Comments on: The Bush Disconnect

The Bush Disconnect

wfrgms — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 01:55:13 -0800

"We'll help rebuild this part of the world." "...tell the good people of this part of the world that the federal government is going to help." "I know the people in this part of the world are suffering..." "May God bless the people of this part of the world, and may God continue to bless our country." Is it odd that Bush kept referring to the Gulf Coast as "this part of the world"?

By: interiority

interiority — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 02:46:14 -0800

When I heard him say that, I immediately thought of the character in Head of State who would proclaim, "God bless America, and no place else."

By: lx

lx — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 02:48:00 -0800

Yes, I thought so too. Kind of baffling.

By: Jase_B

Jase_B — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 02:49:50 -0800

Is it odd that Bush kept referring to the Gulf Coast as "this part of the world"? Erh, no.

By: insomnia_lj

insomnia_lj — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 03:01:52 -0800

Maybe he clearly wants to point out which part of the world he wants to help... and which part he doesn't.

By: twistedonion

twistedonion — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 03:06:32 -0800

I suppose it is "that part of the world" - "this part of our great Nation", or even "this part of America" would have sounded a bit better though. You usually talk about "this part of the world" if it isn't your home.

By: [insert clever name here]

[insert clever name here] — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 03:28:52 -0800

You usually talk about "this part of the world" if it isn't your home. exactamundo. Distancing the rest of the country from the disaster, so he doesn't look like such a failer. At least trying to. "Well, it didn't happen in the real US of A, it happen over there.

By: realcountrymusic

realcountrymusic — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 03:38:43 -0800

He is a bumbling, incompetent, inarticulate, half-addled, selfish, narcissistic, pathetic, ugly, mean-spirited, mealy-mouthed idiot. He probably thinks of everywhere he goes as "this part of the world," like a child who sees everything only from the perspective of his own needs and limited experience. What a loathsome excuse for a leader.

By: TheophileEscargot

TheophileEscargot — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 03:48:41 -0800

He seems to have made those statements while visiting the affected area. Sounds to me like his speechwriter wanted to emphasise that he was actually present by using the "this" word a lot.

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 03:53:12 -0800

It's not odd, because he couldn't find it on a map with a gun to his head. He probably thinks it's right next to Iraq, so the Army can just drive over there in trucks with desert sand and sop up all the water.

By: madamjujujive

madamjujujive — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 04:33:22 -0800

What realcountrymusic said, in spades.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 04:35:58 -0800

EXTRA! EXTRA! BUSH DISPLAYS POOR VERBAL SKILLS!

By: the cuban

the cuban — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 04:43:29 -0800

ditto (to what realcountrymusic said).

By: bk

bk — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 04:49:47 -0800

realcountrymusic nailed it... Where the fuck is Cheney? Still vacationing? Dead? Partying with the Haliburton slime?

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 04:52:30 -0800

He's incapable of anything but cookie-cutter cliché chatter.

By: Snerd

Snerd — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:01:38 -0800

Dubya uses the phrase constantly. I believe it means "I'm not sure I remember where they brought me."

By: Jazznoisehere

Jazznoisehere — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:04:43 -0800

EXTRA! EXTRA! BUSH DISPLAYS POOR VERBAL SKILLS! He probably can't find the Gulf Coast with two hands and a flashlight in spite of his oil and Texas connections.

By: matteo

matteo — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:21:17 -0800

"not Texas" = abroad

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:36:49 -0800

i think it's a way of psychically distancing himself from it ... and perhaps his listeners ... it's rather removed language, isn't it?

By: oliver_crunk

oliver_crunk — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:50:17 -0800

i always wondered what is up with a phrase that dubya says often... 'i thank you for your prayers' WTF?

By: donfactor

donfactor — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 05:53:05 -0800

Ah, come on, give the guy a break. His mind-brain bearer is otherwise engaged these days and he's not used to having to think on his own.

