The Bush Presidency

[Direckshun]

A week or two ago, patteeu and I were rehashing some of the accomplishments and disasters of the Bush administration.

It's been four years since the guy was in office, and seemingly a year or two since I'd had an in-depth conversation about his Presidency.

This was a week or so after I offered my extensive list of accomplishments of first-term Obama, and I know I'm not exactly the audience Bush was playing to, but if you had to carve out a list of things Bush had done over two terms, it is truly striking exactly how shitty his Presidency was.

• Lost the popular vote in his first election.
• Largest domestic terrorist strike on American soil in American history.
• Two rounds of huge tax cuts that disproportionately benefited the wealthy that now even Republicans on this board want to see gone for everybody.
• Medicare Part D, not altogether a bad program but exploded the deficit.
• The beginning of the longest war in American history in Afghanistan, with an undersized troop presence.
• The war in Iraq. Yeah.
• A massive, federal expansion of education policy -- literally called No Child Left Behind.
• John Roberts (slam dunk), Harriet Miers (****ing disaster town), Samuel Alito (partisan selection).
• Attempted to privatize social security.
• Oversaw a complete cratering of our economy built on reckless Wall Street abuse and a home ownership bubble.
• Dramatically worsened American standing diplomatically, largely due to the Iraq War.
• Authorized "enhanced interrogation."
• Appointed Ben Bernanke to the Fed, a move that conservatives now despise.
• Presided over the cluster**** of Hurricane Katrina.
• Initiated a domestic wiretapping program that forewent judicial oversight.
• The Patriot Act in general.
• Surged American troops and resources (bribes) in Iraq in an attempt to get Iraq under control.
• Captured Saddam Hussein and facilitated his trial at the hands of the Iraqis.
• Took our surplus at the turn of the century and turned it into a trillion-dollar deficit.
• A nobel attempt at immigration reform that was shot down by his own party.
• Initiated a $700 billion bailout of Wall Street following the catastrophic economic collapse at the end of his administration.
• Pushed an attempt to ban gay marriage in the Constitution.
• Vetoed embryonic stem cell research.
• Provided unprecedented support to Africa to combat AIDS.
• Created the Department of Homeland Security, a bureaucratic boondoggle that doesn't make us any safer.
• Openly supported a two-state solution in Israel, but did little to accomplish it.
• Had a shoe tossed at him.

Obviously not all bad. But a lot of it is ****ing horrendous.

[mnchiefsguy]

Why do I get the feeling that every Democratic President from now until the end of time eternal is going to blame George Bush for something?

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

Why do I get the feeling that every Democratic President from now until the end of time eternal is going to blame George Bush for something?

Because he was just that horrible.

[vailpass]

The Bush Presidency

Looking better every day for the last 4 years.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

Why do I get the feeling that every Democratic President from now until the end of time eternal is going to blame George Bush for something?

What did you think of Bush's Presidency, mnchiefsguy? I want your take.

[BigMeatballDave]

The federal deficit was just over 5 trillion in 2000.

It's not like Bush started with a clean slate.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Dave

The federal debt was just over 5 trillion in 2000.

There was no deficit when Bush took office.

FYP

[BigMeatballDave]

Deficit grew 6 trillion under Obama.

That is more than during Bush's term.

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Dave

The national debt grew 6 trillion under Obama.

FYP

You gotta understand the difference, man.

And how that is somehow a defense of the Bush administration... is beyond me.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Direckshun

FYP

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo5.htm

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Dave

Deficit grew 6 trillion under Obama.

That is more than during Bush's term.

I'm confused. You're talking about debt, right?

[Direckshun]

Originally Posted by Dave

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo5.htm

That is a chart of the debt. Accumulated debt owed by the federal government.

The deficit is something else, Dave. It is our year-to-year balance sheet.

[vailpass]

What is the difference between the debt and the deficit?

The deficit is the fiscal year difference between what the United States Government (Government) takes in from taxes and other revenues, called receipts, and the amount of money the Government spends, called outlays. The items included in the deficit are considered either on-budget or off-budget.

You can think of the total debt as accumulated deficits plus accumulated off-budget surpluses. The on-budget deficits require the U.S. Treasury to borrow money to raise cash needed to keep the Government operating. We borrow the money by selling securities like Treasury bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds to the public.

The Treasury securities issued to the public and to the Government Trust Funds (Intragovernmental Holdings) then become part of the total debt. For information about the deficit, visit the Financial Management Service web site to view the Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the United States Government (MTS).


http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...publicdebt.htm

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

Because he was just that horrible.

No it's because most liberals think like children.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by Dave

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/r...ebt_histo5.htm

Yeah that doesn't prove your point. It shows a 3.5 trillion growth under obama in 2 years vs. 5 under bush

Although your right that the debt is acquired more under Obama than Bush, here's a better chart showing up to 6-12

http://www.skymachines.com/US-Nation...ental-Term.htm