General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMichelle Obama: GWB is a "beautiful, funny, kind, sweet man"
Source: CNN Wire / wtvr.com
Former first lady Michelle Obama said that her oft-admired friendship with former President George W. Bush serves as a reminder of how relationships should be during a time when America only sees all the nasty parts of political discourse.
Id love if we as a country could get back to the place where we didnt demonize people who disagreed with us, she added.
Although Obama and Bush dont always agree on things, Obama said, she still considered the former president a beautiful, funny, kind, sweet man.
https://wtvr.com/2018/11/17/michelle-obama-opens-up-about-her-friendship-with-george-w-bush/
I can hear Barack saying we can disagree without being disagreeable. Well, I guess the million or so people GWB killed dont disagree, they were silenced forever. Michelle is well advised to stay clear of politics. These remarks are up there with GWBs comments about Putins soul.
Just a Weirdo
(488 posts)Good to say about this in public.
Fullduplexxx
(7,852 posts)awesomerwb1
(4,267 posts)RockRaven
(14,955 posts)Weird how you can be nice to the elites you interact with and a moral monster when it comes to the faceless masses, huh? Well, no, that's entirely normal and common.
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)Fullduplexxx
(7,852 posts)Which the parents of the troops were sending to their kids said any troop who dies and is not in the inferior body armor will not get the death benefits .
How understanding and sweet.
jmowreader
(50,552 posts)The product is glued together. The glue fails when exposed to 120 degree heat or diesel fuel. When the glue fails, all the little discs fall to the bottom of the carrier.
Fullduplexxx
(7,852 posts)The brand doesnt matter the policy is the same and you completely missed the point
Response to crazytown (Original post)
Post removed
ProfessorGAC
(64,988 posts). . .between those who became wealthy of their own initiative and those that would have been rich had they done nothing at all?
Fullduplexxx
(7,852 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)But there you go doing it anyways...
Fullduplexxx
(7,852 posts)ProfessorGAC
(64,988 posts)I feel sorry you are so bitter.
Mike Rows His Boat
(389 posts)leftynyc
(26,060 posts)Plenty of the wealthy are good Democrats who fight for all the same things we do. You sound bitter and jealous.
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)Boo hoo. Spare us.
Response to Act_of_Reparation (Reply #83)
Post removed
Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)Fascinating. I assume you have more than unqualified anecdote to support this stark contradiction of conventional social psychology?
Oh, and how much do you make?
Fullduplexxx
(7,852 posts)Wonderful person . Let's just forget the things this wonderful thoughtful man did .. oops there i go being all needlessly bitter again. How soon we forget
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)Not only Michelle. I can't help it that you can't see beyond jealously and bitterness.
choie
(4,111 posts)They're in a club. Both Obamas should have a stronger ethical compass.
Autumn
(45,042 posts)friendship with Henry Kissenger.
Mr. Quackers
(443 posts)meant to distract and divide those of us for whom $100 is like $1000 instead of $.01?
handmade34
(22,756 posts)our system needs a complete do over
JHan
(10,173 posts)Former officials tend to have some kind of relationship with Kissinger, the man was a big player in Washington. As for Presidents, Truman bemoaned how lonely and isolating the Presidency is, Clinton remarked the same.
It is typical for presidents to reach out to their predecessors especially in the first year. Obama would frequently contact Bush JR in his first year, both for advice and a heart to heart talk. By the second term, Presidents begin to feel even more isolated.
It actually exposes just how frail leadership is , and how *human* it is, that people from differing parties and ideologies would reach out to each other. It doesn't negate their ideological differences. It's just a more nuanced take than "oh it's just rich people liking each other".
I think one of the reasons Trump is in such a psychological state is because he cannot reach out to anyone.
Autumn
(45,042 posts)and I think that makes the difference Trump will wander around his golf courses. I can't see people like the Obama's and the Bush's hanging around with him or his spawn. Bill and Hillary were friendly with the Trumps back in the day, before Obama's existence drove him insane but I don't see that ever coming back.