By: mfbridges

mfbridges — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:10:56 -0800

Quit your wolf-crying...you're ruining it for when he really does something stupid.

By: Miko

Miko — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:17:23 -0800

Pyramid termite has it. Also, I'm convinced that W has what today would be diagnosed as a serious verbal learning disability of some kind. I'm not excusing him, don't get me wrong -- because he's also dumb as a bag of hammers. But he isn't verbally facile. He often repeats pat phrases that have worked for him once. He's been saying 'this part of the world' for five years, all over the world, and when he needed something to say here, his mind leaped on that rather than struggle to come up with a new combination of subjects and predicates. We've seen this throughout his career. It's why we hear so much about "the good people of...", "hard work", "hate freedom", "thoughts and prayers go out..". These are the stock phrases. When he hits on a workable phrase, you can see the grin of pleasure spread across his face: I said something good!

By: R. Mutt

R. Mutt — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:20:33 -0800

He is a bumbling, incompetent, inarticulate, half-addled, selfish, narcissistic, pathetic, ugly, mean-spirited, mealy-mouthed idiot. -worth repeating.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:23:47 -0800

I thought the phrase was odd, too. I'm sure he didn't come up with himself, though. He just reads speeches. He doesn't write them. I wish he could read them more convincingly. I don't even think he believes the stuff he's saying anymore.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:25:56 -0800

By: Ynoxas

Ynoxas — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:26:34 -0800

The man might very well be borderline retarded. I'm serious. If he were a student today, he would quite likely be diagnosed with some learning disability, instead of being pushed through an ivy league on a heritage program. On preview: what Miko said.

By: Hat Maui

Hat Maui — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:29:45 -0800

languagehat, i think of it as merely in the spirit of anarchy that is n.o.l.a. solidarity, brother! posts running wild in the streets!

By: narebuc

narebuc — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 06:41:45 -0800

Is it not more strange that he thinks God will "continue" to bless our country? What was God doing when Katrina was rearing its path towards New Orleans? I believe in a God -- of some form -- too much beauty in what can be a terrible world to deny that something divine exists -- but, quotes like that help one understand that, well, he's an idiot.

By: j.p. Hung

j.p. Hung — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:02:11 -0800

Got to agree with languaghat. A post about a Bush 'saying' doesn't belong in "this part of the Mefi".

By: dances_with_sneetches

dances_with_sneetches — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:11:13 -0800

He is a bumbling, incompetent, inarticulate, half-addled, selfish, narcissistic, pathetic, ugly, mean-spirited, mealy-mouthed idiot. Hey! He's not ugly. But you left out irresponsible.

By: notreally

notreally — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:11:46 -0800

I suspect his handlers have trained him to use that phrase. It wouldn't be cool if he gave a speech in Biloxi and thought the chopper had landed in NOLA and referred to Biloxi as New Orleans. You can also plug in Kuwait and Iraq etc. and the rest of the places he has toured. Everytime he is forced to speak without the benefit of a script I can imagine his handlers cringing in fear.

By: Citizen Premier

Citizen Premier — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:12:20 -0800

Also, I'm convinced that W has what today would be diagnosed as a serious verbal learning disability of some kind. I'm not excusing him, don't get me wrong -- because he's also dumb as a bag of hammers. But he isn't verbally facile. He often repeats pat phrases that have worked for him once. He's been saying 'this part of the world' for five years, all over the world, and when he needed something to say here, his mind leaped on that rather than struggle to come up with a new combination of subjects and predicates. I wonder if he would end up being sterilized under the Nazi regime. Do you think he could form a sentence using "field, rabbit, hunter" on que?

