The Hating of the President

[SonOfSlobone]

Interesting article in Vanity Fair about William Manchester, who wrote Death of a President about the Kennedy assassination.

What caught my attention was Manchester's description of the atmosphere in Texas at the time Kennedy made his trip to Dallas.

“In that third year of the Kennedy presidency,” Manchester wrote, “a kind of fever lay over Dallas country. Mad things happened. Huge billboards screamed, ‘Impeach Earl Warren.’ Jewish stores were smeared with crude swastikas.…Radical Right polemics were distributed in public schools; Kennedy’s name was booed in classrooms; corporate junior executives were required to attend radical seminars.” A retired major general ran the American flag upside down, deriding it as “the Democrat flag.” A wanted poster with J.F.K.’s face on it was circulated, announcing “this man is Wanted” for—among other things—“turning the sovereignty of the US over to the Communist controlled United Nations” and appointing “anti-Christians … aliens and known Communists” to federal offices. And a full-page advertisement had appeared the day of the assassination in The Dallas Morning News accusing Kennedy of making a secret deal with the Communist Party; when it was shown to the president, he was appalled. He turned to Jacqueline, who was visibly upset, and said, “Oh, you know, we’re heading into nut country today.”

Manchester discovered that in a wealthy Dallas suburb, when told that President Kennedy had been murdered in their city, the students in a fourth-grade class burst into applause.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/10/death-of-a-president200910?currentPage=4

Sound familiar? And by the way, Obama is the first Democratic president since Kennedy who isn't from the South. Coincidence?

 

[jackoroe]

“Oh, you know, we’re heading into nut country today.”

And he went there anyway. Lee Harvey Oswald, who was a communist sympathizer, not a right wing nutjob, killed him. So, no I'm not seeing the similarities.

 

[justapixel]

Sound familiar? And by the way, Obama is the first Democratic president since Kennedy who isn't from the South. Coincidence?

The hatred of George W. Bush is 100 times worse that the hatred of Obama.

Where were you when George W. Bush was being attacked every day here.

Why do you come out of the woodwork now??

 

[jackoroe]

I do. Oswald carried a gun with the intent to kill the President because of his ignorance and hatred toward a President that he didn't agree with.

All that's missing is the right wing nutjob (and there are plenty out there) that are carrying guns to public events because of their ignorance and hatred toward a President that they don't agree with. The only difference? Oswald didn't have leaders in Congress and Senate and his party urging and feeding his paranoia and hatred.

Unless you are a mind reader, you cannot factually assert what anybody else is thinking. Many of these people are exercising their right, and it is a right, to go about armed.

Personally, I'm not one to show up in the vicinity of the President with any of my long guns. But if it's legal to do so, and you don't mind looking like a nitwit, be my guest.

 

[jackoroe]

Has anyone noticed that George Bush has been absent from public life as of late. Members of his administration are writing articles here and there and speaking in public, but it seems as if George Bush has largely disappeared.

Jimmy Carter should follow his lead.

 

[jackoroe]

Carter was an ineffective president, but some of his actions as a past president are admirable.

I agree with you as it relates to his work at Habitats for Humanity.

 

[Spensed]

I'll be interested in how Bush handles his retirement. I hope he is active and perhaps provides some first-person insight into his presidency, maybe explains some of his decisions. I hope he engages his critics and that a meaningful dialog about his two terms comes into the public domain.

I don't hate him anymore -- I hate his policies, policies that have royally fucked the country -- but I'm more than a little curious to hear his side of the story. I suspect there are things that we don't currently know about that will prove fascinating.

That's a very generous commentary on Bush. My guess is that you're projecting elements of reason, introspective decision making and truth onto a blank personality that would have little, if any, idea what you're talking about.

I've "met Bush" many times in the business world and what you see is what you get. Obviously, I stand to be corrected if some memoir of his proves he was more than Forrest Gump, cynically exploited by a number of special interests and individuals around him.

But, if he had even Forrest Gump's capacity to throw truth, light and rationality on his decisions, I suspect we'd have seen more of it by now.

