[Denny]

Checking the New York Times magazine this weekend, its interesting to see how President Bush is quoted in a couple of instances praising Vladimir Putin and Pervez Mushariff. In the former, Bush is quoted as saying in Putin's eyes he got a sense of his soul. And, the latter he praised as a "defender of freedom".

Bush is not alone, as a U.S. president, in seeing great things, only to be fooled by leaders who have dismal track records in human rights or even basic honesty. There seems to be a past succession of bad bets made. Bets which have really hurt Americans, losing lives and wealth.

Manwhile, truer friends, those who do not fear to criticize U.S. government actions, such as France, are given the cold shoulder and ostracized. Is there some bizarre element in U.S. foreign relations that prefers demonstrations of loyalty above integrity, when it comes to diplomacy? But, just what is the value of praise or commitments given by a person who has no follow through, no honesty in his of her make-up? You would think with all the experienced and educated people in the Department of State, along with the intelligence gathering skill of the CIA, The U.S. administration would be able to analyze just who is a good candidate for support and who is not. The U.S. has ploughed billions of dollars into the Musharraf adminstration. If Musaraff is now perceived by Pakistanis and those outside too, to be an enemy of freedom, then the U.S. is also going to get a black eye for supporting him.

Just like personal life. Are you better off going to bed with a man who you know is honest and deeply loves you but will argue and criticize your actions, or the one who praises you and says he is committed but has lied to every woman he has met in his life and taken them for a ride?

[bonehead]

More proof that the U.S. is a country in decline.We alienate our friends,we have very little real energy reserves,we accept illegal aliens as long as they do the dirty work,corporate America really rules and takes jobs overseas,the separation of church and state gets blurred when we elect leaders solely on their religious beliefs.The list goes on and on,i just wonder how long it will take for us to reach the end.

[jasonraymondson]

France and the United States are true friends... fuck where the hell have I been?

[Denny]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jasonraymondson', 'F')rance and the United States are true friends... fuck where the hell have I been?

[Kingcoal]

A while ago I posted a link to a scientific study which concluded that people who hold liberal beliefs were more intelligent than those who hold conservative beliefs.

Intelligence in this case is the ability of the mind to adjust to changing conditions, in other words, how fast a person can understand a situation which has changed. It was found that conservatives tend to favor "hammering a square peg into a round hole." They cling to beliefs that give them comfort and resist those which make them uncomfortable. They seek comfort in familiarity, whereas liberals tend to enjoy exploring ideas and experiences outside of their comfort zone.

GWB to be a conservative, it's almost a perfect representation of his behavior. He has a small comfort zone and dislikes people who challenge him. He is basically incapable of an intellectual debate which was painfully obvious when John Kerry ripped him apart on national TV.

My opinion of the overall intelligence of the American people is very low. GWB was elected twice, well, maybe only once, but most importantly, after four years, the American people reelected him. I must conclude that there are more conservatives than liberals in this country as a result. They like Bush because he is like them; shallow, simple minded, in short; dumb.

With that said, dumb people are poor judges of character. They like people who tell them what they want to hear. Putin is a shrewd politician; he recognized Bush's limitations and gained his confidence (like any good con man when dealing with a mark.) Bush does not engage people, he speaks at them. Every appearance he makes is scripted, for good reason. He surrounds himself with staff who tell him what he wants to hear and fires anyone who tries to actually do their job. He is a picture of incompetence. I voted against him twice. My reasons for doing so the first time had to do with my investigation of his background. Every business venture he's been involved with failed. He had a very poor track record before he entered office and I saw no reason for him to suddenly start succeeding. When he entered office, I thought that he would be an inconsequential President, uninspiring, a one termer like his father. Boy was I wrong. He has been one of the most consequential presidents in US history. He has, almost single-handedly, bankrupted the country - just like he did with his business ventures prior to his political career.

To sum up, yes, GWB is a poor judge of character.

[bonehead]

Very well put Kingcoal,i couldn't agree more.Conservatives are very good at making the term "liberal" sound like a dirty word.Just what are they conserving anyway?