JHan
(10,173 posts).. that is a rich people argument thing because rich people love golf. But Trump was a player in New York and invited them (clintons) to their wedding, he invited lots of New York bigwigs. It doesn't suggest some undercurrent of genuine love, just that he liked to be around people of influence, from rappers to artists and musicians and politicians and the like.
You mentioned the Bush's and the Clintons and the Obama's and their relationships, it's not disturbing that people in power reach out to each for commiseration. It's not nefarious, it not "dirty". It just happens. I just find the slant I'm reading in the thread weird, Michelle's comments don't surprise me at all.
Autumn
(45,042 posts)before he went crazy. He wanted to be a part of that circle. I remember at an event in Aspen just before his affair with Marla became public. He crashed it because he wanted to have pictures taken with some of the stars. . It's not like people who have served in powerful positions are going to go to dog parks or neighborhood BBQs to meet their neighbors and make new friends.
JHan
(10,173 posts)fuck now i'm laughing rofl. craziest shit I ever read.
Autumn
(45,042 posts)they despise him Can you imagine Republican fastidious health nut Paul Ryan wanting to hang with him? I doubt even Lindsey will tolerate his golf cheating after he's out.
JHan
(10,173 posts)but I think they will.
This is how far gone Republicans are, his rhetoric gets them high. so fucked up. Made all the more ridiculous given his pathetic behavior.
As for Lindsey, where to begin.. another laughathon.
Autumn
(45,042 posts)with him because they like his angry rhetoric and respond to his racist dog whistles but leadership and elected Republicans will find he can do nothing for them after he's out of office.
LakeArenal
(28,813 posts)If this is the most disappointing thing to the public youve ever said or done good on you.
Loyal, beautiful, smart, accepting.
crazytown
(7,277 posts)Because you were not too badly hurt by GWBs administration doesnt make Michelles comments any less hurtful to those who were.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)It's certainly a convenient manner of thought, if not the most rational.
(who in fact, argued the comments were any less hurtful? No one? No one. Hence, irrational...)
crazytown
(7,277 posts)to those devasted by GWBs wars.
If this is the most disappointing thing to the public youve ever said or done good on you.
Good on you? No. Nope. No way.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Why reimagine your own statements in the middle of a discussion?
crazytown
(7,277 posts)Fail
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,324 posts)Power 2 the People
(2,437 posts)LakeArenal
(28,813 posts)Have a nice rational Thanksgiving.
Mr. Quackers
(443 posts)I suppose you can find the good in practically anyone if you strain hard enough.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"I suppose you can find the bad in practically anyone if you strain hard enough."
Six of one, half a dozen of the other... and each as petulant and without content as the other.
Mr. Quackers
(443 posts)evil is evil, it's best to never condone it.
Dubya is an evil person. His soul is stained in the blood of so many.
"Now watch this drive."
Mosby
(16,297 posts)Mr. Quackers
(443 posts)Are the troops home?
Everything is sunshine, rainbows, and unicorn farts in that part of the world?
How much has this already cost us? How much does it still cost?
The Taliban hasn't been eradicated. In fact, they still control areas that contain at least 15 million people in Afghanistan.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Though the US should have never supported them in the first place.
Mosby
(16,297 posts)But I'm well aware Afghanistan is a mess.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)As long as it includes taking the Saudi out of Saudi Arabia as well.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)demmiblue
(36,838 posts)saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)I admire you.
I will never forget the stolen 2000 election, Florida, nor the swift boating of John Kerry. He destroyed Dan Rather's career for trying to expose his dismal military record and drug abuse.
Big Blue Marble
(5,058 posts)on John McCain's child in the 2000 South Carolina primary.
Oh and over 500,000 dead in the wake of the Iraq War. Thousand of American military lives destroyed by
IUD's and the trillions of dollars added to our national debt.
And remember he chose Cheney to be his vice-president.
borgesian
(52 posts)frazzled
(18,402 posts)Let's cut Michelle some slack. She's trying to find something nice to say about the man; not his policies or his administration. It's kind of backhanded, though ... as I said, like what you would tell a parent about their dim child.
