Bono's shades
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Barney obviously heard the news about the Obamas getting a puppy and is cranky about being replaced by a younger White House dog.
out of sheer curiousity, how can/how is it possible that anyone can miss a dog that they've had quite literally, nothing to do with?
Wire taps without warrant, they can check the books you've checked out, the websites you've looked at, they can detain you without reason...just because you aren't Muslim doesn't mean you can't be next. You give them an inch and they can take a foot...
George W. Bush has given himself the power to detain you, an American citizen, without reason or explanation, for an indefinite period of time, at his own discretion.
not trying to be a smart ass, but alas, it's probably too late.
Well w the new Democrat team in place you think they'll make any effort to over turn it?
Draft new legsislation etc?
Or now that they're in power keep quiet and spy on the Republicans?
Btw I think the "knowing what library books one checks out" had existed long before the Patroit Act and FISA.
<>
You're kidding, right? It was an offhand comment..as in I will miss his dog but not him. I do love dogs though, I miss my own terribly that I had to put down in September after knowing and loving her for 15 plus years. That's how I spent my birthday, the day before, knowing that I had to face that the next day.
Happy? I think it is too late, as that (being a smart ass) seems to be your hobby around here.
out of sheer curiousity, how can/how is it possible that anyone can miss a dog that they've had quite literally, nothing to do with?
not trying to be a smart ass, but alas, it's probably too late.
Bush: 'I Did Not Compromise My Principles'
President George W. Bush Says He Will Leave Office With 'Head Held High'
By LAUREN SHER
Dec. 1, 2008—
Looking back on his eight years in the White House, President George W. Bush pinpointed incorrect intelligence that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as "biggest regret of all the presidency."
"I think I was unprepared for war," Bush told ABC News' Charlie Gibson in an interview airing today on "World News."
"In other words, I didn't campaign and say, 'Please vote for me, I'll be able to handle an attack,'" he said. "In other words, I didn't anticipate war. Presidents -- one of the things about the modern presidency is that the unexpected will happen."
Bush, who has been a stalwart defender of the war in Iraq and maintaining U.S. troop presence there, said, in retrospect, the war exceeded his expectations.
"A lot of people put their reputations on the line and said the weapons of mass destruction is a reason to remove Saddam Hussein," Bush said. "It wasn't just people in my administration. A lot of members in Congress, prior to my arrival in Washington, D.C., during the debate on Iraq, a lot of leaders of nations around the world were all looking at the same intelligence.
"I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess," Bush added. (Irvine: don't fret, George, Cheney did his best )
When pressed by Gibson, Bush declined to "speculate" on whether he would still have gone to war if he knew Hussein didn't have weapons of mass destruction.
"That is a do-over that I can't do," Bush said. (Irvine: gosh, and i thought that WMDs had nothing to do with why we went to war, i thought it was all about how awful Saddam was and how he threatened our oil )
Despite failed intelligence and accusations of mismanaging the war, Bush said his decision not to prematurely withdraw troops from Iraq was grounded in his values.
"I listened to a lot of voices, but ultimately, I listened to this voice: I'm not going to let your son die in vain," he said. "I believe we can win. I'm going to do what it takes to win in Iraq."
Bush said that one of his biggest disappointments was the failure to pass a comprehensive bill on immigration reform.
"I firmly believe that the immigration debate really didn't show the true nature of America as a welcoming society," he said. "I fully understand we need to enforce law and enforce borders. But the debate took on a tone that undermined the true greatness of America, which is that we welcome people who want to work hard and support their families."
Bush: Serving as President 'Joyful'
Reflecting on his time in the Oval Office, Bush said that he hopes to be remembered as a president who made difficult decisions in a principled way and "didn't sell his soul for politics."
He also spoke about his role as the "comforter-in-chief."
"The president ends up carrying a lot of people's grief in his soul," he said.
"One of the things about the presidency is you deal with a lot of tragedy -- whether it be hurricanes, or tornadoes, or fires or death -- and you spend time being the comforter-in-chief," Bush said. "But the idea of being able to serve a nation you love is -- has been joyful. In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad, but the spirits are up." (Irvine: you've been so strong, George, we all know it's you that's suffered the most here, keep your spirits up, we'll pray for you alongside the thousands upon thousands your policies have killed )
Bush underscored his reliance on his values to guide him through tough moments.
"The thing that's important for me is to get home and look in that mirror and say, 'I did not compromise my principles,'" he said. "And I didn't. I made tough calls. And some presidencies have got a lot of tough decisions to make."
Bush said that he regrets that he was unable to change the partisan tone in Washington -- one that permeated his presidency.
"I didn't go into this naively; I knew it would be tough," he said. "But I also knew that the president has the responsibility to try to elevate the tone. And, frankly, it just didn't work, much as I'd like to have it work."
