Poppy Bush

George Herbert Walker Bush.  A one-time president who followed arguably the worst president (at the time) in modern times, St. Ronald of Reagan. I know, I know, republicans revere St. Ronnie, but republicans seem to revere anyone who promises to open the coffers of America to them.  And Ronnie knew how to open those coffers. He produced perhaps the largest deficits of our time simply by following the “Laffer Curve”, that pseudo-economic theory arguing that, if one reduces overall tax rates, overall tax revenues will rise. See, that’s why it was called the “Laffer (or Laugher)” curve. Now, to be fair, we don’t know what Poppy Bush had to do with all that Ronnie economics drivel. He never had much of a chance to demonstrate his understanding of anything real while St. Ronald of Reagan was in the catbird seat.

But Poppy did seem a portrait of sense and sensibility after 8 years of the idiot president (now, be fair, Richard. Reagan was a model of intellectual brilliance when compared with our current idiot-malenfant, Comrade Trump).

But Poppy Bush seemed at the least a thoroughly honorable man.  He served his country honorably during war time, and he seemed at the least a decent man who tried to do right by his fellow countrymen.  His legacy in the mess that is called the Middle East is at least reasonable, especially when compared with his idiot son.  He at least tried to build an international coalition, unlike Junior.  

He also raised taxes, something considered heresy after Reagan, but he was actually trying to be responsible.

He is criticized a lot for indifference during the building AIDs crisis. But Reagan was actually Mr. Indifference. Reagan did nothing during the building AIDS crisis (he was too busy increasing the Nation’s public debt), whereas Poppy Bush passed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, which, while not an AIDS bill, nonetheless enabled assistance to people with AIDS. He also, on the heels of the Exxon-Valdez catastrophe, passed into law the Clean Air Act, building on public awareness of the risks to the environment from pollution.

Although he was a reasonable president, especially when compared with his predecessor St. Ronald, he was unable to build a constituency that could keep him in office and he succumbed to the Clinton charm act.  But when we examine our current status, as the joke of the universe, George H.W. Bush seems a paragon of virtue.  Actually, almost any of our preceding presidents do also. But even by comparison with his idiot son, Poppy looks pretty good.

Our standards have changed, perhaps forever. However much we might yearn for presidents in our past (oh, Barack Obama, where are you when we most need you?) we need to get on with the work at hand. And what is that work you might ask? Well, mainly, I see our main job as Americans, as limiting the long term damage done by our incompetent, dishonest, corrupt . . . oh you know—Trump.  I don’t even see impeachment as being part of that game. I think we need to let it all play out. First of all, if we impeach Trump, successfully, we get Pence. And how would that be better? Pence is even more of an idiot than Trump.  His religion so gets in the way that there is perhaps no way to even figure out if Pence is halfway intelligent.  So, no, I do not want Pence as the replacement president. I want us to suffer under Trump for two more years and then to see him voted out of office by a large vote margin. He will scream voter fraud, but he will be wrong as he is about almost all of the issues facing our country.  If the people vote to retain him in office, then I have no further hope for this Nation. We will be officially at an end.

But I do not anticipate such an outrageous election result. No, I imagine that reason will prevail and we will vote into office someone else, perhaps this time a woman of some decent intellect and moral character. Perhaps Kirsten Gillibrand, but perhaps someone else. We don’t know yet. But we must choose and choose wisely, because our nation is on borrowed time. We cannot afford another gigantic mistake like Trump. We simply no longer have the financial or emotional resources left. It is time, folks. Think, and think hard about whether we wish to see our nation continue.