Bush's pig tales show disengagement

[DoYouEverWonder]

July 15, 2006

WASHINGTON -- As Israeli warplanes were preparing an attack on Lebanon Thursday afternoon, and a Lebanese militia was aiming a rocket at the ancient Israeli city of Safed, President George W. Bush was bantering with reporters in Germany about a pig.

Bush kept bringing up the roast wild boar he was about to dine on at a banquet that night, even when asked about the swelling crisis in the Middle East, where pig meat is forbidden to religious Jews and Muslims.

"Does it concern you that the Beirut airport has been bombed?" a reporter asked. "And do you see a risk of triggering a wider war?"

"I thought you were going to ask me about the pig," Bush replied blithely. Then he brought the pig up again -- for the fifth time -- before giving a long answer that ended with his saying Israel needed to protect itself.

"He was asked a serious question," said Ian Lustick, a Middle East expert now at the University of Pennsylvania, and his answer "epitomized his disengagement in the Middle East."

Hands-off approach

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wobush0716,0,7120698.story


I don't think I would call it a 'hands-off approach'. More like a Failure to Lead On Purpose.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. New meme.... "Failure Of Leadership On Purpose" FOLOP

[Demit]

3. We could just streamline that to FLOP. nt

[DoYouEverWonder]

4. That works for me

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. But hey.... somebody is going to have to get them nobid

contracts to rebuild Lebanon's bridges, power plants, roads and so forth.

[HereSince1628]

8. If we do we lose the opportunity to have FOLOP-ful available

as an adjective.

[qanda]

11. That sounds like something O'Reilly could get off on

Folopful-- you sure it's not a noun?

[goforit]

34. Quite frankly, "folop" is what George would say.

[calimary]

52. And because of his arrogant, flippant, smug attitude, it's a Flip-FLOP.

Every day I am astounded at how much more I despise this asshole, and how much he does to deserve my revulsion.

That, unfortunately, is America's face to the world. I've never been this ashamed of the so-called president of the United States. He should be someone we all look up to and believe in, and BELIEVE, when he speaks. This turd doesn't inspire ANY of those qualities. We're a laughing stock. Because HE is a laughing stock.

It just stings that we, here, are saddled with him like an anvil around our necks, and WE wanted nothing to do with him. A MAJORITY of voters both times wanted nothing to do with him, and we got stuck with him anyway.

Dear world - we did NOT authorize this!

[semillama]

56. FLIP-FLOP works too

FLIP-FLOP = Failure to Lead In Principle, Failure to Lead On Purpose

[Miss Chybil]

29. On purpose? He doesn't know how!!!!

Failure to Lead Due to Imcompetence - FLDI

[mother earth]

2. Totally speaks to the fact that he is merely a puppet, a figure

head, not given to the genuine free flow of thought. It's just like sitting there reading My Pet Goat...he's lost if he doesn't have a script, better to make small talk than show himself more of the lost fool. The reporter would have gotten more of a logical and appropriate answer from the average guy off the street.

[Maine-ah]

6. This was all I could think of when I read this story.....

Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in.

Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in.

In their styes with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking.

Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.

[Mind_your_head]

54. I like it....and it's true, especially the final line....

Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon.

It will come back to "bite them in the ass" (or eat their own). That's just how the universe works; there's no getting around it.

[radfringe]

7. has anyone else noticed?

you never see Clark Kent and Superman at the the same place at the same time...

:tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat: :tinfoilhat:
and you never see bush in the White House when a major event occurs...
- September 11: bush was in Florida reading "My Pet Goat"
- Hurricane Katrina: bush on vacation in Crawford
- Israel/Lebanon War: bush is eating BBQ pig in Germany...

[leftchick]

9. First they want Syria disengaged, Now they want them engaged

Basically they are all full of shit. Here is a good companion article...

