Ashcroft: Only difference between Bush and Obama is how they spell their names.
Ashcroft: Only difference between Bush and Obama is how they spell their names.
In a new article about how the Obama administration will confront the legal challenges of Bush’s war on terror, former Attorney General John Ashcroft defends the continued detention of a terror suspect, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, on a naval brig in South Carolina. Al-Marri has been held as an “enemy combatant” for more than seven years, though the government has yet to charge him with a crime. Ashcroft told the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer that the only difference between Obama and Bush on detainee policy will likely be how they spell their names:
John Ashcroft, who was Attorney General when Marri was designated an enemy combatant, makes no…apologies. Interviewed just before the Inauguration, he defended what he described as a “sound decision” to “maximize the national interest,” and predicted that, in the end, President Obama’s approach to handling terror suspects would closely mirror his own: “How will he be different? The main difference is going to be that he spells his name ‘O-b-a-m-a,’ not ‘B-u-s-h.’”
In December, Dick Cheney predicted that Obama would keep the Guantanamo detention facility open. When Rush Limbaugh asked whether Gitmo is something the Obama administration is “going to be appreciative of once they get there and see it,” Cheney replied, “I think so.”
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When Rush Limbaugh asked whether Gitmo is something the Obama administration is “going to be appreciative of once they get there and see it,” Cheney replied, “I think so.”
Two Dicks hanging out together does not equate to Justice.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:53 amPerhaps Asscroft could sing at their funerals.
Obviously, Obama is one of Ashcroft’s personal “unknown unknowns” or this is a case of “Let the Feces Fly”.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:56 amLet me see: The Bush Crime Family participants have been right about what?
February 18th, 2009 at 9:57 amYes, another glaring example of how he lost a Senate race to a dead guy. You Cannot fool all of the people All of the time.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:00 amI thought Ashcroft was a very capable AG. I cannot go along with this, however. President Obama is going to continue to prosecute the war. Renditions, increased troops to Afghanistan, etc. He will be different, closing Gitmo, opening up dialogue with our enemies and projecting America as ready to discuss real solutions with the Islamic world. That is very different from The Shrub.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:02 ammorning drew3rd
February 18th, 2009 at 10:04 amif he hadn’t gone on to spell the names i wouldn’t have understood what he meant by the only difference is how they spell their names.
i’m so glad he continued. now i know that “o-b-a-m-a” is not the same as “b-u-s-h”
if he hadn’t gone on to spell them instead of simply saying “the only difference between obama and bush is how obama spells his name, i would have gone right on believing that they were just varied pronunciations of the same spelling.
THANKS DICK!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:04 amdrew3rd Says:
I thought Ashcroft was a very capable AG.
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Riiiiiiight… that’s why he was more concerned w/ covering up the tits on statues
February 18th, 2009 at 10:07 amthan catching terrorists…
Yeah, of course he defends it, his career is built upon it.
“It is impossible to get a person to understand something when their paycheck depends upon them not understanding it”
February 18th, 2009 at 10:09 amWhat the dick dick birds are chirping is something along these lines. When the President learns that an “American Torture Party” was held from which we have received more than two dozen reports of individual acts of perversion SO profound and disgusting that decorum prohibits listing them here he will decide to cover their butts.
Guess what, birdies? The world already knows and it hasn’t ended yet.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:11 amHussein Leporello says;
Apparently, by losing his Senate bid to a dead guy, Johnny-boy wasn’t even able to fool some of the people some of the time.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:11 amAnd the only difference between Ashcroft and Gonzales is the word P-R-I-S-O-N!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:13 amApparently AssCroft has lost his mind.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:16 amThis looks like a mirror image of cheney chirping about how torture is necessary.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:19 amTry as they may, they can’t make their history go away.
If they are not investigated and prosecuted their actions will haunt the United States for long after we’re all feeding the tree.
Remember this was the guy who had the statue of “justice” draped because he was embarrassed that a breast was exposed.
The only difference between Ashcroft and a-s-s-h-o-l-e is how he spells his name.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:20 amThe convoluted rulings by the DoJ under Bush will indeed make it unnecesssarily difficult for Obama to change the way they operate.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:23 amI think it will take a long time to sort it all out, and I don’t think we will all be happy with the final outcome. I do have confidence, however, that the Obama DoJ will to rectify the worst and modify the rest. They know that the current status is untenable.
Republicofstupidity says
Riiiiiiight… that’s why he was more concerned w/ covering up the tits on statues
than catching terrorists…
Hey! Let’s call things by their proper names! They’re called Ta-ta’s! The Ta-ta’s of Justice!
February 18th, 2009 at 10:33 amI have confidence that Obama is about as far from Bush as possible. That is why I voted for him twice, once in the primary and once in the general. Aschcroft may have been well intentioned, but he was WRONG.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:38 amlooks like you found a vein, Lux.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:46 amRepublican reptilian brain can not grasp the concept of an intelligent, multi-layered policy.
