time for decisions to be made
"You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made," Bush said. "But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make tough decisions."
This is such a perfect way to close out these awful 8 years.
I'm trying to parse this. Is he saying, "I'm sorry, but at least I tried" or "Fuck you, people. This job is harder than a motherfucker"?
Like, don't all presidents make tough decisions? Even the decision not to act -- say, when facing the opportunity to start a misguided war -- is still a decision, yes? Is he saying, "At least whenever an opportunity to do something -- anything -- came up, I went ahead and did it"? Which is probably accurate, but is that something to hang your legacy on?
I think what he is basically saying is:
"I'm sorry I fucked up the world, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to fuck up the world."
Which you can't really agree or disagree with. Let's see how Bush's logic stacks up when applied to other people.
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to call a time out when we had none left, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-Chris Webber
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to cheat on you dozens of times with various high-priced hookers, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-Eliott Spitzer
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to give in to my homicidal desires and shoot people in the face on the streets of New York, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-David Berkowitz
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to destroy your financial future for my own benefit, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-Bernie Madoff
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to borrow your car without your permission and drunk drive it into a telephone pole, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-A Million Teenagers
The point is, everybody makes tough decisions every day. You're not judged on whether or not you make them. You're judged on the quality of the decisions you make. For a president to offer this up as some kind of self-endorsement is just astonishing.
Basically:
I did stuff. Pretty awesome, right?
-GWB, on his presidency
In other news...
1. I came up with what I thought was a good band name, The Plus Ones. Unfortunately a quick google search reveals that such a band has already been founded, and has already broken up. So I guess it's available.
2. With some sage advice from Joe Monkeyweb, I was able to negotiate my outrageous renewal lease down significantly. They wanted like a 17% a month increase over 2 years, we got it down to 5% over 18 months. Lesson: it never hurts to ask. Our goal now is to live here for those 18 months, possibly one more year after that, and then buy a home somewhere. Maybe BKN.
3. Tuesday is going to be an unforgettable day. The inauguration is going to make me well up, I'm sure. Plus, it is the 1 year anniversary of my pop's death, and we're going to scatter his ashes off the Morton Street Pier that morning (if the NTSB doesn't bust us). Even though he passed away so early in the campaign, pop had already become a total Obama man. While he won't be here to see the inauguaration, it seems fitting that he will disappear into the winds on such a historic day, a day that would have meant so much to him.
4. I can watch dunks all day. This statement was true for me 25 years ago, and it is just as true today.
5. When I was in LA at cW's apartment, I saw a picture on his fridge of one of his buddies, rocking out at some random extravaganza from days gone by. I asked him who the dude was, and he said, "That's my buddy xxx, he died." Apparently the guy was a workaholic who lived an extremely intense life, and he had a fatal heart attack at like 38 or something. It coulda been me, it coulda been you.
That story, combined with the incredible tale of survival on the Hudson this week, has given me one more reminder how quickly it can all end. How lucky we are for each day. How stupid, how ungrateful, we are for spending that day doing something we don't want to be doing. How the below pic should be the baseline for personal satisfaction.
Now if you'll excuse me I have to head off for another thankless work week.
This is such a perfect way to close out these awful 8 years.
I'm trying to parse this. Is he saying, "I'm sorry, but at least I tried" or "Fuck you, people. This job is harder than a motherfucker"?
Like, don't all presidents make tough decisions? Even the decision not to act -- say, when facing the opportunity to start a misguided war -- is still a decision, yes? Is he saying, "At least whenever an opportunity to do something -- anything -- came up, I went ahead and did it"? Which is probably accurate, but is that something to hang your legacy on?
I think what he is basically saying is:
"I'm sorry I fucked up the world, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to fuck up the world."
Which you can't really agree or disagree with. Let's see how Bush's logic stacks up when applied to other people.
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to call a time out when we had none left, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-Chris Webber
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to cheat on you dozens of times with various high-priced hookers, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-Eliott Spitzer
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to give in to my homicidal desires and shoot people in the face on the streets of New York, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-David Berkowitz
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to destroy your financial future for my own benefit, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-Bernie Madoff
"You might not agree with the tough decision I made to borrow your car without your permission and drunk drive it into a telephone pole, but I hope you'll agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."
-A Million Teenagers
The point is, everybody makes tough decisions every day. You're not judged on whether or not you make them. You're judged on the quality of the decisions you make. For a president to offer this up as some kind of self-endorsement is just astonishing.
Basically:
I did stuff. Pretty awesome, right?
-GWB, on his presidency
In other news...
1. I came up with what I thought was a good band name, The Plus Ones. Unfortunately a quick google search reveals that such a band has already been founded, and has already broken up. So I guess it's available.
2. With some sage advice from Joe Monkeyweb, I was able to negotiate my outrageous renewal lease down significantly. They wanted like a 17% a month increase over 2 years, we got it down to 5% over 18 months. Lesson: it never hurts to ask. Our goal now is to live here for those 18 months, possibly one more year after that, and then buy a home somewhere. Maybe BKN.
3. Tuesday is going to be an unforgettable day. The inauguration is going to make me well up, I'm sure. Plus, it is the 1 year anniversary of my pop's death, and we're going to scatter his ashes off the Morton Street Pier that morning (if the NTSB doesn't bust us). Even though he passed away so early in the campaign, pop had already become a total Obama man. While he won't be here to see the inauguaration, it seems fitting that he will disappear into the winds on such a historic day, a day that would have meant so much to him.
4. I can watch dunks all day. This statement was true for me 25 years ago, and it is just as true today.
5. When I was in LA at cW's apartment, I saw a picture on his fridge of one of his buddies, rocking out at some random extravaganza from days gone by. I asked him who the dude was, and he said, "That's my buddy xxx, he died." Apparently the guy was a workaholic who lived an extremely intense life, and he had a fatal heart attack at like 38 or something. It coulda been me, it coulda been you.
That story, combined with the incredible tale of survival on the Hudson this week, has given me one more reminder how quickly it can all end. How lucky we are for each day. How stupid, how ungrateful, we are for spending that day doing something we don't want to be doing. How the below pic should be the baseline for personal satisfaction. Now if you'll excuse me I have to head off for another thankless work week.
posted by hans q. bungle at 02:28
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