperor Claudius was a pretty decent guy with respect to everything but the women in his life so maybe he took care of him.

Nero also liked racehorses. Unlike Caligula he preferred to compete himself. After the great fire at Rome, he rode around his private racetrack on vatical hill at night with the course illuminated by the burning corpses of crucified Christians.

Later he travelled to Athens to compete in the Olympic chariot race. After losing control of his team and falling out of his chariot, he was declared the winner after everyone else was disqualifed. Amazing what the threat of execution will do.

Caligula, Nero, Nero, Caligula--it's so hard to decide.

[Frank Cannon]

21. Wow, thanks for that.

The "falling out of his chariot" thing, while forcing everyone to still say how great and athletic he is, is also classic George W. Bush.

Still gotta go with Nero.

[bklyncowgirl]

23. Yeah, good thing our bike rider in chief hasn't entered the Tour de France

He'd probably have everyone else busted for steriod abuse and win despite ending up in a ditch on the outskirts of Paris.

[BrotherBuzz]

19. Oh, but they both crossed the Rubicon...

and we know how that ended for Julius Caesar. I'm waiting for the pissed off Senators to come forth and do their job.