Reuters: Bush chides father for election remarks

[grytpype]

Uh oh! Looks like Poppy just got in hot water with Junior for speculating on what would happen if the Dems win! Not allowed!


http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyid=2006-10-22T193206Z_01_N22305445_RTRUKOC_0_US-BUSH-FATHER.xml

Bush chides father for election remarks
Sun Oct 22, 2006 3:32 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush gently admonished his father for saying he hates to think what life would be like for his son if the Democrats win control of Congress in the November 7 election.

It was the latest sign of possible strain in the relationship between the two men.

"He shouldn't be speculating like this, because -- he should have called me ahead of time and I'd tell him they're not going to (win)," a smiling Bush told ABC "This Week" in an interview broadcast on Sunday.

....

Earlier this month, the elder Bush was reported to have told a Republican fund-raiser in a Philadelphia suburb that "if we have some of these wild Democrats in charge of these (congressional) committees, it will be a ghastly thing for our country."

He was also quoted as saying, "I would hate to think ... what my son's life would be like" if their Republican Party lost its majorities.

....

Asked whether he had thought about the possibility, the president told ABC: "Not really ... I'm a person that believes we'll continue to control the House and the Senate."

....

A power shift would create a political nightmare for Bush, whose public approval ratings are below 40 percent. His domestic legislative agenda would be stymied and he would see stepped-up pressure to withdraw from Iraq while possibly facing congressional investigations into the unpopular war.

[WillParkinson]

1. Oh, boo f'n hoo...

I feel SOOOO bad for the old bastard.

[Frustratedlady]

2. Junior sure seems to be confident they will win.

I was under the impression Poppa and Junior had made up, but it doesn't look like that has happened.

How old is Junior? 60? I should think he is old enough to start listening to counsel out of respect, if for no other reason rather than continue on with his failures in life. God knows he has enough of them.

[sarge43]

4. 10 cent psychology, but the enabled often secretly hate

their enablers.

[elehhhhna]

11. He thinks we're "winning" in Iraq, too. He's bugnutz crazy.

[PerceptionManagement]

17. Diebold will come through again!!

[Lisa]

26. as far as Georgie's concerned, he's "beaten" his old man ...

... by getting that second term. And in his mind that trumps all the times he's ever been wrong in his life. I would not be surprised if he belabors his dad with that, constantly -- and Poppy can't retort because a) he is still the patriarch and supposed to be proud of his son's accomplishments, and b) Ma Bar is putting in her oar (she sprang to Georgie's defense, when his father reprimanded him for putting his feet on the coffee table during a visit).

[Frustratedlady]

33. But...but....but...

Georgie's second term doesn't really count in most peoples' minds, as there will always be the suspicion it was stolen...er, awarded, not earned.

[Lisa]

34. this is Georgie's mind, of course -- and not the real world!

So no matter what most people think, about his second term (and the first one as well!) -- or what the reports on voting irregularities may show -- nothing will affect his "bubble". The only reality that counts is HIS view of the world. He is the ultimate solipsist!

(As for me, I always try to refer to Bush "taking office", rather than actually "winning" the election ... it somehow brings out the ambiguity more.)

[Marie26]

45. I'd take Poppy over Junior anyday.

At least Bush Sr. had experience, maturity and a minimum of competence.

[sarge43]

3. Gitmo for you, Poppy

Why do you hate America?

[Arugula Latte]

16. Throw Babs in the cell with him.

Now THAT is punishment. :scared:

[sarge43]

20. Indeed it is.

I've never heard her speak (I have limits to my endurance and high blood pressure), but I imagine her voice sounds like brake linings going bad

[Bucky]

28. I wonder what confessions they beat out of that beautiful mind of hers

[Double T]

5. poppy already knows idiotson has blown HIS presidency.........

and with a Dem takeover of Congress, bushco's remaining term would effectively END.

[Klimmer]

8. Yes, it would end and I would hope in Prison. N/T

[fooj]

21. If Dems take Congress, BOTH of their asses are in hot water.

[jhrobbins]

6. Maybe GWB needs to reread the 5th Commandment...n/t

[truthisfreedom]

7. bush started lying when he spewed out those first 3 words, "i'm a person"

he just can't say anything without lying.

[0007]

32. Linda Tripps and her words....."I'm just like you"

[cal04]

9. Rupert Cornwell has an article

today in the Independent

From Baghdad to Washington: How the war came to the White House
The President is bunkered in the Oval Office trying to plan his way out of a bloody mess of his own making. A mess, says Rupert Cornwell, that has its origins in his complicated relationship with his father
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article1919099.ece

[Shakespeare]

10. Reminds me of Oedipus.

And things didn't turn out so swell for Oedipus.

[Bucky]

30. You can accuse Bush of a LOT of things--most of 'em true--but no way...

could he be wanting to hit THAT

[Shakespeare]

38. Well, from a Freudian perspective, that goes far beyond the....

....Greek play, and can often refer to father-son relationships. I do, however, think he has a creepily close relationship with his mother (in a non-sexual way). The two of them obviously lord it over poppy in a most curious way.

[goforit]

12. Reality is most certainly haunting Poppy bush.

[Emillereid]

13. Why is Bush smiling? Why are he and Rove so damn sure they are not

going to lose congress? Is it because they know the election is rigged?

