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In reply to the discussion: I guess I'm not the badass I thought I was [View all]summer_in_TX
(2,731 posts)
doesn't get there. Other than Karl Rove, his biggest mistake was picking Cheney. He was certainly predisposed to believe the case against Iraq, but Cheney made sure the administration was stuffed with neocons, cherry-picking the intelligence and manipulating W as well as the American people.
He's a classic case of how important it is to surround yourself with good-hearted thoughtful people. He didn't.
W had some good instincts in a few cases. He made sure to insist that not all Muslims were terrorists. He wanted to resolve the immigration issue and would have, I am pretty sure, been relatively reasonable. The hard right was pushing against that and ultimately scuttled any chance of a deal. The AIDS initiative was the other.
Like his daddy, they had some good traits. Pretty nice, overall (but not as nice as either thought they were). Nice to those who were nice to them, anyway. Capable of responding to affection and admiration at least. Honorable according to their own code and among their kind. But their conservative R ideology tainted their character. They didn't believe in the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats and the importance of making sure that society works for everyone.