There’s a reason they named him W……so he could spell it.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:46 amPoor, poor lush, not yet the middle of the morning and already drunk.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:48 amWouldn’t be quite so bad if he were able to sing on key.
February 18th, 2009 at 10:57 amInferiorLush, are you still stupid drunk from yesterday or is this a new day of stupid?
February 18th, 2009 at 10:59 amBy the way he smells, Shayne, I’d say he’s been on a bender since about Saturday.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:09 amThat could just be Lush’s own urine fermenting. But why am I giving him the benefit of the doubt.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:11 amRUCerious Says:
Apparently AssCroft has lost his mind.
He may, possibly, have had one to lose [at least for a year or so], in contrast to Gonzo. Gonzo has the mental vacuum essential for s*cking up to BushCo.
And those persistent sounds vibrating in the background since we overthrew our dick-tator? those nearly-audible hisses across the “liberal media”? the massive air-leak underlying troll-posts these days?
That’s suction: the suction of massed neocons fighting NOT to break the vacuum of their last 8 years; the sound of lips on a** as rethugs, neocons, and trolls s*ck for their lives on a vanishing tit.
Since we elected President Obama, that s*cking has escalated to such an extent that it could jump-start a 747.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:24 amGood morning, Lush.
Thank you for giving me such a lovely way to start my day: flagging you for racism.
How clever: “B-I-N-G-O.” A troll who can spell.
Now, can you chant for us the equally charming racist version of “Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo” so that I can flag you again?
February 18th, 2009 at 11:28 amPay no attention, telestai, he’s wasted again.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:30 amJust do me a favor and make sure he doesn’t puke in the flower pots again.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:31 amYes my friends that is “Change we can believe in” The fact that our President is Barack Obama and not a shrub
February 18th, 2009 at 11:36 amYou know, I am getting really sick and tired of all these neoCONs telling us what Obama is going to do.
If President Obama continues Bush’s policies on indefinite detention of “enemy combatants” and doesn’t close Gitmo after saying he will, then I predict he will be a one term President. Because I won’t vote for him again if he continues these Bush policies.
On the other hand, I have total faith that President Obama will take care of these problems that Bush/Ashcroft, et al have created and not continue their illegal programs.
February 18th, 2009 at 11:56 amWhere in hell do they find these fools?!
February 18th, 2009 at 12:01 pmMarie, @#15, a-s-h-c-r-o-f-t and a-s-s-h-o-l-e are just variations of the same word. Either spelling is correct, and the definition is the same.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:02 pmAnd the reason I would listen to a man who believes calico cats are satanic representatives and finds the statue of lady liberty obscene so he has her breasts draped for a press conference would be. . .
February 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pmBelieve you me I hate to agree with Ashcroft of all people — but I think he’s right. President Obama has appointed three leading attorneys for the RIAA — the same ones who led prosecution against Jammie Thomas, among others — to top positions in the Justice Department. This week, Obama’s Justice Department has stated it needs time to review whether it, too, will file friend-of-court briefs on the side of the RIAA in an upcoming trial. Like the Bush Administration.
This is not the Barack Obama I voted for. I’m not a one-issue voter — but the appointment of people like this makes an intentional statement. In this case, as I’m afraid in many, the differences between the Obama and Bush administrations will be absolutely minimal.
Count me among the disenfranchised.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:07 pmWell after all, Obama is smart and has been handed a hugh mess to clean up…
…Bush is an idiot who has handed a hugh mess for Obama to clean up…
…so I guess that is where the “no difference” is that ASScroft is referring to.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:08 pmI think maybe Ashcroft was misquoted.
February 18th, 2009 at 12:40 pmI think he said “ONE difference between Bush and Obama is one actually knows how to spell his name.”
How do you spell A-R-R-O-G-A-N-T P-R-I-C-K? This is yet another example in the ongoing wingnut campaign by John Yoo, Cheney, Thiessen and others to argue that there’s was nothing wrong, and everything right – about Bush’s prosectution of the W.O.T. with Jack Bauer Justice!
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T.
Vyan
February 18th, 2009 at 1:22 pmWhy would anyone listen or believe Ashcroft? He is just another of shrubies fluckies.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:25 pmI really don’t like Ashcroft, but under Obama the US has attacked and killed inocent civilians in Pakistan. Obama’s administration has blocked the release of court documents detailing the Torture of redition victims. He is now engaging in delaying Rove appearence in order to preserve presidential ‘powers’ created by Bush. He has already called Hugo Chavez’s government, who treuly won a Democratic vote, as a hogue state. He was silent while the US-backed Massacre of Palestinians by the terrorist state of Israel was going on, and after taking office, he just ackowledge the Palestinian ’suffering’ in a phrase mentioning Israeli suffering! He never mentioned that he voted last November to send the lethal weapons to Israel. When dealing with US’s War Crimes and its War Criminals, Obama has indicated that he prefer to ‘move foward’.
