Bush Honors Clinton: A Bi-Partisan Breather

I had to think twice what to title this...

Bush Does Right Thing; Rant Speechless! almost seems more apporpriate. But for anyone that watched Bush welcome President and Senator Clinton to the East Room ceremony this morning for their permanent White House portrait unveilings...it was inspiring. Granted, most people hate at least one person in that room, but it was next to impossible to not be moved by the genuine accolades and obviously heart felt words of praise each man had for the other. After all, who better knows what it feels like to be so misunderstood and so hated than another President of the United States.

A portion of the opening welcome from President Bush: WhiteHouse.gov

Laura and I are pleased to welcome members of the Clinton and Rodham family, thank you all for coming. It's great to see Chelsea. The fact that you survived your teenage years in the White House -- (laughter) -- speaks to the fact that you had a great mom and dad (Applause.)

We are pleased that Mrs. Dorothy Rodham is here. Welcome, we're glad you're here. (Applause.) And those two boys you're still trying to raise. (Laughter.) Hugh and Tony, thank you for coming, we're glad you're here. (Applause.) It's good to see so many who served our nation so ably in the Clinton administration. Thank you all for coming back. Thanks for your service to the country, and welcome back to the White House. We're really glad you're here and I know the President is, as well.

As you might know, my father and I have decided to call each other by numbers. (Laughter.) He's 41, I'm 43. It's a great honor to -- it's a great pleasure to honor number 42. We're glad you're here, 42. (Applause.) The years have done a lot to clarify the strengths of this man. As a candidate for any office, whether it be the state attorney general or the President, Bill Clinton showed incredible energy and great personal appeal. As chief executive, he showed a deep and far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need, and the forward-looking spirit the Americans like in a President. Bill Clinton could always see a better day ahead -- and Americans knew he was working hard to bring that day closer.

Over eight years, it was clear that Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy. He's a man of enthusiasm and warmth, who could make a compelling case and effectively advance the causes that drew him to public service...

Bush continued, told stories, and lauded the former President with the zeal of any speaker at the '92 Democratic Convention. Yet, somehow it seemed to mean so much more.

Clinton (and Hillary) took turns returning the praise on the current First Family. Clinton seemed genuinely at a loss for the unexpected kindness of his rival at first, but quickly recovered and his genuine appreciation showed through...adding the commentry that all men that hold that office, think they are doing what's right.

Something that struck me most about the paintings...Is Hillary the first First Lady to pose in PANTS? You go girl.

You know Rant I read somewhere onces that all this politicians look like enemies in from of the nation when they are from diferent political parties but behind close doors they are just like anybody else and they even make jokes of each other

Now about Hillary I will tell you, if she ever runs for president I will vote for her for the only reason of being a women

RANT

Great unbiased writing. I was very pleased as well at the sincerity shown from both sides. Everything said seemed to be heartfelt.

(and I wondered the same thing about the pantsuit! LOL)

The portraits were very very nice as well.

All around good day.

Very good speech. Clinton deserved the accolades. Doesn't change a thing. I'm still votin' Bush out on November 2.

Really Colonel? I thought you were a registered Republican?

That would be my evil lesser twin, Sell out Sargent.

Originally posted by Valhall
The portraits were very very nice as well.

All around good day.

A little info on the artist, Simmie Knox: CNN.com


The first African-American to paint Presidential portraits for the White House. A truly historical day.

The Liber-publican spin on a nice bi-partisan day.

Posted today on Boortz's Nealz Nuze: Creepy Liber-Publican Blog

BUSH OUTCLASSES THE LEFT

Yesterday, in a ceremony at The White House, the portraits of Bill and Hillary Clinton were unveiled at The White House. In attendance were former President Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton, along with several administration officials. Basically, it was a big reunion, though Monica Lewinsky was not invited.

President Bush spoke at the event, praising President Clinton's "energy and joy." He also said "Over eight years, it was clear Bill Clinton loved the job of the presidency. He filled this house with energy and joy." In other words, it was a completely non-political, positive event to honor the hanging of the official presidential portrait.

Now, understand the setting: here you have George Bush, who ran for office against the Clinton administration promising to restore honor to the White House. These are ideological opposites. Yet, Republican President George Bush can set all of that aside and out of respect for the office of the presidency, have this ceremony.

Contrast that with the remarks awhile back of Al Gore, who called on Bush's entire cabinet to resign, and who has accused the president of being a liar and misleading the nation, among other things. The left loves to demonize Republicans for being hateful, but it sure looks like the other way around these days.

This is the new face of politics. The Democrats are the new party of shrill, intolerant, uptight whiners, and there's George Bush praising political rival Clinton while smiling, joking and having a good time.

Now you tell me just who is mean-spirited?

Who's mean spirited Neal? You.

