Obama: George Bush is a good guy.

[Brucie Kibbutz]

"After two years of traveling around the country and criticizing President Bush, President-elect Barack Obama said Friday that he "always thought Bush was a good guy."

"Obama also said he thought Bush made "the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/16/obama.interview/index.html?eref=rss_topstories



How many innocent people are dead because of this "good guy", President Obama?

How many families were evicted from their homes while, at the same time, this "good guy" was devising a way to take tax dollars from these people, who no longer have a place to live, and give it to rich and unethical businessmen?

I know he's trying to be diplomatic towards his political adversaries but this is a slap in the face to anyone that has suffered because of these criminals during the last eight years. It is beginning to look like he will say anything, no matter how insensitive or insulting, in his attempts to gain political allies.

[Beetwasher]

1. This Is Called Politics

You don't seriously believe it would be good politics for O to go around bad mouthing Chimpy right about now, do you?

Ain't nobody 'round here know how to play this game?

[lame54]

3. maybe we're sick of games

[Beetwasher]

5. Oh Pleez

O's job is not to go around looking like a nasty, partisan, classless boor. That's W's job. O's job is to be above it all and GET SHIT DONE and if that means pretending to be nice, well, that's what makes him a better man. He can stifle his baser emotions in the name of PROGRESS.

Well you win a Presidential election, then start lecturing O on how to play the "game" or whether or not to play it at all.

[lonestarnot]

10. He didn't have to say anything. WTF! What is all this sorrow for that fucking killer?

[Beetwasher]

15. You Are So Caught Up In Your Own Hate

You can't see that you only selfishly want O to do something to make YOU feel better about your hate. He feels it's better to act THIS way. When you win a Presidential election, maybe you're opinion about how O should behave might be relevant. Until then, it's just an immature and selfish desire for O to do something for YOUR personal satisfaction.

[lonestarnot]

27. No, you are in denial. He didn't have to say anything.

Still washing beets?

[Beetwasher]

68. Still washing beets and

and still rhetorically kicking your ass. Get back to me when you're considered the greatest politician in at least a generation.

[lonestarnot]

69. Oh really.

I have no aspirations to become any politician, let alone the greatest. I just vote and I know doublespeak when I hear it. Good luck with those beets chest pounder. :D

[Beetwasher]

72. I know it seems incredible

A politician practicing politics. whoda thunkit? :eyes:

[lonestarnot]

81. Sucking ass is political? And sucking ass is sucking ass too.

[Beetwasher]

98. Obviously you're the ass sucking expert

Good for you! For politics, I'll listen to O cuz yr clueless.

[elocs]

42. Hateful and unforgiving with a sanctimonious and self-righteous attitude.

Kind of sounds Republicanish, but it describes some here just as accurately. It's hard to believe how some embrace and nurture hatred like it is precious and noble to them.

[Retired AF Dem]

80. There is no cure for DRS

[Number23]

109. "It's hard to believe how some embrace and nurture hatred like it is precious and noble"

Preach it, elocs!!

:applause:

[sammythecat]

92. You're right, Obama is not president-elect of DU.

He's president of everybody and that includes the many millions of nasty morons who still support Bush as well as the many millions who don't hate Bush but are merely disappointed in him. That doesn't mean he has to please and coddle these people, but it does mean he can't openly insult and antagonize a large percentage of the population days before his inauguration. I'd love to hear Obama say he thinks Bush is a deeply fucked up asshole who should be chained naked to the Washington Monument for the rest of his life, but I don't want to hear him say that on CNN. Certainly not now.

I wish he could have avoided using the word "good" but the next sentence clearly implied (I think) that Bush was inadequate and incompetent. The years following the '06 election have made me cynical about our Democratic leadership. Nancy Pelosi, for example, has been a monumental disappointment and that has made me somewhat distrustful of ANY politician but I'm certainly not ready to dismiss Barack Obama based on an ambiguous and inconsequential statement made to John King.

[John Q. Citizen]

97. I disagree with you and repudiate your meanness and your attack mentality.

You practice violence in your communicative style.

that's how i see it.

[Beetwasher]

101. LOL!

Now tell me why I should care how you see it? :rofl:

[ColbertWatcher]

37. Exactly.

He was silent about Gaza, he could have been silent about Dumbya.

[mopinko]

59. obviously he was asked a question. do you think he grabbed a reporter and

said, 'hey, did i mention that bush is really a good guy?'
get real.

