The reason Obama's folks wanted Bush at Ground Zero.. and the reason Bush said no

[scheming daemons]

Just like last week, when we had the split-screen of Obama releasing his birth certificate and Donald Trump ranting like a lunatic in New Hampshire, this is all about the optics.


Obama gets to look "gracious" by inviting his predecessor.... but in the minds of most Americans that watch it on TV will be this thought, "There's the guy that got him... and there's the guy that didn't".


It's a powerful image of Obama, and it was a shrewd political move to do the invite... because Obama comes out looking good either way.

1. If Bush doesn't accept, Obama looks gracious and willing to share the credit.
2. If Bush accepts, Obama looks strong in comparison in the subliminal minds of the viewers.


Bush... to his handlers' credit... made the smarter move from his point of view. Every time Bush steps out in front of a camera, there is a visceral negative reaction in the minds of 60%+ of the population. Standing next to Obama in NYC, a strongly Democratic town, would make him look small and defeated.


The truth is, Obama would be magnanimous to him, even as the visual imagery would strongly benefit Obama and hurt Bush's legacy.



But I love how this White House is operating.... every facet.

[my2sense]

1. K & R

[Angry Dragon]

2. 'to his handlers' credit...'

Did you mean bartenders??

[Citizen Worker]

44. Bartenders are known throughout much of history for giving solid and timely advice. GW was probably

looking at the bottom of that empty bottle of Jack Daniels and saw the prophetic message, NO, without seeing the numeral 7 next to it.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

49. Now that is comedy! nt

[flamingdem]

3. slam, slam, slam-slam nt

[Ohio Joe]

4. K&R - nt

[grasswire]

5. and Bush would look old and still stupid

Compared to a younger man with a facile mind.

[Withywindle]

6. The real reason Bush said no...

...is that Obama wasn't going to be paying for an open bar.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

29. !

:rofl:

[Pacifist Patriot]

38. *snort*

[lpbk2713]

7. The whole world knows Bush left office in disgrace.

I think the fact has finally sunk in to Shit-for-Brains.
He shows uncommon good sense in avoiding public appearances.

[LuckyLib]

48. And the staff that scripted his presentations is all gone. Kind of hard to "wing it"

when you're a bumbling idiot when you communicate. Best to stay "under cover" Pres. McFlightsuit!

[butterfly77]

8. ...

[nevergiveup]

9. You nailed it !

[FarLeftFist]

10. Incredible analysis.

And so true, not to mention the unification factor.

[WCGreen]

11. He wouldn't get to hold the bull horn this time....

Good take on the tri-level chess thing...

[Turborama]

12. The official line is "he's keeping a low profile", & we all know why. 2012 is around the corner.

Remind me, what were his disapproval ratings when he left office?

That's not to disagree with the premise in your OP, it's intended to add weight to it.

[proud patriot]

13. somewhere in the 20s I believe

if I remember correctly

[StarsInHerHair]

14. I will when he uses his charisma to convince Dem legislators to put a bill up

overturning Reagan-era law that forbids the Federal Gov from creating a new WPA. He has the blueprint of how to get out of this depression/recession, FDR created jobs by electrifying the rural areas & bringing plumbing too; we need our infrastructure updated/upgraded. Our water pipes are leaking far too much, our computer networks are slower than those in Asia, our cellphones don't work everywhere......plus our residential roofs might be able to slow global warming if they were made in white materials. Kind of like adding ice cover to compensate what is being lost at BOTH POLES.

[AllTooEasy]

50. Nice Obama-Hating Tangent - NOT

Give it a rest for a week. You turned a critic of Bush into a critic of Obama. Carl Rove is proud of you. We know things are far from perfect, and they will always be far from perfect. Everytime there is some progress (Bush's Recession officially ends June 2009, Auto Bailout works, 200K jobs last month, etc.) there's always DUer to exorcise the good spirits.

By the way, you do know that the Repukes now run the house. That charisma is only going to go so far.