Keep in mind this guy can't get his story straight between media events. THIS MORNING on CNN he said the Bush/Clinton event and book promo tour are part of a Hillary orchestrated conspiracy to cost Kerry the White House and re-elect Bush in a backdoor deal to give the 2008 honors to Senator Clinton. Whatever. I think AM radio destroys vital brain centers.

BREAKING: NPR is hosting a "conspiracy" discussion on the event now. What did Bill Clinton mean by...

"I FEEL LIKE A PICKLE STEPPING INTO HISTORY!"

So far, not even callers from Little Rock can explain the idiom. Post your theories...

Republican mind control? Aliens? A vision predicting his own death? Cry for help? A secret message only true believers will understand?

[edit on 15-6-2004 by RANT]

On many occasions, I've likened our current political system to professional wrestling. Even Rowdy Roddy Piper and Rick Flair got along some of the time. Someone mentioned that behind closed doors, politicians have the same goals and aspirations. I think that hit the nail on the head. If you're one of those who think there is any difference in the goals of either of our main parties today, you might as well be sitting in front of the tube watching Dusty Rhodes quickly cut his forhead with a razor blade after being hit with a chair by The Iron Shiek. Yeah, its a good show and you want to believe it but deep down you know its all for the fans.

Folks, the American people have no allies in politics. No matter what you do day in and day out, someone out there desires to control your every action. The best thing to do when you vote is to pick the one who commits himself or herself to doing the most that will benefit the greatest number of people but never ever believe that they have that as their top priority. Make them jump through hoops and do what they have to and then jerk the rug from under them before they advance their real agenda. Our politicians have played us for too long. Its time for the goose to meet the gander.

It was worth watching just to see Bill's head turn purple when GWB joked about him working for McGovern in Texas. I was waiting for them to call the EMTs in for a minute there.

Folks, the American people have no allies in politics. No matter what you do day in and day out, someone out there desires to control your every action. The best thing to do when you vote is to pick the one who commits himself or herself to doing the most that will benefit the greatest number of people but never ever believe that they have that as their top priority. Make them jump through hoops and do what they have to and then jerk the rug from under them before they advance their real agenda. Our politicians have played us for too long. Its time for the goose to meet the gander.

While I tend to agree with this I think there is far too much weight placed on the presidency, since it is an easy target.

First of all any legislation (changes to laws, budgets, etc) have to be passed by both Houses of Congress, then the President must either sign or veto the legislation, however even a vetoed bill goes back and can be trumped by another vote in the congress.

If I am wrong on this please correct me

If I am right, then it seems to me that in order to make any substantial change to our nation's policies, it is the elected Representatives and Senators who should be held to account.

While the President is the Executive, and voted in on their platform and promises, it is the Congress who ultimately decides what actually gets implemented.

I think this is where the problem lies, it is simply too easy to single out a President for the country's problems but once you try to dig deeper to the source it becomes a tangled web which is hard to decipher and would take vast amounts of time to find the answer to the problem.

Confusion starts with all the pork barrel projects attached to any legislation which almost makes it impossible to isolate a particular Rep/Sen's viewpoint on any legislation. Case in point the Republicans stance on the Kerry voting record....It is way too simplistic to say he is a flip-flopper on his voting record otherwise you would have to include nearly EVERY single member of the House & Senate.

There should be rules put in place which would categorize legislation so all proposals in a particular bill is related to the same specific subject matter of the bill itself. I would call that organization and would think it simple to implement.

This one simple idea would be a great start to untangling the web of confusion and help the public understand exactly where are Rep/Sen stand on an issue.

If the status quo is kept we will never ever get the changes promised, how many election cycles have you heard the exact same issues being used as a platform....

Take a look back through recent history and you will not be surprised at the same things pop up again and again......

It seems that we are spinning are wheels and getting nowhere doesn't it, regardless of which party is in control.

The big question is can we do anything about it or is it already beyond our control, it is "Our Country I would hope there is still a chance...

Just some thoughts that needed to be purged thank you for your time.

Originally posted by RANT
BREAKING: NPR is hosting a "conspiracy" discussion on the event now. What did Bill Clinton mean by...

"I FEEL LIKE A PICKLE STEPPING INTO HISTORY!"

So far, not even callers from Little Rock can explain the idiom. Post your theories...

I swear I'm not the only one talking about this. Google pickle stepping into history...

ATS has the best conspiracy theorists in the world, and nothing???

Well it kept me up last night and I came up with this...

It's probably derived from the southern saying "Once you're a pickle, you can't go back to being a cucumber." It's famous in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings indicating that the journey itself changes you. The Presidency was Clintons' curing force... effectively leaving the fresh faced young cucumber from Arkansas pickled....and now that his place in history.

I personally liked Jon Stewart's joke about the "pickle" comment on last night's Daily Show. As you can guess it had something to do with his....well pickle.