[mylesmalley]

Just thought I'd post this. I thought it was pretty funny.

From the Moncton Times&Transcript:
Canada will miss Bush: U.S. envoy
Published Friday November 7th, 2008

David Wilkins describes outgoing president as 'unwavering ally of free trade'
C1

OTTAWA - The U.S. ambassador to this country offers an audacious prediction to Canadians who might be eager to see the back of the White House's exiting occupant: You'll miss George W. Bush.

David Wilkins says he'll return home to South Carolina soon after the current president hands over the reins of power to Barack Obama on Jan. 20.

He has often described Bush as a personal friend and continues to defend his president in the face of bleak approval ratings back home and widespread contempt abroad.

Wilkins suggested in an interview yesterday that Canadians will come to appreciate this president once he's gone.

He described Bush as a man who has kept North America safe, who has strongly supported the free trade that has enriched Canada, and who has responded to concerns over softwood lumber and border security.

"Many Canadians might be surprised by this statement," Wilkins said. "But I would submit to you that Canadians are going to miss George Bush more than they think they are."

[flar]

Did the Moncton Times&Transcript forget about the softwood lumber thing? Or what Bush did to our "friendly" borders?

[mylesmalley]

Did the Moncton Times&Transcript forget about the softwood lumber thing? Or what Bush did to our "friendly" borders?

The T&T forgets a lot of things that don't fit with their agendas.

Specific to the softwood lumber issue. The paper is owned by the Irving conglomerate, who in addition to owning all the daily newspapers in New Brunswick, own significant holdings in the forestry and pulp industries. Actually, they own everything from an oil refinery to french fry, diaper and box factories. Anyway, if memory serves, there was some loophole that allowed them to not be so negatively affected by the softwood lumber fiasco.

If it hurt their competitors, they probably wouldn't want to complain about it.

[MolsonExport]

Hey Mr. Wilkins, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

[Aylmer]

I'll miss making fun of him...

:happysad:

[ScottFromCalgary]

The Decency of George W. Bush

By Michael Gerson
The Washington Post
Friday, November 7, 2008; A23


Election Day 2008 must have been filled with rueful paradoxes for the sitting president. Iraq -- the issue that dominated George W. Bush's presidency for 5 1/2 bitter, controversial years -- is on the verge of a miraculous peace. And yet this accomplishment did little to revive Bush's political standing -- or to prevent his party from relegating him to a silent role.

The achievement is historic. In 2006, Iraq had descended into a sectarian killing spree that seemed likely to stop only when the supply of victims was exhausted. Showing Truman-like stubbornness, Bush pushed to escalate a war that most Americans -- and some at the Pentagon -- had already mentally abandoned.

The result? A Sunni tribal revolt against their al-Qaeda oppressors, an effective campaign against Shiite militias in Baghdad and Basra, and the flight of jihadists from Iraq to less deadly battlefields. In a more stable atmosphere, Iraq's politicians have made dramatic political progress. Iraqi military and police forces have grown in size and effectiveness and now fully control 13 of Iraq's 18 provinces. And in the month before Election Day, American combat deaths matched the lowest monthly total of the entire war.

For years, critics of the Iraq war asked the mocking question: "What would victory look like?" If progress continues, it might look something like what we've seen.

But Air Force One -- normally seen swooping into battleground states for rallies during presidential elections -- was mainly parked during this campaign. President Bush appeared with John McCain in public a total of three times -- and appeared in McCain's rhetoric as a foil far more often than that.

This seems to be Bush's current fate: Even success brings no praise. And the reasons probably concern Iraq. The absence of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in the aftermath of the war was a massive blow. The early conduct of the Iraq occupation was terribly ineffective. Hopes that the war had turned a corner -- repeatedly raised by Iraqis voting with purple fingers and approving a constitution -- were dashed too many times, until many Americans became unwilling to believe anymore.

Initial failures in Iraq acted like a solar eclipse, blocking the light on every other achievement. But those achievements, with the eclipse finally passing, are considerable by the measure of any presidency. Because of the passage of Medicare Part D, nearly 10 million low-income seniors are receiving prescription drugs at little or no cost. No Child Left Behind education reform has helped raise the average reading scores of fourth-graders to their highest level in 15 years, and narrowed the achievement gap between white and African American children. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has helped provide treatment for more than 1.7 million people and compassionate care for at least 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children. And the decision to pursue the surge in Iraq will be studied as a model of presidential leadership.

