Hope and Keychain

I was digging through some storage yesterday and found a keychain from the past. I decided to start using it again.

I bought about 50 of these from the Bush '04 campaign and actually sold them for $5 on the quartet's record table during the campaign. Sold all but 3 or 4 of them. I had one lady complain (a Kerry fan) but quickly shot her down with a well-targeted response of the conservative's most deadly weapon...facts.
Maybe I'll take bids on the other two that I have left.

Political Photo of the Day

Presidents 41 & 43 visited the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) today:


41 is looking more and more frail. I wish them both well.

Compare and Contrast

Here's the video from the ceremony yesterday in which the official White House portraits of George and Laura Bush were formally unveiled.  When you listen to former President and Mrs. Bush speak to the gathering, try and think the last time you heard that kind of self-effacing humor come from the Obamas.

Political Portrait of the Day

The official George W. Bush presidential portrait that was unveiled today at the White House:

Rush wished someone had put one of those word bubbles on the photo that said "Miss Me Yet?".

And a bonus:

I almost miss her more than W.

Photo of the Day

Former president George W. Bush dances with Wounded Warrior Melissa Stockwell, the first female to ever lose a limb in combat.  She was a participant in W's 100 kilometer mountain bike ride and completed the entire ride.

James Carville Is Still Firmly Entrenched in 2000

I heard a clip of Carville commenting on the Supreme Court's apparent disdain for Obamacare that got me riled up. I don't have the exact quote, but it went something like this:

What do you expect? Scalia and Thomas overturned an election!

Really, James? What election would that be?

Of course, he's talking about the 2000 presidential election and more specifically the results in Florida which gave the nod to George W. Bush and deprived us of the incredible majesty of Al Gore. Democrats will go to their grave trying to delegitimize Bush's presidency.

Well, words mean things James, so let's look at yours. In order to "overturn" an election the assumption must be that one party was declared the winner only to have the courts take the win away and give it to his challenger. At what point did the court take away the win from Al Gore?

Let's look at the possibilities:

• Did Gore win Florida on election night?  No, Bush ended up with over 1,000 more votes.
• At any time during the recounts and contests was Al Gore ahead by even one vote?  Nope, he trailed the entire time.
• The night the election was certified was Al Gore declared the winner?  Nope, the official certification signed by Secretary of State Katherine Harris showed Bush the winner.
• How about the Electoral College?  Was Gore declared the winner when the Electoral votes were tallied?  Nope, Bush won that too.
• How about the media consortium that conducted a full recount of Florida after the election was completely over?  Did Gore have more votes then?  Nope, he lost that too.

So what did Al Gore actually win?  He did have more national popular votes which in a presidential election means exactly NOTHING.  We don't elect our presidents by popular vote.  In fact, had there not been an early and incorrect call by the networks in Florida Bush would have likely won the state by more than 10,000 votes and probably carried the national numbers too.

In conclusion, Gore won nothing but had the election "overturned" by the Supreme Court.

Get your head out of your hindquarters, James.  You lost.  Get over it.

Energy Graphic of the Day

From Fox News:

An Interesting Essay on George W. Bush

The American Scholar has a lengthy essay on the relationship between the writer and George W. Bush, a relationship that started in 1986 and continues to this day.  It's an interest read.

Political Quote of the Day

From Joe Biden, talking about U.S. involvement in Iraq:

'We're not claiming victory'...

Of course we're not. Under Obama, Americans don't win anything. And we're certainly not going to claim victory in a war that was won my George Bush.

Sports Video of the Day

From last night's World Series game:




It was almost 10 years ago to the day that President George W. Bush walked out to the mound at Yankee Stadium wearing a bulletproof vest under his jacket and reminded the world that America would go on after the 9/11 attacks.  Oh, and there's a bonus video with this one:

Texas Executes Killer of James Byrd

Does the name James Byrd ring a bell? First this:

White supremacist gang member Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed Wednesday evening for the infamous dragging death slaying of James Byrd Jr., a black man from East Texas.

Byrd, 49, was chained to the back of a pickup truck and pulled whip-like to his death along a bumpy asphalt road in one of the most grisly hate crime murders in recent Texas history.

Brewer, 44, was asked if he had any final words, to which he replied: "No. I have no final statement."

A single tear hung on the edge of his right eye.

He was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m., 10 minutes after the lethal drugs began flowing into his arms, both covered with intricate black tattoos.

Appeals to the courts for Brewer were exhausted and no last-day attempts to save his life were filed.

