In my fantasy, Air Force One drops him off and leaves him alone in downtown Baghdad. He doesn't really need to come back.

People on this site get apoplectic if any of us who were less than thrilled with these last 8 years, continue to harp on what a loser this President was. Partly, it's the all-American attention span where the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" is soon forgotten, and we're focused like a laser on the next media event. But that doesn't mean the GOP spin machine hasn't been working overtime on the Bush Legacy Project - portraying this as a great President who just needs a few decades for the rest of the world to catch up and figure it out.

That's the new marketing pitch: He was simply so brilliant we couldn't grasp it in real time. I saw a glimpse of the old footwork recently when Bush said his biggest regret was the bad intelligence from Iraq and then Karl Rove said we probably wouldn't have gone in if we had gotten better intelligence. This was an old trick where you float the lie, then reenforce it with further discussion of the lie. Of course we're all supposed to let this go, and get all sentimental as this clown stumbles off into history, but I say screw that. This isn't over until they stop lying about what happened: The intelligence from Iraq was manipulated, and cherry-picked by an administration that knew it was lying us into a war. That is why respected legal types like Vincent Bugliosi want to try President Bush for murder.

Of course, his supporters don't want this discussion. They don't want to deal with the fact that Bush and Cheney are war criminals and should go to prison. These zombie-like well wishers are content to sit by reverentially, hoping that maybe the President will grow tired of retirement, and reappear on the public stage - perhaps as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars."

Did he have his lead suit on? I hope that he landed in a pile of depleted uranium rubble.

The true cost of war was never intelligently given any consideration. What is the cost of genocide anyways? The irradiation of the planet?

And since a trillion dollars is the new twenty dollar bill, why not pull a few twenties out of the war budget (sorry--halliburton, bechtel, kbr, fluor hanford and all the other war corporations) and prosecute Bush, Cheney, and gang for murder.

In an article last week, I read a quote from a presidential historian who said that presidents usually have a period of self-reflection after leaving office during which they first have the time to slow down and analyze their mistakes after they leave the bubble they occupy for 4 to 8 years.

Another article, about the recent parole hearing of child-killer Diane Downs, featured a psychiatric report which stated that, 25 years into a life sentence, the average lifer has had time to reflect on their crimes, their guilt and their true place in the world. The psychiatrist in this case determined that Diane Downs has done none of that self-reflection and still denies responsibility for her crimes.

I wonder if George W. Bush will be able to see reality after leaving office or if he will be like Diane Downs, smugly certain that everything he did was right until the day he days.

Because I believe that Bush is as much a narcissistic sociopath as Downs, I think it be the latter.

To quote Robin Williams, "The Rein of Error" is almost over!

did you see the video of this guy (probably a reporter) chucking his shoes at bush? Priceless... he came pretty close...got off both shoes...I've been trying to find the video on line...but I fear a coverup....someone please post a good link...please

Oh wait here it is

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7782422.stm

Well, don't y'all know that we have been kept safe from another 9/11 by G.W.?

We haven't been hearing that bite for a while now...it worked wonders in the later months of '04 though. ahhh, sweet memories!!

I was saddened there was no Eastwoodesque Secret Service agent jumping in front of the first shoe to protect the President (it was a little high, but right down the center of the plate: would have hit Dubya if not for the lightning quick reflexes).

I was downright pissed to see him get off the second shoe. The secret service should have had a bullet in the thrower, or had Dubya on the floor.

What if the shoes were dipped in Anthrax?
:(

The shoe thrower is now in the bowels of Abu Ghraib prison with his genitals attached to a deep cycle battery.

OK, so I am no big fan of GW either, but there is something very unnerving about a creepy Iraqi reporter being able to hurl shoes at the US President. My first reaction was hoping that our Secret Service guys would double-tap (2 in the chest and one in the forehead for non-secret service types) the creep. In the end I was happy they didn't, as his actions did not exactly require a death sentence. I really like none's suggestion even though none may have intended it only as sarcasm.

actually the guy should get a medal. I think he shoed remarkable restraint in dealing with the chimp.

If you've ever stood next to the President of the United States, it's a very powerful experience. You've got the soldier with the "football" right there - the nuclear launch codes. You've got all these Secret Service agents packing giant amounts of firepower. In short it's tense. The last thing you'd want is for something that even comes close to threatening to occur. Today was a disaster from a security standpoint and it wasn't comical at all. It's amazing that it didn't erupt into a barrage of bullets. In fact, I bet there are agents in trouble for that not happening - the what-ifs here are pretty drastic.
Clearly the journalists had to face bomb sniffing dogs but what if there was someway that had been compromised and this shoe exploded? We might be in the middle of a huge international crisis right now.