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060731/editors4

It is now clear that the American and Israeli strategy of trying to isolate Hamas and Hezbollah, on the one hand, and Syria and Iran on the other, have backfired. Would the situation in Gaza have gotten so out of hand if Israel, the United States, and the European Union had tried to work with the democratically elected Hamas government from the outset? And would Hezbollah have felt the freedom to take the reckless action it took--the deplorable firing of rockets on Israeli civilians As Juan Cole points out today on Informed Comment, "A Lebanon with no Syrian troops and Hizbullah in the government was inherently unstable. With Syria gone, Hizbullah filled a security vacuum and also was less restrained."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that Syria has a special responsibility to resolve this crisis. But the whole thrust of American policy of the last two years has been to reduce unconditionally Syria's influence in Lebanon so as to leave Lebanon to the Lebanese. By what logic does the Administration now seek to hold Syria accountable for the reckless action of Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon? As Cole suggests, the hasty unplanned departure of Syrian forces may have ironically given Hezbollah more freedom to act than before. A dialogue with Syria together with an effort to have a more careful planned disengagement of Syrian forces would have given the Lebanese government a better chance of establishing control over its sovereignty in southern Lebanon.

[KoKo]

10. Given Bush's cruel streak...talking about that Pig probably was sending

a message. Maybe Mark Crispin Miller will do an article on the "Pig" thing.

For Muslims and Orthodox Jews given the bombing ...one would think he would not have mentioned "the pig" five times. :eyes:

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Everything he says and does is on purpose

What the Israel's don't seem to understand is that Bush couldn't give a damn about them either. Hence the eating of pork to celebrate the beginning of his War Against Everyone.

[Theres-a]

15. Exactly

[rocktivity]

13. More like "a failure to lead on purpose"?

It's more like an inability to lead, period. Like that woman who was going to run against Hillary, he's speechless without a script. Georgie has to be TOLD what to think, and then rehearse it. In this case, however, Georgie not only doesn't know what to think, he doesn't know what to do, either.

:headbang:
rocknation

[DoYouEverWonder]

14. That's what Bush wants you to believe

That he is too stupid to be evil.

He knows exactly what he is doing and he does it on purpose.

[MissWaverly]

42. yes, the cost of Israel's action have already been calculated

at 100 million, where is a country that size goting to get money like that? HMMMMMMM! Our
army is also supplying every drop of fuel for the Israeli army for this effort. HMMMMMMMM!

[rocktivity]

46. What you do think that "I'm the decider!" business was all about?

Georgie is just intelligent enough to realize that WE realize that he needs others to do things FOR him. That humiliates him, and THAT'S the source of his evil.

:headbang:
rocknation

[IndianaGreen]

16. Eating pork is forbidden to Muslims and Jews

It is significant that as Jews and Arabs were killing each other, that Bush was in detached mode feasting on pork.

[slor]

17. More like a "brains-off" approach...

and it can be seen in everything he does or does NOT do.

[ixion]

18. yeah, defintely not 'hands-off'

again, * shows his contempt for peaceful society and rule of law. :grr:

[benfranklin1776]

19. And his evident sociopathology

Anyone who can cheerfully trivialize the seemingly out of control spiral of bloody death and destruction that is convulsing the Middle East by choosing to talk instead about his anticipation of a pig roast shows a horrifyingly complete and utter lack of conscience. Such a callous brazen disregard for the suffering and death of other human beings is depraved and a sign of deep sociopathology.

[mitchum]

21. It's also an indication of his half-assed sociopathology...

most sociopaths have to learn how to mimic empathetic responses so that they can continue to go about their narcissistic way. bush has always occupied a priviliged position and has never even had to develop the skill of subterfuge.

[benfranklin1776]

23. Good point.

Unlike most sociopaths he is not intelligent enough to know when to hide it in appropriate situations and as you say because of his position of power and privilege has always been able to insulate himself from any consequences of his moral vacuity.

[mitchum]

24. Yes, that is why everything has to be stage managed for him...

by others

[Beetwasher]

20. This Has Gone WAAAAY Beyond Mere Extreme Incompetence and Abject Failure

Into some bizzarre, surreal Kafkaesque nightmare pumped up on acid and steroids.

[rooboy]

22. Think of Rain Man without the card counting and you have George Bush. n/t

[DesertRat]

30. Exactly.

The Pig Slicer-in-chief is the new Rain Man.

