Bush appears out of touch on U.S. economic woes

[flashl]

Source: IHT

WASHINGTON: The first hint that President George W. Bush might be detached from the nation's economic woes was in February, when he conceded that he had not heard about predictions of $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Then Bush went to Wall Street to warn against "massive government intervention in the housing markets," two days before his administration helped broker the takeover of the investment bank Bear Stearns.

Now Bush is in Eastern Europe, one of eight foreign trips he is taking this year. As he delivered his farewell address to NATO on Wednesday, Senate Democrats and Republicans were scrambling to produce a bill to help struggling homeowners, the kind of government intervention Bush had cautioned against.

For a man who came into office as America's first MBA president, Bush has sometimes seemed invisible during the housing and credit crunch. As the economy eclipses Iraq as the top issue on most voters' minds, even some Republican allies of the president say Bush is being eclipsed and is in danger of looking out of touch.

IHT

Read more: http://iht.com/articles/2008/04/03/america/assess.php

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When thinking of * firsts. First MBA president never comes to mind.

[liberal N proud]

1. Appears? - I think the evidence show that he IS out of touch

Not just an appearance of being clueless.

[lebkuchen]

16. no shit

If Bush got a decent grade in Harvard or Yale, it was because of a few mil Poppy dropped their way.

[Solly Mack]

2. NSS

DUH

"The first hint that President George W. Bush might be detached from the nation's economic woes was in February"

The first?

[UpInArms]

14. I believe that "hint" should be "printed report in a newspaper"

someone should hit those people with the clue stick

:hi:

[Robbien]

3. The Senate isn't doing much better

While POTUS may be in the dark, the Senate is in lobbiests' pockets. It is pretty dark in those deep pockets also.

[My Good Babushka]

4. He was born out of touch. nt

[Demeter]

5. "What, Me Worry?"

[opihimoimoi]

6. ED ZACHERY...LOL.....

The man was never in touch....he is a dufus of the 2nd order

[shain from kane]

7. Both Bush* and McCain are economy stupids.

[Orsino]

8. He wasn't installed in office to be "in touch" with our economy.

He's there to loot the Treasury and to deregulate business, period.

[Laughing Mirror]

15. It's only obvious

And in the realm of looters, he was a smashing success.

[Limelight]

9. Ahhhhhhhhh.....

Ya' think?!

Bush = :dunce:

[Javaman]

10. Anne Richards said it best...

"George* can't help it, he was born with a silver shoe in his mouth".

[bdamomma]

23. yup, and he is so detached from humanity.

sick man. never had to struggle, and is just an arrogant and ignorant frat boy.

[Warpy]

11. BREAKING: Water is wet!

Nobody in his class has a fucking clue.

[CubicleGuy]

12. It was a Bush refutation

My opinion is that when Bush was asked/told about the coming $4 per gallon price of gasolene, his "I haven't heard that" was his way of denying that it would happen. It wasn't so much a statement of ignorance (in his own eyes, at least) as it was a way of saying, "Hey, I haven't heard anybody say that the price of gas was going up to $4, and if I, the president, haven't heard it, then it can't possibly be true, therefore you don't need to worry about it."

And when it does happen, he won't care anyways. It's not like he has to drive down to the local Shell station, whip out his credit/debit card and fill his own gas tanks these days. We, the little people, are not only paying for our own gas, we're paying for his, too.

[jeanruss]

13. deliberate

This crisis is not an accident. It has been well planned for years. He is not going to intervene in something that was a goal for him. The only way to get rid of government obligations is to bankrupt the country. He is almost done. The President is alot more sophisticated than most people think. The weakening of the middle class is the way to control the country. The middle class is the only thing that stands in the way of Fascism.

[kestrel91316]

18. He's forgetting about how easy pitchforks and torches and axes

are to obtain, however.

[spanone]

17. he has never been in touch with anything that didn't support the chenee agenda

[Paula Sims]

19. This is where I get nervous. . .

Psychopaths like him NEED to appear relevant and he had become irrelevant. It's not about the money, it's about the power and fame (infamy). That is what's happening with Greenspan -- he's no longer the head of the Fed and there was a time when he WAS the Fed (let's not get into whether he/the Fed are good/bad/indifferent). Greenspan keeps saying things he should have when he was in office and is just saying things now to keep "relevant" -- same with Bush.

:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Irishonly]

20. Bush is out of touch of all reality eom

[edbermac]

21. And the Titanic 'appears' to be sinking.

9 months left for this maroon.

[politicaholic]

22. Bush has a degree in History and knows nothing about history...he doesn't have a degree in economics

He's a charisma savant. That is why his resolve is so strong. To struggle with two conflicting concepts at once would make him stammer during press conferances even more than he does.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

24. He's in touch with his base - the 'have mores'

He's in touch with the kind of people for whom $4 a gallon gas means nothing in their daily lives.

[Stuart G]

25. Bush does not care...it is exactly like...

hurricane Katrina. I recall reading that he was detached. That is the excuse that was given for his lack of attention to the matter. But he does not care. It is simple.. It is obvious. Why..He has got a job, and doesn't care about those that do not. Simple.

[winston61]

26. He's not out of touch,

he just don't give a shit.

[Rex]

27. Well, I'm sure like both of his residencies he never truly earned

a degree. Fucking worthless asshole.