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Originally Posted by willravel
I don't remember ever comparing anything Bush did to the holocaust. I've compared other actions that are seemingly similar between the two men, none of which have been refuted (except the twin towers thing, which we'll leave alone).
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Yes, but comparing Bush to Hitler is rather different from comparing him to just about anyone else. Comparisons with Hitler automatically bring images of the holocaust. If your only point was to say that Bush surrounded himself with smart people and convinced people, why did you choose Hitler? There's nothing inherently wrong with surrounding yourself with smart people and beign persuasive. Those were not the qualities that people despise Hitler for.
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Hitler surrounded himself with intelligent people. Hitlers greates ability was that he was enthusiastic and could convince people of anything. He was a superb speaker. Can't the same be said of Bush?
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A superb speaker? Bush? I think not. Hell, the man can't get through a speech without stumbling, losing his train of thought, and/or misspeaking.
And I don't think the other attributes apply either. Bush hasn't done any of the convincing. Bush is the one that's been convinced. He surrounded himself with warhawk yes-men and then believed everything they said. That's very different from being a strong, charismatic leader. In fact, that's being led.
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We'll have to wait and see. The reason this was brought up is do you want to be wrong? What if you're wrong and Bush has more power than you think. Do you want to be passivly responsible for something really bad happening?
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Of course not, and if I thought Bush were going to start systematically exterminating the liberals I'd certainly do something about it. But like it or not, the people have spoken. THEY elected him. THEY gave him "political capital" to pull these shenanigans. And as long as the people continue to allow him to strip them of their rights, there's not a whole lot that can be done. And since I'm a journalist, it wouldn't exactly be ethical of me to lead the revolution, ya know?
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No, it doesn't. If one were to compare Clinton to King David, one doesn't even have to mention God. One can talk about foreign policies, morality and military stratigies, despite the fact that King David is best known for his relationship to God in the bible. You can omit one characteristic and still compare two people on other facets. Yes, Hitler is best known for killing millions of innocent Jewish people and starting WW2. Was that all he did?
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The trouble is that by bringing up Hitler's name, you're going for a reaction. You want people to say "holy SHIT! We can't have another Hitler! Get Bush!!!" Otherwise you'd compare him to a much more comparable leader - namely an incompetent one. But then when you get that reaction you tell us that the reaction is inappropriate.
If I say a girl is like a whore you automatically take that to mean that I am saying she is promiscuous. That's what I expect you to do. For me to then, after you take it that way, tell you no, I'm saying the girl is a self starter who runs her own business just like a whore does would be disingenuous.
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Are you so sure? What if this is a simple ploy to trick us into thinking he is partially retarded so that we underestimate him? Honeslty, I can't think of any president before Bush I'd consider anything less than intelligent. Could Bush be the first one? I suppose, but to me it's more likely that he is putting on a mask of ignorance.
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That's entirely possible, I'll grant you that. But I don't think he would have spent his entire adult life trying to look like a moron, culminating in looking like an idiot in the oval office. His actions as a younger man were stupid as well - they just didn't effect as many people. But having that kind of drinking problem, screwing up that many businesses, etc, all to become president, would require a conspiracy the size of which we've never seen to pull off.
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Not so. Take the comparison I made above:
Is it possible that this comparison, standing alone, is apt? I think so.
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I don't. Attempting to torture and exterminate every jew is radically different than searching Arabs. I'm not saying the searches are always justified, but comparing that to genocide is unjust. Plus it's unwise to pull the Hitler card because it gives the other side the "lunatic liberal" ammunition they lie in wait for.
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What's the difference? Either way evil is coming through or from Bush. Either way there is evil. If Bush doesn't have the moral bravery to stand up to his puppet masters, then he still isn't fit to be president.
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Absolutely. You're absolutely correct about this. And that's why I object to the comparison with Hitler. It automatically garners kneejerk reactions that weaken your argument. We don't need to compare Bush to Hitler. What he does is bad enough to stand on its own.