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Showing posts with label George Bush. Show all posts

May 1, 2010

Laura Bush poison theory: Hotel Heiligendamn says 'nein'

In her soon-to-be-published memoir Spoken From the Heart, former first lady Laura Bush claims that she and her husband may have been poisoned while staying at the Grand Hotel Heiligendamn during the 2007 G8 summit.

Mrs Bush said that when members of the delegation became ill, the secret service was called in but doctors put it down to a virus: "We never learned if any other delegations became ill, or if ours, mysteriously, was the only one." Surely if you suspect that you've been poisoned the first thing on the "to do" list would be be to check in with others to see if they were experiencing similar symptoms?

It seems odd that Mrs Bush would leap to a poisoning conclusion without offering more in the way of evidence. It's equally feasible the sickness may have been caused by a stomach virus, or accidental food poisoning which has been known to happen in even the finest restaurants.

To suggest that president and Mrs Bush were actively "poisoned" evokes an image of a latter-day Lucrezia Borgia working overtime in the kitchen lacing the chicken scaloppine with arsenic. Doubtless there were many people at the time who would have volunteered to poison Bush, but based on the available information the odds of a poisoner working behind-the-scenes in the kitchen of the Grand Hotel Heiligendamn during the G8 summit seems improbable.

When US presidents are abroad, the secret service oversees the meal preparation as a precaution against exactly the type of thing Mrs Bush is alleging. Fundus the company that runs the Grand Hotel, has confirmed that dishes prepared for the president and first lady had been sampled by US secret service agents in advance.

A spokesman for Fundus said that when the president was recovering he ordered a serving of hotel soup. If the kitchen was suspect, why on earth would Bush risk round two?

A former chef at the Grand Hotel, Tillman Hahn, said he is certain it had nothing to do with his cooking, because US officials who hadn't eaten any of the hotel meals also fell ill. The chef pointed out that he only cooked for the presidents and their wives, nobody else. This makes the stomach virus possibility seem more rather than less likely - a bug they may have picked up en-route to the summit or even in the US, given the incubation period of some viruses. It may not have been anything they were exposed to in the Grand Hotel.

Whatever the condition was, it didn't sound life threatening. At the time Bush adviser Dan Bartlett told the press that the president was "under the weather", but added that the condition "wasn't serious".

Staff at the Grand Hotel are outraged by Mrs Bush's poisoning suggestion. Fundus spokesman Christian Ploeger said "I'm guessing this is an attempt to jack up the sales of her memoirs with a conspiracy theory."

Link also to Guardian - AFP

Jan 17, 2009

Bush's final approval rating : 22%

With a final approval rating of 22%, George Bush leaves office one of the most unpopular presidents in US history.

Seventy-three percent of Americans disapprove of the way he has handled his job over the last eight years.

You get some idea how poor Bush's poll numbers are when you consider that Clinton left office with 68% approval, Bush sr left with 54% and Jimmy Carter with 44%.

Even Harry Truman who previously had the lowest end-of-term approval with 32%, tops Bush by 10%.

The Crawford ranch must be looking pretty good.

Nov 25, 2008

Conrad Black pleads for clemency from Bush

Despite saying he would never request a presidential pardon, Conrad Black has asked for one. The plea isn't in the least surprising. Strip away the British title, the corporate clout, the coin, the connections, the privileges and perks ... and you have a guy with an identity crisis clinging to the last vestiges of his former self.

Without the trappings Black is unconvincing. He works hard at keeping up the impression of the wronged but decent chap who is struggling against the odds to keep the old chin up. Rah rah stuff, but important to his Canadian fans who buy into the great-man-under-siege version. Typically his view of his fellow inmates is patronizing - characterizing them as "quite interesting and affable, often in a Damon Runyon way."

Despite the chipper communications, he wants out badly enough to risk losing face with a very long shot indeed. A shot made even longer by his recent complaints about American incarceration rates - all entirely valid, but coming from Black you have to smile. In his hour of need he suddenly finds something in common with the left he loved to despise. You would think he was speaking out on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Some of his communications create the impression he is a prof in residence. He isn't in jail doing time as 'a criminal' - no he's "writing and reviewing legal initiatives, as well as dealing with my students." The Coleman circus just demonstrates that Black will never be divided from his pompous self-regard, even as he goes down on one knee and grovels to Bush. He has nonetheless become a rather pathetic caricature of his former vainglorious self.