GeorgeGist
(25,318 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,365 posts)"comedian of the year" award.
violetpastille
(1,483 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)I think Bush might a decent guy if you met him in person and he knows you personally, but his politics and his policies were horrible.
She is not endorsing his politics.
crazytown
(7,277 posts)GWB respects strong women. Condi was his closest confident during his Presidency. The again, if Babs was your mother, being disagreeable was not an option.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)is that unlike Trump, where most of his cabinet and advisers are corrupt and incompetent white men, Bush was able to find corrupt & incompetent people of all races, male or female - not just Condi, but Colin Powell, Alberto Gonzalez, Karen Hughes, Harriet Miers, Elaine Chao, Rod Paige, etc.
secondwind
(16,903 posts)Docreed2003
(16,858 posts)I saw the man, personally, amongst wounded soldiers greeting them on a human level, not from a distance or as props as some politicians might. Bush was a terrible president and I have many issues with the guy but seeing him in moments like that changed some opinions I had. I'm on Michelle's side in this.
Zing Zing Zingbah
(6,496 posts)It would be nice if Americans could get back to treating each other with respect and remembering we're all human. The problem is the right has done too much to demonize the left. People on the left are just reacting to the the shitty treatment. Sucks... the right wingers need an attitude adjustment.
GeorgeGist
(25,318 posts)grantcart
(53,061 posts)When too many were silent
rockfordfile
(8,701 posts)People died because of him. Americans have lost their arms ans legs because of him.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)FDR put Japanese Americans in internment camps
Truman nuked Japan twice
Eisienhower started what would become the Vietnam War
JFK and LBJ escalated the Vietnam War
Nixon did a lot of horrible things with Vietnam and a few surrounding countries
...
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)pathetic and very broken record-ish. Sigh.
A-Schwarzenegger
(15,596 posts)and a million end up dead and people never let you forget. I suppose you never started a pointless war somewhere and a million ended up dead. I think it's nice how she is giving him a big hug like you would give a poor old guy who doesn't know where he is or who he is. My Blood-Drenched Republican Pet.
crazytown
(7,277 posts)A-Schwarzenegger
(15,596 posts)crazytown
(7,277 posts)A-Schwarzenegger
(15,596 posts)That was his killer line when he was affronted by a devastating remark: "Well!"
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)A-Schwarzenegger
(15,596 posts)I use it all the time. It works on anything. Well!
sammythecat
(3,568 posts)that gwb and his cronies were responsible for. That remark was not uncalled for. GWB's actions were, to say the very least.
old guy
(3,283 posts)but that's just me.
Basement Beat
(659 posts)And quite disappointing. But whatever. *sigh*
StarryNite
(9,442 posts)If Michelle starts saying nice things about Cheney then that will be a whole different level of WTF?
redstateblues
(10,565 posts)Renew Deal
(81,852 posts)The whole beer thing...
Botany
(70,483 posts)n/t
secondwind
(16,903 posts)uponit7771
(90,335 posts)PCIntern
(25,518 posts)We go high.
They drop hand grenades
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Hence, losses or victories are irrelevant.
But hey... if it feeds your narrative those delicious but empty calories, go for it.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,365 posts)MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)Bfd
(1,406 posts)He was no more capable of leading a country than Trump is.
GW was simply selected to be the distraction while the public would be shielded from the big business deals of global players & the power grab that took place behind the facade.
Exactly what is going on with Trump.
It happened in 2000, 2016 & the necessary parts are being set in place to repeat again in 2020.
Kaleva
(36,294 posts)there are several threads over at FR about this. Below are some posts from those threads:
"Oh please! And here I just had breakfast.
Everytime I see a photo of W. grinnin like a GD Cheshire Cat while hugging (?!) Michelle, Im reminded of how wrong I can be about admiring certain presidents.
The way she has spoken about him and his presidency,
And still, he just luvs her to bits!
The word Masochist is in the dictionary for a reason."