These achievements, it is true, have limited constituencies to praise them. Many conservatives view Medicare, education reform and foreign assistance as heresies. Many liberals refuse to concede Bush's humanity, much less his achievements.

But that humanity is precisely what I will remember. I have seen President Bush show more loyalty than he has been given, more generosity than he has received. I have seen his buoyancy under the weight of malice and his forgiveness of faithless friends. Again and again, I have seen the natural tug of his pride swiftly overcome by a deeper decency -- a decency that is privately engaging and publicly consequential.

Before the Group of Eight summit in 2005, the White House senior staff overwhelmingly opposed a new initiative to fight malaria in Africa for reasons of cost and ideology -- a measure designed to save hundreds of thousands of lives, mainly of children under 5. In the crucial policy meeting, one person supported it: the president of the United States, shutting off debate with a moral certitude that others have criticized. I saw how this moral framework led him to an immediate identification with the dying African child, the Chinese dissident, the Sudanese former slave, the Burmese women's advocate. It is one reason I will never be cynical about government -- or about President Bush.

For some, this image of Bush is so detached from their own conception that it must be rejected. That is, perhaps, understandable. But it means little to me. Because I have seen the decency of George W. Bush.

The writer was a speechwriter and policy adviser to President Bush from 2000 to 2006. His e-mail address ismichaelgerson@cfr.org.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/04/AR2008110403818_pf.html

[MolsonExport]

The writer was a speechwriter and policy adviser to President Bush from 2000 to 2006.

The only part that you need to read.

[240glt]

^ No kidding. There are some glaring errors in that article. The writer is enamoured with the sugary frosting while ignoring the steaming shit loaf that it obscures.

Buch cheerleaders certainly are few & far between these days.

[Boris2k7]

The only part that you need to read.

Actually, they lost me at "The Washington Post"

[mr.John]

Two words for Mr. Michael Gerson ....NEW ORLEANS

[slide_rule]

^michael gerson is one of the hardcore evangelical shills for the neocon policies. he abhors aborting fetuses, yet prays for the bombing of infidels.

then there are the people who lap up the propaganda...

[Kevin_foster]

then there are the people who lap up the propaganda...

I think you mean the entire Faux News viewer base

[lubicon]

Did the Moncton Times&Transcript forget about the softwood lumber thing? Or what Bush did to our "friendly" borders?

Those were mainly the result of acts of Congress, not Bush. He tried to mitigate these things as best he could but he can only do so much.

[craneSpotter]

I think the only truth in that may be that as for Canada, Alberta (and to lesser extent maybe Sask and NL) may be the only regions to end up really missing the policies of the Bush government.

Particularly affecting them (Us too) may be Obama's dislike for "dirty tarsands oil" and his drive to make the US more self-sufficient energy-wise. Also, he talks of reductions in GHG emissions and a goal of reducing the reliance of non-renewable resources in the US. This is why the Alberta premier is trying to get to Washington to attend the climate-change talks along with big oil's other Canadian boy - Harper. Hopefully Alberta gets its pee-pee whacked and is put in its place :) Harper has been told by his bosses to get to Washington right now to try and convince the US to NOT punish Alberta's energy intensive and emission rich oilsands processing industry. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=avRdGBJ.y_AA&refer=canada)

Canada Proposing Climate-Change Pact With Obama, Globe Says
By Sean B. Pasternak

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is proposing a climate-change pact with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama that would protect Alberta's oil sands projects from potential new U.S. rules, the Globe and Mail reported.

Canadian cabinet ministers called for the agreement yesterday, the newspaper said. A deal between the two nations would adopt common emissions standards while promoting the oil sands, the Globe said.

Obama, elected as President this week, has condemned U.S. reliance on so-called ``dirty oil,'' while his advisers have specifically mentioned the oil sands.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sean B. Pasternak in Toronto at spasternak@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 6, 2008 06:52 EST

Here's another story about Obama and 'dirty oil' from Global back in June 08 - http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=f507cf20-8964-4f1f-9a2b-b6e7213d9526

First part of article:


Sheldon Alberts, Washington Correspondent , Canwest News Service

Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2008

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama on Tuesday vowed he would break America's addiction to "dirty, dwindling, and dangerously expensive" oil if he is elected U.S. president - and one of his first targets might well be Canada's oilsands.