By: dhoyt

dhoyt — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:29:16 -0800

This hurricane has inspired the longest series of idiotic posts since the inception of this site. "Posts running wild in the streets" indeed :>

By: justgary

justgary — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:33:59 -0800

What the holy fucking hell is this post doing here? We've got dozens of Katrina posts already, the Gulf Coast is a hellhole that won't be livable for months or years, and you're posting about why Bush is using a phrase repeatedly? posted by languagehat So that we can all talk about how dumb bush is (or maybe retarded). I thought the thousands of threads before on metafilter would have been sufficient. Obviously I was wrong. Did you hear how he pronounces nuclear? Nucular!!!11 LOL.

By: Western Infidels

Western Infidels — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:34:53 -0800

I think it's just careful framing; business as usual. Bush almost never speaks extemporaneously, although some of his appearances are engineered to superficially seem that way. I think this phrase was carefully chosen. If the Gulf Coast is "this part of the world" as opposed to "America," it softens the blow that disaster-related news might otherwise have. Citizens listening to Bush speak from the safety of far-off places may be more likely to induldge their natural tendency to imagine (rightly or wrongly) that "it couldn't happen here." It looks like pretty much no one who lived through this thing is going to be too pleased with Bush's handling of the matter, so the best political option for now is to salvage what he can of his reputation elsewhere in the country.

By: Hildegarde

Hildegarde — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:46:32 -0800

It's been really interesting seeing the responses of Bush supporters. So far I've seen only things like "oh yeah? Well...yeah, everything that's happened in completely fucked up, but, uh...let he who is without sin cast the first stone!" and then this one here, which amounts to "can we not talk about this please?" I'm waiting for one to break into a tap dance to try to distract us.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:49:13 -0800

Did you hear how he pronounces nuclear? Nucular!!!11 LOL. Yup.

By: Jade5454

Jade5454 — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:54:37 -0800

Here's a thought: perhaps W's writer is using "this part of the world" in order to encompass the entire affected area. Or maybe it's just easier for W to remember "this part of the world" rather than the actual cities and states involved. It would be more than he could handle. If I may add to realcountrymusic's list of adjectives: self-serving, hypocritical, megalogmaniacal, execrable...

By: ericb

ericb — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:04:46 -0800

Where the fuck is Cheney? Still vacationing? Dead? Partying with the Haliburton slime? That's easy: working the phones for his buddies at Haliburton! There's money to be made! Halliburton gets Katrina contract, hires former FEMA director.

By: three blind mice

three blind mice — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:05:37 -0800

I'm waiting for Dear Leader to declare flooding as part of an axis of evil along with hurricanes and earthquakes and then call for a war on nature. Since he's already waging war on the environment it would be consistent.

By: zaack

zaack — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:10:40 -0800

Got to agree with languaghat. A post about a Bush 'saying' doesn't belong in "this part of the Mefi". posted by j.p. Hung at 10:02 AM EST on September 3 [!] This hurricane has inspired the longest series of idiotic posts since the inception of this site. "Posts running wild in the streets" indeed :> posted by dhoyt at 10:29 AM EST on September 3 [!] Really? Really??? You see no connection between his disconnected language, the way his administration (and others) refers to Americans as "refugees" and the way these, these Americans are being treated? I mean, come on. Why do the relief efforts end at night? Why have the buses stopped again? It's all part of the same cluster of beliefs and ideas. Pointing out a little piece of it is not a bad thing. It illustrates the larger picture that is finally emerging to the corporate media and the sleeping American public.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:16:41 -0800

Its time to cull the Katrina posts, starting with this one.

By: jrossi4r

jrossi4r — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:18:04 -0800

I watched his press conference where the governor covered her mouth and mumbled some affected areas that he had forget to mention. I think he uses the broad "this part of the world" so he doesn't have to list off all the areas hit because a)he can't remember and b) it would emphasize just how big this thing is.

By: zaack

zaack — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:20:45 -0800

Its time to cull the Katrina posts, starting with this one. posted by LarryC at 11:16 AM EST on September 3 [!] Translation: I am bored with this story and want to get back to my life and forget about humans suffering. Sucks to get it shoved in your face all the time, even on your pretty web sites, doesn't it?

