Hmm.... a Bush-basher has now noticed this thread.

But before I start, my bonafides: I'm a self-professed "moderate conservative" who has become thoroughly disgusted with the Bush (Jr.) Presidency. And mostly, that would reflect directly on the "style" of the man at the top of the pile that "is" the current administration - and therefore he becomes the object of my hatred.

So, I get to affectionately refer to him as "Bushie" (on a kind day, when I'm feeling sorry for the guy), or by other worser names like the Bozo-In-Chief (on a not-so-good day, when Bushie has once again managed to stir my ire).

I've been a lifelong registered Republican, except for a brief period during college when I became an independent, and except for the last few months here, when I found reason to temporarily dissociate myself from the Party once again. I supposed you could say, in a nutshell, that my political views break down along these lines when it comes to conservative philosophy: I'm "fiscally" conservative, and I'm also conservative from a "security" standpoint - however, I'm about the farthest thing from a "social conservative" that there ever was.

So basically, I come down along the lines of "run the counry first, and if you're good at that we might toss you a bone or two in terms of your moral preferences". I don't care about people being human beings - but I DO care about the President of the United States running vaporware and trying to convince the American People that there's substance behind it. I care about incompetence, and I care about stupidity. I care about someone being too dense to listen to a good idea. I care about people arbitarily shutting out valid and productive debate just because the opponents happen to have a different political ideology.

I care about the Neo-Con LIE that's somehow institutionalized itself into the Republican Party. I care about personal corruption mainly insofar as it affects the machinery of government. When it comes to the things people bring to their government jobs, I care about competence, I care about efficiency, and I care about "only" those moral issues that are so severe that they tarnish or damage the machinery of government. I couldn't care less whether Clinton got a blow job in the oval office, or whether Bushie did coke in college - but I DO care when the President of the United States lies under oath, and I ALSO care when the President lies to the American People even when he's not under oath.

I mean, geez - the President is the representative of the American People, not their daddy who knows better what's supposed to be good for them. That latter part is the judiciary's role, not the President's. Read the Constitutiobn, it says so right there. Well, anyway, to get back to topic and avoid ranting....

You ask me why I dislike this guy Bush - and the simplest answer I can give you, is that from a "political" standpoint, the guy is like a bull in a china shop. A crazed bull at that - he can't seem to think through anything "right", and as a result, he can't "do" anything right. Bushie's record of incompetence is truly staggering... I mean, we don't have to go through the list, rigiht? I really don't feel comfortable with a President who's getting his on-the-job training on taxpayer time.

So, all this stuff - and THEN, we get treated to the most secretive Presidency in US history, coupled with an unusually assertive view of the "institution" of the Presidency (vis-a-vis the signing statements and all that) that threatens any possibly harmony there might be between the three branches of government.....

Really, it's hard to be precise about this stuff. Presonally, the guy's okay. I like the man, he seems friendly enough, and he's definitely sharp and perceptive (the guy's no slouch, in spite of the image he seems to have acquired as the "result" of some of his good intentions) - but I think he has "limitations" in his thought process that prevent him from being fully effective, and um.... how can I say this.... "character defects" that don't play very well in the arena of efficient government. (Like, for instance, the idea that he seems to value loyalty more than competence - and that he's stubborn and hard-headed himself, to the point where it sometimes seems more important to save face than to resolve the problem).

Bushie is kinda the opposite of me - he seems to be "socially conservative" but not "fiscally" conservative - and I'm really not sure WHERE he stands on security posture - he talks a good game, but I get the distinct feeling that a lot of it is fluff, and his actions would seem to corroborate that perception. Glenn Beck was really funny, he said, "Bush? A conservative? Ha - forget about it. Next thing you know he'll be giving free presecription drugs to illegal aliens".

Am I being clear enough about all this? Surely this is nothing new - you've heard all this before, in all its various flavors. The main difference is, that I'm not a flaming liberal - I'm just a pissed off conservative who's listening across the aisle, and saying to myself, "those guys have a valid point".