[Political Tiger]

22. AMEN!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[terisan]

73. I guess one could say the same thing about any prez would-be dictator.

Your view of citizenship and democracy is sort of like any Stalin apologist.

0r Nixon apologiist: If the Prez does it, it is not a crime.

Amusing, when Bush does it, it is Evil, when Obama does it, it's playing the game.

[Beetwasher]

99. Stupid

Please show where I said that or admit yr full of shit.

[greguganus]

90. Hate da game, not da playa. n/t

[DutchLiberal]

9. Why bother electing people if you expect them to play games?

Yes, I agree it's a game. The whole election proces is a game, the change of 'leaders' is a game. Just cancel all elections and appoint the new figurehead already, please.

[Beetwasher]

13. See Above

You're naive if you think it's the best interest of anyone, except those who would feel some visceral satisfaction if O was nasty towards Bush. His job is to get shit done, and that means playing politics when you're a politician. That's what you do. Politics. Yeesh, wtf are you doing here if you don't get that?

[DutchLiberal]

23. The question is: what are YOU doing here if you don't realize it's a game?

Obama doesn't set policy. The people who financed him set the policies. And it's not the common people, who only accounted for a quarter of all his campaign resources.

[Beetwasher]

102. ?

Are you responding to the right post??? Because frankly, your response doesn't make much sense in response to my post or what I've been saying, which has nothing to do with policy and everything to do with the fact that I am trying to explain to others that Obama IS playing the "game" of politics. And that's what politicians do. So, WTF are you talking about?

[Political Tiger]

28. At least you're not jaded....

:sarcasm:

[DutchLiberal]

94. I don't need sarcasm tags to recognize sarcasm. I am capable of thinking.

[dflprincess]

12. Why say anything at all?

If Obama really believes that Bush "made the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances." It does not bode well for any investigations much less prosecutions by the Obama DOJ. It sounds to me like we're being set up for another let's move on "for the good of the country" excuse.

[Beetwasher]

17. He Was Giving An Interview

And was asked the question. He took the high road and CHOSE not to slam Bush and that's the SMART thing to do, regardles of YOUR desire for the PERSONAL satisfaction of hearing O bash bush. That would gain NOTHING except satisfy you on a visceral level. It is NOT productive.

[ProgressIn2008]

21. I agree with this. Yep. It's all a big ol' game. nt

[Skittles]

107. how about just not saying anything?

saying bush is a good guy is SICKENING :puke:

[lame54]

2. another Obama head shaker

[Political Tiger]

33. You want Obama should be a sore winner instead? n/t

[Lorien]

64. No, just honest.

the statement he made wasn't truthful.

[lame54]

103. thank you

[DutchLiberal]

4. Wow, somebody is waking up.

[Xipe Totec]

6. God help and forgive that imbecile,

because we just can't.

[book_worm]

7. It's politics. Hell, Clinton said nice things about Poppy and Carter praised

Ford in his inaugural address (it's first lines), he is trying to bring the country together and according to most people (obviously most people not on sites like DU and Freepublic) he has done a great job so far.

[dflprincess]

14. Bush has 20% approval rating

that 20% is never going to change their minds or "come together" with the rest of us. Meanwhile the other 80% are scratching their heads and saying "Obama said what?"

[book_worm]

16. So what? Bush I had a low approval rating too and only got 38% of the vote in his re-election

race. No, 80% of the public are not scratching their heads abot what Obama said. Like I said polls inidicate that people like the way Obama has handled the transition by huge margins. Only sites like Freepublic on the right and DU on the left have found one thing after another to criticize him about.

[lonestarnot]

8. Oh fuck.

:puke:

[Tab]

11. There's a difference between a "good guy" and a "good president"

I'm not convinced B*sh qualifies for either, frankly, but Obama's trying to be gracious.

[UTUSN]

18. Uh, no, NO he's NOT!1 (Did I fall for a pseudo thread?!1) n/t

[ProgressIn2008]

19. I can't fault him for this b/c of course he'd say this - why wouldn't he?

The power elite stick together.

[Lorien]

62. Because it's bullshit and the people don't agree?

Has he noticed that Bush has a 22% approval rating? What did he run on again...oh yeah, CHANGE.

[NYC_SKP]

20. Well THATS not Change You Can Believe In!!1!!!11!!!11

:rofl:

Eight years of this, eight years. *sigh*

[Mind_your_head]

24. What else is he going to say?

I would bet that if we could read Obama's "thought bubble" it would be quite different than the words that we hear coming from his mouth.

