Bush puts the "Lame" in Lame Duck

I personally avoid it like the Clap, but feel free to substitute whatever catchy STD phrase you wish

 

There is an african american gentleman I once knew with great wisdom yet little education when speaking about George Wallace during the civil rights movement.
he would say:
we is right and he is wrong...

There have been very good presidents in each party and very competent ones, and then there are morans like George W. Bush who have a long and troubled history of ineptitude. There are presidents that are thoughtful of their cabinet leaders and then there is a President like George W. who surrounded himself with despicable people who could persuade him to start a war, then directly profit from it, (Mr. Cheney who somehow shot buckshot in the face of a friend) and other notable people like Rumsfeld who let the world know we torture prisoners and are proud of it, screw the Geneva Convention.
Yes, there have been ineffective Presidents, some very well meaning like President Carter who seem get obsessed with every detail..
George W. however, is in a class of his own....A rogue drunk until his 40's with a history of ruining every business to the ground including the hapless Texas Rangers. This is who the man the Republicans tagged to be their best choice....a reformed drunk who became enlightened by 'God' and turned into a white knuckler who sometimes fell off the wagon even during press conferences. After 9/11 he was given the opportunity to show how a real commander and chief could lead the US in a concerted manner and set a standard for other countries to follow; instead he bankrupt the american people financially, militarily, morally, ethically and emotionally.....and he gave us a huge and the most intrusive government in our country's history and alienated almost every other country (including Iraq), all while polorizing the people in this country.
Yes, George W. will always go down as a very special president. And I hope when President-elect Obama has lunch with him Monday that he lets him know that if he pushes through these environmental bills that further destroy our country's resources as a lame duck President, and they remotely benefit him and his cronnies, he will be vigorously prosecuted.....

 

No matter what you think of the current president, we have a new day on the horizon and I sincerely hope we can all and I mean all take on a new inclusive attitude which will advance our nation's agenda. We are in desperate straits and constant infighting will only further advance the past 8 years of national destruction. I trust congress to see past 'grace period' dates and temporarily alter that 'gp' to benefit the nation.

 

FreshAir, what a great message:
You are so correct. I have expressed the ranting gene since that eventful spring when we invaded Iraq. Just for the record, I do not feel this way about other presidents from either party, and as an american, I appreciate the burden of the office, not always agreeing with the political philosophy but the benefits or consequences of their decisions.

 

at 57 years old
i have not yet lost hope----
Obama is my sign that holding onto hope all this time---
has not been a wasted effort
regards
Froley

 

Remember when they said "smaller government?" What they really meant was deregulated bigger government. The Republicans thrive on deception, while governing like an autocracy and subsidizing the rich. Those days are over.

 

It looks like the White House's last minute attempt to de-regulate is as well-planned as their other misadventures. Which is to say, all their work can probably get undone quickly and easily by Congress.

Politico: Dems eye midnight regulations reversal

Congressional Democrats are eyeing a little-known, Clinton-era law as a way to reverse Bush administration midnight regulations — even ones that have already taken effect.

It’s a move that would undermine the White House’s attempt to finalize its energy and environmental regulations by November so that Barack Obama couldn’t undo them after he’s sworn in as the 44th president on Jan. 20.

“Fortunately, [the White House] made a mistake,†said a top Senate Democratic aide.

Last May, White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten instructed federal agency heads to make sure any new regulations were finalized by Nov. 1. The memo didn’t spell it out, but the thinking behind the directive was obvious. As Myron Ebell of the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute put it: “We’re not going to make the same mistakes the Clinton administration did.â€

President Bill Clinton finalized regulations within 60 days of the 2001 inauguration, meaning Bush could come in and easily reverse them.

It could take Obama years to undo climate rules finalized more than 60 days before he takes office — the advantage the White House sought by getting them done by Nov. 1. But that strategy doesn’t account for the Congressional Review Act of 1996.

The law contains a clause determining that any regulation finalized within 60 days of congressional adjournment — Oct. 3, in this case — is considered to have been legally finalized on Jan. 15, 2009. The new Congress then has 60 days to review it and reverse it with a joint resolution that can’t be filibustered in the Senate.

In other words, any regulation finalized in the last half-year of the Bush administration could be wiped out with a simple party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Congress.
​

 

Good.

 

"In other words, any regulation finalized in the last half-year of the Bush administration could be wiped out with a simple party-line vote in the Democrat-controlled Congress".