"They ask, what's the job like to be President. And the answer to that job is you make a lot of decisions." (8-7-06) whitehouse.gov

[superconnected]

61. And when they asked about his biggest acomplishment

and he answered catching a fish and then distorted the real size.

[Judi Lynn]

25. He knows at critical times, when the reporters come after him with

urgent questions, that he has something they need, and it seems to give him perverse pleasure. He reminds one of a brat who stands in front of the tv when his parents are watching an interesting movie, or who tries to derail a conversation with a guest.

The adults are trying to transact ADULT bidness, and he can keep them from meeting their goals by screwing around with pure drivel like the boar dinner news, or "watch this drive."

Sure proof he got NO honest attention as a child from the people significant to him, and he's sulking, not about to play fair now that he holds all the cards.

[bluedeminredstate]

27. Very interesting

(Not to sound like Freud...) :)
What it looks like is someone who thinks he is just the life of the party - a friggin' riot, which is what he's used to with the American press pack. They would no doubt clap and laugh uproariously if he farted his way through a briefing, and ABC's Note would report how clever Bush is when asked a tricky question.
However, this foolishness that Bush displayed was done in front of another world leader with reporters from all over the world as his audience. They don't feel compelled like our press to act like his mommy, praising his pretty preschool artwork that's actually a crayola disaster. He ended up looking like an uninformed, uninterested jerk. There's also an element of cruelty in all this hilarity - like the reporter with the "shades" that Bush wouldn't let drop. For all that was happening as the ME started exploding, Bush couldn't and wouldn't stop with the talk of the PIG. Not pork, ribs, BBQ - PIG! What was the point? Surely Germany had something to offer in the was of interest other than a pig on a stick, but Bush didn't bother to take the time to hear it. In the end, he insulted as many nations and leaders as possible.
Don't expect the American press to make much of it. We all know he's embarassing, but it's like no one mentioning the drunk in the family...

:crazy:

[Judi Lynn]

31. Yes, the very same press had been after Clinton like a pack of wolves

throughout his Presidency. What the hell happened? Sounds as if the current crop may have been infiltrated by the generation of Young Republicans which gave us the PNAC scum.

I would imagine _Bush would want to wear his boots to the barbeque.

[XemaSab]

26. The Lebanon-Israeli war notwithstanding

It's still a totally inappropriate topic for someone who is occupying an Arab country.

Most secular Muslims I know still don't eat pork. What message does this send to our would-be allies in the region?

[yorkiemommie1]

28. As one of his profs at Harvard said...

...Tsurumi said he remembers Bush because every teacher remembers their best and worst students, and Bush was in the latter group.

"Lazy. He didn't come to my class prepared," Tsurumi said. "He did very badly."

Tsurumi concedes that he disapproves of Bush's politics. He wrote a letter to the editor of his hometown newspaper, the Scarsdale Inquirer, that derided the president's claims to "compassionate conservatism."

"Somehow I found him totally devoid of compassion, social responsibility, and good study discipline," Tsurumi said. "What I remember most about him was all the kind of flippant statements that he made inside of classroom as well as outside."


http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/09/13/bush.professor/

How telling! Given his childhood history, * would probably have loved blowing the pig up w/ a firecracker like he used to do with frogs. The REAL pig is not the one that was served up.

[young_at_heart]

33. "Devoid of compassion"? Bush? I don't believe it!

I mean, he told us over and over how compassionate he was. I think all the evangelicals out there believed him. NIce to know the profs didn't have much of an opinion of our president.....that speaks volumes!

[VegasWolf]

32. Bush points his barbecue rib at the ME and says "let them eat pig." nt

:nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke:

[goforit]

35. A subliminal warning to Israel...George backstabs his friends too.

[agincourt]

36. When you take a frat-rat spoiled degenerate,

get him in power through a RW packed court, vote fraud, support from brain dead televangelist freeper trolls things got to hell in a hurry. He simply does not have the intellectual, spiritual, and emotional depth to be president no matter how many billions are spent to convince the sheeple otherwise.