You think it's bad to have to take off your shoes for airport security? Just wait for what's going to happen now. I was fond of wearing shoes.

The part that really got me was this: the Iraqi reporter who threw the shoes (apparently a huge insult) said, "This is for the widows and orphans." When interviewed afterwards, Bush blew it off, saying that the guy just wanted to "get on TV" and added dismissively, "I don't know what his beef is."

Re. security, I don't see how anybody could have predicted an aerial shoe assault.

it was comical--people like bush should be getting this sort of treatment on a regular basis--pies, monkey s**t, etc... It shows them that despite all their security and "status" they are not fully immune to public opinion.
The SS agents are probably being congratulated for showing restraint while the cameras were rolling.

Bill, we're already in a huge international crisis. In fact, we've got three of them: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the meltdown of the international financial system. Bush will be lucky if he gets out of Iraq being hit with only shoes. The nation will be lucky if Bush suddenly realizes how much he's screwed up the world and decides to let Obama take over the presidency a month early.

Obviously, the Secret Service needs to train some dogs that can sniff out journalists who are inclined to throw their shoes.

You haven't seen international crisis 'til you utter the words President Dick Cheney.
While we're on the subject of the financial problems, I thought Frank Rich made an excellent point to those Bush supporters who view him as a good but unlucky man who was handed these problems one after another: Bush had plenty of chance with Enron to realize the financial system needed more oversight but outside of his typical photo-op in response he did nothing in the way of good government. That went poorly.
Today was the Iraq photo-op. That didn't go all that great either.
I wonder how the late-night comedians will handle this. You see how the MSM is dealing with it: They're going with the disgruntled guy with a mysterious beef, rather than quoting what he yelled at W.

Bush had plenty of chance with Enron to realize the financial system needed more oversight but outside of his typical photo-op in response he did nothing in the way of good government.
---

Yep. Blame Bush; all his fault.

It's good we had Rep Barney Frank and Sen Chris Dodd to manage the financial companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Now that Obama is in charge, he will turn on the Fannie and Freddie evil twins as ferociously as the #1 campaign contribution taker, Sen Dodd did. Obama, being the #2 recipient of campaign cash from Mae & Mac, will be sure and hold them accountable.

Yep. Bush bad.

Obama good. Yay! Go team!

Yep. Bush bad.

Obama good. Yay! Go team!

what does Obama have to do with Bush being a poor president?

This is the shallowness that Colin Powell warned about recently when he wondered if the GOP could afford to go on following Rush Limbaugh.
This level of argument has led the Republican party to an intellectual place where a Sarah Palin can actually seem like a terrific idea. It's the idea that brains are elitist and being dumb is something to brag about.
I hate the idea of one party rule in America, and I say screw Nancy Pelosi and all these tired old Democrat sell-outs. I wish we could have more than just the main two parties with a realistic chance at the presidency - instead we're going backwards - we're losing the GOP to the morons.
Bush and his merry band of logic lightweights continue to bring this debate to that Rush level. You know the one: The way Rush talked about the Obama Recession right after the elections. It's that spin-spin-spin, "My football team" BS and it's failed. The most worrisome thing about the Right Wing is that they just provided the worst government in US history and yet they keep mouthing off like they've been doing something right. Humility would be nice but how about learning from your own mess instead of wallowing around in it?
Your country needs you to smarten up. Think of it as your patriotic duty.

This just sounds so Portland "yes keep Portland Weird"
I know George W wasn't the best president, but what is the president's first order of business. TO KEEP AMERICA SAFE. He has won this hands down. Maybe you should think about this everytime you wake up and there isn't an attack on American soil. It scares the H--- out of me with Obama coming into the presidency. Someone who stands for whatever is popular at the time. NO BACKBONE PERIOD,
I guess we'll see tossed the dice and see what happens. I'm not confindent at all

Yeah. We're real safe with Bush in charge. Our futures are secure.

I know George W wasn't the best president, but what is the president's first order of business. TO KEEP AMERICA SAFE

NO. if the President has any "first order of business", it is this:

To preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

after that, his chief duty is to ensure that laws are faithfully executed.

the office of President is powerful but, in other words, is not in charge of the country. what's astounding is that many Americans think that the office is essentially a kingship, surrounded by lackeys.

not surprising, considering that the Bush administration spent eight years publicly trying to make it so.