Negroponte: Bush More Intellectual Than You Think

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Would love to write a book, but unfortunately I have a job (where at nearly midnight I happen to still be).
Actually I don't like name calling anymore than you - I admittedly get a little steamed when sneering libs start vilifying and trashing a fundamentally decent man. I don't happen to agree with a lot of things he did - e.g., increasing the Federal beauracracy by tens of thousands of TSA employees, or creating another entitlement program (prescription drugs - although at least if those of you who want the government to take over healthcare would take the time to look, there's a program done primarily outside government that actually works and is well under cost projections), or steel tarrifs. I think he was wholely unaffective in several situations. But I don't believe he was stupid, and it speaks to your character that you are compelled to insist he is and to set yourself up as the intellectual superior. Hindsight is 20/20 for most people.
You are, however, fundamentally dishonest at an intellectual level. For example, you throw out your sneering little standard line about cutting taxes, as if that confirms he didn't want address any budgetary issues, and ignore the indisputable history of tax cuts spurring economic growth which in turn INCREASED tax revenue even though rates were reduced. Kennedy did it; Reagan did it (only an over-spending liberal congress prevented that from turning into a balanced budget and a decrease in the national debt). It takes a head in the sand to ignore it. And you can quote whoever you want all you want, there's no question the economic decline started on Clinton's watch. Actually I don't attribute it just to Clinton policies - there was a .dot com bubble, a great period of irrational exuberance as Greenspan put it, and cycles happen regardless of who's in office. That doesn't mean, though, that who's in office can't have an adverse affect. Ask the good citizens of Michigan, which is the perfect example of what Obama-style government with high-tax, business-unfriendly, something-for-everyone policies will bring. Or NJ, MA, CA, take your pick. And contrast with TX. Maggie had it right - sooner or later you will run out of other people's money. By the way, how's that "we're broke - let's spend $870 billion" plan working for you?
Own it. Hmm. So now all the attacks pre-9/11 don't count and the only "dire warnings" you think were around were just for 9/11? You're willing to give previous administrations a pass for the prior decade of escalation? How convenient.
Wish I had more time, but gotta get back to work. I'm one of those evil conservatives who work 100s of hours of overtime a year, unpaid, to help win work that results in jobs for 100s of people, just so I can be demonized for not wanting to pay more than the $50K or so I already pay in taxes, all because I'm greedy. But just keep it up - tax me 75% - see how much longer I put in the effort to keep others employed.

Mike of MD 12:14AM November 13, 2009

Reducing high tax rates increases revenue to the treasury as the Reagan years proved.
As for "sayitwithwookies" assertion that 9-11 was "preceded by months of dire warnings that some sort of al-Qaida attack was imminent", the chatter was overwhelmingly about attacks in foreign locatons - not the usa. But hey - liberals rarely bother with facts.

ksm12009 9:45PM November 12, 2009

GWB could express himself without the need for someone to tell him what to say. He had strong opinions and where he stood on an issue was known to all.
The problem the liberals have is they think they are the smart ones. Proof of their stupidity is their belief that the government can solve all problems.

Lou Charles of CA 10:51PM November 11, 2009

So Negroponte and/or Mr. Rove claim that George W. Bush read 2 or 3 books per day including heavy duty stuff on French History. Let's assume that Mr. Negroponte and/or Mr. Rove can actually count and is not exaggerating the number of books read on a daily basis. It would explain why George didn't get anything worthwhile done because he was too busy reading. Maybe George was confused because he was reading about France and not the United States. (Trust me, I've met George twice and I can see how he would be easily confused.)
If Bush didn't actually read heavy duty stuff, then reading 2 or 3 books such as "Fun With Dick and Jane", although possibly a challenge for the former president, doesn't really count when it comes to an impressive list of books. Also, if the books were heavy duty and he was just looking at the pretty pictures, it also doesn't count.
I challenge George W. Bush to go on the TV program "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader" and see how he fares without teleprompters, hearing devices, etc.

Ethan Nahté of TX 5:37PM November 11, 2009

Name calling and one unsourced "do some research -- he listened to lots of people" assertion? Well color me chastened.
So you think that if Medicaid and Medicare were losing money then somehow it was smart to whittle away the Federal budget on tax cuts? That makes a tremendous amount of sense.
Dubya has never even purported to use his brain -- in fact, he brags about deciding with his gut. In Iraq and Afghanistan he made some of the worst decisions in US military history -- or deliberately let Rumsfeld make the decisions for him.
Also, the National Bureau of Economic Research (among others) pegged the 2001 recession as beginning in 2001. And 9/11, as we know, was preceded by months of dire warnings that some sort of al-Qaida attack was imminent. Our brilliant president dismissed those warnings with a "You've covered your behind" and went back to clearing brush. As Republicans are so fond of admonishing our current president -- own it.

