Is It REALLY Bush?

[The Captain]

The more I study history, especially American history, the more it becomes apparent that few of our Presidents have acted solely on their own. The vast, vast majority have deferred almost all decisions to their Cabinet and been more or less the Figure-head for policies but not the person who createst them.

This led me to wonder, with all the negativity surrounding President Bush, is he really the person to blame? Or, is it more the fault of his Administration? Granted, I am no Bush lover, so I'm a bit bias, yet I've always felt a little bit more uncomfortable with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld than with Bush calling the shots. Is Bush really the one making these calls and is thus rightly being lambasted for his choices, or are the real culprits the members that work behind close doors and is Bush taking all the hosility for their actions?

This thread has nothing to do with whether or not Bush's policies are correct, but rather were they of his creation, or is he also just following orders from someone else?

Take care all.

[eestlinc]

Bush has collected a far-right-wing cabinet for sure. People like Cheney, Wolfowitz, Ashcroft, Rove (I don't know if chief of staff is technically in the cabinet), Rumsfeld. These people are the ones behind a lot of the questionable policies of the administration. Then again, one thing that rests pretty aquarely on Bush is the fact that he hasn't vetoed a single bill since he became President. He has allowed the hideous high spending-low tax bills that come out of congress to go into law unimpeded.

[Yamaneko]

Bush knows what he's doing. Everything he's done so far will benefit him and the people in his business when he leaves office.

[Dr Unne]

No, I don't think that George Bush is the King of America, which is what most people seem to think. Bush is a figurehead, yes. The government is made of hundreds / thousands of people. The outside influences on the government probably also number in the thousands. He likely doesn't think up every policy the government enacts. He likely doesn't even write his own speeches. Was there ever a President who did? Bush isn't a military general; the military decisions he makes are likley heavily influenced by advice from military people. Bush isn't an economics wizard, so far as I know; his economic choices are likely influenced by people who are, and by a ton of other people. Etc. etc. How much of the policy comes from the mind of Bush and how much doesn't, I have no idea. Of course the President has a lot of influence and power, more than anyone else in the government, but he's not a one-man government in and of himself.

[Shadow Nexus]

I agree with Unne, but people generally say "Bush" for refering to the whole Bush administration. At least I do, when I say "Bush" I generally think of the whole administration, unless I am refering specifically to Bush.

[The Man]

Originally posted by Yamaneko
Bush knows what he's doing. Everything he's done so far will benefit him and the people in his business when he leaves office.

I agree with Yams.

That said, I think a lot of the ideas he's put into effect didn't come from his own mind. Which makes me dislike his advisors more than I dislike him.

[Dr Unne]

I think it is partly valid to refer to the Bush administration by referring to Bush. After all he picked the Cabinet. And if he's gone, so are his advisors. Maybe it's just a shorthand way of talking about it.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Bush is just a convienient term to use when referring to his entire administration. Frankly I'm not fond of most of them, and getting Bush out also means his cabinet goes too.

[The Man]

Bush with a different cabinet would be better than another president with Bush's cabinet, as far as I'm concerned. Although depending on the other president, they might be about the same since most people wouldn't be as swayed by their cabinet as Bush seems to have been.

Then again, Bush was responsible for choosing his own cabinet and then doing pretty much everything they told him to do, so I suppose he's as much to blame as they are, if not more so.

[Optium]

Play Metal Gear Solid 2. :P

It's no secret that very few presidents in history have
been free to do what they see as best for the country.
The men who run the world are the men with the money,
it's the same everywhere, including America.

.opt