As for his chances of a pardon ... in the midst of dealing with an economy that was screwed over by the greed of corporate shysters, the last thing Bush is likely to do is cut slack for Conrad Black.

Nov 22, 2008

Bush out in the cold

At the recent G20 Summit world leaders appeared to be ignoring Bush and the opportunity to shake his hand. He is pictured on video looking rather forlorn, kind of like the kid in the school yard who everyone secretly hates.

It looks as though the same disinterest extends to the prospect of Bush memoirs. Hardly surprising given the state of the American economy - not to mention the state of the American psyche after being dragged through a protracted and extremely costly war.

There is more enthusiasm for Sarah Palin's 'oh-look-I-can-read-and-write' manuscript than a Bush book. More enthusiasm even for Tina Fey's book, reputedly contracted for $6 million.

To add to Bush's rejection complex there is the fact that publishers have been hot for his wife's memoirs. Laura Bush is more popular than the president and what she has to say in print likely to attract a keen readership.

Oct 20, 2008

John McCain: 'I'm not President Bush'

When John McCain said "Senator Obama, I'm not President Bush ..." in the third debate, it was supposed to be a defining moment. Defining moments are defining because they magnify some essential truth. What McCain's statement succeeded in magnifying was the fact that while he may not be the man himself ... he was one of the W's chief enablers.

As Mitchell Bard points out in the Huffington Post ... in 2007 McCain voted with Bush 95 percent of the time. Since Bush took office McCain voted with him 89 percent of the time, according to this Congressional Quarterly voting study.

McCain's loyalty extended to fellow Republicans in the Senate. He voted with them 98 percent of the time in 2007 (43 out of 44 times).

In the early going McCain saw a career opportunity in siding with Bush. But now that he's on the stump, he remains shackled to the carcass of failed Bush policies ... policies that he voted for ... but that hey... he's going to change.

Even by the standards of political hypocrisy in the US, the spectacle of McCain trying to distance himself from the President he was in bed with ranks pretty high.

"Senator Obama, I'm not President Bush..." was indeed a defining moment ... a defining moment in the history of denial.

McCain couldn't get enough Bush back in the day

Related story - here

Jul 26, 2008

George Bush gets flushed

Related story - here

Jul 9, 2008

Bush's G8 buffoonery: 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter'

The Bush administration record on climate change is one of the worst among affluent nations. Years of stonewalling and denial finally gave way to pressure, when the White House released a long overdue report on the impact of global warming in May of this year.

The report includes the statement:

“It is likely that there has been a substantial human contribution to surface temperature increases in North America.”

If this indicates a genuine change of heart, Bush's behavior certainly doesn't reflect it. At a meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido, leaders of the world's richest nations got together this week to discuss new targets for cutting carbon emissions.

Bush ended the meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's greatest polluter." The US president then punched the air with his fist while grinning broadly. Bush's adolescent bravado was the equivalent of giving the finger to critics who have long been holding America's feet to the fire on the environment.

This wasn't the only gaffe. Bush also came under criticism this week after a White House press pack was discovered to contain an unflattering description of Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. He was described as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice".

The White House has apologized for what it claims was "sloppy work."

Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter

Jun 11, 2008

John McCain and Bush: a history of bonding

John McCain's efforts to distance himself from Bush are both hypocritical and at times amusing.

Recently when the duo appeared outside the White House, Bush extended his hand for the obligatory shake. McCain waited a few strategic seconds, before engaging in the shake - an effort to stake out some needed distance perhaps.

Flash back to June 2005. In an interview with Tim Russert, McCain stated that he has “been totally in agreement and support of President Bush” on “the transcendent issues."

Then as today, McCain claimed he was "different" from Bush, but went on to add:

"... the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I’ve been totally in agreement and support of President Bush."

Could anything be clearer ... less ambiguous? In fact McCain even offered a list of the many areas were he and Bush were more or less fused at the hip:

“... the war on terror, the war in Iraq, national security, national defense, support of men and women in the military, fiscal discipline, a number of other issues.”

May 16, 2008

God talks to me

Related story - here

Feb 26, 2008

John McCain and George Bush: a lot in common

The famous picture of the Bush-McCain hug is about as symbolic as it gets when it comes to visual synergy. The picture looks almost amorous. You would think McCain had foreplay on his mind.

