NYT: Bush privately telling people he's "glad" economic crisis is happening under his presidency

[Amerigo Vespucci]

In Final Months in Office, Bush Is Burdened but Still Confident

President Bush referred on Friday to “a startling drop in the stock market — much of it driven by uncertainty and fear.”

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
Published: October 10, 2008



http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/business/11bush.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

WASHINGTON — George W. Bush began his presidency with the worst terrorist attack on American soil and he is ending it with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. In between, he confronted a hurricane that nearly wiped New Orleans off the map as his administration showed ineptitude in its response.

Now, as he spends his last months in office trying to avert a global economic collapse, Mr. Bush has been telling people privately that it’s a good thing he’s in charge.

“He said that if it was going to happen at all, he was glad it was happening under his presidency, because he had a good group of people in D.C. working for him,” Dru Van Steenberg, one of several small-business owners who met with Mr. Bush in San Antonio earlier this week. The president expressed the same sentiment, others said, during a similar private session in Chantilly, Va., the next day.

“He said that whoever was going to take over in January was going to have a huge crisis on their hands the day they come into office,” Ms. Van Steenberg added. “He thought by this happening now, that perhaps everyone could see signs of improvement before the next president comes into office.”

[Muttocracy]

1. Wow. Warped spun perspective. nt

[StClone]

14. Actually it is good thing to happen to Bush

Too bad for all of us though. Since, Bush is to blame it is only fitting it happened during his Pretzeldency.

[Kansas Wyatt]

19. Oh the screeching Reich Wingers will still blame Obama

They'll claim that as it appeared more and more likely that Obama would be the next President, the worse things got.

BushCo. & Republicans, Inc. always blame everyone else, except themselves, for their failures.

[Cobalt-60]

21. They already are

The fascist pod people who were once my friends informed me months ago that it was the future liberal congress that was responsible for the current situation.
This individual was rational before his mind fell to the enemy.

[snappyturtle]

2. He's delusional. nt

[TexasObserver]

3. Never has one man been so delusional about his leadership skills.

This guy has fucked up everything he's touched for a lifetime. We're merely seeing the final bills arrive.

[malaise]

24. Don't confuse his skills with his goals

He may have achieved everyone of them.

[WarbirdForObama]

4. He's Glad, eh?

Hmmmmmmm. I wonder why.

Could it be like the distraction outside the Bank, while the Robbers sneak out the back?

[Xipe Totec]

5. This, from the man who barely survived an attack by a pretzel nt

[melody]

6. It was his job to destroy us ... I have no doubt he's happy

He's realizing his grandfather's dream.

[deutsey]

22. He's our very own American Sulla

Sulla helped bring the Roman Republic to the brink of collapse and helped to set the stage for placing absolute power into the hands of an absolute dictator.

Thanks, Bush! Job well done. :sarcasm:

[Cresent City Kid]

7. The only reason I'm glad it happened under his presidency...

... is that voters will have a least a chance to discover his role in causing it. He could have left a time bomb of a bad economy in Obama's term that could have been spun into being Obama's fault.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. Not even smart enough to keep his mouth shut at this point, is he?

What a dumb ass he is.

[magellan]

9. That "good group of people in DC working for him" didn't see this coming

If you believe the Repub li(n)e that this was precipitated by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, then you've got to wonder (again) about Dumbya's definitions of "good people" and "working".

The GOP have recently started moaning about regulation the Dems stopped in 2005...but for some reason not one among them sent up earlier warnings of any crisis in the offing. To the contrary -- Bush** and the Fed kept insisting the economy was "robust" until recently.