Here's why that name should be familiar to you (from Wikipedia):

Some advocacy groups, such as the NAACP National Voter Fund, made an issue of this case during George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 2000. They accused Bush of implicit racism since, as governor of Texas, he opposed hate crime legislation. Also, citing a prior commitment, Bush could not appear at Byrd's funeral. Because two of the three murderers were sentenced to death and the third to life in prison (all charged with and convicted of capital murder, the highest felony level in Texas), Governor Bush maintained that "we don't need tougher laws". The 77th Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act. With the signature of Governor Rick Perry, who had inherited the balance of Bush's unexpired term, the act became Texas state law in 2001.[

The NAACP, which by the way is supposed to be a non-partisan organization, ran a shameful campaign against Bush on this issue.  Fortunately, voters rejected the NAACP argument as they usually do.

A Contrast in Leadership

You need to see this.

Bill Clinton Gives a Fine Speech at the Flight 93 Memorial

Have to give credit where credit is due - Bill Clinton gave a great speech today's Flight 93 Memorial in Pennsylvania:


UPDATE: George W. Bush also spoke at the Flight 93 Memorial. His speech is here.

War on Terror Video of the Day

Despite the attempt by detestable filmmaker Michael Moore to smear President Bush with his Fahrenheit 911 agitprop movie, that day in a Florida schoolroom the President showed the calm leadership that was needed for that critical moment. Just ask the kids who were there:

The George W. Bush 9/11 Interview

You might want to set your TiVo's for this one - the George W. Bush 9/11 Interview which airs on National Geographic Channel on Sunday night, August 28, 10pm.  It's part of a "Remembering 9/11" series that NatGeo will be running all next week.  My TiVo will be busy.

On the 29th they'll be running a show about Rudy Giuliani's 9/11 experience.  I think I've seen that one before but it's very interesting.

Fleet Week Los Angeles

For the first time in many, many years there's a front line aircraft carrier docked in the Port of Los Angeles - the USS Abraham Lincoln - and this week it's open for tours as part of Fleet Week Los Angeles.  There are four ships that can be toured, including a cruiser, destroyer and minesweeper, but I'm sure the Lincoln will get most of the attention.  The ship tour schedule can be found in a PDF here.

I'm going to go up there tomorrow morning and tour the Abe, but my reason for going may be different from that of a lot of the other folks that will be there.  It's political, of course.  You see, it was on the forward flight deck of the Lincoln on May 1, 2003 that President Bush gave his famous "Mission Accomplished" speech, the banner hanging from the ship's island and badly misinterpreted by pundits the world over.  The banner never was meant to signify the end of the Iraq War, but to honor the end of the initial combat phase and the contribution of the Lincoln's crew and air wing.  If I can, I'm going to get a photo of myself on that forward flight deck.

That speech came a few hours after Bush flew out to the carrier and made an arrested landing on the rear flight deck. The pictures of him in the Navy flight suit enraged lefties everywhere and quite possibly helped him win the 2004 election:

I'll be taking pictures - lots of pictures.

Lefty Losers Still Think They Have a Case Against Bush/Cheney

At least it keeps them busy (from Daily Caller):

Human Rights Watch still wants to get George Bush -- In times of trouble, some take great comfort in nostalgia. Remember "Bush Lied, People Died" and "No Blood For Oil" and all that? Ahh, the good old days. Some people want to make that feeling last forever, as TheDC's Amanda Seitz reports: "Human Rights Watch is pressuring President Barack Obama to investigate and criminally prosecute former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney. The group says there is 'overwhelming evidence' that the Bush administration ordered the torture and abuse of various detainees. Its allegations are contained in a 107-page report. 'There are solid grounds to investigate Bush, Cheney, [Donald] Rumsfeld, and [CIA Director George] Tenet for authorizing torture and war crimes,' Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth wrote in a press release. 'President Obama has treated torture as an unfortunate policy choice rather than a crime.' The report asks other countries to prosecute Bush and several of his top aides (if the United States does not take legal action) for violating international law. 'The U.S. has a legal obligation to investigate these crimes,' Roth wrote in the statement. 'If the U.S. doesn’t act on them, other countries should.' The report also discredits the Bush administration's consultations with legal counsel over the permissibility of waterboarding and illegal detention, arguing that such precautions don’t lessen the severity of the crime." Yeah, Obama will get right on that, just as soon as he's done bragging about killing Bin Laden.

Lefties are so cute when they're delusional.

What's Most Important in the Next President - Christianity or Competence?

This post might fulfill the motto at the top of the blog:  "Guaranteed to make you think, make you laugh or make you mad".  As it says above, I'm happy with any of the three.

