Is Bush burned out?

[Monkeyleg]

I'm not trying to bash Bush in any way, and I hope others won't on this thread.

I've been thinking about Bush's response following 9/11 versus his response to Katrina. Not in deeds, but in his speeches and appearances. Following 9/11 he was everywhere, and very inspiring at a time when the nation needed exactly that.

His press conferences and public statements following Katrina have lacked that determination.

Let's face it: this president has had to deal with more disasters and major problems than any since FDR. On top of that, he's been under more attack than I think even Clinton was subjected to.

I just wonder if he isn't burned out by all this. God knows I would be.

[Capt Charlie]

I'd be amazed if he wasn't! His life isn't his own, not one second of it. They wake him at night frequently; his whole hi-tech office and communications equipment goes with him on vacation; he can't go anywhere or talk to any "normal" person without the secret service looking over his shoulder, and the press (and libs) are watching every move, listening to every word. If it were me, I think I'd end up in a rubber room before the end of 8 years .

[jacobtowne]

I would have ended up on the Funny Farm in eight months, never mind years.
JT

[Russ5924]

You couldn't give me that job no matter what you do you are never right.Most come into the office with hardly a gray hair,when they leave they are all gray.

[AndrewTB]

Well...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4243678.stm


In my opinion the way the storm was handled was in no way his fault. I do not like Bush as ive said before. But he deserves the credit hes earned.

[danco]

I just wonder if he isn't burned out by all this. God knows I would be.

He shouldn't be. Five weeks of vacation should have been enough to recharge his batteries...

~Dan

[Major Kong]

It depends on where you sit.

If you're a stakeholder in Halliburton or any of the major oil companies, I'd have to say you'd consider the president to be bright eyed and bushy tailed.

[Rich Lucibella]

Hmmm-
I'm a stakeholder in Haliburton and, personally, I'm exhausted by the gutter politics. Should they have sent me an immunity pill with the stock certificates?
Rich

[IZinterrogator]

Hmmm...

1993...


2001...


Any questions on what the Presidency does to a person physically?

[Rich Lucibella]

He was a stakeholder in Burger King.
Rich

[jcims]

No, that's what 8 years of Hillary does to you. :P

[12-34hom]

The weight of the world literally balances on his shoulders.

Burned out, not a chance. His strong faith in God & Country serve him well in these troubled times we are passing through as a nation. The response by our military and citizens in the face of tragedy from our enemy's and a natural disaster that has befallen our southern brothers & sisters can only strengthen his resolve and to bolster his faith in human nature.

God bless our country & GWB.

12-34hom

[Monkeyleg]

Rich: "Hmmm-
I'm a stakeholder in Haliburton and, personally, I'm exhausted by the gutter politics. Should they have sent me an immunity pill with the stock certificates?"

Good comeback.

Every president has aged prematurely while in office. I'm genuinely surprised that Bush looks as good as he does (must be those "vacations" ).

I must confess that I've forgotten more about US history than most college grad's ever knew. But I cannot remember a president who had to deal with the first real attack on US soil, two simultaneous wars in the Middle East (a region we've really never fought in), multiple natural disasters, daily attacks about not just his politics but also attacks on himself and his family, and, now, a disaster that has destroyed 91,000 square miles in the Deep South, and destroyed one of our country's major cities.

If any of the history experts here know of a president faced with back-to-back challenges such as these, please post. I'd like to do further reading.

Whether you like him or not, I hope you'll pray that he keeps his strength throughout all of this, because we need it.

[Mike Irwin]

Every president deals with difficult situations.

Roosevelt dealt with the Depression and WW II.

Lincoln dealt with the Civil War.

Nixon dealt with Vietnam, Watergate, the Cold War, numerous natural disasters, including Hurricanes Camile and Agnes (still ranks as Pennsylvania's worst natural disaster), an economy that was going south fast, and his own rampant paranoia.

A good example of what can happen...

Abraham Lincoln in, IIRC, 1861.




And Abraham Lincoln in 1865, only a few weeks before his death. The eyes say it all.

[Major Kong]

The question was do you think the president looks burned out.

When there was a Cessna flying into White House airspace, the vp was hard at work. The president was riding his bike. In the middle of a work week, in the middle of the day.

This president is in better shape than just about any man his age in this country. Much better than when he took office. Plenty of rest and excercise!