By: leftcoastbob

leftcoastbob — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:25:37 -0800

What the holy fucking hell is this post doing here? This post alone is worth it: I'm waiting for Dear Leader to declare flooding as part of an axis of evil along with hurricanes and earthquakes and then call for a war on nature. Since he's already waging war on the environment it would be consistent. posted by three blind mice I laughed until I thought, Wait! don't give him any ideas!

By: Western Infidels

Western Infidels — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:31:12 -0800

dhoyt: This hurricane has inspired the longest series of idiotic posts since the inception of this site. justgary Did you hear how he pronounces nuclear? Nucular!!!11 LOL. languagehat: What the holy fucking hell is this post doing here? Not constructive comments. You know what they say, if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. These cracks are making the "problem" that they complain about worse. It is possible to disagree with the content of this post or the presence of this post in a constructive way, but none of you are doing that. What then must one conclude about your intentions? If you believe that Bush's words shouldn't be expected to bear any particular relationship to reality, why not say so? If you believe that what Bush says is never of any consequence anyway, then why not say so? If you believe that Bush is actually doing the best job that can be done, then why not say so? If you believe that Bush is a disaster-control genius who should get a medal, why not FPP on the matter?

By: zaack

zaack — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:34:59 -0800

Translation: I am bored with this story and want to get back to my life and forget about humans suffering. Sucks to get it shoved in your face all the time, even on your pretty web sites, doesn't it? posted by zaack at 11:20 AM EST on September 3 [!] That was kind of rude of me. I do think this is behind a lot of the "too many Katrina" comments, but I (obviously) don't know what is behind LarryC's.

By: Ubiq

Ubiq — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:53:22 -0800

I hate Bush as much as the next guy, but really, the phrase is only his way of being sure to include Mississippi and Alabama when he talks about the crisis. You don't want to seem insensitive by just making the whole thing out to be about NOLA.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 08:54:48 -0800

You know what they say, if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. They also say that people who go around saying that are themselves part of the problem.

By: swlabr

swlabr — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:18:03 -0800

Yesterday, I heard Secretary of State Rice giving a statement. She started out one sentence saying "Our country has been" hard hit, but she very obviously caught herself and rephrased, to track the script. "This part of the country has been very hard hit. This is something we haven't seen in the United States and, as a result, I think there is a lot of emotion. But I can tell you that everybody is doing everything possible, and everybody wants to see these people taken care of. "

By: justgary

justgary — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:26:17 -0800

You know what they say, if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem. You know what they say, you can put lipstick on a pig... Honestly, what do you expect out of a thread covering a topic that has been covered a hundred times before? Is "He is a bumbling, incompetent, inarticulate, half-addled, selfish, narcissistic, pathetic, ugly, mean-spirited, mealy-mouthed idiot" constructive to you? The man is not a good public speaker. Read what you will into it. But it's been covered before, and considering what's going on around us it seems awfully trivial.

By: cell divide

cell divide — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:33:12 -0800

So what is the "this part" language all about, then? (if we are hearing it from multiple officials, frequently, it's obviously part of a plan). Is the point to deemphasize the grief that the country is feeling by pointing out that it's just a small part of the country that's been hit? Make it seem more distant? Make us think about 'those people' in 'that part of the world?

By: Miko

Miko — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:40:09 -0800

Its time to cull the Katrina posts, starting with this one. Listen, I just took a look at the September 2001 MeFi archives, and my cursory count of FPPs on the unfolding 9/11 disasater and its implications was 118 -- during the first two days alone. And I would humbly and quite reasonably suggest: Katrina and its aftermath has been, and will be, a much worse disaster. Keep postin'. We've got some catching up to do.