The appearance of bonding is true in more ways than one. The president and the senator have a good deal in common when it comes to their policy positions, which makes McCain in the role of "the anti-Bush" an odd concept.

No wonder independents are leery of McCain. When it comes to the Iraq war the Bush/McCain positions are very similar. McCain backed the surge and claims he can see an American military presence in Iraq for 50 more years. He keeps trumpeting "we're succeeding in Iraq" - a rosy assessment based on choreographed walkabout trips in Baghdad and what he is being fed by sources who share the same view as himself.

Iraq is a society in flux, deeply scarred and divided. The progress McCain refers to doesn't flow from the will of the Iraqi people. Chaos is being held in check by implementing measures to get the Sunnis on-side. What it boils down to, is that the US has resorted to dollar incentives and other inducements in order to secure order.

Sunni militants who were responsible for the deadly bombing campaign against American forces have essentially been bribed into compliance and now make up the bulk of the Iraqi Security Volunteers (ISV's).

The ISV's are made up of some 80,000 Sunnis, and operate beyond the control of the central government. According to an American intelligence officer quoted in "The Myth of the Surge" the only reason the arrangement is working is because "we give them money". General Petraeus refers to it as "balancing competing armed interest groups."

Chas Freeman, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia puts it this way ... "We are essentially supporting a quasi-feudal devolution of authority to armed enclaves, which exist at the expense of central government authority."

When it comes to the economy there isn't a lot to choose from between McCain's position and the president's. McCain flip-flopped on the Bush tax cuts, and now wants them made permanent. He has also said he will lower the corporate rate to 25% from the present 35%. They both believe that the way to fix social security is private accounts. McCain and Bush are on the same page when it comes to privatizing and outsourcing.

They take a similar line on health care also, looking to lower insurance via market related strategies such as health savings accounts.

McCain has even modified his position on torture to pander to the right. This is a particularly hypocritical move when you consider that in his role of "maverick", he was outspoken in his opposition to torture:

"What we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are. And I think this will help us enormously in winning the war for the hearts and minds of people throughout the world in the war on terror."

Words are cheap. His recent decision to vote against a bill banning waterboarding and other harsh interrogation measures is vintage McCain in action. Expediency trumps principle in the McCain playbook, especially now that he needs the approval of those Republicans who have been reluctant to support his candidacy.

There are some who believe that in supporting McCain they will be unshackling the US from the Bush legacy. I wouldn't bet on it.

Dec 14, 2007

White House Christmas card

Republican presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, has been making noises about using the position of president as "a bully pulpit" and if recent poll numbers are to be believed Americans are embracing this Baptist mullah with scary enthusiasm.

President Bush is also pushing the Lord. If the current White House Christmas card is a sign of the times, a person could be excused for believing theocracy is closing in.

The White House card features a longish quotation from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.

You alone are the LORD.
You made the heavens, even the highest heavens,
and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to everything,
and the multitudes of heaven worship you.
NEHEMIAH 9:6 (NIV)

Unlike former presidencies when the Chief and First Lady signed off with messages of happiness, goodwill etc, the Bush card waxes religious with - "May the joy of all creation fill your heart this blessed season 2007".

America is made up of peoples of many different faiths and of no-faith-at-all. Aside from the fact that Christmas holds religious significance for Christians, it is a festive time of year for most Americans, including those whose religious observations are in no way related to the Bible.

The Christianizing of America threatens to undo the balance between Church and State. If Huckabee gets elected Americans risk ending up in one big megachurch with a preacher man at the helm.

Sep 17, 2007

Don't trust Bush on Iran

The "security" crackdown in Iran is in part a response to what Tehran views as the increased threat of a pending attack. Where this attack might come from is a matter of speculation.

The Bush administration has lost a lot of credibility as a result of the mess in Iraq but there are those in its ranks who would like the chance to grab some belated glory, despite the risks to global security. The issue isn't only Iranian nuclear ambitions and Iran's subversive hand in the Iraq war, tensions with America also hark back to the long history of distrust between the two countries dating back to the hostage crisis of 28 years ago.

