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Shuster: For Bush, being president meant ‘never having to say you’re sorry.’

Last night, MSNBC’s Countdown aired a video montage comparing President Obama repeatedly taking responsibility for the controversy surrounding Tom Daschle’s appointment to President Bush consistently refusing to admit error. Guest host David Shuster introduced the montage remarking that for Bush, being president meant “never having to say you’re sorry.” Watch it:

Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel told the New York Times this morning, “People like the fact that he said he made a mistake. They hadn’t heard it from anybody in office for a long time. They heard excuses and denials.” But a former Bush adviser cautioned, “He’s saying the buck stops with him. But, the bucks can start piling up pretty fast on this job if you’re going to take the heat for every miscue.”



38 Responses to “Shuster: For Bush, being president meant ‘never having to say you’re sorry.’”

  1. The Republic of Stupidity says:

    Botch, your entire eight years in office was one, giant, non-stop mistake.


  2. BearCountry says:

    Obama has done the “it’s my fault” bit. Now it is time for him to go on the offensive and start to crush the gooper attacks on him and the stimulus. Otherwise, he will be seen as a coward easily beaten by the rethugs on every little point. He needs to remind himself that “I won.”


  3. ctcadguy says:

    His big misque is expecting good will from the Republicans.

    Imagine that – silly Obama. He still does not get it – these people are idealogical zealots when it comes to Trickle down, de-regulation and aggressive foriegn policy.

    Fascists do not compromise.

    You have to crush them.


  4. Zooey says:

    RYAN: It’s SHUSTER, not Shushter.


  5. spencers mom says:

    Saw this last night, and David couldn’t stop laughing. Yes, it’s funny by itself, but I have to remind myself just how much damage and death Bush caused. Not so funny after all.

    PEACE


  6. Marie says:

    What else would you expect from a Bush advisor?
    Of course he would say that saying the buck stops here is not a good idea — we have ample evidence of that with Bush.

    I think the public is pleasantly surprised to have an honest and straightforward person in the White House — it is the press who will have to adjust.


  7. paleolib says:

    As long as Obama doe not f___ up as consistently as chimpy did he will not have to worry about “the bucks piling up”


  8. Tweedster says:

    ctcadguy Says:

    His big misque is expecting good will from the Republicans.

    Imagine that – silly Obama. He still does not get it – these people are idealogical zealots when it comes to Trickle down, de-regulation and aggressive foriegn policy.

    Fascists do not compromise.

    You have to crush them.

    I really think that – depending on how this week winds up – Obama will start to really get on the offensive against the Greedy Obstructionist Party. Remember, even in this “post racial” world we live in there are plenty of racists quick to judge an “angry” black man. I think he’s setting them up for a haymaker though…I’m hoping anyhow…


  9. Tweedster says:

    paleolib Says:

    As long as Obama doe not f___ up as consistently as chimpy did he will not have to worry about “the bucks piling up”

    That’s the thing – Bush could have built that wall along the Pecos with the amount of “bucks” he accumulated, if he ever chose to acknowledge them.


  10. Hoodathunk says:

    You know, I like the Shushter typo because that’s what all the repugs will be telling him. May he develop as selective of a hearing problem as they have.

    Besides, the buck never even paused in the Bush WH, they just slid on through to various offshore accounts.


  11. telestai2 says:

    Obama says faith shouldn’t be used to divide
    AP – 46 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is telling the National Prayer Breakfast that even though faith too often has been used “as a tool to divide us from one another,” there is no religion in the world that is based on hatred.

    President Obama has nearly everything right about his actions, attitudes, beliefs, and responsibilities since January 20, but the quote above shows that he has one thing wrong: The “faith” embraced by many repugs is ENTIRELY based on hatred: that “faith” preaches hate, practices hate, encourages hate, foments hate.

    In no way can the repugs understand the concept of TAKING RESPONSIBILITY for one’s errors–their “faith” conveniently deposits all blame, in every circumstance, upon the heads of the “NON-faithful”–”non-faithful” as described by the right-wing, bigoted, hate-filled pontificators so firmly entrenched among “conservative Christians.”


  12. Ryan Powers says:

    Thanks Zooey. Fixed the typo.


