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If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
Bob Gates is a good man and a good choice as the person to sit out the event in case of a contingency tomorrow. I really think Iraq wouldn't have been the error it's been if Gates had been in place instead of Rumsfeld.
I think he'll be a great asset to Obama as they begin to transition out of Iraq and focus more on Afghanistan.
After the tumultuous last 8 years, it seems strange that we are finally 14 hours away from the end of the Bush administration.
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In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity. Augustine
History will be as good to W as it has been to Truman. The Bush haters cant see the success that Iraq is only b/c pop media has done a masterful job of daily painting it as a "quagmire". In less than six years, the successes of the Iraq campaign is quite remarkable. Afghanistan is no longer led by the Taliban w a democratically elected government, women are going to school and holding jobs rather than being beaten and publicly stoned. There hasn't been one terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11. Our military is stronger and better prepared for 21st century warfare than ever before.
Many folks forget that the economy grew to unprecidented levels between 2001 (low point after 9/11), and 2007. Seniors are benefitting from a better prescription drug benefit. Unborn babies were given greater protections and rights. Standards were raised for our public schools, our kids are scoring better on tests and teachers are more accountable. The Supreme Court is blessed with two new members who intepret the Constitution with a strict literal view. Many homeless, drug adddicts, alcoholics, poor, hungry, and other struggling people groups have benefitted from the freedom the Bush administration afforded churches with faith based initiatives.
The Presidency is stronger. After years of being undermined since Watergate and the Nixon admin, Bush and his team have worked to restore the executive branch to its Constitutional level.
The Bush years will be remembered in years to come as good ones for the USA.
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When a newspaper posed the question, "What's Wrong with the World?" G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: "Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton." That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus.
History will be as good to W as it has been to Truman. The Bush haters cant see the success that Iraq is only b/c pop media has done a masterful job of daily painting it as a "quagmire". In less than six years, the successes of the Iraq campaign is quite remarkable. Afghanistan is no longer led by the Taliban w a democratically elected government, women are going to school and holding jobs rather than being beaten and publicly stoned. There hasn't been one terrorist attack on our soil since 9/11. Our military is stronger and better prepared for 21st century warfare than ever before.
Many folks forget that the economy grew to unprecidented levels between 2001 (low point after 9/11), and 2007. Seniors are benefitting from a better prescription drug benefit. Unborn babies were given greater protections and rights. Standards were raised for our public schools, our kids are scoring better on tests and teachers are more accountable. The Supreme Court is blessed with two new members who intepret the Constitution with a strict literal view. Many homeless, drug adddicts, alcoholics, poor, hungry, and other struggling people groups have benefitted from the freedom the Bush administration afforded churches with faith based initiatives.
The Presidency is stronger. After years of being undermined since Watergate and the Nixon admin, Bush and his team have worked to restore the executive branch to its Constitutional level.
The Bush years will be remembered in years to come as good ones for the USA.
Wow with all the benefits of GWB's successful Presidency, it's almost unconscionable that he has had the lowest approval rating of any modern President.
I'll personally be glad to see GWB's out of control spending, Constitution ignoring, torture supporting, Neo-con supporting, military over-extending ways come to an end today.
If history judges his Presidency as a raging success, so be it. In the here and now of the last 8 years, it seems like a blundering, erroneous one that can't end too soon.
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In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity. Augustine
I don't care for Obama's policies. About the only policy he has that I care for is the policy of sleeping at night. That's about it.
I'll start out by stating that although I think I have made it clear before.
I will also state that I am what is known by Ferd (LOL... messing with man.) as a conspiracy nut. I do believe that there are powerful people who control the money of the nations who have an agenda of increasingly centralizing power and control and increasingly dwindling the freedom of the people to the end of the aforementioned centralization.
I also belief that one of the greatest tools there is for controlling the masses is chaos and confusion. When chaos and confusion are interjected into a nation then the people will be accepting of actions they would never have agreed on before. It is called the Hegellian Dialectic.
I do not "feel" that this is going to happen... I do not, in any way, shape, form or fashion have any positive feeling, hope or desire that this would happen...
But an assassination on Inauguration Day would thrust this nation into chaos that even an event like 9/11 wasn't able to achieve. There would be riots and unrest that would be immediate, nationwide and unprecedented.
This would immediately call for a strong (and more permanent than you can imagine) military presence in the streets of America. Problem... reaction... solution.
As I have said.. I do NOT "feel" that this is going to happen and as much as I disagree with Obama I do not have a single cell of my body that would do anything but cringe and the whole concept...
But this Gates thing... while a prudent move... feeds my worries makes me hope more and more that we make it through this day with a successful and uneventful Inauguration.
Wow with all the benefits of GWB's successful Presidency, it's almost unconscionable that he has had the lowest approval rating of any modern President.
I'll personally be glad to see GWB's out of control spending, Constitution ignoring, torture supporting, Neo-con supporting, military over-extending ways come to an end today.
If history judges his Presidency as a raging success, so be it. In the here and now of the last 8 years, it seems like a blundering, erroneous one that can't end too soon.
Approval ratings are a media-driven popularity contest.
What many don't understand is LEADERSHIP with INTEGRITY. Some people have core values and they don't change based on popular opinion. W stuck to his belief that the post 9/11 world was better off without Saddam Hussein. He has admitted regrets and adjusted when needed. The Surge has paid off and Iraq is progressing every day. W didn't do "focus group" leadership. He didn't stick his finger in the air and find out what the public demanded. He lead by principles and values. He may not have been a great orator. He may not have had an Elvis personality, but he had CHARACTER. Truman left office with low approval ratings but historians today judge him as a great president. I believe this will be true of Bush's eight years.
Presidents always get the blame/credit for the economy when they have very little control over it, outside of raising or cutting taxes. Popular opinion is fickle and carries a "what have you done for me lately?" mentality. Check every president since approval polls have been conducted and you will find no second term president left office with high approval ratings. People grow weary of the same guy. Add to that the economy tanking in the final months of W's administration, and sure, current opinion is low. But any reasonable person who has studied why the economy dropped recently will be honest and admit that these seeds were sown in the Clinton administration and cultivated by the likes of Barney Frank, Chuckie Schumer and the leaders of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which opened the door to greedy Wall Street types to exploit the weaknesses of the housing bubble.
That's fine if you want to think short term and rejoice over Bush's departure. Thank God Bush didn't think short term in his leadership. Tax cuts for middle class families like mine and tax cuts for investors and entrepenuers was a long term strategy that created great growth throughout most of his presidency. 52 straight months of growth in fact, unprecidented in US history. That's long term. The War on Terror wasn't over in 1 year, and it still is ongoing, but the long term is proving, that although with some blunders along the way, Bush and the US Armed Forces have done and are doing an exceptional job. Long term leadership---making investmnts that pay off years down the road, not leadership that looks for quick victories or to be popular.
__________________
When a newspaper posed the question, "What's Wrong with the World?" G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: "Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton." That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus.
Location: In two of the most beautiful states in the U.S.A
Posts: 1,676
Re: Gates Not Attending Inauguration
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeinAR
Wow with all the benefits of GWB's successful Presidency, it's almost unconscionable that he has had the lowest approval rating of any modern President.
I'll personally be glad to see GWB's out of control spending, Constitution ignoring, torture supporting, Neo-con supporting, military over-extending ways come to an end today.
If history judges his Presidency as a raging success, so be it. In the here and now of the last 8 years, it seems like a blundering, erroneous one that can't end too soon.
Jesus had such a low approval rating that they hung him on the cross. I agree with Deacon, I think President Bush will go down in history as one of our strongest presidents.
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