By: NorthernLite

NorthernLite — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:40:52 -0800

This hurricane has inspired the longest series of idiotic posts since the inception of this site. I personally need the comic relief. Last night I knew I'd slipped into a sort of hysteria when I couldn't stop laughing at someone's remark that Bush didn't know this could happen but Mr. Bill did. [Well, you had to be there.] Seriously, I think the fact that the so-called Leader of the Free World is so disconnected, and that his second-in-command is borderline sociopathic, is worthy of discussion. Is that true about Halliburton and the Bush crony benefitting from this? I was hoping before I went to the link that it was a satire. Oh, and Katrina hates freedom.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:41:28 -0800

if it's not rich white folk, they might as well be people in an another country to him.

By: umberto

umberto — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:48:00 -0800

Frankly, from the dubyaspeak link above, he even refers to Texas as this part of the world when he's there.

I brought him [President Putin] to my ranch because, as the good people in this part of the world know, that you only usually invite your friends into your house. (Texas - Nov. 15, 2001)

So, it's just a verbal tic. Good Lord, I'd as soon see him dropped onto a fire ant hill as anyone, but this is useless bashing. Bash him in a more relevant way and I'm there for ya.

By: zerokey

zerokey — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:53:12 -0800

Citizen Premier writes "EXTRA! EXTRA! BUSH DISPLAYS POOR VERBAL SKILLS!" This goes far beyond poor verbal skills. It's been discussed over and over how disconnected he is from the People. His administration tries to play the game. Put on the happy optimistic face. How about showing some -human emotion-. I remember Clinton getting choked up about some things (to be honest, I can't remember exactly what - probably Oklahoma City). Whether it was real or not, it was the first time that I ever felt the president was human. Bush just comes off as a clockwork, anomalous automaton that myself and many others simply cannot identify with.

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:55:04 -0800

Frankly, from the dubyaspeak link above, he even refers to Texas as this part of the world when he's there. Is it worth pointing out that Bush is about as authentically Texan as Jacques Chirac?

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:56:51 -0800

"this part of the world" and "that part of the world" are two very different statements, especially if you're actually in the place you're talking about.

By: Miko

Miko — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 09:58:07 -0800

Is it worth pointing out that Bush is about as authentically Texan as Jacques Chirac? AS a Native Texan, I believe this is always worth pointing out. And it's too bad really, because, if he were Texan, he might actually be helping victims like the real Texans are doing. /brattiness

By: rks404

rks404 — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:05:50 -0800

This post highlights an interestiing thing that I noticed as well. It's similar to the 2004 debates when Prez brought up an out-of-left-field reference to Dredd Scott that left everyone scratching their heads. It wasn't until later on Metafilter that I learned that it was a coded reference for the benefit of the pro-life groups. A lot of people are angry with the president and believe that the GOP is going to try to turn this disaster to its own advantage similar to 9-11. So people are paying very close attention and parsing everything he says. Personally, I think it's a great thing since he's already gotten away with far too much.

By: normy

normy — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:24:22 -0800

Where's Cheney? He's not stupid. We're all witnessing one of the most monumental governmental screw-ups in US history and he's a senior member of the government. He's keeping his head down and his mouth shut.

By: Western Infidels

Western Infidels — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:40:58 -0800

Is "He is a bumbling, incompetent, inarticulate, half-addled, selfish, narcissistic, pathetic, ugly, mean-spirited, mealy-mouthed idiot" constructive to you? Well, if that's a fact that is only slowly and belatedly dawning on the American public, if those characteristics have hurt and are hurting the people of this country, and if the country would therefore be better off without this man in charge, then... yes, actually. It would be constructive, relevant, and useful to publicize that, because it's possible to do something about it. Is it the height of wit and wisdom? Perhaps not. But it's about a hundred times more relevant and useful than mocking the President's critics. That's just poo-flinging - the President's critics can't be impeached. There's no "Critics Of The President" party to vote out of office. What you think of the President's critics is of little consequence for the future. Again, if you would stand up for the President, please do so. Because what you've done so far isn't standing up for him.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:51:25 -0800

Now on Saturday, they're just starting to airdrop food and water???

