Some quotes to ponder:
“Sarah Palin became a reflective postscript to the Bush presidency. W’s compassionate conservatism segued into Pailin’s hockey-momism – both deceptive shrouds for a disinterested, narrow-minded belief system and jingoistic worldview. She emerged as the standard bearer of empty-vessel politics, which, following our next era of national complacency, may triumphantly return.”
Oliver Stone, Person of the Year, Time Magazine, December 1 2008
“At the end of a presidency of stupefying ineptitude, he has become the lamest of all possible ducks.”
Joe Klein, In the Arena, Time Magazine, December 8 2008, on George W. Bush
“This is a presidency that has wobbled between those two poles – overweening arrogance and paralytic incompetence.
Joe Klein, In the Arena, Time Magazine, December 8 2008, on George W. Bush (The wobbling refers to Bush staring dumfounded out the window of Air Force One at Hurricane Katrina devastation, and standing in a flight suit on an aircraft carrier declaring “Mission accomplished”).
“In the end though, it will not be the creative paralysis that defines Bush. It will be his intellectual laziness, at home and abroad. Bush never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and regulation that was necessary to make the markets work. He never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and equity that was necessary to maintain the strong middle class required for both prosperity and democracy. He never considered the complexities of the cultures he was invading. He never understood that faith, unaccompanied by rigorous skepticism, is a recipe for myopia and foolishness. He is less than President now, and that is appropriate. He was never very much of one.”
Joe Klein, In the Arena, Time Magazine, December 8 2008, on George W. Bush
“Sarah Palin became a reflective postscript to the Bush presidency. W’s compassionate conservatism segued into Pailin’s hockey-momism – both deceptive shrouds for a disinterested, narrow-minded belief system and jingoistic worldview. She emerged as the standard bearer of empty-vessel politics, which, following our next era of national complacency, may triumphantly return.”
Oliver Stone, Person of the Year, Time Magazine, December 1 2008
“At the end of a presidency of stupefying ineptitude, he has become the lamest of all possible ducks.”
Joe Klein, In the Arena, Time Magazine, December 8 2008, on George W. Bush
“This is a presidency that has wobbled between those two poles – overweening arrogance and paralytic incompetence.
Joe Klein, In the Arena, Time Magazine, December 8 2008, on George W. Bush (The wobbling refers to Bush staring dumfounded out the window of Air Force One at Hurricane Katrina devastation, and standing in a flight suit on an aircraft carrier declaring “Mission accomplished”).
“In the end though, it will not be the creative paralysis that defines Bush. It will be his intellectual laziness, at home and abroad. Bush never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and regulation that was necessary to make the markets work. He never understood, or cared about, the delicate balance between freedom and equity that was necessary to maintain the strong middle class required for both prosperity and democracy. He never considered the complexities of the cultures he was invading. He never understood that faith, unaccompanied by rigorous skepticism, is a recipe for myopia and foolishness. He is less than President now, and that is appropriate. He was never very much of one.”
Joe Klein, In the Arena, Time Magazine, December 8 2008, on George W. Bush
