Ever think maybe people want an ASSHOLE for president?

[Zen Democrat]

I remember back in the day, a really good guy I knew told me he
was voting for Nixon and I almost passed out. I said, "How can
you? You know he's a crook and a liar." And my friend said, and
I'll never forget it, "Yes, but the world is full of crooks and
liars, and I want the biggest crook and liar we have in office to
go up against them. A nice honest guy will just get creamed."

Thinking about that, I'm certain there are millions like him today,
in the aftermath of 9/ll. People who want a tough leader, someone
to stand up and not take shit and give it to the bastards. The
problem with Bush is that he's just an inept, unintelligible buffoon
with Rove selling him as a tough guy. That's why I believe it
is imperative for Kerry to not take any shit off these guys -- to throw their lies and corruption back in their faces and rub it in.
Frankly, I think the American people will respect that. A "fighting"
John Kerry is the one that will win this.

[reprehensor]

1. yes

sadly

[dennis4868]

2. people who support Bush.....

are voting for the image that Rove has put in peoples' heads...a tough prez who will protect us everyday and is fighting the war on terror...the truth is that Bush is a failure....he had OBL trapped in Aghanistan and then took the troops out and went after the oil in Iraq...the war in Iraq has caused there to be more terrorism and al qaeda is recruiting more members everyday...our ports are not protected, etc...he is a failure!

[ogradda]

3. on c-span 2 now

well well well... we have the biggest deficit in the history of the u.s. and PRESIDENT BUSH'S POLICIES are going to make it far worse...gee...big shock here

[DemBones DemBones]

12. Scarborough has Buchanan and other Repubs on

talking about the national debt, the deficit, etc. I'm glad to see it getting out there, glad to see the GOP saying Bush* is no conservative.

Pete Peterson, author of "Running on Empty" & former Nixon Commerce Secretary.

"We've outdone LBJ, who was accused of being 'guns and butter.' We're guns and butter and tax cuts."

Of course, he went on to say Democrats were worse but not in a mean way, just stating what he sees as fact.

[Davis_X_Machina]

4. Now-famous essay...

...on just this concept. The Spite Vote, by Mark Ames in the New York Press. A sample 'graph:

This is America, not Denmark. In this country, tens of millions of people choose to watch FoxNews not simply because Americans are credulous idiots or at the behest of some right-wing corporate cabal, but because average Americans respect viciousness. They are attracted to viciousness for a lot of reasons. In part, it reminds them of their bosses, whom they secretly adore. Americans hate themselves for the way they behave in public, always smiling and nodding their heads with accompanying really?s and uh-huhs to show that they're listening to the other person, never having the guts to say what they really feel. So they vicariously scream and bully others into submission through right-wing surrogate-brutes. Spending time watching Sean Hannity is enough for your average American white male to feel less cowardly than he really is

[gumby]

13. Thanks for that link

Yeow!
"Spite Voters" should become a sound-bite, because they've bitten all of us. hey.

[Demoiselle]

17. Wow.

What a great post. Gives me the creeps because it really rings true.
Thanks!

[Zen Democrat]

22. Illuminating article. Kerry needs to stay out of Nantucket!!

[ribrepin]

5. Yeah I think you are right

Sadly a lot of people mistake assholes for strength.

[cheshire]

6. No because of Kennedy and Clinton. They only want CUTE. tehe idiots.

[THUNDER HANDS]

7. in my mind, people who support bush don't believe government

will ever improve their lives anyway. The don't make the connection between what they do and how our day-to-day lives are impacted by their decisions.

So they vote for the guy who feels good to their gut, since they obviously aren't using their brains.

I don't know if we'll ever be able to overcome that deficiency in the American psychology. I'm young, but I used to think that people in this country once had expectations for their government, and held those expectations pretty high.

Now I see how low the bar really is. Its so sad.

[Xipe Totec]

8. You Give Dubya Too Much Credit

Its one thing to be a crook and a liar, it's quite another to be an incompetent crook and liar. Dubya can only survive inside his protective cocoon of sycophants and, frankly, he could be replaced by a cardboard cutout and none would be the wiser.

[Shopaholic]

9. My Mom and I were talking about this last night. . .

she thinks people like * because he makes them feel smarter and better about themselves. Sort of along the lines of "If this idiot can be president. . . "

[Xipe Totec]

11. I Don't Think People Have Actually Seen The Real Bush

Any more than they've seen the real Terminator. It is all a carefully choreographed movie where the hero's role is to stand there and look heroic. Have you ever noticed how much of what we think George Bush said actually comes from his staff? George makes some vague statement about freedom being a good thing and then the staff goes to work putting in the 'nuance' and explaining why, in order for freedom to succeed, we need to make the tax cuts for the rich permanent... Huh? :shrug:

As much as the Repubs sneer at the Democrat's "Hollywood values", they're the ones that know the value of a good Hollywood make over.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

14. Last night Bernie Ward was talking about Bush and the "N" word

Bernie's show comes on at night on KGO in San Francisco and you can listen to it on the Internet. He devoted at least the last 30 minutes of his show to Kitty Kelley's upcoming book. He also said something else that was interesting. He said that he has sources who tell him that when Bush was younger, he tossed around the "N" word very freely in his everyday conversation. If people came forward regarding Bush and his frequent use of the "N" word (even better if there were videotape) Bush could take an early shower in this contest, in my opinion.

[demnan]

10. It's pretty obvious

and the race between Nixon and McGovern was a very good example. But since then we had experienced the miracle of Clinton (or the Clinton miracle) I think I was in euphoria for 8 years thinking, "maybe I was wrong, maybe most people don't want an asshole for President".

[Guaranteed]

15. Personally, I want the most honest and principled person

to go up against all the crooks.

[aaronbees]

16. I think much of his support

stems from that kind of thinking. I think the country, in many ways, is still dealing with the anger over 9/11, and the impulse to have a bully in the white house indicates an unwillingness to get beyond the anger and move toward a real solution. That's sad, but just think of how popular "A-rab" jokes are on talk radio, and consider how many Americans are willing to close their eyes while Ashcroft shreds the Constitution ... all the in the name of chasing a Terra phantom that widens and widens to build a myth of the Other as pure evil enemy. With us or against us. Vote for us or die. It's all the same thing ... childish and real.

Oh, and great article (the rest of it is just as good)!

[Shuck and Jive]

18. They elected NIXON

[Catherine Vincent]

19. You're probably right. New bumperstickers:

"IF YOU WANT AN ASSHOLE FOR PRESIDENT, VOTE BUSH!"

"IF YOU WANT A DUMBASS FOR PRESIDENT, VOTE BUSH!"

[gumby]

20. how about

"I'm an asshole voting for Bush."

"I'm a dumbass voting for Bush."

[Catherine Vincent]

21. LOL! Yeah, those are good ones too!