It's a sad comment on the gullibility of the American electorate that he was elected twice.

 

[BBAADD]

Well I think the major difference between George Bush and Obama hatred is that more people actually want to kill Obama. I heard on CNN on after Obama's address to Congress that death threats against the president have gone up 400% since Obama entered office. This is a case of apple and oranges I may not have liked George W. Bush but I would never have wanted someone to kill him.

 

[justapixel]

disturbing

very disturbing.

this will acomplish (sic) nothing.

It will not make reasonable people think that the Democratic or liberal agenda is worth supporting. If anything this fringe lunacy drives people away.

 

[justapixel]

Sorry but those don't count.

 

[justapixel]

That's it? That's your reply? Boy, do I feel schooled...

OK, your pictures dont count.

Mine count.

When you use the argument "those pictures dont count", there can be no response except what is above.

Just between you and me, I had over 50 images cut and pasted into my response, JUB only allowed eight images.

Would you like to see the other 42 pictures.

Maybe some of them will "count".

 

[jackoroe]

Sorry but those don't count. Obama has only been in office for 8-9 months. Bush is responsible for THOUSANDS of deaths and lied to us to get us into Iraq for oil. I also hold him responsible for 9-11 since it happened under his watch and was warned and did nothing. I also hold him responsible for the victims of Katrina. See the difference?

And one last tiny bit of info: Some of those pics aren't even American. They're from other countries. But this can be our little secret.

Of course they count. They go directly to the topic at hand. It's not OK to hate anybody, even the president whom you may disagree with. Your justification doesn't support hating a man any more than the right wingers hating Obama.

Can't you see where we're going with this, or are you blind to it? We get worse with every administration as far back as Reagan. The hatred on both sides just keeps getting worse and worse, We yell and scream and we don't listen to each other. So, this is what we get.

Hatred is an all consuming emotion.

 

[01solara]

Sssssh. He may be like Beetlejuice and if say his name 3 times he comes back.

George Bush
George Bush
George Bush

Damn it didn't work, you got any other ideas.

 

[JB3]

I don't hate.
And no. I don't go around yelling and screaming at anyone. I treat people with respect. I don't go to rallies and say "kill this person or that person".
I do come to JUB to discuss issues, not fight.

But sure, if Obama was responsible for THOUSANDS of deaths then I would most definitely have issues with him too.

But back to topic. No, it's not cool to hate Obama or call for his death. Especially since he's not responsible for innocent deaths and not responsible for the shit he inherited from Bush.

By your logic about 9/11, Obama is now responsible for all of the American deaths in Afghanistan since he took office.

 

[JB3]

how is that?

The machinations behind 9/11 didn't just start when Bush took office. As cliche as it sounds, it was a gathering storm, that started soon after the first attacks on the World Trade Center. It happened on Bush's watch, and he has his share of the blame, but so does Clinton.

Using your logic, that Bush should be held responsible for 9/11 occurring, Obama should also be held responsible for what's happening in Afghanistan. Sure, Bush got us into that war. However, the recent tactical decisions were Obama's. Based on your argument above, even though he didn't get us into the war, Obama should be held responsible for the deaths since he took office.

 

[jackoroe]

absolutely. it is out of control and until the more moderate republicans, which I am assuming you are, get out there, get involved and make a difference, then this wont change.

The people doing it are on your side of the fence right now and that means YOu can affect a change if you get in there and say that what is going on is NOT american behavior.

Have you done that? sent a letter to these organisers? called Rush and asked him to lay off? complained to the state repub party where you are?

anything?

or am I missing your point?

I've washed my hands of both these failed parties. They've both become so polarized by the extreme left and right, there is no point in trying to reason with them.

I think one way we can stop all the hatred, is to simply address problems for what they are. Does it move the ball down the field to blame Bush or even Clinton for some of the situations we now face? No, it just stirs up the same old shit storm we've seen a dozen times or more. I know it's always easier to say something is somebody else's fault, it just doesn't help in terms of resolution.

