What's up with George?

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His behavior seems in line for a recovering alcoholic. There's a reason he doesn't even have a single glass of wine.

It's been described that you never stop being an alcoholic, you just stop drinking.
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So what exactly are you saying about recovered alcoholics. That we continue to act stupid like those of you who keep getting drunk (not you, personally, of course). I apologize if I just made some assumptions without getting some facts - it seems to be the norm in this thread.
 
Are you serious? They didn't do their job for fear of "disturbing" him? That's not weird to you?
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The Secret Service didn't do their job? The Secret Service's job is to protect the President. Biking on a government reservation in Maryland seems pretty well protected against a possible threat by a light plane to Washington DC.

Fear of disturbing him? The original quote ("we didn't want to disturb his bike ride") said nothing about "fear." The Secret Service made a judgment call on what to tell the President at a particular time, probably because they had incomplete information on the gravity of the situation and the President could not have done anything about the situation.

The way the Secret Service handled the situation is exactly the way I handle informing executives in my organization about developing situations.

But because it involves Bush, it's "weird" to you.
 
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Actually, no. It's because it involved a perceived threat that was sufficient to warrant evacuating the VP and first lady, but not the president.
I perceive it as "weird" because it strikes me as "weird". And we've all seen examples of this weird behavior from time to time. We saw it in the '04 debate, and in numerous press conferences.
This is a man who becomes visibly agitated when confronted with something he doesn't want to hear. That's not really normal behavior.
 
So what exactly are you saying about recovered alcoholics. That we continue to act stupid like those of you who keep getting drunk (not you, personally, of course). I apologize if I just made some assumptions without getting some facts - it seems to be the norm in this thread.
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I said nothing about recovered alcoholics. I was talking about recovering. Those in that situation are constantly aware that you need to take an all or nothing approach.. you need to be black and white in how you drink. Either you drink or you don't.

That particular facet of W's personality is apparent: he doesn't compromise, he takes a position and never leaves it. It isn't a strength in my opinion. In TX, he was well known for being able to bridge the aisle. I have seen nothing like that in the last 6 years. His way or the highway.
 
It's because it involved a perceived threat that was sufficient to warrant evacuating the VP and first lady, but not the president.
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People in the White House and Capital building were evacuated. The President was in Maryland.

As workers, visitors and others — including the first lady and vice president — streamed frantically from the White House and fighter jets scrambled to intercept the Cessna, the Secret Service decided not to tell Bush, who was riding his bike at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland.
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Would you care to explain why you think it was so horrible that the President was not 'evacuated' from Maryland when there was a possible threat to Washington DC?
 
Would you care to explain why you think it was so horrible that the President was not 'evacuated' from Maryland when there was a possible threat to Washington DC?
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not evacuated, notified.


"Your wife is being taken to secure location delta"
 
not evacuated, notified.
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GoSlash27 cited 'evacuated' in two different posts, nevertheless...

Notification (or lack thereof) was someone else's decision. Again, how is that supposed to show that Bush is weird?
 
No, it speaks more about the people that voted him into office.
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I guess I must be missing your point? The fact he has manipulated, manhandled and utterly bested the Democrat Party pretty much since day one is a reflection on the people that voted for him? So we wanted the Dems to be manhandled and humiliated? OK, Yeah, I like that a LOT but still it hardly inidcates Shrub is dumb unless we agree Dems are even dumber?
 
gc70,
Your explanation (it was deemed to not be a threat to his safety) sounds reasonable and all, and I would accept it at face value....except that's not what *they* said, it's what *you* said. So unless *you* happen to be the head of the Presidential detail....you get my drift.
What *they* said is they did not notify him "because they didn't want to interrupt his bike ride"

I find that disturbing. Obviously you don't.
 
I like that a LOT but still it hardly inidcates Shrub is dumb unless we agree Dems are even dumber?
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+1 there. Could you imagine a Dem Carl Rove to take advantage of all this? I tell you, if I was in charge of the DNC the Republicans would be sunk. Not a testament to my own skill or anything; a mildly autistic 5 year old could do the same.
Luckily, you're up against Pelosi and Dean (who are several steps below this).