  13. Zooey says:

    Thanks, Ryan. :-)


  14. citizen_pain says:

    Yeah, a lot of bucks piled up on Commander Codpiece’s desk. Too bad they weren’t wild bucks in a rut, or maybe some buckshot, of the triple ought variety…


  15. And Yet... says:

    Didn’t really catch Shuster chuckling or trying not to. I find zero humorous about ex-President Bush League. It’s hard to laugh at the man when you notice his suit is soaked with blood.


  16. rimhotep says:

    Anyone who lacks the insight to recognize his own fallability (being human and not a god) is probably mentally ill.

    George Bush fits this description completely.


  17. Witch1 says:

    O.T. sorry, What ever happened to Howard Dean.?…..Why hasen’t he been considered in the HHS position.? Just wondering…Blessings


  18. And Yet... says:

    I think you’ve caught the essential truth about GWB there, rimhotep @ 16.
    How to get over the devastation that diseased mind caused for the past 8 years?


  19. gitrdone says:

    The mindless twits at Faux are already smearing President Obama for admitting that he made a mistake. Seriously, are these “people” for real?

    What else is there to talk about? Certainly not the collapsing economy, they can’t remind their viewers about how much their Republican leadership F—ed up BIG time.


  20. Leftside Annie says:

    Watching that montage of His Sociopathic Chimpness last night made me squirm with embarrassment.

    So much damage. So much blood and death. A circus of ghouls, zombies and monsters run by a shucking and jiving ringmaster – grinning with a mouthful of bloody teeth.

    *shudder*


  21. tom says:

    The mindless twits at Faux are already smearing President Obama for admitting that he made a mistake.

    It’s called style over substance. FoxSnooze has always been a sucker for an empty suit like GDumbya who is always wrong but never in doubt. They thought his inability to admit a mistake was a sign of virtue, strength and “resolve”.

    Obama is a man of patience and steel . . . big enough and self-assured enough to own up to a mistake. FoxSnooze sees that a sign of weakness. They are wrong.


  22. MapleStreet says:

    Lets face it, Obama has added high, lofty goals that raise the bar far above where it was set previously. This “mistake” wouldn’t have been noticed had he not rasied the bar.

    In short, anytime you raise the bar, there is an adjustment period. That is the only “mistake”.


  23. DallasNE says:

    What the Bush advisor doesn’t seem to understand is that in Bush’s case these weren’t a “miscue”, they were illegal acts. Bush was basically invoking the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. That is a whole lot different than being wrong on the tolerance level for past tax issues of somebody he named for a Cabinet level post.


  24. larkohio says:

    I saw the piece, and saw the contrast. I am so glad Obama can say, “I made a mistake, and I will do my best to fix it.”
    That I can respect. Bush made so many terrible mistakes, and still defends them. I am so glad he is in Texas.


  25. DaTruth says:

    Momma and Papa Bush did not teach their spoiled worm brat GW how to admit fault. It is not their nature. No matter how bad they screw up these criminals continue screwing up ever so arrogant and proud.

    The entire Bush family should be exterminated!


  26. coskibum says:

    The word Sorry and Bush used in the same sentence is waxing poetic…


  27. Anonymouse says:

    … because what George W Bush has secretly wanted all along is to be Pope.


  28. Daddy-O says:

    “He’s saying the buck stops with him. But, the bucks can start piling up pretty fast on this job if you’re going to take the heat for every miscue.”

    Depends on the miscue. Depends on HOW MANY miscues.

    Depends on how many people die as a result of that miscue. How many people died when Daschle withdrew his nomination? How many people died when Bush ordered the Iraq Invasion?

    These people are insane. We’ve known that for quite some time now.


  29. Daddy-O says:

    MapleStreet Says:

    “Lets face it, Obama has added high, lofty goals that raise the bar far above where it was set previously. This “mistake” wouldn’t have been noticed had he not rasied the bar.”

    Uh, this ‘mistake’ would have been noticed by anyone who hates Barack Obama and the ‘Democrat’ Party.

    Some mistake. Who died when Daschle withdrew his nomination? Who lost their Constitutional rights? What innocent person was locked up indefinitely, or ‘accidentally’ murdered while in custody?