"It was once said: Differences between the Clintons. Bushes and Obamas are by degrees, not by kind"
"He (George W) is my partner in crime at every major thing
Ill bet he is.
Ill bet he is."
"Remember that none of the Bushes ever said a negative word during the Obama Regime.
Then Trump is elected - and they all let loose with criticisms."
"They discovered they basically have mutual goals.
And besties in the Clintons."
"The KKKlintons and the Obamas love the Bush family because they are naive SAPs who are easily taken advantage of. We really dodged the bullet with JEB!"
"The Bushes will adopt the Obamas same as they did the Clintons. Tell me everyone in DC isnt in cahoots with everyone else."
"Horrible people, sticking together.
"
crazytown
(7,277 posts)Kaleva
(36,294 posts)crazytown
(7,277 posts)but trashing Bushs presidency from the Right, ex post facto like lemmings
Bucky
(53,986 posts)As much as I admire Michelle Obama, I gotta conclude that she is only able to see Dubya this way because she keeps on running into him in polite social settings. That's the experience the people at the top of the heap in a democracy have. That's great if your goal is to get along and manage the government.
The people that she does not run into socially on the regular include people whose children were killed or maimed being sent off to the vanity war which that "beautiful, funny, kind, sweet man" started so he could get his buddies a tax cut and himself reelected.
As the teacher of two young men who were killed in Iraq, I can never turn a blind eye to what that horrible man did to our country or to the Middle East. Democracy doesn't depend on people like Michelle Obama seeing the blood on George W Bush's hands. But it does depend on putting new people in office who aren't that cozy with the rich and powerful.
Response to Bucky (Reply #49)
Skidmore This message was self-deleted by its author.
PatSeg
(47,370 posts)but on this one, I cannot agree with her. People don't demonize George Bush just because they disagree with him, they demonize him because of all the pain and loss he caused. I can disagree with someone and still like them. I don't like Bush for all the devastation he brought about.
Bush tanked the economy and many people never recuperated. He was responsible for invading a sovereign nation, black sites, and torture, not to mention the deaths of more people than we will probably ever know. Not exactly funny and sweet.
malchickiwick
(1,474 posts)... but he's still a war criminal. Sorry Michelle.
handmade34
(22,756 posts)as a President, he was unfit and disgusting
Everybody I've read who have met W Bush have said what a charming and pleasant man he is.
But as POTUS he was a terrible human being. All the blood and money lost in his Iraq mis-adventure, crashing the Economy, bungling Katrina, and the current credit over-leveraging for college students that is holding us back right now.
W, until Trump, was the worst. Now he's the 2nd worst.
Michelle must be ignoring a lot to be so publicly endearing to this terrible human being.
cilla4progress
(24,724 posts)much.
Maybe in contrast to trump.
GoCubsGo
(32,078 posts)that son of a bitch didn't ruin you the way he did millions of us. I'm one of them. I will never recover financially, having lost my job directly due to the actions of his administration. My career, for which I worked my ass off, often under hellish conditions, is dead. I will probably much die earlier than I might have, had I not gotten laid off and lost my health insurance years ago. He might be "kind and sweet to you", but he was a fucking monster to the rest of us.
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)matt819
(10,749 posts)Well, you sort of have to overlook the whole 9/11 thing and the actions that have resulted in the expenditure of more than $6 trillion in senseless wars, the shame of Guantanamo Bay, the destruction of entire nations, and millions dead.
Apart from that, he's a great guy.
Sorry, Michelle, gotta disagree with you on this one.
Though I can't help but wonder about the RW extremists' response to this. Heads exploding??
not_the_one
(2,227 posts)We will just have to agree to disagree....
Prior to turdface, GWB had defined the bottom of the barrel. (And before that, St. Reagan. And before that Dick Nixon. Strange, they are ALL repukes.)
lpbk2713
(42,751 posts)crazytown
(7,277 posts)(Tony Blair) You grin. I pose. Its not about sincerity. Everybody knows. Im with stupid@
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)Once you've lived that life, I think you get comfort from others who have done the same. Remember, the Bush's were similar to the Obama's in that they had two daughters. When Michelle says W is a kind and funny man, he probably is. She is not saying she endorses his policies or even thinks he was a good president. She is saying in her personal experience with him, he has been kind to her.
