Quote:
Originally posted by tecoyah
There is a difference between name calling, and repeating a political statement. While I do agree my post was somewhat borderline, and I suppose an apology would be indicated(sorry), this was meant as a statement about the ability of a politician to articulate, and think on his feet.
I was also trying to set a point, which is:
If a diplomat from another country , feels compelled to risk retribution to express disatisfaction with the intellect of "the leader of the free world", and very few dipute the accuracy of such a statement, there may be some truth to it.
I will be completely honest with you. I do question the capabilities of GWB when it comes to setting the direction of my country, as this is a relatively important priority for the president. My interpretation of Mr. Bushs' intellect was not intended as a personal attack, but as a statement of concern.
I would hope, that the man who is leading this country, is at the very least smarter than myself. And I do believe most Americans would hope for this as well. Again if my post came off as an attack on the president, this was not my main intent (although in reflection, you are correct it was an insult an regratable) But, watching him address the nation was embarassing for me, and that pissed me off.
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Someone's ability to handle a press briefing doesn't factor into my calculation about their intellect. I agree that his performance last night in the beginning was pretty bad. IMO, there were points where his intellect and his conviction shone through however.
That forum was one that he's not been heavily exposed to and one that he should be. Towards the end when he got away from trying to stick to the talking points and spoke from his heart and off the cuff he did remarkably better.
While not artfully articulated I enjoyed his story about the conversation with the Japanese leader about North Korea and how he one day hopes a similar conversation could take place with a freely elected Iraqi leader.
I have yet to meet a stupid or moronic military pilot and those types of comments put me (and a lot of others) off as far as further discussions go. You can make some very insightful and interesting comments but, I think, when you throw in the "typical" diatribes about Bush personally it really tarnishes the rest of your points.
As far as the Canadian politician being compelled to risk retribution, I disagree. It wasn't a thought out planned statement but an instance of a politician being off their game and not understanding the implications or impacts of their words. While I don't expect politicians to be perfect, I expect them to be a little bit better at avoiding the blatant pitfalls that have ruined so many other political careers.