By: blue shadows

blue shadows — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:52:18 -0800

I don't understand why people are bashing this post. Any clue to help understand the mind of Bush, if he has one, if it were possible, might help to understand why things are so bizarre these days.

By: justgary

justgary — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:09:01 -0800

But it's about a hundred times more relevant and useful than mocking the President's critics. No it's not. You can read the same thing on a thousand sites. You can read the same thing a thousand times on metafilter alone. Again, if you would stand up for the President, please do so. Because what you've done so far isn't standing up for him. Again, this is a thread about a phrase the president uses often. I'm saying it's irrelevant, and again, covered many, many times. What you think of the President's critics is of little consequence for the future. And what we think of the phrase "this part of the world" has little consequence on the future. If bush changes it to "these three states" it has little consequence on the world. You seem to find great things in this thread. Or maybe you're new and haven't been here for all the previous threads mocking the presidents speech. If so, enjoy. As I said before, I find it trivial. I would think most would agree in times like these, but I've been wrong before. So be it.

By: languagehat

languagehat — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:15:00 -0800

I don't understand why people are bashing this post. Any clue to help understand the mind of Bush, if he has one, if it were possible, might help to understand why things are so bizarre these days. Then by all means let's have separate front-page posts for every single comment that falls from the president's lips. You never know -- any of them could be the clue that explains it all!

By: realcountrymusic

realcountrymusic — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:15:25 -0800

Again, if you would stand up for the President, please do so. Because what you've done so far isn't standing up for him. Damn right. There is only one defense here: this disaster was too big to respond to any better than the various levels of government have done, which has been universally considered insufficient, if not pathetic. All the evidence I've seen puts the lie to that nicely. Did Mr. Bush not seek office on a pledge of higher accountability and "personal responsibility?" Fine, someone please take responsibility here and accept accountability. If Bush would even admit that the feds fucked up by "not anticipating the breach of the levees," for example, that would be a start. Fine, so admit you don't read scientific studies, reports by your own agencies, or the lessons of history. And then resign, because not bothering to find out what you need to know is negligence. ("Osama determined to strike in US" August 2001 ring a bell?) What is the defense of our federal government again? Of Bush? Why does this man still inspire loyalty? What does he stand for in which anyone believes so strongly? Or should those just lie on the pile of discarded questions, like "what was the noble cause again?" and "where are the WMDs?" and whatever happened to "the new tone in Washington?" etc. When, at long last, will his supporters get tired of defending a man who is demonstrably both egregiously unethical and outrageously incompetent?

By: blue shadows

blue shadows — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:22:11 -0800

Well languagehat, since Bush seems to rely mostly on a few stock phrases, maybe that wouldn't be that many... Seriously, I do agree with zaack that this is one of those little things that is indicative of the bigger picture.

By: [insert clever name here]

[insert clever name here] — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 11:28:19 -0800

Speaking of odd things Bush has said about Katrina, this one stood out to me as being out of place: "It's as if the entire Gulf Coast were obliterated by the worst kind of weapon you can imagine." When I first read it, I thought it was a little odd, but promptly forgot about it, until a friend mentioned it to me later in the day. Why is he comparing it to damage from a weapon. Perhaps its nothing more than a comparison like saying "It looked like a bomb went off here." But I wonder if its also telling about the way he thinks. As if he doesn't understand non-weapon destruction.

By: Western Infidels

Western Infidels — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 12:01:14 -0800

justgary: You can read the same thing on a thousand sites. You can read the same thing a thousand times on metafilter alone. How does that make it irrelevant or useless? justgary: ...this is a thread about a phrase the president uses often. I'm saying it's irrelevant... The President's speeches and appearances are carefully constructed, tightly scripted, and edited with a fine-toothed comb by a team of speechwriters and other political advisers. In that context, it would be something akin to a miracle for that turn of phrase, repeated again and again, to turn out to be the result of some random process. Many of those who read something into this phrase here have explained the reasons for their conclusions. In this tightly-scripted context, it's not unreasonable to see intent in the choice of words. Apparently you don't. Would you care to explain why, or do you really expect a flat denial like yours to change people's minds, on account of your winning personality and charisma? justgary: I find it trivial. I would think most would agree in times like these... Again you choose to slight the President's critics (by implying they are misguided to even think about such things at a time like this) rather than to actually present... well, anything.

