After 1.5 Years of Obama, Everybody’s Longing for the Days of Bush
9) Bush was not corrupt and ran an especially ethical administration. Before Obama even started, we had the Blago mess (of which the final story is not yet in) and the Bill Richardson, Tom Daschle, Tim Geithner, and Hilda Solis ethical lapses. Bush condemned Republican malfeasance and kept his distance. But suddenly the culture of corruption is not so corrupt when Chris Dodd, Charles Rangel, Maxine Waters, and others prove as compromised as Duke Cunningham and Larry Craig. The Chicago crowd makes the Crawford crowd look like pikers. Bush said not a word about Obama and BP; Obama viciously attacked Bush as incompetent during Katrina. You decide.
Say what you will about Bush, but you can’t possibly accuse him of corruption. No, Bush was a breath of fresh air after the political games and rampant dishonesty of the Clinton administration. He believes that America’s president should be moral and virtuous, and acted accordingly.
Obama, on the other hand, is a superb example of what political writers mean when they refer to Chicago’s culture of corruption. One lie of his administration after another is exposed, one member’s mask of decency after another is ripped off. If this isn’t the most corrupt administration in history, I don’t know what is.
10) Bush was authentic. He mangled his words. A liberal industry grew up around both “nuclar” and its sometimes corrective “nucular.” He strutted and talked Nascarese-like “bring ‘em on.” Much of this was excessive, but we knew at least Bush meant it. We got worried when he extemporaneously expounded for long riffs about freedom at press conferences, as his eyes rolled and he drifted from topic to topic. He put his arm on Angela Merkel and cried out “Yo Blair.” The media told us he was a yokel; we might add: albeit an authentic one who could duck properly when under shoe attack.
Not so, it goes without saying, with Obama. No, he’s Mr. Fake himself. We know what he isn’t, but what is he? What does and doesn’t he like? What does Obama truly stand for – and I don’t (just) mean politically, I (also) mean personally. Americans just don’t know, and it worries and upsets them.
It’s truly fascinating to see how deep Obama has fallen ever since he was first elected into the White House. Where Americans were once charmed by the man who spoke about hope and change, they now wonder who he actually is. As if that’s not bad enough, they overwhelmingly oppose virtually everything he has done since he took office. The result? Voters are now at a point where they wish Bush 43 would’ve been allowed to run for a third turn.
Miss me yet? Why yes, Americans certainly do.