A senior adviser to Obama's campaign told reporters it's an "open question" whether oil produced from northern Alberta's oilsands fits with the Democratic candidate's plan to shift the U.S. sharply away from consumption of carbon-intensive fossil fuels.

"If it turns out that those technologies don't advance . . . and the only way to produce those resources would be at a significant penalty to climate change, then we don't believe that those resources are going to be part of the long-term, are going to play a growing role in the long-term future," said Jason Grumet, Obama's senior energy adviser.

I guess we'll see how much change Obama can make. Attending a Clinton speech a few years ago, he said he was surprised at the power the big oil lobby had in Washington, and try as he may, it was hard to ignore the pressure from them and their support in congress - he originally thought it'd be easier.

Also, Obama has shown interest in taking a look at NAFTA - if he starts tinkering with that we could see Ontario, Quebec and BC's manufacturing economies more specifically and further impacted as well.

We'll see how long Canada's honeymoon with Obama lasts :) Once we get past the historic symbolism of his presidency and get down to the reality of his actions.

[Dmajackson]

So much for the joke punchlines around here. And well Mr. Obama doesnt seem like someone whos as stupid so I guess its time to make fun of our own politicians.

"Nice sweater man....where did you get it? Mr. Harper's closet? :haha:

[wild wild west]

Bush cheerleaders certainly are few & far between these days.

Even within his own party, I was actually starting to wonder if there were any left. Apparently there is at least one.

[MolsonExport]

^ No kidding. There are some glaring errors in that article. The writer is enamoured with the sugary frosting while ignoring the steaming shit loaf that it obscures.

Buch cheerleaders certainly are few & far between these days.

Absolutely. You can put icing on dogshit, but it is still nothing but a frosted dog turd.

[Cambridgite]

Absolutely. You can put icing on dogshit, but it is still nothing but a frosted dog turd.

Haha! :haha: Copycat. ;)

[SpongeG]

i think in the future we will look back and see that Bush was the man that was needed at the time

[LeftCoaster]

I doubt it.

[Elmira Guy]

i think in the future we will look back and see that Bush was the man that was needed at the time

I can't (and don't care to) imagine a time where he and his kind would EVER be "needed".

[SpongeG]

people said the same thing about windton churchill - he was hated when he came into power

[giallo]

spongeg, please never ever compare Bush to Churchill again.

I'll miss Bush's sound bites. That is all.

[Aylmer]

people said the same thing about windton churchill - he was hated when he came into power

But unlike Churchill, Bush didn't do anything remotely good for this world.

It's like comparing fowl tasting veggies to fowl tasting poison; they both taste bad, but the veggies don't kill them.

:)

[MolsonExport]

You cannot compare the village idiot to one of the great leaders of the 20th century.

[MolsonExport]

i think in the future we will look back and see that Bush was the man that was needed at the time

I will never accept that the world needed a liar and a dolt, as a leader.

[Jay in Cowtown]

He done a fine job of handling 9/11, the Democrats would have only asked Afganistan for an apology... Bush done fucked up with the Iraq War though.

[sconadian]

Economically speaking he was way better for Canada than Barack Obama will be.

[Hardhatdan]

While Bush was saddled with some huge obstacles that stem from a longer string of policies than just his administration that make his Presidency way worse than it most likely was, I still can't say anything positive about the guy.
I think my biggest dislike is that he is such a poor speaker. He exudes no confidence, faux or real. The guy really comes across as the stereotype of the popular kid winning school council despite being halfway to mental retardation.
Good luck to Barrack...this may just eat him alive. Its a monster of a problem.

[flar]

i think in the future we will look back and see that Bush was the man that was needed at the time

Bush will likely go down in the history books as one of the worst Presidents ever. There is no redemption for him.

I wonder how Bush feels about all the ridicule and hatred directed toward him?

[vid]

I'll miss Bush's sound bites.

9GhPDL3VSo4

Bush wasn't the one who let us down with softwood lumber. Harper was!

[giallo]

I like this one too

CyBXeCUZWhc

[SpongeG]

i never said he was the best or a great president

I can't stand the guy

i said he is what the USA needed at the time to deal with what happenned during his time in office

[raggedy13]

^Somehow I can't help but think that somebody else would have dealt with it better.