SayItWithWookies of VA 5:12PM November 11, 2009

Pompous jerks.
What's really pathetic is spewing somebody else's talking points and trashing someone's intellect simply because you disagree. It's just so hip and cool to jump on the "dumya" bandwagon.
Do some research. Find out how much time and the range of people the man consulted, for example, when considering what position to take on embyonic stem cell research. You'll find that unlike complete rear-orifices like yourself he did not cloister himself away from opposing though, but instead got inputs cover the full spectrum, and by all accounts asked insightful questions across the board. You're too much of an intellectual chicken to actually consider opposing views - so easy to be the tough guy when you're slamming someone in ignorance.
Or Sayitwithwookies - you're equally dimwitted. Such a favorite trope to talk about how Bush took a surplus and turned it into a deficit. The reality is that the economy began tanking 9 months before Bush took office (check your 401K statements and what the trend) and then the country was hit by 9/11. Not to mention that the whole notion that we as a country were in the black when social security and medicare were and are racing towards insolvency in the not too distant future (something about which Bush did some good and some bad) is just laughly ludricous.
You all are pathetic, and you'll always be pathetic until you can engage in intellectually serious manner. It's too bad people like you get to vote.

Mike of MD 3:49PM November 11, 2009

Oh, of course Dubya was smart, Mr. Negroponte. That's why he was able to explain why Jesus changed his heart. That's why he was able to turn a surplus into a monstrous deficit.
That's why he showed the intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills to cut through the bull about Iraq having WMDs and connections to al-Qaida, and save America from a disastrous invasion and drawn-out occupation of a country that posed no threat and had nothing to do with 9/11. That's why he had the intellectual heft to realize that the Iraqi insurgency was serious -- after four years or so.
That's why, instead of actually leading the world, he simply bullied other nations and then sent out envoys to say we were actually doing them a favor.
That's why he worked so hard to solve our nation's healthcare crisis during his eight years in office.
That's why he *still* thinks he's such a freakin' genius that his library is going to be a policy institute to provide good ideas for presidents after him.
No, Mr. Negroponte, he wasn't smarter than we give him credit for -- you think we're dumber than we really are. Please try a less transparently cynical ploy next time.

SayItWithWookies of VA 2:14PM November 11, 2009

President Bush is SO SMART that realistic time constraints don't apply to him.
I can already hear the libtards moaning about how it's not how many books you read, it's whether you can and do read books that challenge your intellect and your world view, whether you can absorb new information, and what you do with it. Guaranteed, they're going to whine that the claim that the president of the United States had the time to read two to three books a day while fighting two wars is a complete fabrication.
What the libtards don't understand is the power of President Bush's extreme intellect. When you're THAT SMART, it's not just that you can comprehend difficult subjects, you can also read books faster than a dumber person.
That's just how physics works. But I don't expect people who aren't President Bush's intellectual equals to understand the science behind his reading prowess. The science behind President Bush's extreme intelligence is HARDER to understand than rocket science. In fact, the science has actually been classified by US intelligence officials, for the good of US America. President Bush's reading abilities are THAT HARD to comprehend.

Katydid of CT 1:30PM November 11, 2009

Yes he could read. So what. He hadn't the smarts to draw any inferences or wisdom from what he read, and as I recall from reports of what he read, it was for the most part works that reinforced what he already believed. GW had intellect, but it was and remains an unchallenged, incurious, and an ignorant one.

Susan of AK 1:27PM November 11, 2009

How heavy duty was the stuff that W and co. were reading? French History? Isn't this what highschoolers all across the country are reading? Even if it was collegiate level work on the French Revolution, how is this in any way heavy duty for the president of the U.S.? I know idiot conservatives want to revive their idiot president's reputation, but this isn't the way. Negroponte basically sounds like he's condescending Bush. It would be like saying, George Bush is quite an accomplished pianist. He was doing some pretty heavy duty stuff, like Fur Elise and some beginner's level sonatina.

Haar Briedlien of KS 1:18PM November 11, 2009