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Bush's Legacy

the eternal

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the eternal Newbie

the eternal

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With President Bush set to leave the White House less than two weeks from now, here's a "Then and Now" to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving. The "Then" is the best-available figure as Bush was taking office in 2001. The "Now" is the most recent figure.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)

Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE

Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)

Now: 8,769 (close of Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING

Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)

Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILITY RATING

Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)

Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING

Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)

Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION

Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)

Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)

Then: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)

Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY

Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)

Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE

Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)

Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET

Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressional Budget Office)

Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

--------------------------

So what's Bush's Legacy?

Let's see:

--A failed war

--Economy in the toilet

--More people below the poverty line

--More people without jobs

--More people without health care

--Less consumer confidence

--Spiraling national debt

Hey, Thanks Bush!

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candyman Newbie

candyman

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Hmmm...we went over this in class a while ago and none of it was blamed on Bush.

Most of the things he did will not take full effect years from now...some of the shit was his dads fault, clintons fault, and the combined fault of all the assholes in Washinton.

Not the best president ever but damn...people gotta stop kicking the dead horse already because the body is gone. How will we ever progress as a country if all we do is bitch and moan about a president that we didn't like? Are the predictions that this country is extremely lazy compared to before correct? Is it really true that the people have lost or given up the qualities that once launched our country to the forefront? Did we forget that we had a very minimalist government compared to other countries which allowed small businesses and other individuals to bring all that they had to the plate?

I would also like to point out that these surveys are bullshit. It doesn't matter what the survey was about, i.e. smoking ban, popularity, taxes, etc., I have never taken part or talked to anyone that has taken part in any of them. UWM has taken data results and after much research has found out that while only a few of the surveys were likely seeded, many of them were highly inaccurate. Statistics don't really count for shit when you are talking about people. To get something that is even close to accurate you would need to survey almost half of the population. Also, when you get these big question with the only option being two of three answeres that are only one or a few words long that doesn't even come close to being accurate.

The times that we have talked about Bush in my classes for the past three years there has not been a single student that has blamed him. Sure, some people didn't like him but they were more than willing to admit that it was not all his fault. Hell, they even showed a bit of respect for the man as a human being.

Seriously, this shit has been going on for years and people should have grown up and moved on about three years ago. All this shit about Bush just shows how childish people are being. You can't simply blame everything on one man, and you can't even blame it all on the government. A child will sit and bitch about his parents and blame them for everything, hint: emo kids, but an adult will look at all the aspects, come to a logical conclusion, and go on with his fucking life because if he can't take even a little blame or deal with shit that is thrown at him he might as well commit suicide and rid the world of his stupidity.

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Der Nister Newbie

Der Nister

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If things go wrong (and it doesn't matter who is in office) the current President is going to catch hell for it. Period.

Bush did't help things by not coming forth and admitting A) how bad the economy was and has gotten and B) the failed wars he started and C) by not doing something *hell anything* to try and help fix this mess we have here in our country.

Does bitching about it make it better? Maybe and maybe it also helps people feel better about it. Do we have the right to beat a dead horse while we are still in this mess - hell yea! It's our freedom of speech at work.

I personally don't care if a bunch of high school or college students aren't putting the blame on Bush. These are kids that l;ive at home with their parents and are most likely not feeling the grip this bad economy has on the majority of America.

I realize their are other factors that caused this but come on. Are you gonna tell me that you believe Bush all those times he told us that we weren't in a recession? Bullocks!

He has also managed to make most of the world hate us by being a total ass hat. I have more to say about him but I want to do other things right now.

More later.

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Reaper Newbie

Reaper

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If things go wrong (and it doesn't matter who is in office) the current President is going to catch hell for it. Period.

Bush did't help things by not coming forth and admitting A) how bad the economy was and has gotten and B) the failed wars he started and C) by not doing something *hell anything* to try and help fix this mess we have here in our country.

Does bitching about it make it better? Maybe and maybe it also helps people feel better about it. Do we have the right to beat a dead horse while we are still in this mess - hell yea! It's our freedom of speech at work.

I personally don't care if a bunch of high school or college students aren't putting the blame on Bush. These are kids that l;ive at home with their parents and are most likely not feeling the grip this bad economy has on the majority of America.

I realize their are other factors that caused this but come on. Are you gonna tell me that you believe Bush all those times he told us that we weren't in a recession? Bullocks!

He has also managed to make most of the world hate us by being a total ass hat. I have more to say about him but I want to do other things right now.

More later.

Yep, that is my take on it. Like I said, it all happened under his watch and it doesn't matter if you think he did everything or not, you are going to get blamed and you won't ever change that unless humanity takes a complete 180 degree turn from their behavior.

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Mizuna Newbie

Mizuna

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Seriously, this shit has been going on for years and people should have grown up and moved on about three years ago. All this shit about Bush just shows how childish people are being. You can't simply blame everything on one man, and you can't even blame it all on the government. A child will sit and bitch about his parents and blame them for everything, hint: emo kids, but an adult will look at all the aspects, come to a logical conclusion, and go on with his fucking life because if he can't take even a little blame or deal with shit that is thrown at him he might as well commit suicide and rid the world of his stupidity.

Tell that to your student friends and Bush. If he can't take the blame then he should kill himself. Education has always been bias on what you learn, so has religion and so has television. You need to take more than one point of veiw when considing who's fault it is or you are being bias, sadly other are to a degree but you are also.