[rhett o rick]

60. I agree. We killed bin Ladin, the hell with the poor bastards living on the streets. nm

[AllTooEasy]

74. Stop being an Ass-Clown! You know I didn't say or imply that.

[rhett o rick]

75. Stop using the term "Obama-hating". You know the left doesnt "hate" Obama.

Your use of that phrase is flame baiting. Not that it matters to you, but there was no celebrating bin Ladin's death in the unemployment line or at the foodbank where I work or in the homeless tent city.

Just because I want solutions to our horrible economic mess doesnt mean I hate Obama. And if you need to call names like Ass-Clown, go to a board where they appreciate that.

[AllTooEasy]

76. Funny, 2 of my unemployed cousins are overjoyed with Bin Ladin's death.

...and I'm sure that they are in the overwhelming majority.

Can't you separate the things? Dang!!!

BTW, you don't happen to work in a downtown Phoenix foodbank do you? We may have crossed pathes on the weekends.

[rhett o rick]

77. It's hard to "separate the things". I hate to be manipulated. The foodbank I

volunteer at is near Seattle. We have noticed that the number of people coming for food is dropping. The other foodbanks in the area notice the same. They also noticed that those showing up at food kitchens is increasing. Apparently the poor are moving out of homes and into tents.

[StarsInHerHair]

70. jeezus!!! I AM A PROUD LEFTY! You lack reading comprehension!!! fool!

THERE WAS NOT A DAMN IOTA OF "HATE" IN THERE WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?! HOPEFULLY when OBAMA OVERTURNS THAT LAW HE WILL JOIN THE AWESOME LEVELS OF LINCOLN & FDR. Oh & by the way, "his charisma" would likely work-ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW-ON WAVERING DEMS!

[provis99]

15. I think you got it exactly right.

[Ilsa]

16. I was thinking the same thing. And since Bush* probably still gets daily intel

briefings, I bet he knew in late January that it was a matter of only several months that Obama would kill/capture OBL. I think that is why Bush* announced in late January that he was out of politics for good, no more public appearances.

[tavalon]

59. I don't know about the timing,

But his early onset dementia, hastened greatly, I'm sure by a pickled liver, likely has hastened his decision.

[quakerboy]

61. You really think that * pays attention to those briefings?

I bet he pays almost as much attention as he did before 9/11.

[Old and In the Way]

67. I'll bet he doesn't even bother.

He didn't care when he was pResident...I doubt he spends any time keeping up with intel...it's not his concern anymore. Now watch me drive.....

[sofa king]

17. It's only beginning to dawn on me how smart this guy is.

He cleared the decks before this went down. I don't even remember what he was doing two weeks ago, but last week he:

* Visited Alabama in the wake of a natural disaster, and made sure his feet were on the damned ground instead of flying over the area disinterestedly like his predecessor;

* Killed the birther movement dead, and in so doing also ruined Donald Trump's shot at running for President;

* Invited Republican Congressional leadership to the White House to talk numbers, then skewered them on tax cuts and fiscal responsibility (while in the mean time Harry R. is going to force GOP Senators to vote for or against killing Medicare);

* Did not inform the GOP of his plan to kill Osama, nor the Pakistanis, so that neither of them could warn their friend.

* Found and killed Osama bin Laden.

Who knows how long this plan was really in the works, but it all dovetails seamlessly with the already extant plan of letting the Republicans run wild in the House, the better to disgust and annoy voters and to make the Democrats in the Senate appear strong and thoughtful. (There isn't much one can do about them right now except to discredit them by acting with competence while they twist balloons.)

Note that several of those issues, including his legitimacy as President, have direct comparisons to the Bush Administration. He just clearly set himself apart from his predecessor, succeeded where they failed, made the Republicans out to be the obstructive tools that they are, set a tone of solemn necessity instead of empty bravado, and turned world opinion back in favor of the United States virtually overnight.

This guy is going to be the greatest President of our lifetimes.

[JTFrog]

18. +1

I agree 100%.

[babylonsister]

19. Great post and quite a list! nt

[lunatica]

21. This morning I read on the crawl on Morning Joe that 19 congresspeople

knew about the plans to kill Osama bin Laden and kept quiet as they should have. Haven't you notice there's been no outcry about him not letting Congress in on this?

[sofa king]

23. Yes, he had to inform the Senate Intel Committee, among others.

But I'm willing to bet that the briefing also came along with a side-order of, "if this fails because you talked, it's all we'll talk about next year."