Obama is the president now. He's now responsible for the direction this country will take. Yes, he inherited challenges and problems, just as every president before him.

I may agree with him at times, but not usually. I don't hate the man, I simply disagree with him. He's a human being, same as every other president has been. He's got a family who loves him, just like most other presidents. Would I like to hang out with him over a beer or two? Of course. I think it would be interesting to meet anyone who held or holds the office.

Hate is an all consuming emotion that eats at everything you are until there is nothing else left. I simply just don't have any interest in expending that kind of energy on anybody.

 

[SonOfSlobone]

To answer my own question: is it a coincidence that the Obama haters of today are making the same lunatic accusations made by the Kennedy haters of 1963?

Let's see -- if the 4th grade kids who cheered Kennedy's assassination in 1963 were 9 years old, they'd be about 55 today. Just about the average age of the Texas Teabaggers, I'd say.

So it may actually be exactly the same people...

 

[Kulindahr]

Has anyone noticed that George Bush has been absent from public life as of late. Members of his administration are writing articles here and there and speaking in public, but it seems as if George Bush has largely disappeared.

He's chopping wood -- that's what he was best at during his days in office.

Jimmy Carter should follow his lead.

Of course they count. They go directly to the topic at hand. It's not OK to hate anybody, even the president whom you may disagree with. Your justification doesn't support hating a man any more than the right wingers hating Obama.

Can't you see where we're going with this, or are you blind to it? We get worse with every administration as far back as Reagan. The hatred on both sides just keeps getting worse and worse, We yell and scream and we don't listen to each other. So, this is what we get.

Hatred is an all consuming emotion.

Bingo.

Have you done that? sent a letter to these organisers? called Rush and asked him to lay off? complained to the state repub party where you are?

anything?

or am I missing your point?

For my part...
I got tired of sending letters to anyone in the Republican Party. The last thing I did on that line was corner the county Republican chairman and explain to him why I would continue to register as a Libertarian (after he appealed to Libertarians to "return" to the Republican Party).
Writing Limbaugh is an interesting idea, though....

To answer my own question: is it a coincidence that the Obama haters of today are making the same lunatic accusations made by the Kennedy haters of 1963?

Let's see -- if the 4th grade kids who cheered Kennedy's assassination in 1963 were 9 years old, they'd be about 55 today. Just about the average age of the Texas Teabaggers, I'd say.

So it may actually be exactly the same people...

Interesting conjecture.
However, haters tend to make similar or even the same accusations, when they come from the same tradition -- or even when they don't, as the images of anti-Bush signs showed.

 

[SonOfSlobone]

Well, hating is nothing new in American history, you can go all the way back to the people who hated Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson (including each other).

And I don't condone the Democratic haters any more than the Republican ones. But I do think it's worth pointing out that there's a direct line from today's anti-Obama haters back to the radical right of the 50's & 60's, the era of the John Birch Society. And you can go back much further than that if you want to say a lot of these guys were also the last of the diehard segregationists.

 

[palemale]

The hatred of George W. Bush is 100 times worse that the hatred of Obama.

Where were you when George W. Bush was being attacked every day here.

Why do you come out of the woodwork now??

What is your basis for asserting this?

You are overlooking some very important facts. First, Bush lost the popular vote by 500,000 to Al Gore, and became President under very questionable circumstances. Thus, from the outset, he lacked legitimacy. Second, as Elvin pointed out, some of the pics you posted were not from the United States, so it's hard to judge since we did not see all your pics. Third, there is no evidence that any mainstream Democratic Party officials or officeholders were in anyway involved with the groups whose photos you posted. By contrast, prominent Republicans have been involved in the anti-Obama demonstrations, like Dick Armey, and few, if any, Republican office holders have disavowed these demonstrators or their extreme rhetoric. Rather, they are promoting it.

The Democrats gave Bush, especially after 9/11, a lot of slack. Rather than promote bipartisanship and national unity, Bush did the opposite. He certainly earned people's hatred. Obama, by contrast has tried to promote partisanship, but has found few takers on the Republican side.