I am sure that Obama is quite aware of much of the suffering that the shrub has caused MANY MANY people - all around this planet.

[Middle finga]

25. Obama is part of that exclusive presidential club now, he's not going

to go after Bush. Like Clinton swept poppy Bush dirty deeds under the rug my guess is that Obama will do the same unless there is a ground swell movement for accountability. That said if I was Obama I would be pissed at Bush for the mess he's left this country in, because if you love America you should be extremely angry at Bush.

[baldguy]

26. He has to be careful

[SpartanDem]

30. I can smell

the poutrage brewing. I see OP left out this part of his answer "That does not detract from my assessment that over the last several years, we have made a series of bad choices and we are now going to be inheriting the consequences of a lot of those bad choices," Obama said." But I guess you wouldn't have anything to be "upset"about if you had included this.

[Brucie Kibbutz]

32. If I was trying to hide certain parts of the article,

I wouldn't have posted a link to it. Speak to the issue instead of making personal attacks.

[John Q. Citizen]

40. Welcome to DU. Our rules prohibit personal attacks on other members.

Please read the rules. Thank you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/forums/rules.html

[RiverStone]

105. oops, reponded to wrong post

[Pirate Smile]

41. That pic fits perfect. Bush still has the nuclear codes, people.

:rofl:

[Cetacea]

29. That's politics.

[cynatnite]

31. I know he's gotta say it, but I hope this is the only time he lies. n/t

[lonestarnot]

34. Why does he have to say it? He's a very smart man, he could have thought of another word or said

nothing. Serial killers aren't good guys.

[dflprincess]

35. I just hope he's lying this time. (eom)

[merh]

48. check the article - he said more than the OP referenced

and probably said more than CNN reported:

==================
"I mean, I think personally he is a good man who loves his family and loves his country," Obama said in an exclusive interview with CNN's John King.

-snip-

Asked if there was anything he wanted to take back, now that he has spent more time with the president, Obama praised Bush's team for helping with a smooth transition and said part of what America is about is being able to have "disagreements politically and yet treat each other civilly."

Obama also said he thought Bush made "the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances."

"That does not detract from my assessment that over the last several years, we have made a series of bad choices and we are now going to be inheriting the consequences of a lot of those bad choices," Obama said.

[sammythecat]

79. That makes me feel better.

I didn't read the article, and was dismayed, to say the least, to read that Obama called Bush a "good man". In context, I see that, as a president-elect about to be inaugurated, he was being diplomatic . He may (and I fervently hope he does) consider Bush to be a dumb prick, but he's certainly not going to say something to insult or inflame a quarter of the population, especially right now. He was just being smart. To put my mind at ease, that's how I'm going to take this.

[merh]

82. It is sad that people on this board will distort the truth by omitting

part of what was said and will spend hours condemning him for saying one thing out of many.

They have spent 8 years bitching about CNN's and the MSM's distortions in reporting and bad headlines yet they accept this as a given and don't read beyond the spin.

[New Dawn]

36. The 1.4 million Iraqis that Bush murdered would strongly disagree with Obama.

[lonestarnot]

39. And so would their families if there is anything left of them.

[bdamomma]

38. Obama knows how to play the game of politics.

I disagree with Obama on this one.

[Brucie Kibbutz]

43. He's learned to play the game but

the unfortunate part is that it is starting to look like he was taught how to play by the criminals in the Bush administration.

The leader of the free world should never attempt to downplay the significance of the destruction caused by George Bush and his administration. I don't care how many conservatives it offends, you don't do it.

Whenever Bush has done this very thing, we have condemned him for it and rightfully so. Now that our guy is doing the same, it's no big deal. Just part of the game. :patriot:

[MasonJar]

44. That was an unnecessary and unambiguous statement that I do NOT appreciate.

What's up with Obama?

[QC]

45. He's being a gentleman. n/t

[Brucie Kibbutz]

46. He's being a coward.

Just like his pal George.

[Name removed]

50. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Brucie Kibbutz]

58. You've already been told once.

Being compared to a freeper is about as bad as it gets around here. Lay off the personal attacks.

As for your argument, he could have easily avoided calling him a "good guy". Doing so wouldn't require him to insult Bush and it wouldn't hurt his ability to govern at all. A man with his level of intelligence and stature should be more tactful when discussing matters of life and death. Hopefully he'll make better use of that intellect in the future.

[Lorien]

63. Sad, but true.

I really hope that he doesn't become our new Nancy Pelosi.

