Please tell me Obama lied...

[JoFerret]

I know all politicians have to lie and dissemble but please tell me Obama lied on Wednesday when he spoke admiringly of the foreign policy of GHW Bush.

This is the Bush who - egged on by Margaret Thatcher - waded into a terrible Gulf escapade. The fact that we did not get mired, or that we had allies - does not make this any more of a "good" war. There was nothing noble about it.

The motives were ignoble. The congressional hearings that included false testimony (remember the babies and the incubators?) and the conduct were ignoble.


I like to imagine Obama was just trying to appease and please. I hope he was lying.

[GarbagemanLB]

1. I was more disturbed by Hillary's 'Umbrella' concept and talking of 'massive retaliation' if Israel

was attacked.

[grantcart]

2. it was a clever put down of George W. - sorry you missed the point

[JoFerret]

11. That much was obvious. An idiot could get that

even me.

[grantcart]

14. apparently you didn't get it because you took it out of context and robbed it of any meaning.

He didn't offer a spontaneous compliment of Bush Senior he was insulting the son by praising the father. Given Bush's deep psychological competition with his father it was a particularly clever tact.

Your OP either missed the point or deliberately wanted to mislead people who may not have seen the original statement.

[JoFerret]

20. So he was being misleading then.

Thanks for your opinion supporting the surmise.

[cali]

3. Was HIllary lying when she expressed her admiration toward Reagan

in the debate? And the Gulf War was not an action I supported, but Obama is absolutely correct about it being conducted by an international coalition, built by the bush admin.

[JoFerret]

13. Probably

....so the answer is....he was (lying?) (I hope)

[blm]

4. How would Obama know HOW evil GHWBush's policies were when Clintons spent the 90s deep-sixing all

the outstanding matters in IranContra, Iraqgate, BCCI and CIA drugrunning operations for Poppy Bush and his cronies Jackson Stephens, Duabai and Saudi royals, the Bin Ladens, AQ Khan, Marc Rich, Adnan Kashoggi, James Bath, et al?

The biggest problem I see with MANY DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKERS is that they BELIEVED Bill and followed his lead too much in the 90s and after.

[JoFerret]

15. And he was only 8

Crikey. If I know - then smart fella must know.

Stop trashing the only democratic president many people have ever known. Does not help Obama and it does not help him when he trashes and distorts the Clinton ecomomy and the real rise in wages in small town midwestern America in the 1990's.)

[blm]

17. Did I trash Bill or did Bill's consistent PROTECTION of BushInc trash Bill?

You ACCEPT and condone that BushInc was protected throughout the 90s by Clintons, just as Jackson Stephens intended, leading to Bush2, 9-11, this Iraq war and our next war with Iran.

I do not ACCEPT or condone it.

[JoFerret]

21. Totally. Whatever

.

[Overseas]

5. I was also very disappointed in that remark

GHWB is not to be admired. While I understand his wanting to appear bipartisan, it was a clear statement of admiration for GHWB who only looks better in retrospect, by comparison to his disastrous son.

[midnight]

6. JoFerret can you tell me what the exact quote is. Is it "good"

in refrence to the first bush war?

[JoFerret]

10. Studs Terkel

on WW2. Title of book - oral history.

Common phrase. Point of reference. That's why I put it in quotes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_War:_An_Oral_History_of_World_War_Two

[Kokonoe]

7. I think what he said was,

Even if you fuck up like George H. W. Bush. A son should learn from his fathers mistakes.

[Bolo Boffin]

8. You can only do that when you exclude (as you did) the things that Obama pointed out

as admirable, the allies and the not getting mired.

That happened because we all went together. That happened because Bush Sr. didn't go in until he'd built the coalition.

That's what Obama singled out for admiration. And that's all he singled out for admiration.

[NJmaverick]

9. Bush Sr's failure to send a clear message to Saddam

can be blamed for Bush's failure to send a clear message to Saddam that invading Kuwait was unacceptable. However after that damage was done, the way Bush conducted the war (getting a huge coalition and being smart enough not to invade Iraq itself) was very well done. So I think it's a plus that Obama is capable of seeing past the partisan blinders (so many politicians wear) and can appreciate smart moves, no matter who makes them.

[JoFerret]

23. A clear message to Saddam...lol

Rumsfeld had already done that.

[Ronnie]

12. SHOCKing! SHOCKing!

There was politics going on in that debate. Better buckle up.

[JoFerret]

16. I know. Quite dreadful. The horror!

...lies and dissembling all over the shop.

[KSinTX]

18. Before I reply, please clarify some things for me

"waded into a terrible Gulf escapade" - what, by your definition, made it "terrible"? Was it the justification? The war's conduct?

"does not make this any more of a "good" war" - is there any case that could be made for a "good" war and, if so, what would it be?

"the conduct were ignoble" - to which conduct are you refering?


I'm just asking because you start with the assertion that it was a terrible Gulf escapade. So I'm not sure if a case could ever be made to you that a war might not be terrible and futile for anyone to attempt. If, on the other hand, you aren't anti-war, there might be a case to be made for engaging in Desert Storm.

As for Obama's comment, I believe his intent was to note the striking differences in management of Desert Storm vs Iraq (Senior vs Junior and not terribly unlike the management of the two Dem presidential campaigns): one had a single message, was run on time, within budget, had popular and political support vs one that seemed unable to find its voice, continuously runs out of money and has lost much of its financial backing, enjoyed tremendous popular support initially but is on the decline.

[stillcool]

19. I'm sure you hope..

He was lying!I suppose it makes a difference to some people whether a President takes a country to war unilaterally, or with many countries involved in the same goal.

[dionysus]

22. ...