George Bush, You're No Reagan - by Larry Johnson

[kpete]

George Bush, You're No Reagan
by
Larry C Johnson

For you youngsters out there (if you are thirty two or younger, you are a youngster in my book) today's spectacle at the White House with President Bush playing apologist for the Chinese Communists was rich with irony. I'm not a hardened Cold Warrior who believes we should not deal with China. But, I am an old fashioned conservative who believes that the United States was supposed to offer an alternative model of government to the authoritarian nations, like China and the old Soviet Union. Put it simply, we used to believe that personal liberty superseded the "rights" of the nation.

Remember? Ronald Reagan stood in front of the Berlin Wall and called on the Soviets to "tear down this wall". Thanks in part to Reagan's policies the wall came down. Reagan followed in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy, who also stood in front of the wall and pledged America's honor to fight the totalitarian visions advocated by communist rulers in Moscow and Beijing.

Where are we today? A protester is forcibly removed from the White House grounds. The White House, a symbol of the American people, became a backdrop for the new authoritarianism of the Bush era. Rather than show the Chinese leader the beauty of tolerating dissent, Bush presided over the arrest of a woman who dared speak out against her country's leader. Bush furthered the insult to American democracy by apologizing to China's leader for the outburst.

Of course this is in keeping with the "new" style of leadership brought by George Bush. Instead of open town meetings where the average American can tell the President he's a fool, we have scripted, controlled events. Only those with connections and prior approval can gain access to these events. We have lost our sense of shame and national identity. In fact, those who dare to speak out against George Bush find their reputations and integrity immediately attacked. Just look at the number the White House is trying to do now on the retired Generals who have called for Don Rumsfeld's head. They join the list of Richard Clarke, Tom White, Paul O'Neil, Eric Shinseki, Joe Wilson, and Scott Ritter.

more at:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/04/george_bush_you.html

[fooj]

1. Hell...that's the understatement of the year.

LOL!!!

[chookie]

2. How times have changed

Thanks for the link -- the article is a cogent observation of the significance of the events of today.

Did Bush also apologize for playing the national anthem of Taiwan -- what a faux pas that was....

[pacalo]

3. Giving a communist leader such a grand reception -- complete with

marching bands -- would have been out of the question with any president before dimson. The reporter talking to Wolfie on The Situation Room said Hu wanted to use the event to show his citizens how revered he was in the U.S. (until the protester shouted at him). That's exactly why no other president would have greeted him so grandly.

See the video here

[RB TexLa]

4. Reagan also never "preemptively" invaded and occupied another

country with no war plan and no exit plan. Did a lot of other shit, but comparing American lives lost.

[Postman]

5. These clowns make Reagan look like a "liberal"

THAT is how far right this country has gone off the rails

[Vidar]

6. Personally I think Reagan is second worst, but he had redeeming virtues.

[omega minimo]

7. You're all wrong-- Reagan was progenitor of the current national nightmare

:evilfrown: :puke:

[Golden Raisin]

8. Reagan was a disaster

who has been made/propagandized by the right into an icon/cult figure. The image they project of Reagan bears no resemblance to reality. The deification of Reagan is all kind of Soviet-style, which is sad and hugely ironic. Still, nothing in my experience of the scary and negative in American politics tops the current Bush administration.