Posted on 04/28/2008 5:21:00 PM PDT by snugs
On Saturday the President and Vice Presidnet attended their last White House Correspondence Dinner of their administration, they were accompanied by their wives and the President spoke. See Daisyscarlett's excellent weekend thread for photos and more details which doubled for a live thread for the event. Click Here
Today the President met with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom in the Oval Office.
He attended a meeting of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
He also met in the Oval Office with Marty Conaster, National Commander of the American Legion.
The White House announce d that the President and Mrs. Bush will travel to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt from May 13-18, 2008. In Israel, the President will meet with President Peres and Prime Minister Olmert and address the Knesset. The President will then travel to Saudi Arabia and meet with King Abdallah. In Egypt, the President will meet President Mubarak. The President will also hold meetings in Egypt with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian Authority President Abbas, and deliver remarks at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East. The President's visit to Israel will celebrate Israel's 60th anniversary and our close ties over the past six decades. His visit to Saudi Arabia will also commemorate the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of U.S.-Saudi relations. In his meetings with regional leaders, the President will reaffirm efforts toward peace and prosperity and our close work with regional allies to combat terrorism and promote freedom.
Pray for President Bush -- Day 2783
Today Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addresses The Peace Corps 2008 Worldwide Country Director Conference in Washington
Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island
QUOTE OF THE DAY
President Bush Meets with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom
Oval Office
PRESIDENT BUSH: It's been my honor to welcome to the Oval Office the President and First Lady of a close friend of the United States. Mr. President, thank you for coming.
We've had a good discussion about a variety of issues. We discussed bilateral relations between Guatemala and the United States, which are very strong. We are friends. We treat each other with respect. Our objective with U.S. foreign policy is to have a neighborhood that is peaceful and prosperous, where social justice is important; want to achieve social justice through good health policy, good education policy, good judicial policy. The United States is pleased to help this government as best as we possibly can help the average citizen get a good education and have good health care.
We talked about how CAFTA is working. Exports to the United States have increased; exports from the United States have increased. And that's good. We talked about security and the need for the region -- Mexico, the United States and the countries of Central America -- to fight drug trafficking. I told the President that we are working hard to reduce demand for drugs here in America. And at the same time, we want to work in conjunction with strong leaders to make sure these drug traffickers don't get a stronghold. And that's why it's very important for Congress to fund the Merida project.
We talked about the reforms that the government is instituting inside of Guatemala, including tax reform, and reform to make sure that people who break the law are held to account.
I was particularly pleased to note that the Guatemalan government and its leadership is promoting laws to make sure women are treated well and that violence against women is prosecuted.
And so -- and we're going to talk a little later on about the Millennium Challenge Account. And by the way, we talked about blueberries, and -- so that blueberries are able to come off-season here to the United States, which is a positive development for Guatemalan farmers.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
President George W. Bush meets with Co-Chairs of the U.S. Brazil CEO Forum Monday, April 28, 2008, in the Oval Office. Said the President afterwards, "It is my honor to welcome the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum here to Washington... It's an indication of the importance that we both place on our bilateral relations. Brazil is a very powerful, very important country in our neighborhood, and it's really important for this administration and future administrations to work closely with the Brazilian government, like it is important for our respective business communities to work closely together." White House photo by Chris Greenberg
HI
White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
The Marine Band, under the direction of President George W. Bush, entertains Saturday, April 26, 2008, during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
President George W. Bush leads the Marine Band Saturday, April 26, 2008, during the 94th Annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel. White House photo by Joyce N. Boghosian
Hello
President Bush meets with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, Monday, April 28, 2008, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington.
President George W. Bush looks up during a meeting with members of the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum in Washington April 28, 2008
President Bush Meets with U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum
1:57 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: It is my honor to welcome the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum here to Washington. First of all, I want to thank my friend, President Lula, for encouraging this forum to go forward. It's an indication of the importance that we both place on our bilateral relations. Brazil is a very powerful, very important country in our neighborhood, and it's really important for this administration and future administrations to work closely with the Brazilian government, like it is important for our respective business communities to work closely together.
I do want to thank you all very much for putting forward a list of recommendations. I'm looking forward to our discussion. As I understand, the list of recommendations includes a successful Doha Round, as well as a bilateral tax treaty and a bilateral investment treaty. One of the things I will share with the Brazilian CEOs is that I strongly support a successful Doha Round, and our government will work closely with Brazil to get that done. And secondly, in terms of our bilateral policy, I also strongly, as does my administration, support a bilateral tax treaty and a bilateral investment treaty.
Relations between our two countries are very positive and they're very important. And so, thank you all for coming. Please give my best regards to President Lula. Thank you for being here.
END 1:58 P.M. EDT
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addresses The Peace Corps 2008 Worldwide Country Director Conference, Monday, April 28, 2008, at the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice answers a question after addressing The Peace Corps 2008 Worldwide Country Director Conference, Monday, April 28, 2008, at the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington.