It's clear to me that nobody did talk, because the Republican reaction to the unexpected tone of their meeting with the President was unusually genuine. Their feelings were hurt. Heh.

But yes, I was incorrect in saying that none of the Republicans were informed. Thank you for correcting me.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

30. this post should be an OP

It's excellent!

[rbixby]

33. Totally a perfect storm!

I wonder how much of this was serendipitous and how much was total strategy. Either way, things are definitely swinging in his favor!

[sofa king]

34. Wikileaks may have played a role.

According to something I saw on Slashdot. It would appear that the name of bin Laden's courier appeared in a leaked doc, and the timing of the operation was stepped up. But you could have fooled me, because from my point of view, the timing was as impeccable as that of Joan Rivers'.

[rbixby]

73. I think so too

I think it was intelligence, fate, and excellent strategic thinking all working together. It definitely worked, given the republicans' decidedly impotent response to it.

[NJCher]

36. that sums it up, all right

Excellent post and analysis, sofaking.


Cher

[Auntie Bush]

53. BRAVO!!!!

[malaise]

20. Yep this was a definite win-win

Rec

[W_HAMILTON]

22. Since Bush left office...

...I seem to get the impression that he just doesn't care about politics anymore. He just seemed to want to be over it all. I think he maybe made some controversial comments when he released his book, but most other times he's either been silent or actually supportive of the current administration.

His silence once leaving office seems to indicate that he was just a puppet, a lackey.

On the other hand, you've heard more from Dick Cheney in the past couple of years that you did his entire time as VP...

I hadn't heard that Bush declined the invitation, but I'm glad to hear it. It is best for everyone.

[AdrianInOcala]

27. As painful as it may be...

I have to give Bush credit for maintaining a low profile, and not playing the games that Cheney has, like calling out the current President for perceived slights and misgivings. Bush seems to have taken some 'class' lessons, or gotten a clue since he got out of office.

[AlbertCat]

37. Since Bush left office, I seem to get the impression that he just doesn't care about politics anymor

I got that impression WHILE he was in office.

[Doctor_J]

54. He didn't care about anything while he WAS in office

stupid, ignorant, drunk most of the time, paranoid, and in WAY over his head. I would bet he's drunk almost continuously now.

[TxVietVet]

66. I hope he dies with a drink in his hand. His conscience is probably killing him.

He's a spoiled frat rat and deserves to every bad thing that happens to him for what he's done. Drink himself to death and see if the world cares. That piece of shit destroyed one country and is responsible for thousands of innocents killed because of his LIES. I'd spend eternity in Hell with a smile on my face if I knew that bastard bu$h and his buddy cheney were in the next cell.

[Old and In the Way]

68. The only satisfaction I get from 8 years under this pResident-

is knowing that he'll go down as the worst, ever. Unfortunately for him and, unlike past incompetent Presidents, he's recorded in digital color....and will remain that way forever. It will not be difficult for future generations to view the slide this country experienced because they will be able to hear Bush, in his own words, mangling the language in hundreds of soundbites. Or falling off Segways, or sitting in a classroom while ther US was attacked, or 'chocking on pretzels' or being sloppy drunk at the Olympics. The George Bush Presidentin' Library and Image Rehabilitation Project will raise and spend $500MM trying to spin the record of George W. Bush....but it will be a waste of money, as long the digital record of Dimson exists.

I suspect he knows this and is really too ashamed to remain in the public eye. He wants us to forget him and he probably wants to forget himself. Not sure how much booze it takes for this mission to be accomplished, but I'll bet he's working overtime to get it done.

[TxVietVet]

71. Well said. Let it be.

bu$h is the poster boy for conservanazi leadership. :rofl:

[cbdo2007]

24. Bush would have been boooed if he was there. It would have been ugly.

[Samantha]

46. That is what I immediately thought when I heard he declined

It would have been so humiliating for him to make a public appearance in NY with President Obama, watching the crowds applaud and cheer him, while others booed as Bush* passed by.

Sam

[Raschel]

51. I thought the same.

[oberliner]

55. Do you really think so?

In that venue, under those circumstances?