Bush has shown himself to be cynical and self-serving when it comes to playing the war card. I doubt if he could get the support required from Congress to stage an attack on Iran, but it’s entirely possible he may seek a casus beli ... attempt to provoke Iran in order to justify military action.

He has been ratcheting up the rhetoric with reference to the danger of “nuclear holocaust” thereby evoking the promise the world gave the Jews after WW2 - “never again”. This could be viewed as giving the high sign to Israel to take whatever action it sees fit.

The danger of overestimating Iran's nuclear threat and launching an attack, is that it could lead to a regional war that would make Iraq seem like a picnic.

Despite international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and Bush's rhetoric on the topic, Americans don’t trust his administration on this. Only one in five Americans in recent polls supports bombing raids on Iran. Bush is a man who would take the world to the brink in order to satisfy his own hubris. It’s like being driven by someone over the legal limit who is pressing hard on the accelerator with little clue what is around the corner.

Chuck Hagel’s assessment of Bush’s recent Iraq policy is right on the mark. He referred to it as “a dirty trick”.

“It’s not only a dirty trick, but it’s dishonest, it’s hypocritical, it’s dangerous and irresponsible. The fact is this is not Petraeus’ policy, it’s Bush’s policy. The military is ... certainly very clear in the Constitution ... is subservient to the elected public officials of this country.. but to put our military in a position that this administration has put them in is just wrong, and it’s dangerous.”

Iraq isn't in great shape despite the gloss Bush has been putting on it lately. War with Iran, should it ever escalate to that point, opens up another Pandora’s box. It would almost certainly require an American draft. It would destabilize the region and draw in other regional players. The consequences of an attack on Iran at this stage could turn out to be much worse than any dangers posed by Iran's alleged nuclear threat.

Iraq seemed like a slam dunk when the Americans went storming in - then they found the mother-of-all-hells in the making. An attack on Iran risks turning the entire region into chaos and if that happens all bets are off because nobody can predict where that might lead.

Sep 6, 2007

Bush: 'We're kicking ass in Iraq'

This has been a bad week for Bush. During his recent speech at the Sydney Opera House, he thanked Aussie PM Howard for being a fine host for the "OPEC summit" - whereas in fact it is the "APEC summit" - a mistake Bush corrected. He then went on to refer to Australian troops serving in Iraq as "Austrian troops". This slip was recorded on tape, although the official version released by the White House switched it to "Australian".

Earlier in the week Bush was overheard telling Aussie Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, that "we're kicking ass" in Iraq. With everything we now know about the Iraq campaign - what kind of statesman comes off with an adolescent "we’re kicking ass” type remark - even if there is some truth to it?

This is football coach talk. How long does Bush propose to kick ass? Six months ... a year... a decade? Will kicking ass help heal the internecine divisions in Iraq or guarantee any type of long term solution? No it won't - any American gains on the military front have to be sustained by initiatives on the part of the Iraqis themselves or these US military successes will amount to nothing more than a chimera.

This is yet another “bring it on” display of braggadocio. A while back Bush apologized publicly for using the terms “wanted dead or alive” and “bring it on” when referring to the enemy in his 'war on terror'. Now he’s back to the “kicking ass” rhetoric again. Nothing like fanning the flames to gratify your own ego I guess.

Even if your military is securing the edge in a struggle of this sort (rights and wrongs of the campaign aside for the moment) , isn’t it incumbent on the leader of a nation with the stature of the United States to show some dignity - even a touch of humility... especially after a campaign launched on a litany of lies... especially after thousands of dead and wounded, with Iraqi families displaced, children psychologically scarred for life and reports of mothers forced to prostitute themselves in order to feed their families. In a land where internecine hatreds and divisions have been unleashed, shouldn’t you be treading softly, rhetorically speaking when you’re wielding the big stick?

Isn’t this the same President who stood on the deck of USS Abraham Lincoln and declared “victory”. Now after the loss of thousands of young Americans and untold numbers of Iraqi civilians he’s back pumping the old fist again with the outcome in Iraq still murky, at best. This uncouth remark confirms every prejudice people have ever held about this campaign, the attitudes that launched it and the hubris of the man himself - hubris that not even prayer, his self-confessed weeping episodes and bouts of self-pity can mitigate apparently.

If he feels the need to make adolescent ‘come on’ remarks along the lines of “we’re kicking ass” - maybe he should save it for coffee time with Cheney.

