Brooks Cole's Post

Republicans Begin to Ask "Is Bush an Idiot?"

Brooks Cole | 08.17.06 | 04:13 AM |

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I try to make my contributions to Shift in Action non-political. This one is presented more as an exercise in examining the influence of recursive media in our geometrically-growing media culture. By recursive, I mean that media segments are now increasingly featuring other media segments, which are then "YouTubed" and featured on websites, which are then blogged about in a cascade throughout the blogosphere. Now you are reading a blog about all that.

Joe Scarborough, that formerly reliable apologist for the right on MSNBC's Scarborough Country, (former Republican Congressman for Florida) now posits the question Bush himself settled for the rest of us years ago: Is Bush an Idiot?

It is telling in this time of increasing tensions, approaching mid-term elections, rising gas prices and falling poll ratings that Republicans are finally beginning to wonder out loud. Scarborough has a fascinating blog about it on HuffPo yesterday and has assembled a montage of Bush gaffes that would make the Daily Show proud, especially since it includes the Daily Show, (YouTube below):

Interestingly, the argument for Republicans seems to come down to "he isn't stupid, he's just inarticulate," but some Republicans now openly acknowledge that this moment in history may not be exactly the time for an inarticulate leader.

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Member Comments:

Beyond Ad Hominem Implications

Submitted by Bob Johnston on August 20, 2006 - 10:17am.

As a political interdependent with natural law party biases, I don't feel-think we are well served by ad hominen remarks, be they overt or covert. Instead, I recommend a question like, 'What government policies and practices best serve the integral health and full functioning of our ecosystem, human society, and individuals?' And once that question is answered, ask another: 'What are we doing/not doing to effectively carry out those policies?' I suggest such questions, their answers, and action steps trancend all political leaders and parties. They are the responsibilty of all of us.

Of Course, You are Right

Submitted by Brooks Cole on August 20, 2006 - 6:16pm.

Thank you for your wisdom, Bob. Our political landscape, and political journalism in particular, has devolved to a state where ad hominem attacks masqurade as political discourse, and we are the poorer for it. While I did not pose the question, "Is Bush an Idiot?," (I simply reported that the question was being asked by individuals within the President's own party), I take responsibility for bringing an obviously inflammatory headline into the Shift in Action discourse. To me, as an observer of media, this is an interesting sociological phenomenon worthy of inquiry. It is especially interesting in that the question of intelligence vs. articulation is posed, and may represent a key reason why this President was initially popular.

But I hope that in your laudable call for elevation of the political discussion I don't understand from your comment that such an inquiry should be censored from our examination.

Brooks Cole

You Are Right, Too

Submitted by Bob Johnston on August 21, 2006 - 8:26am.

Brooks, I had seen the same blog on HuffPo so was ripe and ready to respond to yours. I must say, I looked for even a hint of schadenfreude in your comments but didn't discern any, explicitly or implicitly.

I agree that any subject is fair game and must be available to public discouse relative to its pros and cons based on a criteria of integral health and full functioning. Having said that, I am greatly concerned about the governmental rollback of EPA standards in recent years. If anything can be said to be a reliable rule-of-thumb for determining 'criminality' I suggest it is befouling our ecosystem to the point of jeopardizing its general state of health. And as I implied in my earlier response to your blog, I hold we are all complicit to some degree or another. It almost goes without saying, without a healthful ecosystem a healthful economy rests on tenuous grounds.

Do you know how you have inspired me?

Submitted by John Wingert on August 20, 2006 - 5:31am.

I've been a member for about 2 months now, and deciding on what to post so that it will contribute to the lives of others.

I'm sure your post here will contribute to someone else besides me.

I personally am not attacking Bush. He's the president of the United States, and I'll support him because he's in office.

What I enjoy about this post is that it really didn't have much substance. And it inspires me to post some of what we are doing here, taking action, so that some folks can criticize it, like you are with Bush, and so that other folks can benefit from it.

I benefited from your post, because if you can post this drivel, I can post something with a much higher intention, and feel comfortable about it.

Thanks,

John Wingert
http://www.the-cause-myth.com

So Pleased to Have Inspired You

Submitted by Brooks Cole on August 20, 2006 - 6:00pm.

Bravo for your clever and insightful comment, John. A lot of people who have not engaged in blogging mistakenly believe that it is only for ideologues on a rant. Often, the soul of blogging can be simply offering up a curiosity found when exploring the vast reaches of cyberspace. In this case, one man's drivel is the same man's inspiration. Please jump in and blog yourself. I'd love to read something you feel strongly about enough to transcend drivel and arrive at true substance. The more perspectives we have on Shift in Action, the better.

Brooks Cole

Bush

Submitted by Joseph Verna on August 18, 2006 - 5:16pm.

It's easy enough to sit back and criticise our president, but what would you do differently and why? Why not try to back our president (after all like it or not you're stuck with him) and see if we can't get something positive from his term. I don't know much about this site and maybe I shouldn't be here, but I thought it was about coming together. Can't this be done in a positive manner?

Bush an Idiot?

Submitted by Loren on August 17, 2006 - 10:31am.

The clip I like the best is of Bush at a Commencement speech a few years back where he say, "And for you "C" students, you too can become President."