BS: Bush's press conference last night.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 05:54 PM

We are being groomed to accept the use of tactical nuclear weapons , in case you haven't noticed.

American is being held ransom. If we throw Isreal to the wolves and pull out of the middle east they "may go easy on us". We counter with an arsenal which is not likely to destroy 2 billion muslims.

The arabs (although racist) are strategically like the American revolutionary army against the British. It is not an easy or an assured victory for the Empire.

Opps I forgot we only are going after terrorists.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,frankie
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 05:39 PM

It seems he took great pains to convince us that we were conducting a type of warfare that was completely new to the world and at the same time labored mightily to convince us that we would definitely win in spite of the fact that we'd never done anything like this before. I believe he mentioned bombing them out of their caves a couple of times. Basically, I think he was just rallying the troops to prop up that modern day colonialism we practice in the Middle East and to "protect America's interests" (my quotes). If we truly want to stop terrorism, at least from the Islamic world, should get the hell out of it. Unfortunately that probably won't happen until we've sucked the last drop of oil out of that region.
Performance-wise he kind of reminded me of his old man during senior's "Halcyon" days. I caught myself shaking my head a few times wondering what the hell he had just said. frankie

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Bert
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 04:47 PM

Well, just so's as not to disappoint my friend DougR. I'll say I was not too impressed. I got the impression that the statesman that we had seen for the past month was reverting to his old ways (Who was it named him "The Smirking Dufus"?). It was quite sad to see that side of him start to reappear when he had been so good for a while there.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Justa Picker
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 04:45 PM

You took the words right out of my mouth, robomatic. (I was going to type them an hour ago, but got side-tracked.)

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: robomatic
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 04:41 PM

There already is a Palestinian State. It's called Jordan. They need to move to it and not go after a piece of real estate that would reduce Israel to an almost indefensible perimeter.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: SharonA
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 04:31 PM

Jack says, "Anthrax can be treated quite effectively with medicines available in any U.S. Pharmacy today." True, if it's caught early enough, but a vaccine would protect against contracting anthrax in the first place. But that's another thread.

Anthrax aside, I still don' t trust the government. In fact, that's part and parcel of "going on with my life", since I didn't trust the government before September 11th, either!!

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: CarolC
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 02:15 PM

Ok. I believe I did give one opinion. I think I said after one speach, that I felt more comfortable with him prior to hearing the speach.

I don't feel particularly inclined to give any opinions about last night's speach.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: CarolC
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 02:06 PM

DougR, if you can dig up a single post of mine in which I have given an opinion of any speach given by Bush on any subject, please show it to me.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Deda
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 01:59 PM

I thought he did well, on both style and substance--and I'm one of those who used to react to his voice as though it were fingernails on a blackboard. I even liked the bit about having each kid in the US earn or donate a buck. I think he's more able to handle the situation decisively than someone much smarter than he is might be. I still think that he's wrong about star wars and about domestic policies, but I'm impressed with how he has risen to the occasion.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 01:38 PM

Performance, yes, that is what we should dwell upon. Forget what was said. Forget the charity he started. Forget that he offered forgiveness and peace to those who have harboured terrorists in the past, including the Taliban. Forget that he doubled the aid to Afghanistan. The performance was the key!!

SharonA Anthrax can be treated quite effectively with medicines available in any U.S. Pharmacy today.

What we should be doing is going on with our lives. Even if the terrorists attack again the odds against it happening to any one person are astronomical. The press is doing thousands of times more damage than bin Laden. But telling people that thier lives are no more dangerous than they were on September 10, doesn't sell airtime.

DougR: DSJ condemned all presidential press conferences. That is in no way a liberal statement or a statement of the majority. You should really read more carefully before you condemn.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: kendall
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 01:13 PM

Sorry Doug, I just got back from England last night and I was in no need of a sleep aid.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:55 PM

Hey thats why Sharon spouted off last week.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:53 PM

That's another quandary, isn't it? Sometimes you can't give something to one person without taking something away from another. When they don't agree to share it makes things all the more unhappy.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Amos
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:40 PM

The suggestion of a Palestinian State would certainly go a long way to balance things in the Middle East, I would think, at first glance. Let's see -- who would we have to displace and ignore this time???