[vanman]

^No shit!

[boden]

i think in the future we will look back and see that Bush was the man that was needed at the time

Very true SpongeG.

[salvius]

^Somehow I can't help but think that somebody else would have dealt with it better.

A stuffed puppet may have done a better job.

[niwell]

He done a fine job of handling 9/11, the Democrats would have only asked Afganistan for an apology... Bush done fucked up with the Iraq War though.

I've heard this time and time again with no explanation other than "but... they're DEMOCRATS". Any leader would likely have gone to war with Afghanistan. A better leader might have handled the situation in a way that did not bring much of the world's derision shortly thereafter.

[Deepstar]

I'm going to miss all those dumb quotes that come out of dub-ya's mouth.

[Overground]

Good riddance Wilkins. The guy has been in Canada three years and still doesn't get us. Before being named ambassador he had only visited Canada once in his life 30 years ago. With the controversial Paul Celluci before that, it will be hopefully nice that Obama names someone that at least understands Canada better.

[MonctonRad]

Obama has the ability to inspire the American public and other peoples around the world.

Bush has the ability to cause food aspiration from uncontrolled laughter while listening to his absurd quotations when you are eating.

[agrant]

I still can't believe Bush was elected for a second term, and how so many people turned a blind eye to all that went on with the Iraq situation. I like Obama, a much smoother talker for sure. :) We'll see how things go with foreign affairs.

[MolsonExport]

He done a fine job of handling 9/11, the Democrats would have only asked Afganistan for an apology... Bush done fucked up with the Iraq War though.

http://msp298.photobucket.com/albums/mm266/J2thepxtreme/owl_orly.png

[mylesmalley]

Obama has the ability to inspire the American public and other peoples around the world.

Bush has the ability to cause food aspiration from uncontrolled laughter while listening to his absurd quotations when you are eating.

Or like when he choked on those pretzels way way back?

[ReginaGuy]

He done a fine job of handling 9/11, the Democrats would have only asked Afganistan for an apology... Bush done fucked up with the Iraq War though.

Are you joking? Or are you an idiot? Grammar and spelling mistakes aside, "Afghanistan" didn't perpetrate 9/11.

The 9/11 Hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon. Mostly from Saudi Arabia. The government of Afghanistan had nothing to do with it.

The war in Afghanistan is an offensive against al-Qaeda, not Afghanistan itself.

Besides, Obama is promising MORE troops for Afghanistan, so your point is moot anyways.

[Canasian]

But unlike Churchill, Bush didn't do anything remotely good for this world.



How true. Canada miss Bush? Yeah right!

[Elmira Guy]

I wonder how Bush feels about all the ridicule and hatred directed toward him?

Hopefully he feels bad. :)

[vid]

fowl tasting veggies

Ah, the joys of genetically modified food! The kids love 'em! ;)

Economically speaking he was way better for Canada than Barack Obama will be.

Too bad Canada isn't just an economy.

[vanman]

I'll miss Bush as much as I miss my morning turd.

[MolsonExport]

^that is a rather low insult...to your morning turd, that is. :D

[Jay in Cowtown]

Are you joking? Or are you an idiot? Grammar and spelling mistakes aside, "Afghanistan" didn't perpetrate 9/11.

The 9/11 Hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Lebanon. Mostly from Saudi Arabia. The government of Afghanistan had nothing to do with it.

The war in Afghanistan is an offensive against al-Qaeda, not Afghanistan itself.

Besides, Obama is promising MORE troops for Afghanistan, so your point is moot anyways.


In 2001 AfgHanistan was run by the Taliban whom was harboring and supportive of al-Qaeda within it's country of... AfgHanistan!

I rather doubt Al Gore would have sent nearly the arsenal that Bush did, that's what I meant by "an apology". I never said anything about Obama not sending anymore troops. :koko:

As far as my grammar and spelling... an intellect as yourself couldn't distinguish the Texas accent I was implying with... "Bush done fucked up", I won't apologize for spelling AfgHanistan wrong simply because I'm still getting used to typing without looking at the keyboard... what I will apologize for is not noticing your douchebag post earlier!

[Tony]

Both of you knock it off.

[Cre47]

So Wilkins says we will miss George Bush.

My reply to that: :lmao: