http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article....S00010000000001

I think you give George Bush too much credit. He is not an all-knowing entity. The cover-up is very likely much lower down the chain of command. This isn't a new thing either, the My Lai massacre in Vietnam was much worse and has still not received the investigation it likely deserves.

I think the marine they interviewed is gonna come back with PTSD.

 

Poor guy.

I think you give George Bush too much credit.  He is not an all-knowing entity.

why people expect the president to know every detail of every skirmish or confrontation is beyond me.

 

The cover-up is very likely much lower down the chain of command.

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if there is one in the first place. easy to jump to conclusions before all the facts are in. the fact that an investigation is currently underway (two actually) further implies that any potential initial cover-up is now blown. either a screw-up, or some local commander thought it would look bad and followed up with a worse decision to not dig deeper.

 

this is where media presence pays off, i think, in getting to the story behind the story.

 

taks

Depending on when you ask the same person the question, their opinions on Bush seem to range from idiot to evil mastermind.

certainly contradictory claims, to say the least.

 

IMO, he's no idiot, though he definitely isn't running for any mastermind titles, either.

 

taks

Even the dumbest dog can be dragged along with a leash, provided his handler is capable of doing so.

"I can still smell the conspiracy!"

Even the dumbest dog can be dragged along with a leash, provided his handler is capable of doing so. 

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Or twirled at high speed around the head, and flung into the middle distance?

Even the dumbest dog can be dragged along with a leash, provided his handler is capable of doing so. 

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Or twirled at high speed around the head, and flung into the middle distance?

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Hasn't he done that? Repeatedly?

Thankfully he's almost done.

You wait. I'm betting he's just the warm-up act. Anyone who voted Republican last time is now so defensive that they'll never switch again ever.

You wait. I'm betting he's just the warm-up act. Anyone who voted Republican last time is now so defensive that they'll never switch again ever.

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Or he could simply say:"Nah, I'm stayin' "...

nah, i doubt swingers will hesitate to switch. in the end, they look for the lesser weasel and bush fit the bill. sorry to kerry supporters, but he simply came across as a hypocrite. the democrats were trying to paint bush as an elitist but kerry is an even bigger blue-blood than bush. heck, he brought his own cameraman to vietnam. oy veh!

 

realistically, however, republicans will have to provide better candidates this time. if mccain is it, i'm voting independent as i don't like him, and i won't stand for either gore or clinton (i've heard a 3rd party may have a chance this tiime).

 

taks

(i've heard a 3rd party may have a chance this tiime).

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I can't believe the Democrats are seriously considering Mrs. Clinton. Don't they even want to win? And what happened to Elisabeth Dole?

 

On-topic, it's unlikely that Bush ever deliberately covered things up as anything that needed covering up would have been kept from him - 'plausible deniability' and all that. The top people at the Pentagon and so on, maybe, but probably not Bush himself.

Yeah, he's on a "need to know" basis only. His title of "Commander in Chief" is just for show. :ph34r:

Big hands on little maps.

well, think of it in terms of his population. what's the estimate now, 2 million active military? or maybe just a million? either way, that results in 10s of thousands of lieutenants and related "sub-commander" types running around. there's no way he can be expected to know what every one of them is up to at any given moment. it's just not feasible. it's aggravated by the fact that his "commander in chief" status is only one of his many other full-time responsibilities.

 

there ain't enough power or money in the world to make me want that job.

 

taks

I dunno, all the power and money in the world might be enough to convince me ... "

I respect all of the US presidents. It's a very difficult job. I don't always agree with their positions or decisions, but that doesn't stop me from being respectful. But I'm also a very neutral when it comes to politics. I love the political system we have in the US. It's remarkably balanced. It is incapable of stagnation due to the constant leadership changes. Even if another Republican comes into office in 2008, you will still see a policy change.

 

Eventually the people will tire of the War on Terrorism, just like the Cold War. Then you will see conservatives lose their hold. The cycle is very clear.

So we blame the cycle?

The system can be stagnant within a cycle.

The cycle works. It's just you aren't thinking long-term enough.

Thinking long-term?

 

When you have a good leader, why would you want to get rid of him every 4-8 years? And when you have a bad one why would want to keep him 4-8 years?

 

Democracy should be about electing and keeping who is right for the job and to remove who is bad for the country. The terms are not always a good thing.