Is it Presidential for Bush to make this car-wash crack?

[Eric J in MN]

From today's NY Times:
"(Kerry) also supported a 50-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline," Mr. Bush added, referring to a proposed increase in the federal gasoline tax that Mr. Kerry backed in 1994. "He wanted you to pay all that money at the pump, and wouldn't even throw in a free car wash."

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Shouldn't a President intelligently discuss how to curb oil consumption?

[BootinUp]

1. Depends

For a compassionate conservative probably not. For RW neocon asshole pResident, no problem. heh

[teach1st]

2. I think it's pretty funny...

...and it probably works better for the undecideds than a detailed analysis.

Is it true?

[leyton]

6. It is funny, actually.

Props to whatever speechwriter wrote it.

What's not presidential is that he doesn't ever go into any sort of analysis that approaches nuance.

[tobius]

13. no. kerry's plan

offered a brushless wash with every fillup.

[buff2]

3. That's all we get from an idiot

"Shouldn't a President intelligently discuss how to curb oil consumption?"



Yes. But this is what we get when we have a mental midget playing president. :puke:

[LSdemocrat]

4. When has Bush EVER been "presidential"?

[radiclib]

5. Don't you get it yet?

Americans don't want a president who is smarter than they are. They want a regler guy they can have a brewski with who won't (can't?) talk down to them like some high-fallutin' know-it-all (Gore).
Moronic comments like this only help the Chimp politically.

[ACK]

14. Don't YOU get it yet -- the majority of Americans voted for Gore

They picked the know-it-all. Still, I agree it helps to have the common touch.

A populist voice and progressive policies.

[starroute]

7. "Bush thinks government should offer free carwashes!"

How about that for a waste-of-your-taxpayer-dollars headline?

[historian]

8. his entire being

is not only non presidential, but he is an insult to the theory of evolution or, of if you dont believe in that, that God doesnt have a terrrible sense of humour.
(no offense to you believers)

[AntiCoup2K4]

9. I find it hard to believe that a "president" who personally profits from..

...the oil industry, at a time when gas prices have damn near doubled since he assumed a stolen office, would dare mention ANYTHING remotely related to gas prices.

Did Kerry really support this tax though? Because that idea sounds pretty lame. Another regressive tax which would hit the poor and working class much harder than the rich.

[DrFunkenstein]

10. Maybe Bush Should Have Supported The Kerry-McCain CAFE Standards

[LividLiberal]

11. He has never struck me as presidential anyway

[Piperay]

12. That's typical of someone who can't answer

in an intelligent way, they belittle and turn someone else's ideas into a joke. :silly:

[Skip Intro]

15. Hell - he made a joke about 9*11 - remember "I hit the trifecta?"

In reference to the recession, 9*11, and the "war."

And this man is a hero?

:puke:
. . .bush*

on edit:
this from a recent DU piece:
"You know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit? I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. (Laughter.) Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.)"

To appreciate the tastelessness, remember the context. His audience knew the game. Bush needed political cover for their lavish tax cuts. That's why the transcript shows the strange notation (Laughter) when he mentions war, national emergency, and recession. And why they laugh again when he happily calls them a trifecta - racetrack jargon for three "lucky winners" in a row!

Is depravity too strong a word?

Combat deaths, civilian mayhem, and unemployment for millions were, from the perspective of Bush and his audiences, a lucky combination. A trifecta! The winning tickets that would pay off with cash for his contributors - and the political clout the President could use to make their winnings permanent!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/03/13_trifecta.html

[Robb]

16. One of Bush's greatest achievements

has been lowering the bar so much in a few short years.

So yes, this is "small p" pResidential, or, dare I say, "no p" Residential. :eyes:

Yes, I said it. No p. :D