Breaking down the "He kept us safe for 8 years" meme. What President hasn't?

[sfam]

George and Laura Bush recently had an interview with ABC News, where Laura makes the following http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/Story?id=6354012&page=4">comment:

"I think they think he's somebody that kept them safe for eight years," she said. "And I hear that all the time, people thanking me, telling me to thank him."

Wow, so, um, didn't Bill Clinton keep us safe? What about George Sr.? Reagan? Carter? Ford? So the big accomplishment of the Bush administration is the country wasn't taken over by a bunch of crazed religious loonies living in caves? Um, OK, great going...

Its good to realize that apparently 9/11 wasn't at all Bush's fault, as otherwise, we'd have to acknowledge that he certainly didn't keep NY or the Pentagon safe. Even if we give him a pass on 9/11, doesn't that mean he only kept us safe for 6 years?

But even if we whitewash whatever fault his administration had (and that's a real stretch), the ONLY thing they can look back on is that the Bush Administration was in line with the vast majority of Presidents before them, they "kept America safe"?

Talk about lowering the bar for success...

[Midlodemocrat]

1. 9/11 was on his watch. He didn't 'keep us safe' you stupid turd.

[onehandle]

5. This first nine months didn't count and this will be reflected in his library.

Display one: Bush being sworn in.

Display two: Bush with a bullhorn in NYC.

[EOTE]

8. Well, aside from that, Ms. Lincoln...

how did you enjoy the play?

[sfam]

11. Exactly! And what a mediocre play it was...

[Sonicmedusa]

2. Gee, didn't 9/11 happen durring those 8 years? N/T

[Parche]

3. it always amazes me

how they say, we havnt been hit in 7years, yeah, but we were 'hit' in 2001 when bush was in office, and he did nothing, i personally think the CIA was responsible for 9/11, but that is just me

[bigtree]

4. there were just a few pesky attacks on American soil

. . . on his watch.

His own intelligence agencies collectively said his invasion and occupation of Iraq has fostered and fueled an entirely new wave of violent resistance to the U.S. ambitions abroad directed by Bush.

[jpak]

6. He didn't keep us safe on 9/11 and did not prevent the anthrax attacks post-9/11

He did not keep the loved ones of US military families "safe" - 4100 died because of him.

He did not keep innocent Iraqi families "safe" - tens of thousands of Iraqis are dead because of him.

Deluded sociopath

[derby378]

7. Bill Maher: "9/11 wasn't a triumph of the human spirit; it was a fuckup by a guy on vacation" (n/t)

[peace13]

9. Anthrax?

And I believe that there are some dead scientists to go along with that. Nice try though.

[JaneQPublic]

16. Katrina? (nt)

[peace13]

22. Ohhh..good one! n/t

[EFerrari]

10. He screwed up every crisis we had during his presidency.

I can't think of one that was well handled?

[jobycom]

12. It's like those annoying witness-protection cop movies.

So there's a pretty white woman, and the bad guy wants her dead, and the hero vows to protect her, and by the end 36 cops have been murdered, gun battles and explosives in the streets have destroyed dozens of stores and local businesses and knocked off a few civilians, a car chase has wiped out 37% of the vehicles owned by the police force and 100% of the sidewalk fruit stands in the city and frightened nuns and children crossing the roads, and 152 bad guys have died horrible flaming or crushing deaths or simply had their necks snapped by roundhouse kicks.

But the pretty white woman survived to have sex with the hero, even though she'll be knocked off in the sequel to make the hero really, really mad so he can destroy more cities in the next film.

That's Bush. He destroyed the fucking city, but those who weren't killed can say "He saved me, and that's all that counts."

[sfam]

19. Great analogy. I love it! nt

[Ikonoklast]

13. My Magic Rock kept us safe.

Too bad I didn't get it until after all those people died on 9-11, but it seems to be working pretty good since then.

Prove me wrong.


Same logical fallacy.

[louis-t]

14. He only kept some of us safe.

He ignored the warnings of 9/11.
He was in charge when anthrax attacks occurred. Only Dems were targeted.
He was out partying and fund-raising while Katrina leveled a city.
He allowed the looting of our financial markets.
He allowed people to think 'trickle down' would work, while his friends got very wealthy.
He allowed over 4,000 of our young men and women to die needlessly, and tens of thousands to be horribly maimed.
He allowed the average wage in this country to plummet.
Hey stupid, please don't perteck me anymore. I've got enough problems.

[Terran]

15. That's a really dumb idea.

I think the people of New Orleans and New York, at the very least, would disagree that he's kept them safe.

[spanone]

17. i will not read one thing that bolsters the war criminals 'status'

[ProfessorGAC]

20. I Wish I Had Thought To Say That

The Professor

[ProfessorGAC]

18. Um! Bush?

Those attacks happened on HIS WATCH!

And;

The same people who say that now were those who blamed Clinton for doing "nothing" but "nothing" led to 102 months between foreign attacks on the U.S. proper. Bush has given us 8 years minus 8 months, or 88 months since the last foreign attack.

So, 102 months is a sign of failure, but 88 months is a sign of success?

That's just stupid.
The Professor

[HereSince1628]

21. A tautology...if you are alive, you were kept safe

This will work for a majority of Americans, because Americans are particularly sophisticated in their thinking.

The false equivalence of being alive and being safe is the basis of the comments Laura cites.

[sfam]

23. Agreed. But again, why do supporters throw this out as if it means anything?

You don't hear Democrats looking back on the Clinton years saying, "Well at least he kept us safe..." Or George Bush Sr., etc. Its pretty much a given in most every other recent President's term. Only this one is that thrown up as if it means anything. And the worst part is it isn't even true! He didn't keep us safe, so what is he really left with?

[HereSince1628]

24. Grasping at the shadows. Hoping there is something there to make it all better

Laura needs a 12 step program to bring her out of her co-dependency.

[sinkingfeeling]

25. Laura, darling, did you ask anybody in New Orleans if W. kept them safe?

[zbdent]

26. by their standards

Bush Sr. was responsible for the first WTC attack ... not Clinton ...