    This ‘mistake’ doesn’t even register. IOKIYAR is the rule of our land.


  30. hanshiro says:

    What’s screamingly lacking amidst the Daschle nonsense, the republican obstructionism, and the other distractions…

    Why isn’t bush in jail?

    Why isn’t the administration being vigorously investigated?

    Why didn’t toothless Conyers throw Rove in jail for refusing to comply with subpoenas that would land us ‘regular people’ a stretch for contempt of congress?

    Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove “won’t comply” with congressional subpoenas, according to a newspaper report of an event held in Los Angeles earlier this week.

    Rove spoke Tuesday evening at Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, as part of the school’s “First Amendment Week.”

    “One man loudly denounced Rove as a ‘traitor’ before he was escorted out,” the Loyola Daily Breeze noted. “A woman held up a pair of handcuffs and said she would like to see Rove wearing them.”

    Are The Spineless Ones allowing the bush torture team to run out the clock on the statute of limitations? Is Conyers paying lip service to 11th-hour-hail-mary “if onlys?”

    House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has proposed extending to 10 years the statute of limitations on war crimes, torture, and domestic surveillance in the event an investigation into the Bush administration’s controversial policies turns up prosecutable evidence against former officials after statute of limitations laws currently on the books expire.

    Conyers claims that he’s finally ready to pursue prosecutions. Color me unconvinced; I saw this movie when Conyers published “Constitution In Crisis” and that ‘call to arms’ fizzled faster than a bush scrabble tournament.

    Regarding issues revolving around the legality of the Bush administration’s domestic spy program, rumors have swirled inside the Beltway and on blogs over the past week that Republicans have delayed the confirmation of Attorney General designate Eric Holder in an attempt to run out the clock on the statute of limitations and thwart any attempt by the DOJ to launch a probe into George W. Bush’s decision five years ago to reauthorize warrantless surveillance program without prior approval from the Justice Department. Under federal law, the White House needed to obtain recertification from the DOJ to operate the program every 45 days.

    The rumors appear to be untrue but there are legitimate questions about the statute of limitations, which expire on March 11, 2009, on Bush’s unilateral decision to reauthorize the spy program absent a green light from the DOJ.

    Apparently Conyers is making noise about extending the statute and saber rattling about prosecuting bush and rumsfeld, although I’m not encouraged or prepared to wait 60 years for the DOJ to get around to it:

    In an interview, Horton said, “statutes of limitation are procedural rules only, and when it comes to war crimes, it is a fairly common practice to change them after the fact.”

    “They have for instance recently been changed to allow victims of forced labor camps in World War II to assert certain claims, as well as to revive the claims of persons whose property was seized by the Nazis or their collaborators before and during World War II,” Horton added. “The major question to ask is simple: did the people in question have a meaningful chance to assert their claims? Or was the government reasonably diligent in enforcing the criminal law?

    So the statute is at issue, and it isn’t exactly helpful that a determining report is being issued more than a month after the deadline:

    Whether the Justice Department intends to undertake a criminal probe, however, is another matter and will be determined by a highly anticipated report due in about two months by Special Counsel John Durham that will determine whether federal laws were broken when the CIA destroyed videotapes that showed terrorist detainees being waterboarded by interrogators, according to three DOJ attorneys.

    So the statute will be past by the time it’s determined if any crimes were committed. Welcome to the United Banana Republic Of America.

    Even though members of the bush administration have outright admitted to torture:

    “First, [retired judge and head of military commissions at Guantanamo] Susan J. Crawford–the senior most official of the Bush Administration responsible for the Gitmo trials–openly acknowledged that torture had occurred,” Horton said. “That constitutes an admission against interest and it makes it virtually impossible for the Justice Department to avoid an investigation.

    “Second, Bush left office without issuing a blanket pardon, so all of his torture team is now fair game. While the Military Commissions Act of 2006 furnishes a shield that would block prosecution of ground-level personnel in most cases, there is no such protection for the policy makers or the lawyers who were involved; they are now vulnerable.