I very much doubt it.

[cbdo2007]

64. I definitely think so. The majority of Americans now believe the Iraq war was a mistake....

and realize that helped put us in most of the prediciments we are currently in.

Then, for President Obama to catch Bin Laden and to be standing right up there next to Bush and everyone being overly enthusiastic, I could definitely see the whole crowd turn to Boooooooos. I know most people here at DU wouldn't never admit it, or dont' recognize it, but even most Repubes I know are against Bush/Cheney right now and have stopped defending them. It's only the hardcore Repubes who are still on his side and they wouldn't dare show up at ground zero for President Obama's glory speech.

[SpiralHawk]

25. Bush (R) goes AWOL. As usual.

[Canuckistanian]

26. Victory is for CLOSERS

Bush had 7 years to do the same.

[SoCalDem]

28. In fairness, Bush is only one letter away

_ LOSER

[Volaris]

72. HAHAHA is THIS what you might be referring to?.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd-IHI6b-k0

...it takes Brass Balls....that is all lol

[steve2470]

31. k&r nt

[Blue Owl]

32. Heard Obama has reserved a front-row seat for Paul Ryan instead

n/t

[nichomachus]

35. I thought Obama just wanted him to bring the "MIssion Accomplished" banner

[meegbear]

39. While I despise 'Seinfeld', there was one witty thing he had on the show ...

the Unvitation.

For two people who don't like each other but travel in the same circles, the rules of decorum dictate that the host has to invite that guest and the guest has to respectfully decline the offer.

This is it in action.

[Myrina]

40. ... and the other imagery

Bush = tragedy/disaster/misery standing next to Obama = caught him/hope/change

[Politicalboi]

41. I think Bush is going to be

Drunk that day, so he won't be able to make it. Besides, Bush's ilk would still look at him as if he personally shot Bin Laden himself. They see it as Bush was the enabler to Obama's success.

[El Prezidente Kaboom]

42. It's a new day for Democrats.

Never again will the Republicans be able to paint the Democrats weak on defense with impunity. Their attempts to give Bush undue credit now only make them look more bizarre.

Barack "The Crow" Obama is now impervious to their stones.

[onethatcares]

43. let's put them both on horseback

that'd be a sight for anyones' eyes.

[Fire1]

45. I'll K&R that. n/t

[bongbong]

47. Bush couldn't show up

The entire Bush extended family is in an official Period Of Mourning for their long-time & close business associates, the bin Ladens.

[svpadgham]

52. Ouch.

nt

[av8rdave]

57. "ouch," but true

[mzteris]

56. I heard that Bush is rarely seen in public lately

- - - my guess is he's too drunk for public consumption.

[patrice]

58. There are people killing themselves over what happened to them in this war. America's going to be

a looooooooooooooooooooong time remembering this fact.

[spanone]

62. bu$h* would be humiliated and rightfully so.... he failed...miserably...he only cared about saddam.

fuck him

[Mira]

63. It was perfect. So damn transparent

along all the lines you mention that even Bushes advisors noticed.
Good call for you to stay home, George.
You might have had to garble a sentence or two, and remind us of what we do not miss.

[TxVietVet]

65. I believe the image the White House has been putting out is making a really positive impression.

I have to give credit to President Obama for what he's done. I've listened to the conservanazis try to dis him and continuously undermine him.
But here's what the rest of the world see: An American President, very smart, very political, very professional says he will kill Osama bin Laden. Searches all of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Finds the terrorist. Dispatches a special operations team in to kill him WITHOUT alerting the Pakistanis. (My opinion is that the Paks KNEW where he was.) Mr. Obama is a very responsible and competent leader. The f*cking conservanazis, who believe they are ordained by their god to lead this country, are embarrassed because it shows the conservanazis are incompetent.

Now, Mr. Obama is a leader. Not like some rich frat boy that couldn't show up for duty in a champagne unit of the Texas Air National Guard, who could f*ck up a one car funeral. :rofl:

[Old and In the Way]

69. The contrast between Bush and Obama would be too painful for him.

I think Obama should have also invited Clinton....he also took the hunt for OBL seriously...unlike Cheney/Bush.