The last time Bushit was so sure of the results was when he told the press that he didn't believe Florida had gone to Al Gore. Same damn smirk then too!

HEADS UP DEMOCRATS!

Don't for a minute believe this is going to be a straight election -- Rove will not let the Democrats win. He'll do WHATEVER it takes to keep control of Congress!!

[Karla Marx]

14. LOL! He says, "these wild Democrats" will be "ghastly"...

...yet I'm the Elitist East-Coast Liberal. Please. Got milk, Poppy? What out-of-touch snobs these Bushies be.
Not that I should trouble my beautiful mind about it.

[Ferret Annica]

15. Bush has morphed into Baghdad Bob

[Gregorian]

25. Yes he has!

Here's further proof...

[wtmusic]

18. "Wild Democrats"? Where are they?

I keep hearing about them...

[Patchuli]

23. Pelosi isn't "wild" enough for me

Are they referring to "Wild John Conyers?" Or "Wild Jack Murtha?" The republics are the "wild ones." Just look at the "wild" mess they've made of the U.S. of America!

[Patchuli]

37. You know what? I stand corrected

after watching her on "Sixty Minutes!" WOW!!

[Rex]

19. Wow, megalomaniac's son is more megalomaniac then daddy!

Son tells dad to stfu and sitdown, details at 10! :rofl:

[screenplaya]

22. This is how Bush planned Iraq

This is how he planned Iraq, stubbornly saw no need for any contingency planning cause everyone was sqwacking about how easy it was gonna be.

I have a feeling Rove's surprise is to fire Rumsfeld, let him take the fall.

[tuvor]

24. Honour your father, junior. Remember?

Pesky Bible.

[ryanus]

27. Uh, huh. Right. Nice theatre act.

[Cameron27]

31. vaudeville

[GAspnes]

29. Junior's waited his entire life for this

to be able to upbraid his father, in public, and get away with it.

[Lisa]

36. Yup! You can just see his eyes gleaming ...

It's like he's constantly enjoying a private joke, even at the most inappropriate times.

All his life, his dad has been raising the bar, so it's gotten harder and harder for Georgie to keep up with the rising expectations. Early on, Junior (arrogant and not as talented or persistent as his father) decided that he would just stop trying, because he got tired of falling short, and being compared unfavorably to his younger siblings. That kind of set the pattern for his tendency to "play dumb" in the hope of being "misunderestimated", and "win" by not really playing in the first place. Georgie is too proud and competitive (thanks to his mom's constant goading) to just walk away entirely, though (and not brave enough to break with his family completely, and do his own thing).

GHWB got prestigious federal jobs, became Vice President and then President -- it wasn't enough to just run for Congress, or run (sort of) his own company. The only way the son could reach a position where he could be seen as topping the old man, was by getting a second term. It would allow him to both avenge his dad's defeat, and revenge himself on his own family for writing him off.

I'd always thought that a second term was one of the worst things that could happen, because not only would Junior feel vindicated, but he would be emboldened to make even rasher decisions. And any hold that his dad, and the more moderate people from GHWB's administration, might have on him, would be broken.

[Marie26]

46. His eyes gleamed while signing

the torture bill. Freaked me out. It's a kind of secret glee he has that's really disturbing. And he really gets that gleam when he's exerting power or control over someone else. Being able to upbraid his powerful father in public must really be the ultimate for Bush.

[Lisa]

48. so right -- he has the look of someone who feels he's pulled off a con

Sort of like "I can't believe they fell for it!"

The gleam gets more evident when he's done something which people are unwilling to protest because they are too polite to make a fuss, or too scared of him -- for example, when he insults a reporter or a dignitary at a public event. Sort of like his "secret glee" is spilling over.

And as you say, he must really enjoy being able to play the authority figure -- I would not be surprised if, after he trotted out his serious persona and made that comment about his dad, he bolted for the privacy of his office, and rolled around on the carpet, giggling with delight. When he was quite young and his father was away, his mom put him in charge of keeping discipline around the house. Georgie interpreted this to mean that he could shoot his younger brothers in the rear end with his pellet gun, if they didn't do what he told them. He has a warped view of what a "strong daddy" does, and I fear that this has carried over into his job. Bullies who think that powerful people approve of what they are doing can get quite out of control.

[upi402]

35. so, if he's right and they cheat us again

what will we do?
take it again?

[bdamomma]

39. isn't George speculating also, unless he already knows the

votes are going to fixed again, too bad our gutless media would call him on this.

[northernsoul]

40. paging Dr. Freud

can't these two work out whatever Oedipal wierdness it is that propels them without dragging the rest of us down with them?

[melissinha]

41. boo hoo

:cry:

whiny baby.... Your father can't fix every mess you make.... and he isn't your mouthpiece either..

I don't shudder to think what would happen to his sonny boy, cause it will be well-deserved uber-spanking!

[j_gregory1948]

42. Damien hates intrusion n/t

[twaddler01]

43. Oh come on, prison can't be that bad!

Watch your back *!

(I can dream can't I?)

[Marie26]

44. Why is he so sure?

Is he completely delusional or planning something?

[allisonthegreat]

47. and the dysfunction exposed...

Is GHWB a realist...lol!