Has Bush done anything at all that was right? Serious question.

[Mira]

I was in a conversation with a friend who tossed off: "Bush did not do everything wrong...." and when I said "he did not do anything right that was of consequence" she moved the talk along without allowing reflection on my statement.
My question here is: What, in 5 1/2 years, did he do that turned out to be good for anyone, the rich top 3 % getting richer excluded?

I am unable to think of a single thing that he was responsible for that has benefitted the country as a whole.

I may be mentally clouded because of my revulsion to him, but help me out here. I would like to follow up on that after having found something I can point to and say:
"I have polled people on line, and here is a place where Bush was right, or has done something of value, but that is what it took to discover it."


ROFnotLMAO

[moblsv]

1. no

no. serious answer

[OKNancy]

2. The most common answer here on DU to this question

is the no call list.
LOL - but for some reason, that doesn't seem to work either.

[Stardust]

33. Do Not Call List - wonderful and pathetic at the same time. & that's IT//

[Bobbieo]

3. His first official act - way back when

was to cut off funding for International Planned Parenthood and it has been downhill ever since.

[proud patriot]

46. I remember that , I've been pissed off since

one outrage after another ...

I hate it when the president is a traitor to the Constitution
who endangers Americans for the pursuit of profit.

[annabanana]

48. His second was to increase the arsenic allowed in our water. n/t

[Joe Bacon]

4. no, but he has done a lot of things that are EXTREMELY to the right.

It will take a century to undo the damage this asshole has done.

[CJCRANE]

5. The problem is

he doesn't do much of anything.

As the 9/11 hijackers were training and hatching their plans, he ignored all the warnings.

On 9/11 he listened to school-kids read out loud while America's two tallest buildings burned to the ground.

He waited nearly a week after Katrina hit, and Americans were drowning and starving, before he paid any attention.

And now the Middle East is on fire, and yet he does nothing about it.

[napi21]

6. He signed the bill authorizing the do not call list. n/t

[ChipsAhoy]

20. I forgot about that.

Actually, that has worked well for me. I can't stand telemarketer calls and I got on the list right away.

PS - After 5 years, you have to register your number again.

[Cocoa]

7. signed and renewed sanctions on Burma

[sweetheart]

8. no /nt

[TNMOM]

9. He puts his pants on every morning....

and then it's all down hill from there..

[Cocoa]

10. are you sure?

I think someone does it for him in D.C., and I think in Crawford he just wears his monkey diaper all day.

[Martin Eden]

11. the National Monument to protect marine life in the Hawaii archipelago?

I haven't followed this issue carefully, but I don't see a downside. There must not be any oil resources under those waters, or major corporations opposing the establishment of a marine sanctuary there.

[rucky]

16. ...around his buddy's private island. n/t

[liberalpragmatist]

30. Yeah, I was gonna say that

I guess that's a good thing.

[saltpoint]

12. He oversaw the t-ball field on the White House lawn.

That's it.

[tanyev]

13. I like how the spring time change is going to move from April to March.

But that's not very consequential. And I'm sure he didn't personally come up with the idea.

[rucky]

14. Signed the Do Not Call bill.

but i would endure constant calls from telemarketers if I could reverse everything else he's done.

[OKDem08]

15. the tendency to take lengthy vacations n/t

[Mira]

17. I'm looking at your answers- nauseated - what a waste ! -Thanks

[liberal N proud]

18. Can't think of anything!

Can't find anything that is factual to prove that he has.

absolute failure

[MissWaverly]

19. he trhew a crumb to the middle classs and working class with

the first tax cut, that was an average of what $200.00; but the cost of that was that he felt
that he then owned the American people.

[sandnsea]

26. That was Olympia Snowe & Democrats

Mostly Snowe. She absolutely refused to cooperate with that tax cut unless the 10% bracket and child tax credit were put in first. Bush didn't want that, he doesn't deserve credit on it at all.

[MissWaverly]

27. Well, the RW I worked with bonded with George over it

I have heard him praised for this for over 5 years, what an irony, thanks for the update.

[sandnsea]

28. I know

Democrats couldn't run on that because they were being pummeled over anything to do with the tax cuts.


"Sources from both parties are telling us that President Bush will not get what he wants when it comes to cutting the top income tax rate. Now he wants to cut that top rate from 39.6 percent down to 33 percent. Democrats have been saying that gives too much money to the rich and a compromise is emerging that would bring it down to about 36 percent. Conservatives are very unhappy about that. There also appears Peter to be agreement on expanding the amount, increasing the amount of income covered by the 15 percent tax bracket, that’s the lowest tax bracket right now. But Democrats are also pushing to add a new lower bracket, ten percent. Some Republicans are supporting that. Conservatives don’t like that either. They are saying in the House and the Senate they don’t want a tax cut that’s tilted toward the low income scale. They want the people who pay the most to get the biggest tax cut."
http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2001/cyb20010510.asp

[MissWaverly]

39. well, the greedy will end up big losers

sooner or later the scale will be balanced and they will be in for the biggest shock.

