George W. Bush said: "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best."
Barack Obama says: "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best to undecide from what I previously decided."
Obama is obviously much better than Bush, but he's acting like his predecessor in some ways. Recent examples, of course, include fighting the release of those torture photos, reviving Bush's Guantanamo military tribunals, and being the father of two daughters younger than himself. Given Obama's
worrisome "Bush lite" actions, I'm worried that our eloquent president will also start talking like Dubya -- as I hypothetically demonstrated at the start of this post.
For instance, Bush once praised a harried divorced mother by saying: "You work three jobs?... Uniquely American, isn't it?" I can almost hear Obama explaining his concurrent conservatism, centrism, and liberalism this way: "Three points of view? Uniquely Democratic, isn't it?"
Bush said: "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
Obama says: "I don't think anybody anticipated that some of my promises wouldn't hold water."
Bush said: "I don't know where bin Laden is. I ... really don't care."
Obama says: "I don't know where my core principles are. I care, but don't want the right wing to get too upset with me."
Bush said: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
Obama says: "Our Republican 'frenemies' are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we backbone-challenged Dems."
Bush said: "See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over ... to kind of catapult the propaganda."
Obama says: "See, in my line of work you got to keep changing your mind over and over ... to kind of catapult the dreams of the Bush twins' father."
Bush said: "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
Obama says: "Audacity is where our nation found hope, where 'change we can believe in' became changing some of what I believe."
Bush said: "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job."
Obama says: "Brownies, you'll become a heckuva Girl Scout troop long before I withdraw troops from Afghanistan."
Bush said: "Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
Obama says: "Major combat operations in Iraq will end sometime before the Chicago Cubs win their next World Series in 2108."
Bush said: "They misunderestimated me."
Obama says: "They overestimated me."
And, finally, Bush said: "Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."
Obama, sorta quoting from the same Who song Bush sorta quoted, says: "Meet the new boss! Partly the same as the old boss!"