Comments on: Hating Bush vs. Hating Obama

By: tevra

tevra — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 11:42:00 +0000

while I agree with you politically to an extent, when you go public like this you should at least make an attempt to be impartial. It was obvious to many of us from the start that the policies of Presidents Obama and Bush were very similar and Bush was only considered to be a Conservative because he was Republican. and by the way why is a man who is mixed race and primarily raised by the white parent called “black” when we are supposedly in a nation and time when race is not supposed to matter?
I wonder about this as the father and uncle of mixed race children who have more questions than they should since this president and the unreasonable hatred of him

By: heatherGirl

heatherGirl — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:09:00 +0000

Wow are you really this stupid?
You hated Bush because he was a conservative with a conservative agenda. So why can’t a conservative hate Obama because he is a liberal with a liberal agenda?
Seems you think your free to hate someone whose politics you don’t like……. but no one else is allowed to do the same.
Why does not liking Obama’s agenda have anything to do with his skin color? You hated Bush, you said so yourself. So do you hate him because he is white?
Or do you get to hate Bush for his poltics? If so why is it someone else can not hate Obama for his politics.
Your the only one making it racism! Seems that makes you the person with the problem!
Bush was a racist? His sec. of State was not only black, but also a women. His Attorney general was Hispanic.

By: Obama: Calm, cool, and hated for it | Occasional Planet

Obama: Calm, cool, and hated for it | Occasional Planet — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:37:10 +0000

[…] on August 8, 2012, I published a piece on Occasional Planet in which I pondered the intense hatred that President Barack Obama inspires in some quarters. After considering several possible sources of that antipathy, like many others I concluded that […]

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:32:00 +0000

In reply to Frank Kovarik.

I agree with the original comment, “I think both Bush and Obama are lousy presidents neither of whom
deserves our hatred. To justify hatred of one but not the other is
simply rank partisanship.”

Bush started wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama let the Iraq misadventure unwind on a time table established by Bush and the Iraqis. Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan and started new war play in Pakistan, Yemen, Libya and elsewhere is Africa. He is licking his chops at the prospect of killing/starving more civilians in Syria and Iran. Obama condones torture (reintroduced extraordinary rendition) and approved an extension of the so-called “Bush-era tax cuts.” Obama affirmed the PATRIOT act, expanded it under the NDAA. Killing Tim Osman? Are you serious?

By: Arthur H. Lieber

Arthur H. Lieber — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:19:00 +0000

I think that one way to measure this issue is to use an equation (not thoroughly exact) which would be “How much does the president care about the American people and enact policies to help them minus the limitations that emanate from the damage done to an office-holder by the slimey way in which we choose them. Simply put, I would give Obama a plus and Bush a negative. I agree with Frank

By: Arthur H. Lieber

Arthur H. Lieber — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:18:00 +0000

By: Frank Kovarik

Frank Kovarik — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:42:00 +0000

In reply to JMuller.

Bush originally became president after outmaneuvering Gore in the recount fight and then being handed the office by a partisan Supreme Court. He led us into a war based on mistaken premises, a war in which tens of thousands of innocent civilians died and thousands of US troops were killed or maimed. He gave huge tax breaks to the richest Americans, further sending the country into debt. He allowed industry to take control of environmental protections. Under his administration, torture was justified and promulgated. And he waved off criticism by crudely insisting that he was “the decider.”

These aren’t cherry picked examples—they’re the most glaring, memorable, significant aspects of the man’s Presidency. And they are worthy of contempt.

Some people who hold Obama in contempt (you are not one of them, I note) may justify their scorn based on the reciprocal feelings that liberals had for his Republican predecessor. But there’s no comparison, unless I’m missing something in my tally of the major events of Obama’s years in office. And if I’m missing something, by all means please tell me what it is.

By: JMuller

JMuller — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:04:00 +0000

Frank, I hate to say this, but this is a horribly reasoned article. You cherry picked certain items from each presidency, used completely biased language to describe them and then used the “fact” that Obama has a “winning personality, friendly smile, and facility with language.” which couldn’t be any more of the case of “the eye of the beholder.” Many people find him smug, condescending and incredibly unintelligent sounding when off the cuff and their reasoning is just as valid as yours (I find him bland and full of useless bromides, i.e. a very typical politician). Essentially, you dislike Bush’s policies and like Obama’s; therefore one is deserving of hatred and the other praise. To attempt a political or cultural comment from such flimsy evidence is unworthy of the time you devoted to this article.
I think both Bush and Obama are lousy presidents neither of whom deserves our hatred. To justify hatred of one but not the other is simply rank partisanship. We need to examine why we feel the need to hate our political opponents instead of disagreeing with them. This article does nothing to further any debate. Sorry, I didn’t wish to be so harsh, but the sheer incivility I see all around me is maddening. Now that I have had my say, let the two minutes of hate commence.