The only thing I have to say about Bush is the way that he dealt with the economic crisis, recent and past, although I do not feel Clinton did anything wrong I think he did a good job all considering, shows that he should be blamed to an extent for his inefficency with dealing with issues that arose. If you can't accept that Bush should take some blame due to how he dealt with America's issues then I guess you should start blaming your parents for what is wrong in your life too. It is all nice to place the blame on the past, especially if you had no or minimal influence on it, but its also ignorant and pathetic to a degree.

I don't need to comment on the war, they are best to talk about once they are done and then consider how they went, other wise in my opinion Veitnam will repeat.

Seriously placing the blame on everyone else but Bush. Be quiet emo kid.

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creatureofthenyte Collaborator

creatureofthenyte

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I'm no fan of George Bush.

However, I still do not see what we stand to gain by continuing to bash him.

He's a lame duck, a moot point, soon to be in our past.

And no, its Not all his fault.

Congress is largely to blame as well.

Also, with all the progress made in Iraq, I don't see how that could be considered a failure.

Afghanistan is a totally different story though.

But yeah I really think its time we stop beating the mostly dead horse.

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candyman Newbie

candyman

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Tell that to your student friends and Bush. If he can't take the blame then he should kill himself. Education has always been bias on what you learn, so has religion and so has television. You need to take more than one point of veiw when considing who's fault it is or you are being bias, sadly other are to a degree but you are also.

The only thing I have to say about Bush is the way that he dealt with the economic crisis, recent and past, although I do not feel Clinton did anything wrong I think he did a good job all considering, shows that he should be blamed to an extent for his inefficency with dealing with issues that arose. If you can't accept that Bush should take some blame due to how he dealt with America's issues then I guess you should start blaming your parents for what is wrong in your life too. It is all nice to place the blame on the past, especially if you had no or minimal influence on it, but its also ignorant and pathetic to a degree.

I don't need to comment on the war, they are best to talk about once they are done and then consider how they went, other wise in my opinion Veitnam will repeat.

Seriously placing the blame on everyone else but Bush. Be quiet emo kid.

What the fuck dude?!?! Seriously?

First, I never said that Bush should take all the fucking blame. It should be obvious to anyone with an education higher than the eight grade that there is no way in hell that one person, even the president, can possibly take the full blame for pretty much anything. Also, they should have taught you the part where almost anything put in place by the government takes at least a few years to even start to show what it is doing. That means that maybe, just maybe we are seeing things that Bush started. But again, he is not the only asshole in Washington.

Second, its pretty obvious that you didn't read everything that I wrote. You ever hear of Madison, Wisconsin? No? One of the most leftist cities in the U.S. besides San Fransisco? Yeah almost everyone there doesn't like president Bush but guess what? Most of these people have a little respect and dignity left in them which I can hardly say for the rest of our country. There have been many articles in the local paper that did knock Bush but they were not assholes about it. They have also recently put forth a few articles telling those that poke so much fun at Bush because "it got old and stupid about four years ago".

Third,...shit...how the fuck can we not put some of the blame on the people? Tons of people pretty much fucked themselves over and even though the government may have allowed them to...WAS IT ONLY BUSH? No! Was it only one political party? NO! If we are to the point where the government has to come and feed us because we can guide the food to our mouths then we might as well give the fuck up. Seriously...do you realize that no matter what you always have some control over your life? Or are you just stupid?

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candyman Newbie

candyman

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I find it interesting that most of the people in the media (faux news) that say Bush shouldn't be blamed for everything are the exact people who blame Clinton for everything

Wait...who doesn't blame Bush and who blames Clinton?

Wait...they are both to blame!

Oh and yeah Obama is going to fix everything...and I am going to stop smoking!

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Mizuna Newbie

Mizuna

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What the fuck dude?!?! Seriously?

First, I never said that Bush should take all the fucking blame. It should be obvious to anyone with an education higher than the eight grade that there is no way in hell that one person, even the president, can possibly take the full blame for pretty much anything. Also, they should have taught you the part where almost anything put in place by the government takes at least a few years to even start to show what it is doing. That means that maybe, just maybe we are seeing things that Bush started. But again, he is not the only asshole in Washington.

Second, its pretty obvious that you didn't read everything that I wrote. You ever hear of Madison, Wisconsin? No? One of the most leftist cities in the U.S. besides San Fransisco? Yeah almost everyone there doesn't like president Bush but guess what? Most of these people have a little respect and dignity left in them which I can hardly say for the rest of our country. There have been many articles in the local paper that did knock Bush but they were not assholes about it. They have also recently put forth a few articles telling those that poke so much fun at Bush because "it got old and stupid about four years ago".

Third,...shit...how the fuck can we not put some of the blame on the people? Tons of people pretty much fucked themselves over and even though the government may have allowed them to...WAS IT ONLY BUSH? No! Was it only one political party? NO! If we are to the point where the government has to come and feed us because we can guide the food to our mouths then we might as well give the fuck up. Seriously...do you realize that no matter what you always have some control over your life? Or are you just stupid?

You obviously did not read what I said, I did however read what you said.

Here is a tip on what I am talking about:

"he should be blamed to an extent for his inefficency with dealing with issues that arose."

Key word, extent.

Your retort had good points, all that I agree with.

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candyman Newbie

candyman

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You obviously did not read what I said, I did however read what you said.

Here is a tip on what I am talking about:

"he should be blamed to an extent for his inefficency with dealing with issues that arose."

Key word, extent.

Your retort had good points, all that I agree with.

Ahhh, I am sorry. I agree with you although I still think that people give him too much credit for certain things.

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