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Larry Flynt

Larry Flynt

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Republican BS

Posted: 05/31/11 05:25 PM ET

The Republicans criticized President Barack Obama for being indecisive, for delegating and for being weak on foreign policy. Obama proved them wrong by personally taking charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. He picked one of four plans to neutralize the al Qaeda leader (arguably the most difficult one), then followed through from command central, where he watched the raid in real time.

Now Republicans say George W. Bush deserves the credit. They say it was the intelligence network Bush set up and the enhanced interrogation (read torture) he authorized that led us to bin Laden. Nonsense. Bush had eight years to capture or kill him and failed. Indeed, it's not clear he ever really tried to find bin Laden.

Right after the 9/11 attacks -- when all commercial flights were grounded -- Bush allowed the bin Laden family to flee the United States without even being questioned by the FBI! Six months later he told the press: "I don't know where he [bin Laden] is. ... I just don't spend that much time on it." Worse, Bush refused to deploy the additional troops requested when bin Laden was trapped in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Then, in 2005, Bush actually shut down the only unit expressly created to find the man behind the death of 3,000 Americans.

Let's give credit where credit is due: President Obama took out bin Laden. Bush had nothing to do with it.

 
 
 
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thejazz
I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.
06:56 PM on 06/05/2011
So lets use a baseball analogy. Bush gets up to bat and strikes out. Obama gets up to bat and hits a home run. Yes, they were playing the same game. With the same tools. It's just that Obama was successful, and Bush wasn't. I guess you could say the whole team won, but the MVP is Obama.
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situationcritical
SuperMegaUltraUberLiberal
08:39 PM on 06/05/2011
Okay, I really didn't grasp the sports analogy. I never ever do, so that's not your fault. BUT I have a feeling I agree with you 100 percent.
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04:49 PM on 06/05/2011
I give Obama complete credit. I absolutely love the fact that he did next door to the Pakistani military headquarter.

Obama is learning quick. This conservative is proud of Obama's deed.
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maspring
Causing trouble: One post at a time.
04:39 PM on 06/05/2011
If I were more cynical I would argue that Bush didn't aggressively pursue bin Laden because having a shadowy bad guy at large played to his (Bush's) political advantage by allowing him to scare the public into supporting him through his eight years of lousy policy decisions.

(sorry for the long sentence)

Good thing I'm not that cynical though.
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Drivernorth
Challenging Conservatism Since 1963
05:10 PM on 06/05/2011
Darn.....try this one

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Mission_Accomplished_speech
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OhShuShu
bleeding heart liberal
01:25 PM on 06/05/2011
Well, thank you Mr. Flynt ! You're spot on. You're not someone I would normally pay attention to, but .... thank you again for speaking up !
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Carl Caroli
Give peace a chance
12:01 PM on 06/05/2011
GOP strategy - blame the dems for the bad stuff, take credit for the good stuff. Sounds simple enough, and since they appeal to the simple minded, it works.
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Nomccain
11:41 AM on 06/05/2011
History will show that the intel agencies faltered during the Bush era and became almost irrelevant,proving false information on just about every front including 9-11, the location of Bin Laden to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. These "gaps" in credibility gave Bush and Cheney the weapons to justify their "adventures" that have resulted in two ongoing wars and thousands of lost American lives. This is what you WON'T hear from the lying, manipulative Republicans. Obama has mended some foriegn fences that Bush either destroyed or alienated and the results has been more cooperation and the killing of not only Bin Laden, but many top Al Qaudi operatives. Get your facts straight Republicans and stop lying and spinning.
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Articulator
02:38 PM on 06/05/2011
The Bush administration undermined the intelligence agencies. Big Dick started his own intelligence group under Douglas Feith and used the info that Feith's group cherry picked and manufactured to badger the intelligence agencies into seeing things their way. This new intel group was formed such that it's "intelligence" did not have to get vetted by anyone else. It's obvious their purpose was to come up with rationalizations, posed as intel, to justify the Bush policies.
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checkmoot
We have met the enemy and he is us.
11:21 AM on 06/05/2011
As far as decisiveness is concerned give him an "A" for his attack on Libya. Not that I agree with what he did, but it was decisive and gives him another star on his Nobel Peace Prize ribbon.
12:50 PM on 06/05/2011
Start a war, get another star on your peace prize ribbon..........What is wrong with this picture?
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Msquad99
Space is a vacuum because earth sucks.
05:23 PM on 06/05/2011
First shots fired by the French and Nato, who are allies. Didn't other nations send troops to Irag to die there after Bush Co invaded? I find nothing wrong with the picture.
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gunthli
11:01 AM on 06/05/2011
Larry - your points are factual and true no matter how much the Republicans try to twist them into giving credit to Bush. He deserves no credit AT ALL. Obama had the guts to get this guy, the most wanted man on the earth, with a $5M bounty on his head. I hope those Navy Seals get it too. You should write more often - this expose was right on point. Thank you.
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Democrab
Pretty far so good
10:49 AM on 06/05/2011
Always good to hear from Mr Flynt. Some people actually have the nads to speak their feelings.
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elkabong
Campaign finance is the disease.
10:27 AM on 06/05/2011
Simply and beautifully said, Larry.

