George Bush & "The Greatest Country in the World"

[MisterMark]

Okay, I'm sure there will be people here who think that George W. Bush is a brilliant man.  You might want to move on to a different topic.

Recently, I thought I must have been hearing things when I was listening to the news on television, and George W. was giving another one of his rambling "off the cuff" speeches.  I could have sworn that I heard him say something about Americans wanting "a gooder product."  But then I thought, "No, he wouldn't have said something like that.  His English speaking skills are bad, but not that bad."  And then a few days later, I heard him say it again!  I just did a little research on the internet, and although I could only find one mention of it, he really did say "gooder!"

Here's part of the news article that I found:

"...and uncritical coverage of the President's latest speech (in Ohio last week: "This is the greatest country on the face of the earth and we are the finest people... companies who want to raise prices have to know people will expect a gooder product, a gooder service")."

What must the intelligent people in his administration like Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell think when they hear things like this?  Although I wouldn't usually think about the color of their skin, I'm just 100% sure that if there was an African-American official who spoke that way, all of the hicks and rednecks in America (who most likely voted for Bush) would be cracking jokes and making fun of him or her.

I'm also really tired of hearing about how the U.S. is "the greatest country in the world" (over and over again) and that Americans are "the greatest people in the world" (as Chris Matthews on MSNBC says every time he promotes his latest book, "American - Beyond Our Grandest Notions").

I just had to get all of that out.  I welcome your comments, and since we're an international group, if you respond, please include your nationality so that we have some reference as to your perspective on this subject.

 

[Pecker]

It seems very odd to me that a successful group like this one which is so helpful to so many and which takes pride in its diverse membership, should tolerate making fun of anybody in any form.

Heaven forbid you require perfection for membership in LPSG - the very name implies that you don't.

As for the country each of us calls home - it should be the greatest country in the world to us no matter whether we call it America, Great Britain, Denmark  or what-have-you.  

I am an American, a descendent of English and Scottish immigrants, and I'm proud of it.

It don't get any gooder than that.

Pecker

 

[MisterMark]

I'm not making fun of anyone here. I'm being critical of the President of the United States - hardly a radical act.

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I require "perfection" in order to be a member of the LPSG. I said nothing that even resembles that notion.

I don't believe that there is any "greatest" country in the world. There are good things and bad things about every country.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with having pride in your country. I'm just frustrated with what I see as a dim-witted president.

 

[13788]

Finedessert: "I'm just frustrated with what I see as a dim-witted president."

Maybe if his dick was bigger, he'd be a gooder president.

100% American.

Grandpa

 

[13788]

BiteSize: As a wet-liberal Brit living among the cheese-eating surrender monkeys of France I'm amazed that your great country allowed its administration to be hijacked by that man in the first place.

Thank you, Mark, for that thoughtful piece. Personally, I'm beyond being thoughtful about anything to do with George W Bush. I'm just angry, and the more I think about it the angrier I get so I've decided -- just as most of your fellow citizens have probably decided -- to try not to think about it too much.

 

[MisterMark]

Thank you, BiteSize.  Although I'm open to debate, it's definitely nice to hear from sympathetic souls!  

Personally, I don't believe that G.W. "hijacked" the office.  I tend to think that if it wasn't for Theresa LaPore and the people who designed the so-called "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County, Florida, and Ralph Nader, Al Gore would be President today.

I am thankful, however, that the Office of President is only 1/3 of the government's structure.

But keep in mind, BiteSize, the U.K. has an unusual way of electing their leaders: The person who gets the most votes wins. :

 

[jay_too]

Dubya is no longer the amusing clown; he is an embarrassment to the country. Because of a non-political orientation, I have endured and even enjoyed the verbal nonsense he spouts; unfortunately, my tolerance has been misguided. This is not a time for our nation or the world to have a dumber Forest Gump as a leader of the major power.

A week or so ago at a peace rally in Atlanta, I was accosted verbally by a Republican supporter of the President and told that I should be proud to have Dubya as my leader. Why? Well, he has leadership qualities that surpass any intellectual deficiencies; he is not afraid to make a decision - whether right or wrong. Of course, my Americanism was questioned when I asked, Is this what we need - quick, decisive but wrong decisions?

I will support the anti-war rallies until the war begins; at that time, I will reasess my position. However, I do believe that this is the wrong war at the wrong time. We may end up causing the overthrow of moderate regimes in the middle east and in southeast asia. Dubya ran for President promising that we would not be policeman for the world or engage in nation building. Was he clueless then...and not now...or just clueless?

jay

 

[MisterMark]

Yeah, I didn't want to actually say he's an embarrassment to the country because I know that many people felt that Bill Clinton was an embarrassment - I don't agree with them, but their numbers are large.

jay_too, I believe the pro-war crowd will always question your "Americanism" if you disagree with them. In fact, after I introduced this topic, I prepared myself for an onslaught of responses accusing me of being "anti-American" or some other such nonsense. Actually, Pecker's response does suggest that I'm anti-American.

 

[13788]

mindseye: I can't fault a poltician for verbal gaffes made orally -- I think I'm pretty well-educated, but I'll easily make a couple of gaffes a week myself in class. I've stopped expecting public speakers to be perfect. On the other hand, if this was a prepared speech, and he read 'gooder' right off the teleprompter and no one caught that while proofreading, that's definitely cause for concern.

