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George W. Bush

Presidency for Dummies

This page, created during the 2004 Presidential election campaign, serves as a repository of notes I refer back to when I’m asked “Why do you think Bush has been such a bad President?” See also George’s resume, 100 Facts and 1 Opinion.

dangerous foreign policy

weak economic leadership

  • deficit, deficit, deficit

In one term, he has wiped away one of the Republican Party’s most appealing characteristics–its concern for fiscal discipline

  • silver-bullet focus on tax cuts
  • $5.6tr Projected national surplus forecast by the end of the decade when Bush took office in 2001.
  • $7.22tr US national debt by mid-2004. …
  • 87 Percentage of American families in April 2004 who say they have felt no benefit from Bush’s tax cuts.
  • 39 Percentage of tax cuts that will go to the top 1 per cent of American families when fully phased in.
  • 49 Percentage of Americans in April 2004 who found that their taxes had actually gone up since Bush took office. …
  • $30,858 Amount Bush himself saved in taxes in 2003. – The Independent

distaste for democracy

policy of secrecy

  • redaction addiction

  • resistance to FOIA

  • PATRIOT Act provisions

  • $50 million for Columbia commission, only $3 million for 9/11 commission.

politics over reason

manipulation of public sympathy to support preconceived actions

Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger. – Hermann Goering - Nazi Reichsmarshall, Luftwaffe-Chief

  • 1 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned al-Qa’ida.
  • 104 Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein. …
  • 0 Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses.
  • 73 Number of times that Bush mentioned terrorism or terrorists in his three State of the Union addresses.
  • 83 Number of times Bush mentioned Saddam, Iraq, or regime (as in change) in his three State of the Union addresses. …
  • 0 Number of memorial services for the returned dead that Bush has attended since the beginning of the war. – The Independent

squandering of natural resources

  • 50 Percentage decline in Environmental Protection Agency enforcement actions against polluters under Bush’s watch.
  • 34 Percentage decline in criminal penalties for environmental crimes since Bush took office.
  • 50 Percentage decline in civil penalties for environmental crimes since Bush took office.
  • $6.1m Amount the EPA historically valued each human life when conducting economic analyses of proposed regulations.
  • $3.7m Amount the EPA valued each human life when conducting analyses of proposed regulations during the Bush administration. – The Independent

MIA

  • 28 Number of vacation days Bush took in August 2001, the month he received a 6 August Presidential Daily Briefing headed “Osama bin Laden Determined to Strike US Targets.”
  • 500 Number of days Bush has spent all or part of his time away from the White House at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, his parents’ retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine, or Camp David as of 1 April 2004. – The Independent

single party dominance

centralization of power… not with federal government, but with a party.

blatant disregard for civil liberties

John Ashcroft. Enough said.