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The "My Pet Goat" kids

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by dog428, Sep 11, 2006.

  1. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    So you're saying they let you out of the institution? Hey, good for you.
     
  2. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    This is a fair criticism. The guy ISN'T Winston Churchill. But at the time of "My Pet Goat," even Churchill couldn't have been Churchill. And the revisionist history is bullshit. Because a good chunk of the country--including me--saw him stand at the site three days later with the bullhorn and thought he might be that kind of leader. It's at least months, and really years, down the line that MOST people realized he wasn't.

    I know this is a bit of a threadjack, but it is related in my mind... I haven't read the book about Giuliani yet, but if what I am hearing about it is correct, it also seems to be unfair, for the exact opposite reason. Analyzing his leadership style and looking at him from a "failed policy" perspective completely misses the point. More than anything, leadership is courage. And Giuiliani not only headed toward the burning buildings soon after the second plane hit--without a second thought (the fire chief he had been with died when the building collapsed)--for the next several months, he was ubiquitous. His courage and his presence defines the job he did, not whether he alienated people with his style or if he did or didn't have the vision to anticipate an unthinkable future.
     
  3. Not sure I have a hero. But you're an idiot.

    And ragu.
    Churchill was Churchill from Day One. He gave this speech on his first visit to the Commons as PM -- http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/churchill.htm
    And, at the time, you couldn't have gotten 200-1 on Britain's surviving the next year.
    Doing nothing is simply not understandable in a situation like that.
    And the Giuliani book is about more than his mayoralty. It's also about decisions he made that might have materially affected the lives lost on 9/11. Leadership is also about more than dumbshow with a bullhorn.
     
  4. Hey, glad to see the leader of the hairless-penis brigade checking in.
     
  5. MertWindu

    MertWindu Active Member

    I actually thought F_B might have been giving W a little levity there (EDIT: He wasn't). I haven't particularly enjoyed the man's presidency, but I've always felt that he did a fine job in the first week after 9/11, starting with his actions in that classroom. He couldn't have ordered a missile strike against any plane to prevent a crash, he couldn't have ordered the army to put up a big wall around the WTC or Pentagon, and frankly, I think most people were more concerned with what was happening in New York than with what the President had to say in that first hour or so, so a press conference wasn't necessary yet, either. The guy is all of nine months into his presidency, and basically found out that the country is under attack, on his watch, for the first time since Pearl Harbor (at least at this magnitude). I might have needed a moment, too, and in front of all those kids, he certainly couldn't start snapping at people to get him information. Let's give W a break on this one moment in history, and for God's sake, let's not tarnish today with the typical bickering that we can do the other 364 this year.
     
  6. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Wait, we have a whole brigade of hairless penises?

    Who watches them?
     
  7. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Thanks, and I hope the Rogaine for tiny wee-wees is doing the trick for you.
     
  8. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    Sorry, but I'm actually going to have to agree with Lyman and others this day, as much as it sickens me. Bush isn't Superman. And to quibble over the My Pet Goat issue over and over ... quibbling is indeed what you guys are doing, despite F_B's claim to the contrary ... is ridiculous. Simply ridiculous. In many previous historical (hysterical?) instances, we typically didn't have a very well-kept log of what a leader was doing. All we hear is the "story" after the fact. Are you meaning to tell me there wasn't a three-minute gap as a shocked LBJ tried to take in what had happened in his own home state?

    Just for once, people, quit Bush-bashing.
     
  9. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    I thought LBJ was in on it. See, Democrats plan ahead.
     
  10. MertWindu

    MertWindu Active Member

    This thread is now officially pathetic. Nice work from both sides of the spectrum, folks, nice work. Coincidentally, this week, I had forgotten why I don't post here as much anymore, and why I can usually only stay for a few minutes. Thanks for the handy reminder.
     
  11. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    I'm with you Mert. Despite exhortations to the contrary, everyone on both sides continues to make a mockery of it all. Good job guys. Pat yourself on the back, and while you're at it, kick yourself in the ass, too.
     
  12. MertWindu

    MertWindu Active Member

    Indeed. Time to leave before I get more mud on me.
     
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