Comparing Obama and Bush.

Ooops.

I wasn't sure what forum to put this under. I picked General Chit Chat for two reasons. One "chit-chat" implies conversation and conversations tend to go where they go thus avoiding "off-topic" complaints. LOL Second, it might diffuse some of the contentiousness this may bring to the table...I hope.

I found myself feeling sympathy towards Obama in his "damned if you do and damned if you don't" with the situation in Iraq.

The feeling persisted all day. I checked my blood sugar levels and double checked that I had taken my meds. To no avail. Compassion for Obama...I fear my tea party membership will be revoked for this sacrilege.

Here's my excuse. If Obama didn't send in troops- at least to defend the 700 million+Dollar embassy, he'd face a potential repeat of Benghazi.
A second such event could destroy his Presidency. Yet in sending in those troops, he pisses off his own base as well as those on the right-including myself- that figure we've done more than enough and the locals, failing to rise to the occasion in sufficient number, no longer deserve the cost in blood and money. .I.E. screw 'em.

I thought that his situation was not dissimilar to Bush right after 9/11, at least choice-wise.

With today's technology, it's safe to assume no two sitting presidents have had to bear a more intense exposure to the public in history.

So what are the similarities and differences?

The first that comes to mind is upbringing. The Bush family, not unlike the Kennedys, have/had a strong, "in-house" set of core values instilled in the children. Obama, apparently, more from religious and educational pundits rather than familial.

Unless completely ego driven, I'd assume anyone reaching the presidency comes to the realization that they're way in over their heads, sooner or later. A sense of overwhelm? Who did they turn to for advice. Who became their mentors?

For that matter, who was Clinton's mentor? Reagan's?

Bush being raised by and a part of the "good old boy" crowd, strikes me a largely pro-system and less keen on breaking rules and tradition-including the Constitution- than Obama.

I see Bush as simplistic, but fundamentally sound. Obama? Complicated and lacking those same "fundamentals". Perhaps just a completely different set?

Change vs continuance. Both required in a president, at the right time and place, but never has two Presidents have ever represented groups of such extreme differences.

While no one can know positively what motivates these two, hindsight provides clues, hints.

Have I got this right so far? Thoughts?

My opinion:



Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Obama was really raised by his grandparents.

His grandfather was a salesman. His grandmother was a banker.

What more do we need to know?

a reply to: Moresby Where was his parents?

I see very little of any real values in George W. Bush;

his father (Bush Senior) on the other hand seemed to be a bit more competent, even if he had to break a campeign promise to be able to show that competence.

Obama's incompetence comes from his weak leadership, and weak media presence post-election season.. Obama is also pretty much in the pocket of big-business.

Both are about the same. Obama can read, Bush can't.

They've both made about the same amount of foolish decisions.

Obama is the democratic version of bush.

The higher you get in an organization, the more you learn to trust the counsel of your advisors. I don't make any decisions beyond what kind of coffee I am going to drink without gathering some consensus from people I work with. And then they do this in return, so we all kind of make all the decisions as a team (and no one is surprised or out of the loop). I suspect Bush had more familiarity with this "don't go it alone" strategy than Obama did, just due to life's experience.

I think they are both equally intelligent, although in different ways. One thing is certain: Obama is smooth as silk, while Bush stumbled over even the smallest of wrinkles while speaking. Bush led more from conviction while Obama leads more from his version of rationalization.

In the end, they both take orders from people who control the money the fed prints. Including the fed itself.

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: Moresby Where was his parents?

His parents separated within months of his birth. His father never had anything to do with the raising of his son. His mother was a very intermittent presence in this life. Obama's time in Indonesia seems the longest time he spent with his mother without his grandparents nearby. But he returned to Hawaii several times for extended stays with his grandparents.

From age ten through finishing High School Obama lived mostly with his grandparents. Sources vary, but, during that time he may have lived with his mother for a year, maybe a year and a half.

Obama's grandparents were the consistent and longest serving parental figures in Obama's life.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan That argument, taking orders from the fed, raises a question I've had for a while. WHY? You've been elected to the most powerful office in the world.

Elected officials break campaign promises all the time, and I'd assume to campaign finance supporters as well. Is no one elected that can't be blackmailed?

How about a lame duck President in his last term? One would think he doesn't give a rat's rear end what these guys think of him.

I don't get it....

a reply to: Moresby Thanks> I wasn't aware of that.

A fair amount of travel involved by the sounds of it. That doesn't suggest an impoverished upbringing does it?

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: Moresby Thanks> I wasn't aware of that.

A fair amount of travel involved by the sounds of it. That doesn't suggest an impoverished upbringing does it?

I don't think he ever claimed to be impoverished. He went to a private school from 10-18.