[stanwyck]

51. You said it.

I woke my poor husband up after watching the "pig" press conference. I was so alarmed. I think Bush really has some sort of mental disorder. I thought his disconnect during his infamous Katrina press conference was disturbing. And, now this. I couldn't believe it. Our world had suffered through a horrible day, an airport was in flames, and escalation of violence seemed imminent. And Bush repeatedly giggled and guffawed at his own lame attempts at humor.
It was shocking behavior.
The man needs a checkup. He's not well.

[ryanmuegge]

37. Oh, NOW he's going to taking a hands-off approach

After flip-flopping on his intial (see the 2000 campaign) anti-nation building stance with occupation of Iraq. Holy shit. Keeping up with Bush's changing positions is making me dizzy. Oh, the nuance.

Again, he's letting things go in Israel to appeal to the blood-thirsty, apocalypse-hungry evangelical crowd during an election year.

[VegasWolf]

38. Leader of the Free Word?? Watch the video as a reporter attempts

to ask Bush an urgent question about how the world should react to the emergencies emerging in the ME. Bush with his shit eating grin talks about barbecue pig because his fried brain can't respond meaningfully. Merckel looks at Bush like what the fuck is this clown doing?

http://www.crooksandliars.com/posts/2006/07/14/tds-bush-and-the-pig/

[Judi Lynn]

45. Wow. That's really stunning. How could a man be that stupid? Thanks .nt

[oldcoot]

39. Just more "folksy humor"

How long will it be before the liberal media portrays Bush's response as another example of the folksy humor that makes him so "popular?"

[VegasWolf]

40. Jon Stewart's take on the Leader of the Free World and his PIG responses -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bizn2G3xzMM&search=jon%20bush%20pig


:nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke:

[President Kerry]

44. I believe * has managed to top his usual clueless self with this one.

And that ain't easy to do. That's the leader of the free world, ladies and gentlemen, in all his glory.

[Nikki Stone 1]

41. Where are the goddamned White House handlers?

There are specific people who craft the president's message, especially for important events like war, hurricanes and the like. These handlers are either MIA or Junior isn't listening to them. He thinks he is being funny, not realizing that most of the world is on edge about what is happening between Israel and Lebanon, not to mention Iraq.

Will someone in the White House PLEASE put a muzzle on this idiot until he can be made to repeat verbatim a well crafted message? For the good of the nation?

[Ezlivin]

43. Pig Man

Big man, pig man, ha ha, charade you are
You well heeled big wheel, ha ha, charade you are
And when your hand is on your heart
You're nearly a good laugh
Almost a joker
With your head down in the pig bin
Saying 'keep on digging'
Pig stain on your fat chin
What do you hope to find?
When you're down in the pig mine
You're nearly a laugh
You're nearly a laugh
But you're really a cry.

Pink Floyd "Animals"

[roseBudd]

47. "What [the two sides] are waiting for is for the U.S. to say 'stop.' The..

U.S. has to privately tell Israel to stop now."

This admin will never say "Stop" because the fundies who Rove knows are needed for the '06 elections won't hear of it because they are giddy with their end times anticipation.

[saberjet22]

48. "I thought you were going to ask me about the pig," Bush replied blithely.

As if any more proof were needed, george bush is the stupidest fucking asshole to hold office, ANY office, in the history of the United States. The man shouldn't be allowed in public. He is a national disgrace.
The time to impeach is past. It is now time to have him barbecued.

[Bush_MUST_Go]

49. If it doesn't affect a bush personally, it's not going to ruin their day

"The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." - Bush, September 2, 2005

(Some estimates say Katrina destroyed 40,000 homes in New Orleans alone. Thousands more were wiped out around the Gulf. President Bush -- arriving on the Gulf Coast -- focused on Trent Lott's house)




"As you can possibly see, I have an injury myself -- not here at the hospital, but in combat with a Cedar. I eventually won. The Cedar gave me a little scratch. As a matter of fact, the Colonel asked if I needed first aid when she first saw me. I was able to avoid any major surgical operations here, but thanks for your compassion, Colonel." -Bush, after visiting with wounded veterans from the Amputee Care Center of Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 1, 2006





"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths," Barbara Bush said on ABC's "Good Morning America" on March 18, 2003. "Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

"Why should we hear about body bags, and deaths, and how many, what day it’s gonna happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Oh, I mean, it’s not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?" --Barbara Bush, 'Good Morning America' 03/18/2003




"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overhwlemed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle)--this is working very well for them."—Barbara Bush, talking about evacuees from New Orleans

[Patchuli]

55. Proof positive that mental illness is handed down!

Oh how I loathe that woman...