[Zuiderelle]

47. Well, there you go. Not surprising. He used to be for gay marriage too, until it became...

politically expedient not to be. I'll still be very happy to see him inaugurated, despite the disappointment that he's just another politician.

[daleo]

49. Bush is a good guy

Who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of innocent people being killed in horrible ways. But U.S. presidents are above the law, so none of that matters. People who are above the law "do their best" by definition.

[BlooInBloo]

51. Obama is Judas.

[JVS]

55. CRUCIFY HIM!

[BlooInBloo]

56. I'm running out of stupid hyperbolics to match the stupid Obama hating poutrage.

Sigh.

[busybl]

52. not good enough

[tiptoe]

53. He called Bush a "good guy" & introduced Bill Clinton as an example of "a president of the people".

At least a PE isn't prejudicing any potential legal cases against Bush, just as he didn't alienate potential defecting Hillary supporters pre-election.

Recently, Hillary's co-opted-by-lobbyists influence in healthcare plan development has been kind of neutralized by Obama "honoring" Hillary with a Secretary of State nomination...while, again, consolidating support for himself and Dems among Clinton voters.

"Don't judge me by my words..."

 

[DutchLiberal]

95. So he uttered a *double* lie...

[tiptoe]

100. Actually: "Reminded us what it's like when you've got a President who actually puts people first."

23:00 into Biden's DNC Acceptance speech:
http://odeo.com/episodes/23223996-Joe-Biden-accepts-the-Democratic-Party-s-nomination-for-VP


Take his comment as you will

...but also see #54

...and also realize that Obama's VP pick, Joe Biden, was not among DLC membership (unlike Hillary and numerous other recommended prospects), and since Clinton's  DLC agenda promotes a corporate priority (not 'people first') -- as evidenced by Californians paying economically not indirectly as a result of Bill Clinton's failure to undo special 'hands off regulatory policy' for Enron's Ken Lay by Wendy Gramm, wife of Phil Gramm (McCain's original campaign manager) and outgoing Head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission -- one might want to consider Obama's intention as something other than first, surface appearance.

"Don't judge me by my words..."

"Reminded us of what it's like when you've got a President who actually puts people first."

{That is "Reminded us..."...by counter-example of what Bill Clinton never was and still isn't, as evidenced by his stuffing Mark Penn down the throat of Hillary during her campaign run: 'Only John McCain and I are qualified to be Commander-in-Chief'}

"Thank you, President Clinton."

{nice touch, President Obama}


Obama's Not-So-Centrist Cabinet

 

[JVS]

54. I see we have some people here who don't understand the concept of damning with faint praise.

[EFerrari]

57. . . .

:)

[KoKo]

70. I think Obama might have been subtle in implying: "Bush is a Good Ole Boy"

:D

[terisan]

74. Gutsy, huh! Now it is our turn to do evil, dishonest things!

[1776Forever]

60. This is something that I wonder about when the AG gets the Conyers report.

Is President Obama going to shovel it under the rug? The verdict is still out. I await the decision.

[Lorien]

61. Oh for fuck's sake; enough of the same ol' spineless Democratic kiss ass shit!

we voted for CHANGE! Surly Obama's head is not up his ass!

[moondust]

65. Perhaps George is still able to screw things up for him.

There's still a couple days left, you know. It ain't over 'til it's over.

[babylonsister]

66. And what exactly should he have said? The faux outrage around

here is silly.

Is there nothing more important to you than dragging down Obama? You could be pro-active and write about your suffering and how to remedy it now, but no, let's gripe about the person who might have a shot at fixing the past 8 years. :eyes:

[AlinPA]

67. Abu Ghraib was the best decision he could make under the circumstances? I don't

disagree with Obama very often, but in this case, I do.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

71. Presidential etiquette

[Baby Snooks]

75. I think enough is finally enough...

Reading this makes me ill. Enough is enough. I have no respect at this point for Barack Obama. There is nothing "good" about George W Bush. And nothing good about anyone who would say there is. Barack Obama has no principles. No values. He certainly does not reflect the principles and values of those who voted for him. Someone should throw a shoe at him.

[Le Taz Hot]

76. So much for either president

upholding the Constitution. They truly are above the law.

[BlueMTexpat]

77. Oh, I understand well enough why he said it.

And yes, it is likely more what he did NOT say that is important.

But :wtf: is still my gut reaction.

If that's "poutrage" then I have to plead guilty. "Good" and Bush II in any proximity whatsoever = oxymoron, with an emphasis on "moron."