I've been thinking about the whole issue of the Christianity and the presidency, especially in light of comments I've seen from friends on Facebook expressing their disappointment in the announcement from Mike Huckabee that he wouldn't be running.   It was pretty clear that some of them were supporting Huck mainly because he's a former Baptist preacher and still professes his Christianity.  Others bemoan the lack of a "good Christian" among the remaining people it the GOP field.

But should faith be the primary consideration in choosing a president?

No.

For some it seems that faith is the only determining factor, and that my friends, is dangerous.

Mike Huckabee concerned me.  Although he may be a Bible-believing Christian, his social policies as Governor of Arkansas were pure big government liberal.

Jimmy Carter taught Sunday School in a Baptist church throughout his presidency, and his early post-presidency was a model of Christian charity.  But he was a disastrous president and his later years have been filled with anti-American/anti-Israel activism.

I don't think anyone would doubt George W. Bush's faith, but again when it came to government he gave us growing deficits, two wars and a Medicare prescription entitlement plan that we won't be able to afford.  "Compassionate conservatism" is a euphemism for big government.

And let's not forget the current president who claims Christianity after attending for 22 years a black separatist church run by a racist anti-Semitic pastor.

There's more to the job of president than faith.  Rick Warren is a terrific Christian, but I wouldn't vote for him for president.  I want somebody who knows how to be president, not how to lead a megachurch.

There are elements of our faith that some seek to enshrine in our Constitution, and I don't want that.  I'm pro-life, but I don't want a pro-life amendment in the Constitution.  Federalizing abortion was the biggest mistake of Roe v. Wade.  Rather than try and change the rules our government operates by, let's get Roe overturned and return the authority over abortion to the states where it belongs according to the 10th Amendment.  You're then welcome to work within the political system of your state to change the abortion laws to your liking.

Same with gay marriage.  The Constitution was made very difficult to amend because the Founding Fathers didn't want future generations to be able to bend it to the whims of the day.  The concept of a "living Constitution" is an abomination if "living" is defined as "meeting the politically correct standards in place that day".

Bottom line:  I want to see a president who understands that the Constitution was designed to put limits on federal government, not allow it unfettered power to run rampant over the lives of Americans.  I want a president who's honest, believes in American exceptionalism, understands the importance of peace through strength, and is not afraid to get in the faces of the rest of the world when they're working against our best interests.  I want a President of the United States, not a President of the World.

And if he or she happens to be a Christian, all the better.  But with this nation teetering on the brink of some very bad times, I'd take an atheist who would lead the country according to the bottom line mentioned above before I'd want a Christian who wouldn't or couldn't do it.  Any president who truly supported the Constitution as written would be operating under Christian principles whether they wanted to or not because the founding documents of this country were based on Christian ideals.

We need a return to competence in the White House.  A president, not a national preacher.

Lefties Find Any Excuse to Criticize Bush

Even though he's two years out of office the left still seeks any opportunity it can to criticize George W. Bush.  What's their latest angle?  Bush's choice of Sunday dinner.

When Bush was asking what he was doing when he got the call from Obama that bin Laden was dead, he replied that he "was eating souffle at Rise Restaurant with Laura and two buddies". The American Prospect has now declared Bush's entire image to be a fraud because he was eating French food and not downing a steak and Budweiser (of course, Bush doesn't drink anymore).  One meal, eaten while out of office, is now supposed to overturn everything we ever thought of the 43rd president.

And from what I was reading today, this attitude about Bush and the French food was running rampant through the lefty blogosphere.

How petty.

That Outrage from Pakistan? All Part of the Plan

Everybody is playing their role according to the script (from Daily Caller):

Pakistan is really upset about the whole Bin Laden thing, wink, wink -- Pakistan has been complaining that the United States violated its sovereignty by killing Osama Bin Laden. As it turns out, this is part of the plan. According to The Guardian, the US and Pakistan made a secret agreement after 9/11 that if we found Bin Laden on Pakistani soil, he was all ours: "The deal was struck between the military leader General Pervez Musharraf and President George Bush after Bin Laden escaped US forces in the mountains of Tora Bora in late 2001, according to serving and retired Pakistani and US officials. Under its terms, Pakistan would allow US forces to conduct a unilateral raid inside Pakistan in search of Bin Laden, his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the al-Qaida No3. Afterwards, both sides agreed, Pakistan would vociferously protest the incursion." So Pakistan saves face after Bin Laden loses his. Fair enough. 

I bet there are a few other names on that "go ahead and kill" list too.