It's not my normal practice to comment of the political rants of others but I was wondering if you consider the alleged Socialism of President Obama to be either more malevolent in approach or more destructive in practice than what many considered the Imperial Facism of former President Bush?
This struck me as an interesting question not only in what was asked but how it was phrased and the loaded words used, making me think that I probably can guess what Robert's political leanings are.
For one, I have never once perceived Bush as being a Fascist, though I am by no means an expert on the term. It seems a lot of people liked to throw words around that have negative connotations behind them to smear the former president in my opinion. They close any and all debate by hurling out labels such as "fascist" and "Bushitler" instead of actually talking policy and multiple sides of the issue. As for Imperial Fascist, this in itself is a loaded word suggesting that Bush was working on expanding his Empire by over throwing the Iraqi government, when many fail to realize that in
In regards to Bush himself, I am not an enormous Bush fan and truthfully never have been. Bush is to moderate on fiscal policies for me to be a true fan, as I am through and through a fiscal conservative and think that small government is the best government. Bush ran as a conservative, but he was a big government republican, seeing as how much he ran up the debt and expanded the government in his eight years in office.
However, what Bush did pails in comparison to what Obama is doing now. Bush governed from the center and paid for it by alienating conservatives with his fiscal policies and infuriating liberals with his war policies, which is why I believe he became so unpopular in the end. You can't please everybody.
Obama is quite frightening to me not only because of his fiscal policies means putting the nation in trillions of dollars of new debt, but his treatment of the auto and banking industries by nationalizing them, firing a CEO of a private corporation, forcing through universal healthcare when it has proven to be ineffective outside of a few coughs and colds (good luck finding a doctor in the next couple of years), the desire to punish success by greatly expanding taxes, and let's not forget the Blame America Tour he just completed where he got friendly with a few dictators. I feel nice and warm inside knowing they know they can walk all over Obama because he proved he's a lightweight.
What really gets my goat more then anything however, is the treatment of the Press over Obama. Obama is a master of saying one thing and doing something completely different. What's outrageous is that the press refuses to call him on it, so he can get away with whatever he wants. It is vitally important to a nation to have an unbiased Press who reports on the facts in regards to the nation. The press keeps the government and business in check. Unfortunately, the press is so in the tank for the President that they have lost all credibility. Since Obama owns the press (at least the government will as soon as they finish bailing them out), he doesn't have to be accountable for anything. Bush couldn't get away with much with the Press, because he would turn his back and try to open a locked door and the press was there to capture it and frame him for being a stooge. Ok, fine, whatever, but if they are going to treat one president in that manner, they need to do the same for the next.
What really made me worried in regards to the press and its treatment of Obama was how they reacted to two people last year, Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber. If the average citizen is not outraged by this, then they are clueless as to what happened.
First Sarah Palin. She came into the scene as a fresh face on the conservative ticket and nobody knew much about her. Right off the back the press sent teams of people up into Alaska to dig up dirt about her, when nobody was doing half as much digging on Barack Obama as a presidential candidate and the head of his own ticket. Joe Biden was making Gaffes and flubs left and right, but the press wasn't focusing on him. No, they were downright ignoring him, but Sarah Palin was getting grilled on her daughter's pregnancy and whether her son Trig was in fact hers or her daughters. Us magazine did a hit job on her and unfortunately, her handlers mishandled her and put her up for two unfriendly interviews which has ultimately hurt a lot of her chances in the future in politics. The problem is, Sarah Palin is a very talented and intelligent woman who has experienced first hand character assassination by the press. They have managed to paint her as a backwoods redneck that likes to shoot animals for fun and pop out kids as if they are fashion accessories. They fail to paint her many accomplishments as well as her public service record.
How they treated Palin vs Obama on similar issues (and we're talking the bottom of one ticket versus the top of another) disgusted me. But then there is Joe the Plumber.
This is an average American (yes, who's real name is Sam but anybody ever hear of a nickname?) who just so happened to be in his front yard playing football with his kid when Barack Obama wanders through talking to ordinary people looking for a photo op. He comes up to Joe and Joe asks him a question. Remember, Obama came up to him, not the other way around, and Obama gives him a downright socialistic answer about 'spreading the wealth, which is good for everybody.' Red alert, red alert, Obama gave a bad answer, so the press must instantly deflect off of Obama which means the tables are turned on Joe. The press is on Joe attack.
The problem is, it shouldn't matter who Joe the Plumber is, whether he is Sam Wurzelbacher or Charles Manson or Santa Claus, what should have mattered was Obama's answer to the question. But what everyone immediately forgot was Obama's answer to Joe's question, because suddenly it was all about Joe and his dirt. This was a private citizen who was attacked for daring to ask Obama a tough question (something the Press still hasn't figured out how to do)! That is crazy! The press is in the tank for Obama!
I don't care what your personal opinion or policies are in regards to politics, whether you agree with Obama or not, but we need a Press that actually does its job. Because when they are refusing to keep the president in check and letting him get away with whatever he wants, well, ever hear of the term Power Corrupts? Well, take it one step further when you have a very thin skinned president. And yes, Obama has shown himself to be very thin skinned to criticism and likes to personally attack people who disagree with him (ie, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tea Party Protesters, etc). Bush never called out his detractors by name, they protested him, he ignored them.
As to the original question posed to me, do I consider the alleged Socialism of President Obama to be either more malevolent in approach or more destructive in practice than what many considered the Imperial Facism of former President Bush, the answer is . . .
There is no 'alleged' about it. Do a little research, Obama is a freakin' socialist. You may or may not agree with Socialism, but look around you. Bush is not a fascist, if he was, there would be more people in prison for speaking out against him. So cut out the loaded words, do I think Obama is doing more or less damage then Bush did, the answer is definitely more damage. Whether it be to our economy (though Bush didn't help much that last year), our defense, or our place in the world's eyes, hey, they may not have liked Bush, but our enemies didn't want to mess with him. It seems to me that they have been inkling at testing Obama just like Biden said they would for the last few months.
But who knows, we still got three and a half or so more years before the next presidential election, maybe Obama can pull his head out of his ass by that time and I might actually agree with his policies by then? But I doubt it.
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