GREAT JOB!
BTW: Did you ping the DOSE list? If so, I missed mine somehow.
Good evening
It was about 3 or 4 posts in after the Saturday recap.
Thanks
Belated Ping - thanks Dr Deb for pointing my error out
As promised, here is the text of my letter to Peggy Noonan . . .
-
Ms. Noonan:
Enough already!
Why are you continuing to use your WSJ column as a platform for hurling baseless, petty insults at President Bush?
Has the Wall Street Journal been purchased by George Soros? Are you secretly working for moveon.org? Or has your judgment simply been overwhelmed by your hubris once again, as it was when you made the following comment about President Reagan: “The battle for the mind of Ronald Reagan was like the trench warfare of WW I: Never have so many fought so hard for such barren terrain.”
Whatever the cause, the unprofessional ‘snarkiness’ of your current prose has rendered it absolutely unreadable. For the sake of your reputation and your readers’ sanity, you must remove your rhetorical knife from the President’s back and engage in a much needed reality check – a check based on FACTS rather than personal invective and cynical anecdotes.
Let me help . . .
FACT:
CONTRARY TO YOUR ASSERTION, PRESIDENT BUSH REMAINS PERSONALLY POPULAR.
A recent poll by the well respected Ed Goeas (The Tarrance Group) determined that “. . . with the 2008 Presidential Election quickly approaching, voters will be making assessments of President Bush and his time in office. There certainly is anxiousness among voters about their current situation, especially Iraq and the economy. However, A MAJORITY OF VOTERS (approximatelly 60%) LIKE PRESIDENT BUSH PERSONALLY AND PROVIDE A REMARKABLY POSITIVE JUDGEMENT ABOUT BOTH HIS RECENT INITIATIVES AND HIS OVERALL TIME IN OFFICE.”
http://www.tarrance.com/Nat’l-poll-overview-Mar-08.pdf
-
FACT:
CONTRARY TO YOUR ASSERTION, TEXANS APPROVE OF THE PRESIDENT’S JOB PERFORMANCE.
According to Rasmussen, the President’s job approval ratings in Texas are as follows:
23% excellent 20% good 16% fair 39% poor — a 60:40 ratio virtually identical to the President’s electoral margin in 2004 (in Texas)!
Only six governors have a higher ‘excellent’ rating than President Bush; in fact, the ‘popular’ Arnold Schwarzenegger has an ‘excellent’ rating of only 7% (7% excellent 25% good 32% fair 34% poor)!
FYI: The Supreme Court has an excellent/good rating of only 37%. Are you now going to write a column eviscerating the conservative members of the Court for failing to live up to ‘popular’ expectations?!
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/favorables/governors_approval_ratings
-
FACT:
CONTRARY TO YOUR ASSERTION, ‘BUSH-FATIGUE’ IS HARDLY UNIQUE. BY THE END OF PRESIDENT REAGAN’S SECOND TERM, VOTERS WERE SUFFERING FROM ‘REAGAN-FATIGUE’ AND WANTED A CHANGE.
According to a Gallup, in 1987, 60% of Republicans indicated that they definitely wanted a new direction and, even if it were possible, would NOT vote for President Reagan again. In fact, by 1993, 61% of Americans considered Reagan’s economic policies a FAILURE and actually gave Jimmy Carter a higher post-presidency rating!
At his funeral in 2003, however, President Reagan was lauded by Republicans and Democrats alike and is now considered one of the greatest presidents of all time. I predict the same result for President George W. Bush.
-
FACT:
BY LEADING WITH VISION, CHARACTER, AND COURAGE, PRESIDENT BUSH HAS KEPT AMERICA BOTH SAFE AND PROSPEROUS. AND IN THE PROCESS, HE HAS TRANSFORMED THE WORLD.
Discerning historians like Paul Johnson have already taken note:
“Looking back over the last few years, I find it hard to fault Mr. Bush on any major point. He has always been brave. He has never shown the slightest fear of unpopularity, putting the needs of the nation before his political fortunes. He has shown himself ready at all times to make big, risky and venturesome decisions, being persuaded they were in the US’ (and the West’s) interests, and then sticking to them. Indeed, if there’s one thing that exceeds Mr. Bush’s courage, it’s his resolution, his pertinacity, his steadfast consistency.
He is a leader who will not give way to threats, criticisms and abuse, a man of valor when times are hard. In this election year, when the Constitution demands that he must give way to another President, I salute him and applaud his conduct of affairs.”
http://www.forbes.com/columnists/forbes/2008/0505/027.html
And Iraqi soldier Abbas says all that remains to be said:
“All soldiers say Mr. President George Bush is the HERO MAN in the world,” Abbas told us in fractured English. “He’s fighting on behalf of humanity. American was the only country in the world that decided to help the people of Iraq. Under Saddam we had a very black future. We had no refrigerators, no electricity. We lived like the cow. Now we have a future.”