A

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:34 PM

Thank you for calling KFC. Would you like Regular or Extra Cranky today? ;-)

Sorry, just a little touchy this week.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:32 PM

The term EVIL DOERS caught my ears. Perhaps I was exposed to comic books at too tender an age because it sounded like a super hero romp. The white house sent up trial balloons regarding a Palistinian State. Margret was the only one to point this out at the end.

I think the administration will explore as many avenues as possible to insure survival of the United States.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: mousethief
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:27 PM

Kim, I think (and this is just a guess) that Captain America was being facetious.

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: SharonA
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:26 PM

I'm with DSJ. I saw nothing that positively impressed me. I'm especially disturbed by his advice, when asked what the citizenry should do to be prepared for future acts of terrorism, to go on about our lives and trust that the government is on high alert. This is the government that contracted one anthrax vaccine manufacturer for the entire US to produce vaccine that it's not producing because the plant has FDA inspection violations (if the ABC report is to be believed). Trust the government? Not in this country.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,Kim C no cookie
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:24 PM

Excuse me, is there something wrong with Southern-accented English? Nearly every part of the country has distinctive speech patterns - JFK himself spoke with Massachusetts twang, and LBJ also had a Texas accent. Would you prefer that everyone sound like Stone Phillips or something?

I didn't hear the whole thing - but during the part I did hear, I didn't hear any mispronunciations or long pauses between words. But what do I know - I'm a Southerner too.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,DSJ
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:16 PM

Sorry, but I'm not a liberal. Liberals are much too wishy washy and tame for this radical leftist.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: DougR
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:14 PM

Yea! Guest DSJ! You came through for the liberal majority in fine fashion!

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,DSJ
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 12:10 PM

I didn't think he was an effective communicator at all. He sounded canned and rehearsed, and kept repeating his prerehearsed remarks over and over again, rather than answer the questions he was asked. But to be fair, that is what all the administration officials do in their press conferences.

Bush was pretty damn stiff, and clearly as uncomfortable with the press conference format as he was during the campaign--I saw no improvement in that regard.

As to content, absolutely nothing new--we'd already heard everything he said from his previous remarks or other administration spokespersons this week.

Yawn.

Why we bother with these shams called presidential press conferences, I'll never know.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: DougR
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 11:59 AM

I never thought I'd see the day! Where in the heck is CarolC, Donuel, kat, Spaw, Kendall, Greg F.,et al? Such unanimity is NOT to be tolerated here on the Mudcat! :>)

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Justa Picker
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 11:45 AM

Thought he did great, and have been absolutely fascinated watching his transformation from a "boy" into a "man" over the last while. I think he's surprising a lot of skeptics.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Paul from Hull
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 11:36 AM

Sounded good to me, I have to say....

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 11:04 AM

In terms of performance, I thought it was adequate, although it's clear that he's not as adept at speaking off-the-cuff as some of his predecessors. I expect his skill at these things will improve with time.

In terms of message, I thought it was very effective. Bush clearly understood that he was being heard all over the world, and certain of his phrases (like his characterization of bin Laden and al Qaeda as "the evil ones") were clearly used more for their effect on foreign ears than on the US.

I agree with Alex -- I voted for Gore, and have my share of disagreements with Bush's domestic policies, but I think he and other members of his administration are doing an outstanding job in responding to this crisis.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: GUEST,Captain America
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 10:44 AM

Damn, two messages in a row that spoke favorably about Bush. That has got to be some sort of a record. Of course, now we can expect about twenty messages from those who ignored the content and focused on his mispronounciation of Arabic terms, brief pauses between words, and southern accented English.

Subject: RE: BS: Bush's press conference last night.
From: mousethief
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 10:30 AM

Didn't hear/see it, but my wife did, and she was very impressed (we both voted for Gore (albeit while holding our noses)). He has done better during this crisis than I would have expected from the image he portrayed during the election. I still disagree with many of his policies and emphases, but as a commander-in-chief he's doing a fine job right now.

alex

Subject: Bush's press conference last night.
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 12 Oct 01 - 09:51 AM

I thought he did an excellent job. He spoke as though he knew the whole word was watching. He din't talk or act too gung ho. He showed that he and his administration has an excellent handle on the issues. He showed that he had compassion but still acted like the cowboy..... "Smoke 'em out". It gave be hope that things will work out OK.