[olegramps]

78. My opinion is that he went a bit too far in his statement

"Obama also said he thought Bush made "the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances."

I realize that he did attempt to clarify his remark in the next paragraph, but I do think that he went too far in saying that Bush's decisions were the best under the circumstances. Diplomacy doesn't necessarily require outright manipulation of the facts that Bush is responsible for horrible decisions. Decisions that were totally based on the evil ideology of the neo-cons justification for unprovoked war. Is Obama totally ignoring the fact that the situation that we find ourselves in is totally attributable to those absolutely wrong decisions. If Obama believes that Bush made the "best decisions" then I am totally disillusioned as to his campaign for "Change."

[Gin]

83. they are members of a very small club...gotta be nice to one another

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

84. Calling a war criminal a good guy? Is that double speak?

[goforit]

85. WRONG!!!!!!! EVERYTHING BUSH DID WAS INTENTIONAL

[G_j]

86. "the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances."

sorry, that is 100% WRONG !!!
:argh:

[NJmaverick]

87. This is how a President should conduct himself

with class and dignity. Bravo President Obama.... Bravo!

[greguganus]

88. So is Warren? n/t

[Vickers]

89. "the best decisions that he could" Introducing Barack Obama, the

undisputed king of the backhanded compliment!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[glitch]

91. Now read it with my emphasis added:

"always thought Bush was a good guy."
This could be said in a tone of disbelief, like he has a hard time understanding how he could have been so wrong about a guy. It would have been better if he had added a "bless his heart" a la Molly Ivins but not everyone can pull that off.

"made the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances."
Not the best decisions that anyone with an IQ above 90 could make, the best decision HE could make.

Sure it political but there is no way on earth Obama should have said what Bush really is and blown up all the media right before his own inauguration.

IOW: PASS

[Dukkha]

93. It would've been much more appropriate to call him a "Good fella"

"You know, we always called each other good fellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, 'You're gonna like this guy. He's all right. He's a good fella. He's one of us.' You understand? We were good fellas. Wiseguys."

[redstate_democrat]

96. I;m going to have to respectfully disagree with Obama on this one.

"Obama also said he thought Bush made "the best decisions that he could at times under some very difficult circumstances."

The entire reason he ran is because obviously he and millions of Americans believed Bush did not mae the "best decisions that he could". This is why he was opposed to the Iraq war. That, in my humble opinion, was not the best decision Bush could have made.

[uppityperson]

104. Read the article. Several bits were left out of OP that put it more in context.....(here....)

"I mean, I think personally he is a good man who loves his family and loves his country," Obama said in an exclusive interview with CNN's John King.

During the election season, Obama frequently campaigned against what he called Bush's "failed policies" and promised a "clean break" from the past eight years
(clip)
"That does not detract from my assessment that over the last several years, we have made a series of bad choices and we are now going to be inheriting the consequences of a lot of those bad choices," Obama said.

[RiverStone]

106. Did you expect Obama to say..."Bush is a war mongering dumbfuck - can't he get outta MY HOUSE now!

"...oh, and his choice of drapes sucked!"

Obama as fantastic as he is, IS a politician.

I can agree to disagree with his characterization of Shrub. We have far, far more compelling things to talk about than this --- so does President Elect Obama! :)

[LiberalPersona]

108. Do you realize

that if he said the opposite the media would be all over it and they would twist it into something to hurt him badly?

[Brucie Kibbutz]

110. I'm not saying he should be the liberal equivalent of Limbaugh.

He just needs to stop saying a criminal like George Bush is a good guy. That doesn't mean the only other option would be to go on a rant and call him out anytime he speaks to the media. He is an intelligent man and should have known better than to compliment the character of a war criminal.

Like I said before, when the discussion is about George Bush we are talking about the performance and character of someone who is responsible for the deaths of an untold number of innocent people. You don't trivialize it by saying he's a good guy. These are serious matters and they should be talked about in a serious manner first and foremost before giving consideration to hurt feelings and image.

[Kickin_Donkey]

111. Sigh. More appeasement of the right ...

He could've said nothing or pushed his answer in a different direction.

This, "He's the kinda guy you could have a beer with," is what helped the criminal get into office.

Change, indeed ...

[jmowreader]

112. He can't say what we'd like him to say...

"George Bush is a good guy to hang around with. Tells funny jokes. Has lots of filthy magazines. That doesn't mean I'm not going to hang him from a yardarm, though."