Ben Treece: Barack Hussein W. Bush
Written by Ben Treece | | ben@treeceinvestments.comIn the eight years that he occupied office, George W. Bush saw his approval ratings skyrocket up to 90 percent post-Sept. 11, 2001 and tumble to as low as 25 percent on three separate occasions (www.gallup.com). His presidency was not praised for handling the deadliest terror attack ever executed on U.S. soil, or the passing of Sarbanes Oxley in response to Enron, WorldComm and Tyco frauds. Instead, Bush was ridiculed by the media for public gaffes, a cabinet lacking intelligence and involving the U.S. in two wars without any evidence of WMDs or an exit strategy.
Americans had finally had enough. Liberals wanted Bush out long before the 2008 election and conservatives were eager for his exit following the frivolous spending policies that plagued the end of his second term. The public disdain for Bush presented the perfect opportunity for the Democrats to sponsor the most progressive candidate to occupy the Oval Office since Jimmy Carter.
Liberals, democrats, progressives and the like immediately fell in love with Barack Obama. His smooth talk, charming personality and technical savvy provided the feel-good vibe a candidate needs to win undecided voters, and he quickly became the “popular choice.” Cries from the Right that he was unqualified and lacked any real experience went unheard and Obama quickly found himself president.
Almost two and a half years later, Obama’s presidency has lacked any form of leadership and common sense, but why has the media tried so hard to ignore this? Sure, you hear the usual suspects speaking out — Rush, Glenn, Bill, Anne, etc. — but constituents are not nearly as fed up with Obama as they were with Bush, judging by his 45 percent job approval rating. Do the numbers reflect the job he’s done?
Environment: Bush had Hurricane Katrina, Obama had the BP oil spill. Both were handled quite poorly.
Military: Bush led the U.S. in to war with Afghanistan and soon after Iraq. Obama failed to withdraw troops in the manner that he claimed he would and helped spark an offensive in Libya.
Economy: Bush approved massive spending increases in his second term which had little to no effect on the economy. Obama continued this flawed policy of tax and spend (and then some) with no different outcome.
Public Gaffes: Bush made several foolish comments during press interviews. Obama compared his bowling skills to that of a man in the Special Olympics on Jay Leno and received a pass from the oh-so-forgiving media.
Throw a shoe at Obama and we have an identical presidency.
Those who support a political candidate and their values are reluctant to change their opinion overnight. It took conservatives several months to take notice of Bush’s faulty economic policy. I have recognized these similarities during the past few months, but finally others are beginning to take notice. Michael Moore recently demanded Obama return his Nobel Peace Prize and Minister Louis Farrakhan recently asked Obama, “Who the hell do you think you are?” on his radio show, both comments in response to Obama’s policy in Libya.
The time is coming and citizens are starting to take notice. It would not surprise me in the least to see Obama’s approval ratings drop at least 10 percent by the end of his term, especially with the way his administration has handled (or failed to) this jobless recovery. I would be shocked if his party allows him to run for a second term. The Democrats are not stupid; they know that dissatisfied voters sway elections. Angry Democrats helped elect Reagan over Carter and frustrated Republicans helped elect Clinton to his first term over H.W. Bush.
Only two things are certain right now; Republicans are going to work hard to find a respectable, electable candidate to take control of the White House in 2012, and Obama’s publicist is going to be earning his paycheck in the coming months.
Ben Treece is a discretionary money manager with Treece Investment Advisory Corp and a stockbroker for Treece Financial Services Corp licensed with FINRA.
Tags: Ben Treece, Obama
Obama has been a fraud since day one, and I media absolutely needs to realize it. His policies have failed, his campaign promises outright lies. Unfortunately, neither party has a candidate I would vote for at this time…
This comment was posted on April 23rd, 2011 at 8:17 amWhile Obama may enjoy a cushy relationship with the media calling the presidency of Bush and he identical is just ridiculous. Bush started with a country in relatively good condition, while Obama started with one in two wars and a record debt (made by Bush). He started in a hole and will end in one as the hole dug by Bush is the greatest this country has ever seen. If you want to do a true assessment consider ALL the factors. The state things were in when they became president is a HUGE one that serves as a base for what they have or have not done. I’m not going to cheerlead for Obama but at least take some common sense into consideration before saying their presidency is identical.
This comment was posted on April 24th, 2011 at 8:56 amGW:53 straight months of positive economic growth after 9 / 11.
GW: Home values the highest in American history.
GW: Freed 53 million Mohammedans from death, torture, and tyranny.
Even now, Egyptians, Libyans,Syrians, etc., call out for BUSH ! BUSH ! Undoubtedly, to help FREE THEM !!
These are what History, will note as accomplishments for GW.
OweBaMao, is an economic gangster, a physical coward, and, an affirmative action- amateurish clown !
