Bye George

[deminks]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/14/georgebush.usa?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
On the eve of George Bush's visit to London as part of his farewell tour, an open letter to the departing US president sums up his legacy, both to his own country and Britain

(snip)
We won't be meeting in person, and we won't even be adjacent, as our government has banned a march (from Parliament Square, tomorrow teatime) in protest against your visit.

The fact that this isn't much of a surprise is one of the baleful consequences of your presidency. If we did meet, I'd probably ask if you ever speculate how things might have fallen out had supreme court Justice Anthony Kennedy switched sides on December 12 2000, and (an "if", I know) you'd lost the Florida recount and the election. I'd do so because my first beef about your presidency is that it denied us Al Gore's.

OK, a Gore victory wouldn't have stopped 9/11, and he would probably have been persuaded to take punitive action against Afghanistan. But invading Iraq would have destroyed his party, and, after all, Saddam Hussein didn't try to kill his daddy. Following Bill Clinton's latter efforts, he would have paid more serious attention to resolving Israel/Palestine. But, most of all, he would have given authority and leadership to confronting our most important, and probably most urgent, global challenge. What did you do about your global carbon emissions? Pull out of Kyoto.

For all the talk of confronting evil-doers and mounting crusades - surely the most accidentally apt analogy of your presidency - the moral cynicism of your attitude to climate change is emblematic. (You do, now, admit to some "commonalities" on the issue with the rest of the world). Your promise to return moral probity to the Oval Office emptied out as soon as you got your feet under the desk.
(end snip)

[barbtries]

1. i don't believe that 911 would have happened

had al gore been president. he would have listened to the intelligence. the bushies wanted their "another pearl harbor" besides which they could not be bothered paying attention to any information, advice, pleas, that came from the previous administration. their hubris and callousness cannot be overstated and cannot be explained away as incompetence.

[ixion]

2. Yep, I agree with you

[opihimoimoi]

3. At the very least, re 9/11, Gore woulda WARN US....Bush never did sound the alarm to the rest of the

Nation....because he somehow faild to warn us...he revealed his desire for "another Pear;". That said....leads me to believe he is EVIL...

Beside Gore listens...woulda listened to Rudman/Hart Report.