Thank God for small favors.
 
Your explanation (it was deemed to not be a threat to his safety) sounds reasonable and all, and I would accept it at face value....except that's not what *they* said, it's what *you* said.
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Forget what I said and assess the situation for yourself. The President was in Maryland and the threat was in Washington DC. Was the President in danger at that point in time?

What *they* said is they did not notify him "because they didn't want to interrupt his bike ride"

I find that disturbing. Obviously you don't.
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I don't find the Secret Service's actions disturbing, although I respect your conclusion that they should have responded differently.

I do not view the actions of the Secret Service, which was your specific example, are indicative of Bush being weird. There are plenty of examples in which Bush is certifiably... unusual, without citing something that is not valid.
 
I met a Man from Texas, a successful business man and Republican, who knows Bush during his younger years there. I innocently asked him. He
laugh, and the wife said, Don't get him started on that! He said the guy
is an empty suit. If he wasn't a Bush, he would not made it even as a mayor
in a small town in Texas. He is a player, he plays along and thus the big
money machine uses him and he uses them. It's all politics. Same story
when the big political machine asked one day to make Cheney the Sec of
defense, a guy without any experience, no military records and two deferments.
Without any attacks from the right wing pls, I honestly think that Gore and
Kerry could have done better as presidents. These guys have far political,
and intellectual acumen then Bush, who I voted and regret.
This is only a personal opinion and I voted Republican the last time.
 
Forget what I said and assess the situation for yourself. The President was in Maryland and the threat was in Washington DC. Was the President in danger at that point in time?
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None of them were in danger, but of course I would not have known that at the time. If I were in charge, I would have made it SOP to grab him up and evacuate him during any alert, and would certainly notify him. I can't imagine a situation where I would hesitate for any reason to interrupt his bike ride. Of course...my assessment is no more germane than yours. It's really theirs that matters.

I do not view the actions of the Secret Service, which was your specific example, are indicative of Bush being weird.
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Actually, my "specific example" was him thumping his chest, whining about how everything would be okay if people just understood what he was doing, and how his critics were "all messed up". The context in which this example belongs is this: Dubya just being not-too-bright doesn't explain *this particular situation* as well as his being irrational and prone to fits of rage.
 
From OP:

But now I'm thinking that there may be something else going on that explains some of the other weirdness.
Example: When that light plane triggered the alert in DC, and the Secret Service evacuated Dick Cheney and Laura Bush, but not the president. When asked why, they responded "we didn't want to disturb his bike ride"...
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PS - While I do not agree with your suggestion that Bush is crazy, I do have a suspicion that anyone who really wants to be President has a degree of megalomania.
 
I find the thread spurious, because the article was not the least bit objective and was based on he said/she said. Find the same information and accompanying commentary from a nonpartisan or Republican source and try me again.
 
RealGun,
"Trying you again"...

When a recent visitor asked him what assurance he could give about his successor in 2009, President Bush replied, "we'll fix it so he'll be locked in." The visitor left perplexed and wondered whether that might mean the U.S. would be in a wider war in the region by then. In any event, it didn't sound like twilight time for Mr. Bush.

A Texan friend of longstanding called on him recently and confided to his Washington hosts that Mr. Bush had said three times, bringing a clenched fist to his chest, "I'm the president." Reminding visiting political opponents of this would be normal, but the close friend said he was a taken aback a bit as he had never before seen Mr. Bush in this mode.
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-Arnaud de Borchgrave, Bush supporter, editor of the Washington Times, head of United Press International.
And really, that's just sad. What you're saying is "I refuse to accept anything from anyone that would tell me what I don't want to hear as fact."
And since the source doesn't fit your bill, the story must be untrue.
Sorta like an intellectual laundering scheme.
Really. It's so much easier to just go ahead and stick your fingers in your ears and yell "LALALALALA". If that's just what you wanna do, just do it. 'Cuz you're not fooling anyone beyond yourself.

Or wait: maybe we should just pretend that the drapes aren't really on fire? After all, if we don't talk about it then it doesn't really exist...right?
 
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