I may be completely out of line here because I don't know what the Koolaid tastes like.

[telewinz]

His strong faith in God & Country serve him well in these troubled times

A strong faith should support but not serve as a substitute for common sense, good judgment, and good leadership skills.

[Real Gun]

The question was do you think the president looks burned out.

No, it was not about how he looks. Actually I have heard a lack of energy in his voice in the last couple of days. His responses have seemed genuinely thoughtful, but I am ready for some new banter. He searches for canned phrases to apply. If I hear the word "ideology" one more time, I am going to scream. I am already immune to the "liberty", "freedom", and "war on terror" stuff. His handlers need to update or refresh the message.

I really don't know why we should expect good people to take the job. They get a lot more criticism than support and would be dead in a heartbeat without body guards everywhere. I would be a lot more critical of the American people and especially of the press, who might try balancing the positive with the negative, whatever is fair.

[jefnvk]

The sad thing is, is that it probably comes from many wanting him to fail, no matter the consequences, so they can have their shot at it.

[N.H. Yankee]

I feel sorry for W, his life and job would be much easier if the left would stop their disgusting lies of charactor assassanation. The left has fought Bush on just about every issue and it just proves they dont care about America just regaining power and control. That is what their whole campaign of lies and half truths is about and it does nothing but weakin America and hurt the population. The left wing media has shown just how low, dishonest and bias they really are, NEWS BULLETIN, G.W. Bush farts in church, President is responsible for destroying the ozone and creating world pollution, congress to launch an investigation!!!!! That just about sums it up for president Bush. The man can do nothing right, has done nothing at all, and according to the left is responsible for everything gone wrong by his actions.

President Bush has faced more challenges than most presidents in history, I feel he has done about as well as any president could. G.W. Bush isnt perfect but he is a far cry from Bubba and this is what peeves the left off, Bubba's legacy is being shown for what it really is FAILURE!!!!!! I dont agree with all Bush has done and thats just life, but he has had the guts to try to fix social security which is just about political suicide, go after terrorist ( something Bubba should have done and now we pay the price ) brought integrity to the whitehouse ( the left will disagree ) and most of all doesn't run the country worrying about his legacy. he does what needs to be done regardless of the negative leftwing PR. I really got sick of Clinton and his legacy campaign, egotistical and a dangerous way to run the country. I better not do this or that, it might have a negative impact on my legacy, TRUE leaders dont worry about being popular, this is what separates the men from boys!!!!

[Major Kong]

"Power and control?" Great - let's take power and control over New Orleans and stop blaming that dopey mayor and governor for not being able to deal with a situation that is clearly beyond their ability to deal with.

I don't think the president sounded any different in the 48 hours after 9/11 or in the 72 hours after the tsunami. He's very consistent when presented with a situation which conflicts with his view of the world: Confused.

[cma g21]

""Power and control?" Great - let's take power and control over New Orleans and stop blaming that dopey mayor and governor for not being able to deal with a situation that is clearly beyond their ability to deal with."

Sorry, I missed the part of the Constitution that allows the President to seize control of State and Local governmental functions when the Mayor and Governor are incompetent and unable to adequately deal with emergencies.

If it’s not there, do you propose we add an amendment to allow it?

[Rich Lucibella]

"Power and control?" Great - let's take power and control over New Orleans and stop blaming that dopey mayor and governor for not being able to deal with a situation that is clearly beyond their ability to deal with.

Wonderful. Then we can re-elect Jimmy Carter to the Presidency and rest assured that we sleep safely.

If the Mayor and Governor of NOLA were incapable of dealing with the First Responder situation, there's a much better solution than Federalizing State Government on Whim; it's called the polls. I doubt the NEXT LA Governor will be so inept.
Rich

[Hard Ball]

No, I don't think so. A year from now things will look quite different.

[Long Path]

How will this affect firearms ownership?

[progunner1957]

The weight of the world literally balances on his shoulders.

And it takes its toll on whoever happens to be sitting in the Oval Office. I wish I had photos of Jimmy Carter in '76 and '80 to post - 4 years in the O/O and he looked like he hadn't slept in 4 years and had been dragged behind a train! Carter is lucky he didn't get re-elected; he would have left the White House in a wooden box.

I like Cheney - to a point - but IMHO, with his heart problems, the Presidency would kill him way before he could run for re-election.

Being President is not for the squeamish or faint of heart...