The only thing at which Republicans are better than taking credit for others' successes is blaming others for their failures.
09:21 AM on 06/05/2011
Where was Obama searching, the golf course?
The men and women of the CIA and especially the Navy SEALS deserve the credit. You libs make me want to puke with your adoration of Obama.
Yes, he watched the raid on TV. It must have been tough.
Do you really think that it was that hard of a decision to make or that he really put in any real work in searching for Osama?
Doubtful.
Obama was in the right place at the right time and gets to take credit for the hard work of others and the blood and sweat of better men than himself.
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Si1ver1ock
So long, and thanks for all the fish...
10:27 AM on 06/05/2011
Obama succeeded where Bush failed. Not too difficult , since Bush failed a lot. Obama is trying to clean up the mess Bush left.

"gets to take credit for the hard work of others "

Kind of like Bush's "Mission Accomplished" photo-op?
04:20 PM on 06/05/2011
Bush is gone. Obama is the current President and we judge Obama on his own actions. It's time for the Barry Cult to stop prefacing every Obama comment with "Bush did ____."
I realize that Obama did really have a lot of important accomplishments before taking office and you guys are impressed by anything that he does now but it's time to judge the man on his actions whether they are good or bad.
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Drivernorth
Challenging Conservatism Since 1963
10:32 AM on 06/05/2011
Well then......that whole Commander In Chief thing doesn't seem to resonate with you. Ever read the little thing called the Constitution? Guess you didn't see the video of his campaign promise to get bin Laden but of course fox doesn't show things like that. So while you are choking on your puke.......keep looking backwards to the appointed dictator George W. Bush your hero. Maybe you can puke the likeness of your hero on a plate that you can hang on your wall of shame.
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07:50 AM on 06/05/2011
Over two years into President Obama's term and we are still talking about Bush?
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Drivernorth
Challenging Conservatism Since 1963
09:10 AM on 06/05/2011
Yup. The damage this appointed dictator did to the United States of America will continually have to be calculated for years and decades to come.
IMOPINIONH8D
because I want it empty...
09:52 AM on 06/05/2011
Exactly!
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weedhighnightmare
Swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated, dictator with
02:41 PM on 06/05/2011
Yea...why not? I had to listen to Sean Hannity blame every failure of the Bush Administration on President Clinton for 8 long years.
02:41 AM on 06/05/2011
Larry you really have something against Bush. First, your magazine slowly did away with Bush and we are now left with a society teenagers and 20 something men who think women are born without body hair and now you stated the obvious (to anyone partially intelligient) about Bush the president. Quite the undercurrent of irony in your editorial. I totally agree with you on this. PS Vogue and Cosmopolitan are as porngraphic as your mag now but you have better articles.
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06:17 AM on 06/05/2011
What's amiss with "really having something against Bush"? Don't you? If not, why not?
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JewishPhysician
fraternity, trust, discourse
06:31 AM on 06/02/2011
I disagree. Mr. Bush was our president and he did keep his word to pursue Mr. Bin Laden. That he did not capture the terrorist was not his failure. Some things don't happen the way that everyone wants them to happen. Mr. Bush deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his work on the war against Terror. You can not be a liberal minded person and not offer credit and merit where it is due. To do so only says that the opposition has a right to bash and denigrate the actions and work of the Liberal minded Democratic party. I am not willing to concede to the GOP that they have a right to smear us so I do not smear them. That way I truly feel I can support my own values and interests rather than beautifying my Ego.
02:25 PM on 06/03/2011
Lol. Are you sure? Remember what bush said?
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Grumpy Old Dude
My screen name is an Acronym
02:17 AM on 06/05/2011
I fail to see how stating the facts in regard to what Bush said and what he did is a smear. You sound like Sarah Palin bashing the media for repeating back her words verbatim. Bush did breakup the Bin Laden unit in the CIA...Bush did say that he no longer gave any thought to Bin Laden. You got one thing in your post correct...Bush was our president...much to my regret!
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Drivernorth
Challenging Conservatism Since 1963
09:21 AM on 06/05/2011
He was not a President of the United States of America. Radicalized Supreme Court's do not get to appoint presidents.