Thomas, your last post leaves me a bit confused as to where you expected this thread to go, especially in the light of your first post. I believe it was going along pretty much as you appeared to intend, at least until GUEST -- 19 Nov 05 - 05:01 PM got on Don Firth's case for his comments about tax breaks for the wealthy in relation to what he (DF) perceives to be a deliberate attempt on the part of neo-conservatives to reduce the financial resources of the country to the point where welfare and social safety net programs can no longer be funded. Considering the comments of many neo-conservatives such as Nordquist and others, plus the chain of events leading to the drastic social welfare cuts in the recently passed budget, it appears to me that DF has a defensible point. GUEST tries to blow it off by accused him of a liberal "mindset." Ad hominem? Red herring? Straw man?

In my own opinion, I don't consider GWB to be stupid, but I do believe he is not the brightest bulb on the tree. He probably has sufficient competence to do reasonably well in a middle management position. I just think that as President of the United States, he's in way over his head. I see him as the figurehead and fall guy for a group of pretty predatory people.

In your first post, you contrast Herbert G. W. Bush's 1998 comments with the behavior of his son. Where did you expect this thread to go?