This is not a big deal.
bigtree
(85,986 posts)...he's unrepentant about his war crimes (renditions, assassinations, lying nation into war in Iraq), anti-constitutional power grab after the 9-11 attack on our nation, attack on our social safety net, theft of our Treasury for tax cuts for his rich friends, tortures and cover-up...
He's a fairly awful person.
Mosby
(16,297 posts)FYI.
Is he a war criminal?
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Bush used a made up conspiracy theory (how come nobody called Bush a truther for suggesting Saddam had something to do with 9/11?) To get us into Iraq.
bigtree
(85,986 posts)...Bush's crimes far exceed the issue of the use of drones.
Bettie
(16,086 posts)and, he may be a charming person. Doesn't make what he has done less evil.
Doodley
(9,078 posts)Kaleva
(36,294 posts)LisaM
(27,800 posts)I'm still bitter. That election changed me, and not in the best way.
democrank
(11,092 posts)the deaths and maiming of thousands and thousands of people....for rampant PTSD....for horrific trauma....for lying about WMDs. Not very "sweet" and not too "funny" to me. Decorum and civility is one thing, but praise for George W. Bush is quite another.
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)democrank
(11,092 posts)Just curious....
empedocles
(15,751 posts)Stinky The Clown
(67,786 posts)I also wish to see a return to political civility. I think she is modeling that in a positive way.
Response to crazytown (Original post)
Post removed
underthematrix
(5,811 posts)And I love the twins.
Rorey
(8,445 posts)I can't agree with her on this.
bdamomma
(63,836 posts)but no so much on this subject, geez he went into a country to settle his daddy's score (no weapons of mass destruction) and people were killed including our own troops.
Demsrule86
(68,539 posts)on his watch that the towers fell...Bush can fuck himself...oh and what about the 08 crash? Double fuck him. Michelle I love you but do not agree at all...we should not tolerate the right and let them destroy this country because they act "nice".
GeorgeGist
(25,318 posts)she drank the koolaid.
FiveGoodMen
(20,018 posts)Those who want to get along with everyone end up being the sell-outs.
Celerity
(43,273 posts)That entire Bush family, starting with Brown Brothers Harriman Nazi bagman Prescott down the the son Poppy Bush, and then grandson Bush the lesser has done such horrific damage worldwide I could never, ever admire them or say good things about them. They were a pestilence upon the planet. Epitome of American evil.
Downtown Hound
(12,618 posts)We'll just agree to disagree on that Michelle.
Cha
(297,097 posts)subject.
shanny
(6,709 posts)eleny
(46,166 posts)So he could catapult his agenda of privatizing Social Security.
Kind and lovable? Not in my book.
gldstwmn
(4,575 posts)That's the second part of the sentence right?
LenaBaby61
(6,974 posts)You're welcome to him though.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)rockfordfile
(8,701 posts)JimGinPA
(14,811 posts)Mike Nelson
(9,951 posts)
I guess I can understand what she's doing, but I don't agree with her this time.
choie
(4,111 posts)Sunsky
(1,737 posts)I can't act as if I was asleep for 8 years of terror, lies and wars which lead to an economic disaster. This is the same guy who joked about being a dictator, and joked about his friends- the haves and the have mores.
I'll pass on this one Michelle. Love you though.
John Fante
(3,479 posts)Michelle Obama is my queen, but she's either consciously or subconsciously ignoring the many heinous policies this man signed off on (torture FFS!) because he's sweet and jovial in social settings. It's disconcerting to see.
malaise
(268,885 posts)So there
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)3catwoman3
(23,969 posts)Much as I shake my head every day now over the current occupant of the White House, I was similarly incredulous over GWB being inflicted upon us TWICE!
dalton99a
(81,432 posts)UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)jalan48
(13,855 posts)a mint at McCain's funeral doesn't make him a good man.
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)He should have been tried by the World Court.