By: wendell

wendell — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 12:02:36 -0800

languagehat, I know you were among the first to realize that Bush's pathetic lack of eloquence was so severe that any effort spent trying to analyze it was effort much better spent trying to teach those of us who can be taught, but we have clearly reached a point in the twin American tragedies that are Hurricane Katrina and the George W. Bush Administration where the pain has turned to anger and even MeFites like myself who were left speechless (and commentless) in the wake of the hurricane need to vent, and the sincere attempts by you, mathowie and others to keep up some kind of "fairmindedness" are becoming more and more counterproductive. And feel free to parse that spaghetti-monster of a sentence above.

By: Toecutter

Toecutter — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 12:20:29 -0800

Justgary finds the thread "trivial" and "irrelevant" but he (insert Captain Kirk voice here) just . . . can't . . . stop . . . posting . . . to . . . it.

By: NorthernLite

NorthernLite — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 13:44:51 -0800

Now on Saturday, they're just starting to airdrop food and water??? Amberglow, that's because, as NPR informed me Friday night, Bush *now* comprehends the scope of this. W is evidently the slow cousin his family (Republicans) keeps covering for. (And yes, languagehat, I ended with a fecking preposition. ;))

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 13:47:05 -0800

and the Washington Post today: Saturday, September 3, 2005; 3:54 PM Evacuation efforts for 25,000 desperate refugees began at the New Orleans convention center today ...

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 13:52:45 -0800

I want you to do something. ... (and don't miss the pic)

By: zoogleplex

zoogleplex — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 14:08:39 -0800

Ouch, amberglow. Good find. Yep, there's the bathtub.

By: Secret Life of Gravy

Secret Life of Gravy — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 15:06:59 -0800

I just realized that every time I hear the phrase "God Bless America" I will be imagining Katrina as a big sneeze. AAAAAAAA--CHHHHHHHHHOoooooooooooo! God bless you, America. Here. Have a kleenex.

By: ericb

ericb — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 18:18:00 -0800

As White House Anxiety Grows, Bush Tries to Quell Political Crisis

"As Mr. Bush spoke [today in the Rose Garden], Vice President Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, the president's senior political adviser, listened on the sidelines, as did Dan Bartlett, the counselor to the president and Mr. Bush's overseer of communications strategy. Their presence underscored how seriously the White House is reacting to the political crisis it faces.... His speech came as analysts and some Republicans warned that the White House's response to the crisis in New Orleans, which has been widely seen as slow and ineffectual, could further undermine Mr. Bush's authority at a time when he was already under fire, endangering his Congressional agenda.... The silence of many prominent Democrats reflects their conclusion that the president is on treacherous political ground and that attacking him would permit the White House to dismiss the criticism as partisan politics-as-usual, a senior Democratic aide said....others said the damage could prove enduring, and they warned that the inevitable battery of official investigations into what went wrong could further erode support for the war in Iraq if it turned out that the deployment of National Guard units to Iraq had contributed to the slow response. They said any thought that memories of New Orleans will fade would be checked by gas prices that spiked as Louisiana refineries shut down, particularly given that there was already evidence that rising gas prices were hurting Mr. Bush's political standing. Beyond that, some Republicans said the perception among some blacks that the White House had been slow to respond because so many victims were poor and African-American undercut what had been one of the primary initiatives of the new Republican chairman, Ken Mehlman: making an explicit appeal for support among black voters, a constituency that has traditionally been overwhelmingly Democratic.... Both Republicans and Democrats noted that the reaction to the crisis has been nothing like what happened after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, when both parties joined in a bipartisan show of unity in the face of a clear and identifiable outside threat. Hurricane Katrina struck at a time, they said, when Mr. Bush was already in a weakened state, with his approval rating in many national polls at the lowest level of his presidency and his political capital in Washington diminishing."