[The Wielding Truth]

31. The RW are so easily bought. A little scare alittle bible and a few bucks.

[MissWaverly]

40. You might add a lot of hot air into your formula

I hope people are starting to realize what they have sacrificed for these crumbs.

[flaminbats]

44. actually that was only a crumb which Bush didn't take!

does he deserve credit for that? IMO not if it leaves fewer crumbs for future generations.

[Eric J in MN]

21. I agree with Bush about banning human-animal hybrids.

But since all he's done on that issue is a quick mention in one State of the Union speech, it doesn't make me a Bush supporter.

[liberalpragmatist]

29. Even THAT wasn't a good thing

Nobody is talking about things like combining people with animals; it's research into things like inserting human genes into other animals in order to test genetic treatments.

For example, the following:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_02/008128.php

February 1, 2006

MAD SCIENTISTS AND PIG MEN....I know that I wasn't the only one mumbling "WTF?" when George Bush talked about banning "human-animal hybrids" last night, but apparently it was just a garden variety shout out to the religious right. PZ Myers provides an example of what's really going on in our nation's labs:

Down syndrome is a very common genetic disorder caused by the presence of an extra chromosome 21.... We would love to have an animal model of Down syndrome...So what scientists have been doing is inserting human genes into mice, to produce similar genetic overdoses in their development.

....These mice are a tool to help us understand a debilitating human problem.

George W. Bush would like to make them illegal.

He's trusting that everyone will think he is banning monstrous crimes against nature, but what he's really doing is targeting the weak and the ill, blocking useful avenues of research that are specifically designed to help us understand human afflictions. His message isn't "We aren't going to let the mad scientists make monsters!", it's "We aren't going to let the doctors help those 'retards.'"

Actually, that's kind of disappointing. I was hoping that scientists were working on outfitting me with the eyes of an eagle and the reflexes of a cat. But instead they're just working on curing disease and making the world a better place. Sheesh.

[Eric J in MN]

43. There are no limits under current law.

Scientists could create a chimpanzee-human hybrid which is almost human to use for experiments they couldn't do on humans.

Assuming for a second that all the human-animal hybrid experiments so far have been ethical doesn't mean that there should be no regulation.

[Skittles]

22. no

and if he did it was the broken clock syndrome

[cliss]

23. Bush has done 1 thing right....

he has created instant friendships.

Yes. I talk to people all the time. Now and then, I run into somebody & we start talking about politics. I make it pretty clear what I think of Bush & Cheney. The other person feels the same way!!! Now we are friends.

I have a pen pal in India. The fact that we both agree on Bush has made us closer friends.

[adwon]

35. That is the truth

It's both eerie and amazing.

[Elidor]

24. He kissed Joe Lieberman

That was right on the money. Other than that, he's a complete fuckwit.

[blues90]

25. not one thing I can think of

If ruining this country counts then this he has done the job well . He's reall good at killing and destroying EVERYTHING . He has not done one thing good .

[Doctor_J]

32. Took a lot of vacation

any time he's not working is time he's not destroying the world. He's also united the world against the US.

[The Backlash Cometh]

34. He rolled up his sleeve and did a great photo op with a fire chief

on top of the 9/11 rubble. It was that moment when he captured the hearts of dweebs like Chris Matthews who thought the chimp had a sunny nobility.

[Joe Fields]

36. It depends on your point of view.

If you are big oil, he has done a lot of things right. Otherwise....the obvious answer is a resounding NO.

[leftofthedial]

37. zip nada nothing

[L. Coyote]

38. He has cleared more brush than Reagan.

Perhaps spending more time on vacation than any other president or politician is the right thing, all considered.

[snowbear]

41. MIRA: ...If you have to ask, you haven't been paying attention..

Sorry. But it's the truth.

[klyon]

42. no, not that I can think of

seriously
he has not done anything right, there have always been alternatives he could have chosen that I would support but he chose poorly

all of his decisions have been right, right wing that is
his only thoughts are ones that support the wishes of someone that gives him money

[LoZoccolo]

45. 1. Established national "do not call" registry.

2. Announces eventual manned mission to Mars.
3. Expanded daylight savings time.

[Dr Fate]

47. Yes- someof the anti-drug commercials target parents rather than teens.

I've always said that newer govt. anti-drug ads that target PARENTS are a much better idea than targeting cynical kids who just laugh at and make fun of those commercials.

Whoever decided to do that did something right for a change.

[meldroc]

49. Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel

The EPA did mandate that gas stations in the U.S. must offer Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel by the end of October of this year. Just putting ULSD in any diesel powered vehicle will cut its emissions by 10%. On top of that, new diesel vehicles can now be equipped with emissions control devices like catalytic converters and more advanced engine designs (that already are in use in Europe) which will enable greater engine efficiency and make those clouds of diesel fumes and black smoke a thing of the past.

But yeah, compared to Bush's fuckups, this is nothing.