    “Third, our NATO allies and UN officials are now openly calling for a criminal investigation and reminding the new administration that it is solemnly obligated under Article 4 of the Convention Against Torture to take enforcement steps under American criminal law, failing which it is in breach.

    It may well be that Obama will issue pardons or that a professional prosecutor will conclude that the facts are insufficient to press charges–but these conclusions can only be reached after a comprehensive criminal investigation, and that has not yet occurred.”

    So we have undisputed documentation, in bush administration officials own words, that crimes have occured. Sounds like probable cause, but the report won’t be ready until a month after the statute of limitations runs out…and further sounds like the media is preparing the public to eat the sh*t-sandwich phrase: “the facts are insufficient to press charges.”

    In the end, will Gonzo the Liar be correct? Probably.

    But Gonzales, in his interview with NPR Monday, doubted that he or anyone else would be prosecuted, let alone investigated, over the Bush administration’s interrogation and surveillance policies.

    “I don’t think that there’s going to be prosecution, quite frankly,” Gonzales said. “Because again, these activities for the most part, based on what I know, and obviously there are going to be some actions and activities that I’m not aware of. But in terms of what people really focused on: they were authorized, they were known at the highest levels, they were supported by legal opinions at the Department of Justice. And so, based upon those facts, I think it would be difficult, again I can’t pre-judge it and Mr. Holder if he is confirmed will have to make a decision whether to move forward with a prosecution. But under those circumstances, I find it hard to believe.”

    But anyone else can get 25 years for allegedly stealing a teevee, 50 years for smoking pot or beaten and shot for riding the subway while black, but kill a million people and spy on millions more illegally and you win a fat retirement account and a house in a racist, gated community (gate provided on the taxpayer’s dime.)

    America is a disgrace.


  31. nanlichi says:

    Bush admitted that he took his guidance from the voices in his head, who he wrongly assumed was God, so how could he admit that he did anything wrong? That would be blasphemy!

    Of course, the voice in his head was Cheney’s after the rape drug kicked in.

    Bush had to wonder why his butt always hurt after God spoke to him.


  32. Buckie Boy says:

    One is an adult taking responsibility, the other a petulant little prick….

    ….can you guess which is which?


  33. Hoodathunk says:

    Hanshiro, post 31 is the best post I have ever read here. Concise, expressive, documented…I doff my chapeau.


  34. drew3rd says:

    Wow, Obama said he screwed up. Now everything is fixed. Whew! It was getting dicey there. Grow up! We all know Bush sucked as a president. Admitting a mistake is some sort of success trait? How about getting one of these nominees vetted? How about thinking through wage controls since they have always imploded our economy? How about coming up with ONE good idea? If I wanted an inept president I would have voted for McCain! This is scary and all of my repug friends are pointing and laughing. The problem is, they’re right. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. Gibbs isn’t helping either. This administration is imploding right in front of our eyes and you want to bask in Obama’s glow because he admitted a mistake? Pffft, Please!


  35. samsuncle says:

    It was refreshing to hear our president give a simple straight answer to a question. Something you don’t usually get from a politician, especially one with an R after his name.


  36. Game of Life says:

    Daddy-O Says:

    “He’s saying the buck stops with him. But, the bucks can start piling up pretty fast on this job if you’re going to take the heat for every miscue.”

    Depends on the miscue. Depends on HOW MANY miscues.

    Depends on how many people die as a result of that miscue. How many people died when Daschle withdrew his nomination? How many people died when Bush ordered the Iraq Invasion?

    These people are insane. We’ve known that for quite some time now.

    That is putting it into perspective.

    repugs continue to cause major worldwide destruction which President Obama is going to fix with or without these idiots.


  37. Game of Life says:

    In two weeks President Obama is doing more for the people than chimpy and pappy did in 12 yrs. and the yahoos remain quite. So STFU now.

    It’s OUR turn, meaning the people who want to progress, to move on to bigger and better things for the US. President Obama has huge problems to make right and just according to OUR Constitution. aholes will be left behind while other will enjoy individuality while protecting our land.

    All the repugs want to do is to kill ants with the help of the sun and a magnifying glass.


  38. dasm says:

    For Bush, being president meant never having to say anything intelligent.



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