[kath]

57. You forgot "But all in all, it's been fabulous year for Laura and me".

-Chimpy, Dec 20, 2001.

Narcissistic asshole.

[lumpy]

64. Bush is certifiable.

Seriously, in all truth he should be 'encouraged' to step down. This country simply can't afford to have this man in charge. Although for different reasons, President Woodrow Wilson comes to mind.

[aaronbees]

50. Malevolently laissez-faire ....

criminal negligence, etc. Just like BushCo's approach to NOLA. Can't wait for him to bring out the guitar and strum a few tunes for us ... :mad:

[samsingh]

53. he's embarassing and pycho sick

[Marie26]

58. Total self-absortion

Dana Milbank wrote a story awhile ago about how Bush didn't care about anything except his birthday. He'd get bored at policy questions & only perk up when asked about his special day. It's kind of like the pig. If it's not about Bush, it doesn't really register for him.

[SpiralHawk]

59. Connectiucut preppy AWOL cheerleaders who pretend to be cowboys

are all like that.

[Marie26]

65. Update: Bush likes birthday sweater

He still won't shut up about his birthday. When he left his mike on today, it caught this exchange between Bush & Blair. He liked Blair's gift!

Bush: Thanks for the sweater; it was awfully thoughtful of you. I know you picked it out yourself.

Blair: Oh, absolutely!

:eyes:

[DoYouEverWonder]

63. He reminds me of the guy everyone has worked with

that is the bosses son or some other privileged lame brain that you can't get rid of and eventually everyone just learns to work around that person. That's what the world is doing to the US. Thanks Dimson for keeping America strong.

[superconnected]

60. ritalin might help

We've got a f@ing ADD mass murderer. Thanks Diebold!

[Radioactive]

62. He has been grinning from ear to ear at this G8 summit

its a bit strange considering the mess the middle east is in at the moment, you have to question the mans mental health.

[lumpy]

66. I don't question his mental health at all.

He is a sick man and he should be forced to step down and take a rest from all his feverish tripping around the planet. Jet lag is not favorable to the health of mentally unstable people. What the man needs is a long rest in a quiet place. He appears so many times to be on the brink of a real meltdown. His handlers should be considerate of the man for his sake, but they keep sending him into situations he is incapable of handling. I am serious, no joke.

[Nihil]

67. Negative

He should most definitely NOT be given a "long rest in a quiet place".
This bastard is personally responsible for so much death and agony across
the planet that there is NO WAY that he should be given a free pass like
that!

Fuck consideration, he's long outlived that offer. He needs to be painfully
tortured and slowly allowed to die in agony, just to reinforce a fraction
of what he has enforced upon others - those nameless, other-coloured ones
across the globe - in order to present a firm lesson to the future rulers
of major nations: we are ALL humans, we are ALL related, we must ALL care
for each other and each others' future.

Bush has wilfully ignored this most basic of rules and should suffer the
consequences. Hopefully his successors will grow wiser from the result.

[lumpy]

68. No one is ignoring his dismal

role in this fiasco. For the sake of this country he should be taken out of the political scene. His very visual/vocal presence is detrimental to the US. The world is recognizing that the man is a sicko; should we continue to ignore that? It certainly doesn't show this country in a good light if we continue to let a mental case continue in leadership. Yes, hopefully he will get his just desserts and suffer the consequences of his actions.

[Nihil]

69. OK, thank you.

I had this suspicion that that he would be quietly "retired" amongst
the senile rich idiots in the "past presidents club".
Sorry if I came across as too sharp in my reply.
:hi:

[lumpy]

70. No problem, thanks.

I don't always do a very good job of expressing my thoughts.