Here's the latest:

In a farewell speech in New Delhi, Bush ran into trouble when he praised Pakistan as "a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world." The White House hastened to correct Bush's reference to Pakistan as an Arab nation, and said he meant to say Muslim.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1141426212211&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724

We all know President Bush has problems making himself clear at times. Entire websites are devoted to cataloguing his numerous faux pas, and that really isn't what I'm after here. What I'm wondering is if he really believed Pakistan is an Arab country or was it just another mis-statement?

I'm genuinely curious to hear what others think about this.

It's hard to say. Obviously the guy isn't especially world-wise, but he's also a crappy public speaker, so it could be either.

Originally posted by sedan
I'm genuinely curious to hear what others think about this.

What do I think about this? I think it is of utter importance and if it isn't frontpage news on every major publication on Sunday I will raise hell.

I mean, for the President of the United States (who travels all over the world, meets with thousands of people, attends meetings, briefings, gives speeches, makes decisions, reads over bills, is the head of the military during major incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan, head of the executive branch during a period of virulent congressional strife, faces rebuilding projects in the South, attacks on his character/personality and decisions everyday, has two daughters and a wife, is aging, among other things) to use the (often) colloquial term for a Muslim, but end up being wrong with that application of that particular terminology is completely outrageous. He should be beaten with a cudgel for hours and forced to watch videos of his children being gutted for this completely offensive slip of tongue.

I think he is genuinely clueless.

Not much different than when he asked are there blacks in Brazil? or when he waved to Stevie Wonder.

Not only is he clueless, he is clueless in a crass way and clearly believes the people are beneath his dignity.

Originally posted by sedan

I'm genuinely curious to hear what others think about this.

In this case, it well could have been a simple slip of the tongue............but what I find astonishing about Bush [and those people who have somehow become convinced, all evidence to the contrary, that he's a good and competent political leader] is not so much the fact that he is incredibly ignorant in SO many areas that you'd think a world leader should and would be knowledgeable about, but that he actually seems to glory in his absolutely towering lack of intellect.

We discovered early on in his presidency that (to put it mildly) he was not exactly an avid *book reader*, and he also made no secret of the fact that he had little intellectual curiosity about other lands and other peoples.

His Yale frat brother Tom Wilner may have had the most revealing insight ever about Bush, when he said ---

"(George) coasted through Yale on his family name, but that's understandable. Lots of guys do that. But Georgie, as we called him then, has absolutely no intellectual curiosity about anything. He wasn't interested in ideas or books or causes. He didn't travel; he didn't read the newspapers; he didn't watch the news.....how he got out of Yale without developing some interest in the world besides booze and sports stuns me."

Bush has to paint his lack of sophistication in a positive manner, his entire platform rests on his carefully crafted Texas cowboy image. If he didn't bank on it, his whole career would crumble.

Originally posted by Napsterbater
Bush has to paint his lack of sophistication in a positive manner.......

What many of his supporters would term a "lack of sophistication", I view as borderline mental retardation.

The fact that it is even possible, in the most powerful nation on earth, for a person of Bush's level of intellect to hold the reins of power is truly frightening.

He waved to Stevie Wonder? Wow that is hilarious. Is that true?

Originally posted by Freethinker
In this case, it well could have been a simple slip of the tongue............but what I find astonishing about Bush [and those people who have somehow become convinced, all evidence to the contrary, that he's a good and competent political leader] is not so much the fact that he is incredibly ignorant in SO many areas that you'd think a world leader should and would be knowledgeable about, but that he actually seems to glory in his absolutely towering lack of intellect.

We discovered early on in his presidency that (to put it mildly) he was not exactly an avid *book reader*, and he also made no secret of the fact that he had little intellectual curiosity about other lands and other peoples.

His Yale frat brother Tom Wilner may have had the most revealing insight ever about Bush, when he said ---

"(George) coasted through Yale on his family name, but that's understandable. Lots of guys do that. But Georgie, as we called him then, has absolutely no intellectual curiosity about anything. He wasn't interested in ideas or books or causes. He didn't travel; he didn't read the newspaper; he didn't watch the news.....how he got out of Yale without developing some interest in the world besides booze and sports stuns me."

So what does that say about democracy? (and the public?)

Originally posted by newdsagent3
So what does that say about democracy? .....

Democracy is dead.

The consequences of being ruled by an unscrupulous, unchecked, extreme RightWing Republican regime --- catastrophic wars, unfunded mandates, runaway tax cuts, the shredding of the social safety net, environmental degradation, and corporate pillage-- are all antithetical to a democracy of, for and by the People.



Originally posted by newdsagent3
So what does that say about ........ the public?

The American Public --collectively-- is best personified by a gibbering idiot in a "They'll git my gun when they pry it from my dead fingers!" tee-shirt, holding a Bible in one hand while maniacally waving a cheap, Chinese-made flag with the other.

________________________________

George W. Bush is the most powerful man alive. He is a class A imbecile. He is far less intelligent than the average Christian. But like most of the others, he believes Jesus died for his sins. That idea is so perverse and devoid of logic it should shock the conscience. Instead, it gets him elected, and earns him the reverence of a great percentage of America. America! The most advanced country in the world – run by a bunch of villagers who still believe Santa Claus is going to save them.

Originally posted by DrewM
He waved to Stevie Wonder? Wow that is hilarious. Is that true?

AFAIK it's true.

http://www.toostupidtobepresident.com/top11/steviewonder.htm

The CIA has a report on 'em too - says many drugs are smuggled thru the ports these folks are supposed to be in charge of.

Snopes says that Bush was actually waving at Kelsy Grammer. I have yet to find video of it to see what actually happened.

I don't neccessarily trust snopes because they excuse it with a "well it could happen to anyone" ignoreing of course the fact that Stevie Wonder being blind is very common knowledge.

Snopes debunks everything anti-bush... no more, no less.

Originally posted by 500lbguerilla
Snopes says that Bush was actually waving at Kelsy Grammer. I have yet to find video of it to see what actually happened.

It's all a cover-up for the real story, Bush knows from CIA communiques that Stevie Wonder is a druglord who pretends to be blind (riding on the heels of Ray Charles)!

Originally posted by DrewM
He waved to Stevie Wonder? Wow that is hilarious.

I second that.

Originally posted by Lungdop Philing
Snopes debunks everything anti-bush... no more, no less.

Snopes says that's inaccurate.

Here's some other gems by various men of high office:

"The world is more like it is now than it has ever been before."
Eisenhower

"I invented the internet."
Al Gore

"Politics give guys too much power so they behave badly around women...I hope I never get into that."
Bill Clinton

"If Lincoln were alive today he'd roll over in his grave."
Gerald Ford

"It is white."
Bush, when describing the White House

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is very wasteful. ......how true that is."
Dan Quayle

Originally posted by DrewM
He waved to Stevie Wonder? Wow that is hilarious. Is that true?

I wondered the same thing while LMAO :D