By: shoepal

shoepal — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 18:34:37 -0800

It may not be productive discussion, but so much of this thread is pure GOLD. Wendell, amberglow, three blind mice, realcountrymusic, miko, et al. Wow!

By: amberglow

amberglow — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 18:39:26 -0800

Their presence underscored how seriously the White House is reacting to the political crisis it faces.... The fact that they see it as a political crisis more than as a humanitarian one speaks volumes about their priorities. They should be drowned themselves.

By: Pinback

Pinback — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 21:30:47 -0800

"I comma open-bracket insert name here close-bracket comma do solemnly swear open-bracket or affirm close-bracket that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States comma and will to the best of my ability comma preserve comma protect and defend the Constitution of the United States full stop"

By: nromanek

nromanek — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 21:41:30 -0800

On the significance of the president's poor rhetoric skills: I do think "this part of the world" is very significant. The Hurricane aftermath is not a photo op, it's not a visit to the ranch by Putin, it's not a visit to France on the anniversary of D-Day. It's one of the most significant national disasters in US History. A catastrophe. This is the moment when the leader of the free world needs to become somebody in command, somebody with ideas, somebody who can help and protect us. "This part of the world" underscores his incompetence, isolation from reality and utter lack of genuine compassion, and confirms once and for all that he is just thick headed spokesmodel.

By: Miko

Miko — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 21:41:43 -0800

The silence of many prominent Democrats reflects their conclusion that the president is on treacherous political ground and that attacking him would permit the White House to dismiss the criticism as partisan politics-as-usual, a senior Democratic aide said.... Sorry about this tangent, but I am reminded of: "Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I'm not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me....You could have put the poison in your own goblet, trusting on your strength to save you. So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Spaniard which means you must have studied. And in studying, you must have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 23:35:05 -0800

Has anyone else noticed how there is now a cabal of MeFi readers who openly call for the censor of every fricking FPP that doesn't have ten or more links or at least a sub-layer of intrigue? Sometimes we just want to post simple weird stuff we've noticed. So suck on that.

By: Enkidudl

Enkidudl — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 01:25:53 -0800

I went to Whitehouse.gov and Googled "this part of the world" for the site. It gave me 244 hits! Most of them look like they're contained in off-the-cuff remarks by the Boy-President himself, rather than scripted speeches reflecting the more thoughtful considerations of speech-writers. He says it all the time & everywhere -- --- "the health care crisis that exists here in this part of the world" -- Southern Illinois; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050105-4.html --- "communities in this part of the world that were hard hit" by floods (!), Millvale, PA; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040922-9.html --- "They're from this part of the world. [Cinncinnati.] Their son, Matt, has been missing in action for four months in Iraq." http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040816-12.html --- "I want to thank the police and firefighters from this part of the world." Orange Beach, Alabama; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040919-3.html --- " There's a lot of good Democrats in this part of the world that understand that Dick Cheney and I will make this world safer, stronger and better for every single American. (Applause.)" Poplar Bluff, Missouri http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/09/20040906-4.html --- And on and on and on... He's just filling the gaps. It's easier saying "this oart of the world" than trying to remember where he is. This is consistent with the public record, which gives us no reason to believe that he knows any more about geography than he does about history, math, lit, science, or English. It is pretty amazing that he says it like 5 times in one minute. I heard this on TV and thought to myself, Doesn't the place where he is deserve the respect of a name? It's like refering to the people who live there as "you people" or "these people." (Well, for him people are "folks" -- 8190 hits on whitehouse.gov.)