Real Bush 'At Odds with Media Caricature'

[Socialist Christian]

http://www.news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2205133

<snip>
US President George Bush is “totally at odds” with his media image, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Menzies Campbell said today.

Mr Campbell, an opponent of the war with Iraq, spoke out on the ePolitix website about his discussions with the President during the state visit.

He said that they discussed directly issues such as Iraq, the Middle East, Guantanamo Bay, Kyoto and trade sanctions.

“He is personally extremely engaging. He has a well-developed sense of humour, is self-deprecating and when he engages in a discussion with you he is warm and concentrates directly on you.

“He looks you straight in the eye and tells you exactly what he thinks.”
Mr Campbell, stressing that the President was “totally at odds” with his media image, went on: “I was not persuaded by what he said, but I was most certainly surprised at the extent to which the caricature of him was inaccurate.”

[LuminousX]

1. There was someone here who said Bush wasn't charming

I think that is about the one thing the cheerleader can do. Beyond that, he has also proven that he can be coached.

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. Hmmm - not ussually one to pick on words - charming = deceiving ?

. . doing a BAD job of "charming" the Iraqis

. . think they more see it as murder .

Just My Canuck opinion

[mac56]

6. "He can be coached"! Absolutely!

Trainable, but not educable.

[DeathvadeR]

36. like a monkey???? n/t

[Richardo]

2. Many people have said this, including Molly Ivins.

But until I get my private audience with him, I'm going to have to go with what he shows me, which is NUTHIN', except that he's an inarticulate, selfish, short-sighted, irresponsible, dangerous theocrat.

[Gasolinedream]

7. I second that

I have NEVER found him charming in any way shape or form. The man is obnoxious and irritiating at best.

[underpants]

4. Funny NBC said the same thing before he left

David Gregory the morning W left said that a "senior White House official" told him that "Europeans only know the caricature of President Bush they don't know the real man"

as if the American public does either.

[Snellius]

5. It's called a "confidence man"

Life as few hard-learned lessons. But one of the most fundamental is: Don't go by what someone says. Put your trust only in what someone does.

[Bozola]

8. Here's a truthful statement

“He looks you straight in the eye and tells you exactly what he thinks.”, which is nothing....

[goforit]

9. LOL!!!!............

Too funny!!!!

An absolute airhead!!!

[metisnation]

29. pantomime

so he doesnt scratch his face when he is lying..doesnt mean he is not lying.

[Flubadubya]

10. Bush may be personally engaging and affable...

but "charming" I just cannot see. Moreover, it is nothing more to me than a testament to his devious, 2-faced, hypocritical, snake-like nature.

The devil always wears a disarming disguise! :evilfrown:

[Screaming Lord Byron]

11. Menzies Campbell - big fan of fox hunting, don't you know.

Not the best character witness.

[lancdem]

12. This doesn't totally surprise me

It's quite possible Bush is a lot more at ease speaking to someone privately than he is on camera. But I don't care how charming or engaging he is. I hate his policies and what he's done to our country.

[Bandit]

13. That is why people like him

He is engaging and comfortable to be around. Think him an idiot at your own peril. He didn't get to be where he is by being an idiot. President Clinton warned us of this back in 2000. Don't underestimate him. He is a political animal.

[hippiechick]

19. Exactly

The neighborhood doofus is actually a manipulative sociopath.
He's gotten where he is by people 'misunderestimating' him.


:hippie:

[Jackpine Radical]

31. I think you're exactly right.

"Superficial charm" is one of the hallmarks of the psychopathic personality (e.g. see Cleckley, Robert Hare & other researchers on the topic). That peculiar charm is exactly what lets them take such advantage of others; it is the central trait of the quintessential conman. I've done psychological assessments of maybe 1800 criminals over the years & maybe 20% of them have it. I've gotten so I generally recognize it when I see it. Bush has it.

[Cocoa]

14. we need more women in political office

not exactly sure why this article made this thought come into my head, but the idea of all these stupid men going around the world charming each other and being charmed by each other just suddenly looks absurd and dysfunctional.

[leftofthedial]

15. he is at odds with the media caricature

which claims he is popular, a strong leader, and a moral person.

[tom_paine]

16. Hitler was personally charming too...when he wanted to be.

And I'll bet he looked people right in the eyes and told them what he thought, too.

Phaugh! What does that have to do with anything?