Having survived Jimmy Carter, America, just may barely survive the community agitator from the horrid Windy City and, his merry band of Demonrat neofascists !!
Barely…
This comment was posted on April 24th, 2011 at 2:27 pmYes, it’s always Bush’s fault. Seems I remember Bush started with a stock market crash (internet stocks bubble burst) and the 9-11 attack. He turned it around but Obama just cannot make it go.
This comment was posted on April 25th, 2011 at 1:16 pmAnd, never, ever forget that Thee OMNIPOTENT GW, created a hurricane,directed it towards a minority dominated New Orleans / Gulf Coast, had Demonrat mayoral and Governor twists paralyzed into inaction, did not allow National Guard units in , and did billions of damage.
OweBaMao, couldn’t create much gut wind let alone a CAT 5 HURRICANE !!!
This comment was posted on April 25th, 2011 at 4:09 pm@Elizabeth, thank you for reading and for commenting on the article. My point was not that Bush’s time in office and Obama’s have been identical, but they have had very noticable similarities. For some reason the public and the media don’t want to draw the comparison between the two. Furthermore, while I wholeheartedly agree that Bush’s poor economic policies contributed to the mess, Obama has had more than ample time to correct the situation, and instead of extinguishing the crisis he has exacerbated it.
This comment was posted on April 26th, 2011 at 9:20 amBush and his decade of -2% return on the S&P 500. Bush and his stagnant wage growth decade. Bush and his housing bubble caused by banking fraud. Bush and his bailout of the banking industry. Bush and his two unfunded wars that broke the American budget.
This comment was posted on April 26th, 2011 at 9:31 amThe Fascist Demonrats & OweBaMao, came into office in 2006 and 2008, respectively.
GW: A Dow was at 15,000….Now: barely, 10,000
GW: Home values highest in American History.
Now:28 % home value lost…for me the loss is $49,720 !!
That’s REAL DOUGH BABEEEE !!
GW: unemployment rate at 4.5 %
17.3% real unemployment NOW !!
835 banks that received TARPUWATSE, are facing bankruptcy this year !
Black unemployment at 15.5 %
GW: Black unemployment at 6.1 %
Yeah, if NOW, seems beautiful to you zeroes on the extreme radical job killing Left…I wonder why you cry-babied soooooo much when things were BEAUTIFUL, under GW ?!
Oh, it’s the Liberal Derangement Syndrome, that effects your reality…must be ONE horrid disease effecting cognition ?!
And Little Detroit, is their GLEAMING , SHINING , BRILLIANT, example of 100% Demonrat,job killing ABSOLUTE RUIN !!!
Nice prize to show off….
This comment was posted on April 26th, 2011 at 12:02 pmBarack Obama and George W. Bush presidencies identical? Scarcely. While Bush did err in a number of ways, there are far more differences than similarities.
Liberty: Bush advocated freedom, though certainly not to the degree that he could have. Obama consistently favors expansion of government power at the expense of liberty.
Taxes: Bush cut taxes. Obama talked about cutting taxes, then had to be dragged kicking and screaming into extending the Bush tax cuts, which he considers a primary cause of the federal deficit.
Deficit: Bush reduced the deficit and was on track to eliminate it by 2010, that is until he went dark side on spending in 2007 and 2008. Obama has grossly expanded the deficit, making its elimination a distant fantasy.
Economy: Bush’s tax cuts helped terminated a recession and led to millions of jobs being created. Obama’s economic policies worsened and prolonged a recession, doubled unemployment and are causing inflation.
The media: To the lamestreamers, Bush could do no right, and Obama can do no wrong.
American interests: Bush asserted American interests and pride at every turn. Obama bows to dictators and makes apologies for us.
Alliances: Bush knew friend from foe, and acted towards them accordingly. Obama reverses this polarity, embracing foes while alienating friends.
Consistency: Right or wrong, Bush was decisive and, for the most part, his administration was united. Obama wavers, procrastinates and changes his mind, and for the most part his administration is contradictory.
War on terror: Bush fought the war. Obama rendered it politically correct.
To say Bush’s and Obama’s presidencies are identical, based on the evidence presented, is to say that a gas-guzzling pickup that doesn’t run right and a riceburner import in which safety is a delusion are identical because they both have tires and internal combustion engines.
This comment was posted on April 26th, 2011 at 7:52 pm@Thomas Berry I agree with you on most of your points, ESPECIALLY media treatment of the two. My point is that the events and policies of Bush’s time in office had a noticeably negative impact on his approval ratings. Obama has furthered some of the same flawed policies and faced some very similar tragedies, yet his approval has remained drastically higher. I agree that the media babies Obama because of his party affiliation, which in large part has helped his approval numbers. Thanks for reading and commenting.
This comment was posted on April 26th, 2011 at 9:52 pm