As for seeing signs of improvement before January 2009...sure. It's what dimson's "good people" manage to hide till AFTER January that concerns us.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

11. He had a "good group of people working for him" on August 6, 2001 as well...

Flashback: Seven years ago today, Bush received ‘Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.’ memo.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/06/flashback-seven-years-ago-today-bush-receives-bin-laden-determined-to-strike-in-us-memo/

By Satyam Khanna on Aug 6th, 2008 at 9:34 am



Today marks seven years since the day President Bush received a President’s Daily Brief entitled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” (See the memo here.) At the time, Bush was vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, TX and stayed on vacation the rest of August 2001. Here’s how the administration reacted, according to the 9/11 Commission report:

— President Bush did not recall discussing the August 6 report with the Attorney General or whether Rice had done so. (p. 260)

— We have found no indication of any further discussion before September 11 among the President and his top advisers of the possibility of a threat of an al Qaeda attack in the United States. DCI Tenet visited President Bush in Crawford, Texas, on August 17 and participated in the PDB briefings of the President between August 31 (after the President had returned to Washington) and September 10. But Tenet does not recall any discussions with the President of the domestic threat during this period. (p. 262)

The day after he received the memo, “Bush seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading, the work he was doing on his nearby ranch, his love of hot-weather jogging, his golf game and his 55th birthday,” the Washington Post noted. Today — 2,557 days later — Bin Laden still remains free and “determined to strike in U.S.”

[magellan]

20. Ain't that the truth

Incompetent or...? Personally I think it's very unlikely that Bush** could surround himself with so many people who all just happen to fail spectacularly in their vast and varied jobs at precisely the moments that bring him or his cronies benefit. You know, like how all the intelligence agencies just happened to fail on the matter of whether Saddam had WMDs -- in favor of Bush**'s desire to invade Iraq.

It beggars belief, how disastrously "good" his administration has been at failing to predict disaster and instead have walked us right into it time after time.

Anyway, I remembered something after I posted my little diatribe about his "good people". The Repubs are trying to pin the economic failure on the Dems for opposing the 2005 bill regarding FM/FM. Suppose for just a moment they're right about FM/FM being the catalyst for the crisis (which is laughable). Who held the majority in both houses of Congress in 2005? The REPUBS. So how is their failure to rein in their own for the vote a Dem problem?

I'd sure like to see an Obama ad pointing out that little factoid.

[earth mom]

10. What can you expect from a sociopath?

:crazy:

[peacetalksforall]

12. Please don't forget - this is good for the wealthiest - his father and relatives are among

the wealthiest. Jr is and is not a sacrificial lamb. Jr already had a pretty lousy reptutaion for business - but with two marvelous successes - his ball park deal and the Supreme Court. Please consider that he consented to the making of an idiot-joker for the purpose of reversing. The powers to be are all about putting everything in reverse for control and ownership - instead of the control and ownership of a black nation, it's a poor nation. Their corporate sponsors get to make much more money if we are third world. We have to figure out who we are and whether we're going to cave in the long run.

If I'm wrong, we'll see Carlyle fall with the others.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. His ball park deal where he ripped off the taxpayers and stole the land.

He was quoted as saying, "If this deal goes through, I'll be richer than I ever imagined." That's peanuts compared to his bank heist of '08.

[seemslikeadream]

13. georgie PLEASE put down that pipe

[Edweird]

15. SOMEBODY has to do the looting and plundering, so it might as well be him, right?

Of course he's happy; he's raided the treasury and nearly destroyed our country. I bet his family friends the Bin Ladens are thrilled.

[varelse]

17. As if this had nothing to do with him, his policies, his administration, his party

As if "no one could have seen this coming". As if it were nothing more than a tragic accident. :grr:

[ForrestGump]

18. "Ask NOT what your country can do for you;

ask what you can do for me."

What an inspired orator and leader GW is.

[Vinca]

23. Interpretation: I can't figure out how to dump the blame on the next guy,

but there's a good chance it's Clinton's fault.

[JustAnotherGen]

25. *sshat

[SpiralHawk]

26. "You American proles are sooo lucky to have me as The Decider. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

"Now shut up and sit down before I sic my - smirk - Homeland Security Goons on ya for protesting Profit Taking by My 'Elite' Republicon fatcat oil & munitions & mercenary corporate cronies. Smirk."

- Commander AWOL

[Orsino]

27. He's still president? Does Obama know about this? n/t