[leesa]

17. Many psychopathic murderers are described as charming

[Sideways]

23. Of Course It Is How Whank Jobs Entice Their Victims

Sorry though I just can NOT buy Bush as charming. He is just an arrogant, creepy, insane and very manipulative freak. The fucking press is propping him up at every turn. The dude is as charming as a turd in the punch bowl at a wedding.

Really unattractive and worthy of great loathing and retching.

Charming my fucking ass. Who the fuck believes this shit?

[schultzee]

18. Ted Bundy was very charming

[barbaraann]

21. Hey, we had the same exact thought at the same time!

Are you from Washington State, too?

[barbaraann]

20. Ted Bundy was charming, too.

n/t

[skypilot]

22. get some fucking priorities

"He said that they discussed directly issues such as Iraq, the Middle East, Guantanamo Bay, Kyoto and trade sanctions."

“He is personally extremely engaging. He has a well-developed sense of humour, is self-deprecating and when he engages in a discussion with you he is warm and concentrates directly on you."


Iraq, the Middle East, Guantanamo Bay, etc. Glad, this guy managed to appreciate Chimpy's "sense of humour" with all the shit that's going on.

And sociopaths are often described as "charming".

[Pez]

24. screw the caricature; look what he's done to the country/planet

private moments of self-deprecating humor aside, he's practically undone everything we achieved in the last century, and wants to drag us down further. the man is a walking national disaster... i don't care that he can look you directly in the eye and repeat RNC talking points.

[MurrayDelph]

25. To paraphrase what Rufus T Firefly said about Chicolini

Bush "may look like an idiot, and talk like an idiot, but don't
let that fool you; he really IS an idiot!

[bushisanidiot]

26. The Chimp In Chief Is A Proven Moron

It's not the media.. unless you blame the media for quoting the idiot verbatim.

The Stupidest Things President George W. Bush Has Ever Said
10) "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000

9) "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." —Greater Nashua, N.H., Jan. 27, 2000

8) "I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn't here." —Waco, Texas, Aug. 13, 2002

7) "I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan Airport." —Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2001

6) "You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.'' —George W. Bush, Townsend, Tenn., Feb. 21, 2001

5) "I know what I believe. I will continue to articulate what I believe and what I believe — I believe what I believe is right." —Rome, July 22, 2001

4) "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002

3) "I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000

2) "They misunderestimated me." —Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000

1) "Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000

http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/georgewbush/a/top10bushisms.htm

[bvar22]

27. "Personally charming"

...is an element in the profile of a sociopath. Check out the FBI profiles. Jeffery Dahmer was "charming" and able to obtain misplaced trust...right before cold blooded psychopathic murders.

[Emillereid]

28. We fail to acknowledge this to our own peril --

Bushit is not stupid or empty-headed, he is evil. He may be a bit aphasic at times, but that does not mean he doesn't know what he's saying or can't think on his own. Never underestimate our opponent!

[glitch]

34. Yep - think the 'low cunning' of a sharp street thug

you don't have to be stupid to be ignorant.

[Khephra]

30. It is said that the anti-Christ is supposed to be able to win people over

who should have never been decieved....

sometimes I have to wonder....

[glitch]

32. Creepy isn't it - but it may be why his backers picked him

his personality fits the profile, so they get added psyops benefit of freaking people out.
Or, they are not so clever, just unconsciously self-fulfilling the prophesy.
Or, the prophesy really is... nah.

[lumpy]

33. He does fit the description of the anti-Christ.

I wonder also if this prophecy is the real McCoy.

[grasswire]

37. a lot of fundamentalists have considered it

Just after he was selected, I saw reference to Bush as the anti-christ on fundie web sites.

Here's a newer web site that examines the question:

http://mirrors.meepzorp.com/geocities.com/george-bush-antichrist/

[Lisa]

35. practically anyone can be "charming" for a few minutes if ...

... s/he wants something from you. Witness top salespeople "working the room".

Also, it's not really hard to be jolly and self-deprecating if you're in control and things are going well for you. Heck, I've done it myself on plenty of occasions.

The REAL test is to be polite and open with people you don't like, or when the situation is a disaster and everybody is yelling at you. It's very hard not to be snippy or defensive -- and from what I've seen, most times Bush doesn't even try. That "major-league asshole" comment he made when he thought the microphone was off told me everything I need to know about the guy. He's a big phony.

A true gentleman wouldn't let such a comment pass his lips -- even in private, between friends. Has anyone else noticed that his humour is often quite self-centred and is frequently used as a weapon against others (e.g. the time he put a Texas Democrat in a headlock)?