February 18th, 2009 at 2:07 pmI was disgusted to see footage of his ‘Town Hall’ pseudo-religious gathering.
Well… I hate Ashcroft, but I have to agree with him! I don’t see much CHANGE coming from Obama. Actually, the only CHANGE I percieve is how quicly Obama has ‘changed’ his discourse after the election! Don’t worry, I’ve seen many polititians geting elected with a ‘left’ discourse’ and govern with ‘right’ policies.
And one more thing: Afheganistan had nothing to do with Al-Queida either! The US is there, occupying Afheganistan for the Oil pipeline! If he was ever serious about geting the people responsible for 9/11, he would do a better job asking questions to the Bush administration to be unswered under oath and with ‘transparency’! Wasn’t ‘tranparency’ one of the promises of Oba Oba?
I’m with you 37!!!!
February 18th, 2009 at 2:08 pmAshcroft would be interested to know that Obama is also disgustingly similar to Bush in that he has failed to reverse or deal with Bush’s racial discrimination against black people.
Obama is a disgrace to black people.
Is Obama going to financially reward black Katrina victims for having been racially discriminated against by Bush?
Where is the money?
I don’t think Obama would have any problem, hypothetically, with slavery happening all over again.
Maybe one remembers that Kanye West said, “Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
We have uncovered something far more horrifying.
It is practically like Obama “doesn’t care about black people.” (And Obama is black.)
There are all sorts of personalities.
There actually are screwed up black people who secretly don’t like their own kind.
There may even be black lunatics or freaks who would fancy themselves prancing around wearing a KKK outfit or uniform with the swastika on it.
Maybe Obama even fantasizes about hanging black people by nooses.
I like black people.
Black people are cool!
Black people are great.
But now, white people don’t have to worry about Obama interfering with racial discrimination inflicted by white people against racial minorities while Obama is president of the United States.
It is practically just as bad as if the white supremacist at heart, George W. Bush, is still running the country.
For example, Bush murdered a black woman—Margie Schoedinger.
“One of those very least were George Bush’s personal complicity in the death (murder to be precise) of my friend Margie Schoedinger in September of 2003. Determining the exact whereabouts and contacts of [then] president-elect George Bush on September 21 thru 22, 2003, should be entirely lacking in difficulty” (Leola McConnell (Nevada Progressive Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010). Retrieved November 29, 2008, from http://leolaforussenate.blogspot.com/2008/02/leola-mcconnell-for-us-senate.html).
Obama should have the guts to assemble workers from the FBI and/or one or more state attorney general offices and say something similar to the following:
“I, Obama, am the most powerful person in America now. Bush is no longer the president and thus no longer the most powerful person in America. I, Obama, am in control now. I, Obama, demand that the ultimate law-enforcement workers in this country investigate Bush and then proceed to have him locked away for life or executed for murdering the black woman—Margie Schoedinger. I, Obama, am black, and I find Bush’s murder of Margie Schoedinger to be personally offensive. I, Obama, feel it is once again like the time of slavery when white people killed black people with no sheriff, prosecutor, or court to stop it from happening or prosecute it. I, Obama, am not going to go around in the modern-day democracy feeling like a black slave of white people—especially while I am the president of the United States. I, Obama, want Bush brought down for murdering a black woman. I, Obama, want Bush brought down for racially discriminating against black people pursuant to Hurricane Katrina. I, Obama, am going to supply financial rewards to the black people who were harmed by Bush’s racial discrimination and who are still alive. I, Obama, am taken aback by Bush having been so evil in wrongfully causing the deaths of so many black people pursuant to his racist response relative to Hurricane Katrina. I, Obama, am going to take advantage of my time as a racial-minority president and not allow “Bush’s KKK-Neo-Nazi mentality” to rule over and oppress black people in America.”
Obama is not doing anything about Bush’s murder of Margie Schoedinger.
Obama has not given a penny to any black victims of Bush’s racial discrimination.
Obama needs to say: “I can change and act like a black person instead of disgracing myself all over the place!”
Obama needs to say: “Change—Yes I can!”
Submitted by Andrew Yu-Jen Wang
February 19th, 2009 at 1:47 amB.S., Summa Cum Laude, 1996
Messiah College, Grantham, PA
Lower Merion High School, Ardmore, PA, 1993
Wang111 Says:
Obama is a disgrace to black people.
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I don’t think Obama would have any problem, hypothetically, with slavery happening all over again.
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You really are a bit of an idiot, aren’t you?
February 19th, 2009 at 9:48 am