I hope this is right. Of course, now we have to depend on the democrats being ethical. How many democrats sit on boards of major financial institutions and energy corporations that have followed Bush's policies silently all these years? When the final number of how many billions AIG has lost due to mismanagement and deceptive practices is revealed over the next six to nine months, will the CEO's and other deceptive managers be prosecuted? Will there stop being golden parachutes for CEO's who lost other corporations millions/billions?
I would love to have been a fly on the White House wall when Obama and his family went to the White House Monday to transition with Bush. Afterward, Obama talked about many of his initiatives so I guess we can expect there is a new sheriff in town and he's not going to be surprised by any last minute shenanigans from George W.
I am also a fatally flawed optomist.

 

This is what bush has done: I was sitting in a room full of car dealers and white collar gm and ford employees today who were thankful a democrat was going to be in the white house and that the republican president was on his way home.

 

Perhaps we've slipped into some sort of bizarro world.

I really hope the the republicans can rebuild themselves properly so that we can have some competing ideas in gov't. I really hope that they don't move to the right. It's going to be interesting to see what becomes of them in the next year or so.

 

If you think the Republicans aren't going to move to the right, I've got a bridge to nowhere to sell you. The Reps are going to point the finger and blame McCain for being "too liberal". The right wing wing nuts are going to rule, the part of the party that doesn't believe in gravity, and so they will be further in the wilderness until they loose another election and perhaps then figure it out. Aint gonna be this time though!

Icarus

Can you say Palin '12? LOL!

 

All is not lost.

"Congressional Democrats are eyeing a little-known, Clinton-era law as a way to reverse Bush administration midnight regulations — even ones that have already taken effect.

It’s a move that would undermine the White House’s attempt to finalize its energy and environmental regulations by November so that Barack Obama couldn’t undo them after he’s sworn in as the 44th president on Jan. 20."

 

Godiva,

Scott mentioned that a page back. Rather good news, ain't it?

Icarus, yeah that may well happen. If they go too far right they're toast. If they lose the moderates they'll go the way of the 8-track. I'm hoping that Barry gets it right these next 4 years. The country desperately needs good leadership. I'd much rather see the republicans return to the Eisenhower style... the "classic" conservative model that they've completely abandoned over the past 28 years or so.

 

Eisenhower is why my Mother registered as a Republican. Once she chose her "team" she stopped paying attention. Votes pretty much the straight ticket everytime.

While I think Bush's environmental regulations will be overturned, I suspect it's a bit down on the list of things to do.

But I think it's possible the environment may become a little more prominent in people's minds just as services like the Public Library will. Because when the economy sucks, patronage of the local library always increases. And I think more people will be walking parks, beaches and taking cheaper "camping" vacations rather than doing the hotel/theme park thing. And that will make them much more aware of what is going on.

I think Rachel Maddow said it: When you elect people who's platform is less, expect not to get the services you want.

So when people lose their parks, libraries, the beaches are littered and polluted, the open spaces show neglect or intentional destruction.....they're going to notice, they're not going to like it, they'll identify who is responsible, and they'll remember.

At least one can hope.

 

It depends on the performance of Barack Obama. If he salvages the economy and stays away from far left social policies, he will neutralize the republicans. If the economy continues to tank and he is working on social issues, the far right will leverage the mess to gain power. That could be scarry.

 

It's amazing what one letter can do in the English language. When I first read this post, I though you had written "If he savages the economy..."

Tom

 

Little did they know one month later Ford GM and Chrysler leaders would be standing in line for their corporation bailouts. I can't imagine any large corporation now not doing the same...I's a very sad commentary

 

What's not to like? It's free money?

How ironic that the same types that condemn welfare for the working poor are all for Corporate Welfare as long as they're the ones getting the free money.

What happened to free market capitalism? You remember that. If you make bad decisions and your company goes bankrupt, it's market Darwinism; you're extinct.

Unless you're GM. If they had continued with the EV, if they had spent money making a car people would buy instead of spending money on advertising and gimmicks to convince people to buy the SUVs they wanted to make, they probably wouldn't be where they are now.

Let them die. They aren't capable of competing in the 21st century.

 

G

I don't understand how our Conservatives up here can act in the very literal sense, and earn the admiration of the entire world, while NeoCons have completely derailed things down there

Not to late for you to move up here. True, our winters are bitterly cold, but that build character

J