Whenever you advise a ruler in the way of the Tao,

Counsel him not to use force to conquer the universe.

For this would only cause resistance.

Thorn bushes spring up wherever the army has passed.

Lean years follow in the wake of a long war.

Just do what needs to be done,

Never take advantage of power.

Achieve results,

But never glory in them.

Achieve results,

But never boast.

Achieve results,

But never be proud.

Achieve results,

Because this is the natural way.

Achieve results,

But not through violence.

Force is followed by loss of strength.

This is not the way of Tao.

That which goes against the Tao

          Comes to an early end.

Tao Te Ching (Ch-30)

And I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as president." (June 17, 2008)

George W. Bush

GW Bush: born with a silver spoon up his nose.

After President Obama delivered a speech to New York City's financial sector Monday, he headed to Greenwich Village to grab lunch. His tablemate: Bill Clinton. Clinton also visited the White House several weeks ago to report to Obama on his mission to North Korea, after bringing home two American journalists. The lunch -- originally scheduled for the day of the Cronkite memorial -- was a result of planning that began then.

The two have "a very strong relationship," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters aboard Air Force One on the return trip from New York, adding that as "very few people" know what it's like to be president, "President Obama values the type of advice that President Clinton has." The two sat down for an 90-minute meal at Il Mulino in the Village, a well-regarded Italian restaurant with a focus on dishes from the Abruzzi region. As Obama and Clinton exited the restaurant before photographers, a reporter asked how the lunch was. Only Clinton replied, saying: "It was good. It was Il Mulino, how could it not be?"

"We had fish, pasta and salad," Clinton said. "It was very healthy. Even I was healthy."

Gibbs said that he thought the two "split the bill," and that the two dined alone and spoke about the economy, health care and other issues. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/14/AR2009091403366.html?hpid=sec-nation

So here we have the two greatest minds who have resided in the Oval Office since Carter; and two of the greatest speakers since JFK. And they sup together and, according to this article, discuss the most important issues of the day.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, w was having lunch with two former blackwater interrogators along with a portrait of Ronald Reagan. They shared some burgers and beer and enjoyed an after dinner cotcktail as well as a couple of  lines of extra zipped White Columbian.

Yes there are very few people who know what it's like to be President of the United States.

Matt Latimer was one of the many speechwriters for w; one of the many who supplied our modern day Demosthenes with some of the greatest single lines every delivered by the Leader of the Free World.

He is writing a book.  Let us hope the writing in the book is a shade better than some of the speeches he wrote. Gentlemen's Quarterly will be publishing excerpts in its October issue but WashPo has some excerpts of its own.  Evidently some of his colleagues are a little "antsy" over what will be revealed.

After one of Obama's blistering speeches against the administration, the president had a very human reaction: He was ticked off. He came in one day to rehearse a speech, fuming. "This is a dangerous world," he said for no apparent reason, "and this cat isn't remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you." He wound himself up even more. "You think I wasn't qualified?" he said to no one in particular. "I was qualified."

Let's see, do I think w was qualified? How does one begin to adequately answer that question.

Do I believe that dicky cheney had the very bests interests of this country in his heart for the eight years he ran the country?

Do I believe that the richest .01% of America, the ruling class, has the best interests of this country at heart?

Do I believe that glenn beck has the reading comprehension of the average sixth grader?

Moving on:

Bush thought Hillary would be the Democratic nominee, and he once said, "Wait till her fat keister is sitting at this desk."

I would take that lady's keister over w's brain any goddamn day. Here is one example of why I feel this way:

One of the president's staff members anxiously pulled a few of us aside. "The president is misunderstanding this proposal," he warned. "He has the wrong idea in his head. ... It wasn't that the president didn't understand what his administration wanted to do. It was that the treasury secretary didn't seem to know, changed his mind, had misled the president, or some combination of the three.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/15/matt-latimer-book-bush-sl_n_286853.html

Does this comment about the economic proposals streaming past w's desk a year ago really surprise ANYONE?

(As to Palin) "I'm trying to remember if I've met her before. I'm sure I must have." His eyes twinkled, then he asked, "What is she, the governor of Guam?" [...] "This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for," he said. "She hasn't spent one day on the national level. Neither has her family.

See, they taught me about Freudian Slips in college. No not he kind that J. Edgar wore on Thursday Nights. Do you see where w's mind goes when confronted with a personality such as this?  He wants to point out that her genes are defective.  Palin comes from the wrong blood, as it were.

Finally, this gem:

Thus we hear what senior aides were saying privately after the Bush administration withdrew the Supreme Court nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers, or we find President Bush confiding wistfully (and sounding serious) that his dog, Barney, was the son he never had. Latimer was on Air Force One with Bush and Karl Rove after Rove announced his resignation. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/02/AR2009080201874.html

You know, Barney may also be his only real legacy as president.

Today I came across the most marvelous little blog:  http://supak.com/bush.htm

"One of the things important about history is to remember the true history."--Washington, D.C., June 6, 2008

"Let's make sure that there is certainty during uncertain times in our economy."--Washington, D.C., June 2, 2008

"And so the fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place."--visiting the Silverado Cable Co., Mesa, Ariz., May 27, 2008

"A lot of times in politics you have people look you in the eye and tell you what's not on their mind." --Sochi, Russia, April 6, 2008

"Let me start off by saying that in 2000 I said, 'Vote for me. I'm an agent of change.' In 2004, I said, 'I'm not interested in change --I want to continue as president.' Every candidate has got to say 'change.' That's what the American people expect." --Washington, D.C., March 5, 2008

And so, General, I want to thank you for your service. And I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq." --to Army Gen. Ray Odierno, Washington, D.C., March 3, 2008

I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands." --on how he can contribute to the Middle East peace process, Washington, D.C., Jan. 4, 2008

My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." -- The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007 (Watch video clip)

"You know, when you give a man more money in his pocket -- in this case, a woman more money in her pocket to expand a business, it -- they build new buildings. And when somebody builds a new building somebody has got to come and build the building. And when the building expanded it prevented additional opportunities for people to work." -- Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

I've got God's shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot. I do a lot of crying in this job. I'll bet I've shed more tears than you can count, as president." -- as quoted by author Robert Draper in Dead Certain

"The only way we can win is to leave before the job is done." -- Greeley, Colo., Nov. 4, 2006 (Watch video clip)

"Anybody who is in a position to serve this country ought to understand the consequences of words." -- interview with Rush Limbaugh, Nov. 1, 2006

"I said I was looking for a book to read, Laura said you ought to try Camus. I also read three Shakespeares. ... I've got a eck-a-lec-tic reading list." -- interview with NBC's Brian Williams, New Orleans, La., Aug. 29, 2006 (Watch video clip)

"I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass in my lake." -- on his best moment in office, interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, May 7, 2006

I particularly enjoyed these comments by w on the issue of torture:

 "Iraq is free of rape rooms and torture chambers."-- Oct. 8, 2003

"We acted, and there are no longer mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms in Iraq."-- Apr. 23, 2004

"Saddam Hussein now sits in a prison cell, and Iraqi men and women are no longer carried to torture chambers and rape rooms ..."-- Feb. 4, 2004

"Because we acted, torture rooms are closed, rape rooms no longer exist, mass graves are no longer a possibility in Iraq."--May 3, 2004

Usually, I believe that when a person retires, he loses his status but not his prestige.

Why is it again that Clinton has looked better and better over the last decade?