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/642xndxj.asp?pg=1
In addition to being the HERO MAN of the world (and the savior of Africa), President Bush has fought tirelessly for right-thinking domestic policies. He signed legislation banning partial birth abortion, prohibited the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, championed various faith-based initiatives, appointed two conservative Supreme Court justices, cut taxes not once but twice, required accountability from our public schools, and on, and on, and on. The FACTS speak for themselves!
__________________
I hope this ‘reality check’ has helped provide you with some much needed perspective. After all, the mean-spirited pettiness of your recent columns has done more to diminish you than President Bush.
Your readers and your president deserve better!
x x x x x x x x x x
x x x x x x x x x x
P.S. Just as we will not contribute a penny to John McCain until he stops taking MSM-endearing ‘potshots’ at President Bush, my husband and I will NOT renew our subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal until you stop doing the same!
Cc:
Editors, Wall Street Journal
John McCain
What is going on with the President's suit?
That doesn’t explain the color of the suit or tie.
Oh Deb .. you hit that out of the park! Thank
you for taking the time to write such an eloquent
letter to her. All your points are salient,
balanced (which quality she’s apparently left
out of her writer’s toolbox), and backed up by
FACTS.
I’m proud of you! We’ll see how folks feel in
a year or two and see the melancholy they have
for our noble and honorable President George W.
Bush. This man and all his exemplary qualities
will be so greatly missed.
Does the WSJ publish letters from readers?
~~~~
Snugs, thanks so much for your lovely and colorful
Dose ... that strange sitting picture of W looks
odder than I’ve ever seen ... LOL. It looks like
the jacket is too tight. He’s always dressed so
well .. wonder if it’s the position or what.
You must let us know if you get a response.
Thanks again for sharing it.
Thank you for your kind comments . . . If I get a response from Noonan, WSJ or McCain, I will certainly let you know!
Great letter and well said
I think it would have been better if the President and the other guy would have left their jackets unbuttoned
I am so glad you mentioned that Texans still love W. That was absurd, her saying they were tired of him in Lubbock, an out and out, almost lie.
(I really like this one but it would probably come out to small?)
That suit photo is funny, looks too small for him. I imagine lots of MSM outlets will pick that one out to publish. They have a talent for finding unflattering photos of our President and First Lady to publish, if they deem to publish any at all.
Thank you, Dr. Deb, for putting Ms Noonan in her place. She has been coming unwrapped for awhile. I stopped reading her when she wrote a column about President Bush 41 being ashamed of his son. It was after a public appearance when the elder President Bush came to tears during a speech and Jeb helped him off of the stage. Peggy Noonan had the uncharitableness to say she thought he was ashamed of George and I was so angry that I canceled my WSJ subscription at the first opportunity. She is truly insane and needs to be retired to a deserted island. You have performed a wonderful service with your open letter. Thanks again.
He IS usually a very good dresser: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2005799/posts
I agree with Star’s comments to Deb. I wrote a post about it but it was nearly as good as yours.
Outstanding letter!!
Good post. I do remember that incident, years ago, and I remember being surprised by it. Nothing she writes should surprise me now but it always seems to.
P.S. I DO give money to John McCain, though.
Great letter and thank you for saying the things that all of us have been thinking!
God bless the president and his family and his administration!
I would have loved to see him leading the band! Great pictures, Snugs!
Hope it’s warming up nicely there for you.
BRAVO, DrDeb!!! Absolutely fantastic letter to Ms. Noonan.
That is a good letter and I was wondering when I read Noonan’s column why in the world she was going around making disparaging speeches about President Bush? To serve what purpose?
~~~~
She has literally jumped the shark .. lost all her
nobility and class.
Now, she’s joined these gems (check the 5th one from
the left):
Matter of fact, her fortunes may have dwindled so much
from her “pack mentality” journalism, that she now
needs a different venue.
THANK YOU for your positive feedback . . . Noonan jumped the shark in January 2005, immediately following the President’s 2nd Inaugural Address. I have my theories; however, her comment about Ronald Reagan indicates that she’s always been a petty, spiteful woman!
I’ve never heard of that website before. Yikes.
Peggy Noonan started her anti-Bush campaign before 2005. I think it started immediately after he took office. Peggy Noon took a leave of absence from the WSJ to volunteer as a speech writer for Bush in 2000. She got a TNT, and she has never gotten over it. I think that her resentment is fed by the ultra liberals that she works with at Columbia and how much Bush could have used some speech training from Noonan.
I don’t remember which one of Bush’s speeches that Noonan criticized as way having way too much God, but that was the turning point from which she never said another good word about him. I’m still waiting for her to say that Obama mentions way too much God. Maybe it doesn’t bother her because no one can tell which God it is that Obama is talking about.
That is just a lovely place, Snugs. Thanks for sharing!
Peggy is trying so hard to look like an intellectual that she has
lost her moral compass.
She is now neither moral nor intelligent...just shrill!
I will let you choose which one you prefer
Thanks, perfect
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