Just so we are clear. Obama literally got elected by trashing Bush and his war...

[phleshdef]

...amongst trashing him for a billion other things.

He beat McCain over the head with Bush.

He has given uncountable speeches and statements throughout his election and since he became President that have alluded to, insinutated or outright said that George W. Bush and his administration screwed this country.

There is no reason for anyone to be confused on what Barack Obama's evaluation of the George Bush Presidency is and there is no reason for people to get bent out of shape over a little bit of political politeness aimed Bush's direction when giving a speech from the oval office marking a historical turning point in a war that both Presidents have presided over.

This speech was not about rehashing all the reasons we should vote for Barack Obama over "Bush's third term" John McCain. It wasn't meant nor should it have been meant to be a speech for pure "political gotchas".

On a diffferent but related note, I think its very interesting that when speaking about Barack Obama and others that opposed the Iraq war, they attack our patriotism, our support for the men and women of the armed services and our desire to keep America safe. But when Barack Obama speaks about them, he literally says exactly the opposite.

[LiberalFighter]

1. Obama did it right. Obama did it better than Bush could ever speak.

Obama kept it short. Obama kept it on message.

[caledesi]

6. totally agree LF! nt

[frazzled]

2. He trashed Bush's war, but he didn't trash Bush

Obama doesn't do that. It's who he is. He believes strongly that we can disagree about policies, ideology, actions ... but that we never question people's motivations or beliefs. Tonight he repeated that they had disagreed on the war, and suggested in several ways that it had been a squandering of both treasure and lives. But he would not trash Bush the man, who probably believed in everything he was doing and (hard as it is to imagine) felt he was doing it in the interests of the country. He was dead wrong, and it had disastrous consequences, but the picture we (myself included) painted of him as a person were probably just as misguided as the picture that opponents of Obama's policies have been painting of Obama the man.

I'm trying to change my ways and learn to emulate Obama a bit in demarcating that line between policy differences and ascribing evil motivations to the people we disagree with. I still maintain the Bush administration was the worst perhaps ever in American history, that Bush was disengaged, unintelligent, and pretty much a dupe. That he ruined the country, both economically and in prestige. But I won't get into trashing him as an individual. I don't even care what kind of individual he is.

This was no switch for Obama. It's been his credo from the beginning. Some people don't like it ... they'd like a little more WWF action and mudfighting. But that's not who he is, and we shouldn't expect him to change.

[phleshdef]

3. No doubt. I think he doesn't like getting personally nasty with people.

Better man than I on that front.

[firedupdem]

4. Great Post n/t

[firedupdem]

5. Rec'd. n/t

[scheming daemons]

7. No... he got elected because of September 15, 2008

The race was tied...... up until Lehman Bros. collapsed and the economy went into tailspin.


It was... and is... the economy, stupid.

[phleshdef]

8. Read beyond my title.

The economical collapse was also a direct result of Bush policies which John McCain would likely have perpetuated. He did in fact seal the deal by being the more trusted candidate on the economy, but that was still referendum on the policies of Bush.

[Beacool]

9. Yep, and this time the economy will be used against the Democrats.

The top concern in people's mind is jobs, or rather the lack of them. Everything else is secondary when millions of people are unemployed or underemployed, and I don't see much improvement on the employment front from now to November.