Originally Posted by
Phoenix
He lied about his time in the ANC? No, actually, he declined to elaborate on why he missed a physical and he later made up his AWOL time at another base. And, the second intifada started after the Camp David accords where Arafat turned down the Barak Proposal. How is pointing that out "blaming Clinton?" I'm serious. Bush never once mentions Clinton; he mentioned that we had tried summits and meetings and talking and it hadn't worked. That doesn't translate into a slam of Clinton or into blame of Clinton. And how does using polls translate into being dependant on them? There's a world of difference between seeing if there is support for a program (using polls) and being dependent on them (never doing anything unless it's really popular, even if the unpopular thing is what is necessary).
For the WMD and the yellowcake: I'd really like to know what the several dozen poison gas shells we're finding now are and I'd really like to know what you (Aaron, not the guy who originally wrote that) think of the latest news on the Nigeria--yellowcake connection.
The recession, taxes, and the economy in general: Well if we take Gross's definition that a recession is where the GDP decreases, then there never *was* a recession (GDP growth slowed but did not decline between 2000 and 2004). What happened was that the rate of growth began slowing, thus causing investors to panic and not invest, thus causing businesses to downsize, causing unemployment. When did that begin? When the stockmarket tanked in the spring of 2000. What caused it? The overvaluation of the dotcoms and the Fed hiking the interest rate too fast (they raised it 2% in three months, causing debtors and investors alike to panic and slow down the rate of economic growth because investors didn't want to risk losing money and debtors always panic when rates go higher). That tax cut 'for the rich' wound up giving refunds to everyone in my parents' neighborhood and enabling my mother to hire additional staff for her small business. If taxes go back up, she won't be able to cover the payroll unless she fires someone or takes out a loan (and that's even if she doesn't keep any of the profit). My mother is hardly "rich." She's middle class. Most of their neighborhood is in the same position (small business owners, middle class folks). If taxes go back up, there's going to be a lot of problems for my neighborhood because they won't be able to help their kids pay for college and won't be investing in hiring in their small businesses.
Lied about funding the fight against AIDS in Africa? No, try 'couldn't convince Congress to allocate the amount he wanted and had to compromise.' It's pretty clear in the Constitution who controls the purse strings (the House of Representatives).
Lied about supporting the Patient Protection Act? Read the article. It says that he didn't like the provision that allowed HMOs to be sued, which, considering just how high medmal insurance is because of lawsuits right now, probably isn't a great idea. Unless, of course, you (generic you) want to see medical costs go even higher.
Most of those 'lies' are either twisting what he actually said or ignoring context (like the funding the fight against AIDS in Africa). Bush isn't completely honest, no, but then, name a politician who is. It'd be nice if people would actually point to the real lies instead of twisting things or conflating issues or ignoring context.
Phoenix
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