"9/11 unified the country, and that was a moment where Washington decided to work together," he said. "I think one of the big disappointments of the presidency has been the fact that the tone in Washington got worse, not better." (Irvine: and you tried so hard to unify us, George, what what your mandate and amendments to the constitution and Terri Schiavo, really, you've tried to be everyone's president, and we failed you, poor thing)
Nevertheless, Bush said that he felt his administration brought significant change to Washington, with reforms like the No Child Left Behind education policy, and international relief efforts such as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Malaria Initiative.
President Bush said that his administration responded promptly to the economic crisis.
"When you have the secretary of the treasury and the chairman of the Fed say, 'If we don't act boldly, we could be in a depression greater than the Great Depression,' that's an 'uh-oh' moment," he said.
Through government action such as the Troubled Assets Relief Program, Bush insisted that the government has taken the necessary first steps towards economic recovery.
"Slowly but surely, the system is becoming unthawed, and it's going to take time for the system to become unthawed," he said. "What the American people have got to know is we've taken the steps to unthaw it, which is the first step to recovery.
"The American people got to know that we will safeguard the system," he said. "I mean, we're in. And if we need to be in more, we will."
While many have cast blame on the Bush administration for mishandling the economy, the president said he did not have feelings of guilt for the financial collapse.
"You know, I'm the president during this period of time, but I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived in president," Bush said. "And when people review the history of this administration, people will say that this administration tried hard to get a regulator. And there will be a lot of analysis of why that didn't happen. I suspect people will find a lot of it didn't happen for pure political reasons."
Bush on President-Elect Obama's 'Smooth Transition'
President Bush said that he encouraged President-Elect Barack Obama to become involved in the planning and implementation of the economic stimulus plan, personally calling the Obama for a briefing on the government's decision to infuse money into Citigroup.
"This is a very unique period in American history where a new president is coming in, where we are fighting a two-front war against terrorists and, at the same time, dealing with a very difficult economic situation," he said. "And the more we can work together, the better off our country will be."
Obama has assumed a leading role on the economy, announcing key members of his economic team in three consecutive press conferences last week in Chicago, despite assurances that there that there is only "one president at a time."
But Bush insisted that he did not find the president-elect's role intrusive.
"I don't feel any intrusion whatsoever & our administration still will be making the decisions necessary until he becomes the president."
Asked if Obama's election was in any way a repudiation of his administration, Bush saw more nuance.
"I think it was a repudiation of Republicans," he said. "And I'm sure some people voted for Barack Obama because of me. I think most people voted for Barack Obama because they decided they wanted him to be in their living room for the next four years explaining policy."
He also said that Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain faced a "tough headwind" in the campaign, particularly in terms of the economic climate and the perception of the Republican party.
Bush praised the Obama campaign's organization and message, and when asked what his parting relationship will be with President-elect Obama, Bush said that he will reach out to the incoming president.
"One of my parting words to him will be: 'If I can help you, let me know,'" Bush said.
Bush Looks Forward to Life Out Of Spotlight
President and Mrs. Bush agreed that said that they've had enough of the limelight and are looking forward to living a "normal daily life."
"It's going to be an interesting adjustment. We'll adjust. We got each other, we've got our kids, we've got fabulous friends in Texas," Bush said.
"I'm going to have a lot of time to think," he added. "My day is going to go from getting up early-early, and being at the Oval Office at 6:45 a.m., and having a lot to do when you get there, to waking up at 6:45 a.m., getting Momma the coffee -- and kind of wandering around trying -- 'What's next, boss?'"
Bush said he plans to write a book and to continue serving the country with his wife through an institute for policy and library at the Southern Methodist University.
As they prepare to say goodbye to the White House, the first lady said she thinks the country is thankful for her husband's leadership.
"I think they think he's somebody that kept them safe for eight years," she said. "And I hear that all the time, people thanking me, telling me to thank him."
"knowing what I know today, I would have still made that decision."
"So, if you had had this -- if the weapons had been out of the equation because the intelligence did not conclude that he had them, it was still the right call?" Fox News' Brit Hume asked.
"Absolutely," replied Bush.
Let me remind you that just because Saddam might not of had certain WMD weapons in March of 2003 did not in any way prove that he would not have such weapons in 2006, 2008, or 2010, or beyond, just as the fact that Saddam did not have WMD in the summer of 1979 did not prevent him from both acquiring and using such weapons by the summer of 1982.
Let me remind you that just because the U.S. is not ran by aliens from Mars in 2008 does not in any way prove that aliens won't be running the country in 2010, 2020, or 2025.
Bush by the way has already been widely qouted on the issue giving definitive responses below unlike the ABC interview:
Sting, do you feel the slight bit lonely now that even the administration isn't defending this rhetoric?