Sep 5, 2007

George W. Bush: on weeping and ghostly visions

Over the years there have been rumors about Bush’s mood swings and tantrums. There has been speculation that psychological problems might be involved. Some recent confessions in an interview with John Draper make you wonder if Bush is coming apart at the seams.

As his supporters bail out left and right, it now looks as though the pres is attempting to put distance between himself and unpopular positions he has staked out in the past. Bush rarely confesses to mistakes. His approach is to show his weepy side, indulge in self pity and talk a lot about his relationship with “God”.

Bush was interviewed recently by John Draper for the ironically named book about his Presidency entitled Dead Certain. Given the President's admissions in the interview Draper might want to consider renaming the book Dead Uncertain.

Bush confesses to serial bouts of weeping. It must be reassuring for Americans to learn that the commander-in-chief spends at least part of his waking hours balling his eyes out. His wife Laura has been doubling as comforter and counselor (when God’s shoulder isn’t available). By his own admission Bush claims to have shed “more tears than you can count”.

Weeping is not something that is attractive in a leader. It gets even more alarming when the teary eyed one begins to talk about ghosts coming out of walls in the White House. According to Bush the White House is a “creepy place” Once while approaching the Lincoln Bedroom, he claims he saw ghosts coming out of the wall. I’m not sure if weeping can induce hallucinations, but the President is in no doubt that he works in a haunted mansion.

You have to wonder how much of this is guilt... what some new agers might refer to as bad karma. By his own admission the President indulges in bouts of self-pity and has to be chivvied up by his wife, who also seems to double as personal trainer of sorts.

George Bush: “This is a job where you can have a lot of self pity.”

No kidding.

Who you gonna call!

Related story - here

Aug 28, 2007

George W. Bush: the grin and wave routine

Ever notice that as the crisis in Iraq deepens ... as body bags return to the US with depressing regularity ... as terrorism spreads like wildfire ... as families in the US struggle with the high cost of health insurance ... as inner city schools battle underfunding and institutional neglect ... as environmental threats gather steam ... the one thing you can reliably depend upon is the Bush wave.

No matter how bad it gets on our tortured planet, you will predictably see George Bush grinning and waving as he goes from chopper to White House ... from briefing to briefing ... from washroom to Oval Office ... from club house to golf course ... from military hospital to limo.

At times the grinning and waving act seems almost deviant. The “thumbs up” message seems like cruel irony, when you know that in fact the polar opposite is true. The world is in danger of reverting to chaos and if Bush is feeling good, it is because he has a unique talent when it comes to living a lie and avoiding the consequences of his own actions.

This strange cognitive dysfunction makes the Bush wave almost deviant. It seems at times more like a mocking gesture, rather than a gesture of goodwill. You feel the same anxiety a female pedestrian might experience when approached by a notorious flasher. Here comes Bush ... "oh no, he's going to do it" ... and sure enough, out shoots the arm with the flapping fingers, as the pancake face creases in a cheesy grin.

When you see him doing it on CNN as he crosses the lawn after disembarking from a chopper, mini-dog in arms, he kind of lunges forward with a targeted finger flap. It's as though he’s hexing nearby bystanders. Perhaps the flapping fingers are part of a ritual gesture he learned when a member of the Skull and Bones society at Yale.

The disturbing part about the TV coverage, is that you never actually see the faces of the people he's waving at. You suspect maybe it's a hoax. Maybe there is nobody there. If there are happy, grinning people waving back, then maybe there is a case for suspecting that a form of contagious mental illness is doing the rounds in Washington, or evidence that followers of Sun Myung Moon have infiltrated the administration. You never see anyone give him the finger or even yelling a profanity, so you have to assume that the folks off-camera doing the waving have been carefully screened for any signs of latent hostility.

He doesn't seem to realize that to the outraged, incensed or merely offended, the wave is like a finger in their face. Nobody’s buys his act anymore. He has to know that he’s a on a very lonely wicket. At times, in unguarded moments, you can see the petulant defiance and the disdain for his sea of detractors. Nope, W doesn’t cut and run. He just lets young guys in their 20's step up and take the bullet for him after his administration miscalculated and screwed up on a level that defies the imagination.

Behind the hollow optimism, White House spin and the empty posturing, Bush's wave might as well be signaling - "up yours".