All things considered, though, I've got much greater concerns about how this country is being run.

Take for example, this story about a Canadian citizen, with a valid Candian passport, who was deported by INS to her birth country (India) without being permitted to contact Canadian officials first.


Or this story about how, after devastating that country just the year before, the White House completely omits Afghanistan from its humanitarian aid budget. Not one penny.

Or...this:

 

[B_DoubleMeatWhopper]

I must agree with Mark. 'Gooder' does suggest substandard education, not exactly a desirable trait in a leader. Maybe I'm biased because I'm an English literature major. Or maybe because English was the third language I learned, yet I apparently speak it better than a native speaker who is supposed to be leading this country. Or maybe I'm biased because I voted for Gore. Regardless, the US is my home and I'm glad of that fact.I do feel that the US is a great country. Where else in the world could a poor black boy like Michael Jackson grow up to be a rich white woman?

 

[13788]

lilAmy: As an American id have to agree with Mark.

I'm moving to Canada.

 

[13788]

BIGBOYDAVE: As for President Bush I don't agree with what he is doing . I don't agree with the war or the fact That a lot of americans think the world revolves around them and That they Are The Police for the Planet and that their Leader is the Leader of The FREE! World. That Is there Belief But for George Bush U must understand he is speaking in Texan English . A lot of different parts of the world have different words that mean the same thing in the same language. I believe the man is intelegant just misguided by his advisors. He listened to a lot of the wrong advice and now he is stuck. I am sure that through History and throughout the Planet many other well meaning leaders have taken bad advice. Unfortunatly in this present situation . The united States and a few other Countries are about to change the Shape of our Present World in ways even they can't imagine and in so doing are taking away True Democracy. They Have decided that Come Hell Or High Water They Are Going To war and there is nothing any other Country Or State Or Person can do to Prevent Them From achiving there short term goal . Whatever hapens after they don't give a Damn. Gas can go to 5.00 a gallon the stock market can collapse North Korea can invade and conquor the South They really don't care they are on a Blind Mission and the rest of us be damned. How He Says It and the words he uses will mean little to the Hundreds of thousands of MEN WOMEN & Children that are about to Die or suffer because of WHAT??????????????

 

[13788]

BiteSize: It's relevant to reflect for a moment on how all this started. I don't mean the fixing of the presidential election by the Bush clan. I'm talking about long before that, when the seeds of 9/11 (which history will show to have been the making of this Bush administration, just as the Gulf war was the making of his dad's, and the Falklands war was the making of Thatcher's first term) were planted.

Apparently the origins of Osama Bin Laden's hatred of the USA go back to his time at university when he was taunted by an American girl for having an unusually small penis.

Now there's a thought to bring us neatly on topic.

 

[13788]

AnonyMs: Oh! If only it were so simple that world peace could be achieved with some PE literature.

There are a few problems with this explanation however - such as OBL has never been to the West (save for a brief excursion to Sweden as a child and a tour of Oxford in 1971), thus his chances of having met an American girl are severely reduced. Countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sudan are the only countries he has been to. He has never attended school in the West; an important point in light of the rumor's oft-repeated claim he met the critical young lady while in university in the USA.

Bin Laden was also married for the first time at the age of 17. (He now has four wives, but that's neither here nor there in this story.) His father was a religious man and was a strong influence in young Osama's life, so it is hard to reconcile the notion of a teenage Osama bin Laden taking up with an American girl, a woman of a different religion and a disliked culture.

To believe the rumor, we'd have to buy that:


A young Osama bin Laden met an unnamed and untraceable American girl in an Islamic country.

Things progressed between them to the point of their dating.

The dating relationship became a physical one despite strong Muslim strictures against premarital sex.

Osama bin Laden has a small penis. (Of all the things known about "The Contractor," the size of his genitals isn't one of them.)

That a girl who'd cared for him enough to date and then sleep with him would then taunt him over a physical difference he would have had no control over.

Anger over her comments would have fueled his life-long hatred of the USA.

Sorry - I'm not buying it.

 

[13788]

BiteSize: In that case, AnonyMs, I'll have to step down. Too bad, it sounded feasible to me. Every bit as feasible as the origins of Adolf Hitler's hatred of the Jews, which was fuelled by -- if not actually born of -- a desire to venge himself against the Jewish doctor who had presided over the death of his mother.

 

[jonb]

Way to kill the thread, BiteSize.

 

[13788]

miniver_cheevy: here's an interesting link put together by the minority on the house appropriations committee which shows what a HUGE FAT LIAR george w. truly is:

http://www.house.gov/appropriations_democrats/caughtonfilm.htm

 

[D_Martin van Burden]

I'm appalled. Or rather, I'm certainly not surprised that Bush would make a bunch of empty promises. I wouldn't mind seeing a report on who exactly benefits from all these budget cuts.

 

[jay_too]

realllly dee..

it is all about tax cuts for those making 6-figures or more.

jay

 

[Pecker]

Just rename this thread the "Democrat/Liberal Spouting Post" and get it over with.

Pecker