President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief!

[AUBURNTIGERFAN 0]

From the beginning, George W. Bush has made his own credibility a

central issue. On 10/11/00, then-Gov. Bush said: "I think

Credibility is important. It is going to be important for the

president to be credible with Congress, important for the president

to be credible with foreign nations." But President Bush's serial

flip-flopping raises serious questions about whether Congress and

foreign leaders can rely on what he says.

1. Social Security Surplus

BUSH PLEDGES NOT TO TOUCH SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS... "We're going to

keep the promise of Social Security and keep the government from

raiding the Social Security surplus." [President Bush, 3/3/01]

...BUSH SPENDS SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS The New York Times reported

that "the president's new budget uses Social Security surpluses to

pay for other programs every year through 2013, ultimately diverting

more than $1.4 trillion in Social Security funds to other purposes."

[The New York Times, 2/6/02]

2. Patient's Right to Sue

GOVERNOR BUSH VETOES PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE... "Despite his campaign

rhetoric in favor of a patients' bill of rights, Bush fought such a

bill tooth and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill coauthored by

Republican state Rep. John Smithee in 1995. He... constantly opposed

a patient's right to sue an HMO over coverage denied that resulted

in adverse health effects." [salon, 2/7/01]

...CANDIDATE BUSH PRAISES TEXAS PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE... "We're one

of the first states that said you can sue an HMO for denying you

proper coverage... It's time for our nation to come together and do

what's right for the people. And I think this is right for the

people. You know, I support a national patients' bill of rights, Mr.

Vice President. And I want all people covered. I don't want the law

to supersede good law like we've got in Texas." [Governor Bush,

10/17/00]

...PRESIDENT BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION ARGUES AGAINST RIGHT TO SUE "To

let two Texas consumers, Juan Davila and Ruby R. Calad, sue their

managed-care companies for wrongful denials of medical benefits

'would be to completely undermine' federal law regulating employee

benefits, Assistant Solicitor General James A. Feldman said at oral

argument March 23. Moreover, the administration's brief attacked the

policy rationale for Texas's law, which is similar to statutes on

the books in nine other states." [Washington Post, 4/5/04]

3. Tobacco Buyout

BUSH SUPPORTS CURRENT TOBACCO FARMERS' QUOTA SYSTEM... "They've got

the quota system in place -- the allotment system -- and I don't

think that needs to be changed." [President Bush, 5/04]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION WILL SUPPORT FEDERAL BUYOUT OF TOBACCO QUOTAS

"The administration is open to a buyout." [White House spokeswoman

Jeanie Mamo, 6/18/04]

4. North Korea

BUSH WILL NOT OFFER NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM... "We

developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed our

long-standing concerns, the United States was prepared to take

important steps that would have significantly improved the lives of the North Korean people. Now that North Korea's covert nuclear

weapons program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this

approach." [President's Statement, 11/15/02]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFERS NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM"Well,

we will work to take steps to ease their political and economic

isolation. So there would be -- what you would see would be some

provisional or temporary proposals that would only lead to lasting benefit after North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. So there

would be some provisional or temporary efforts of that nature."

[White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 6/23/04]

5. Abortion

BUSH SUPPORTS A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE... "Bush said he...favors

leaving up to a woman and her doctor the abortion question." [The

Nation, 6/15/00, quoting the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 5/78]

...BUSH OPPOSES A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE "I am pro-life." [Governor

Bush, 10/3/00]

6. OPEC

BUSH PROMISES TO FORCE OPEC TO LOWER PRICES... "What I think the

president ought to do [when gas prices spike] is he ought to get on

the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your

spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC

members to lower the price." [President Bush, 1/26/00]

...BUSH REFUSES TO LOBBY OPEC LEADERS With gas prices soaring in the

United States at the beginning of 2004, the Miami Herald reported

the president refused to "personally lobby oil cartel leaders to

change their minds." [Miami Herald, 4/1/04]

7. Iraq Funding

BUSH SPOKESMAN DENIES NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE REST OF

2004... "We do not anticipate requesting supplemental funding for

'04" [White House Budget Director Joshua Bolton, 2/2/04]

...BUSH REQUESTS ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR IRAQ FOR 2004 "I am requesting

that Congress establish a $25 billion contingency reserve fund for

the coming fiscal year to meet all commitments to our troops."

[President Bush, Statement by President, 5/5/04]

8. Condoleeza Rice Testimony

BUSH SPOKESMAN SAYS RICE WON'T TESTIFY AS 'A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE'...

"Again, this is not her personal preference; this goes back to a

matter of principle. There is a separation of powers issue involved

here. Historically, White House staffers do not testify before

legislative bodies. So it's a matter of principle, not a matter of

preference." [White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, 3/9/04]

...BUSH ORDERS RICE TO TESTIFY: "Today I have informed the

Commission on Terrorist Attacks Against the United States that my

National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, will provide public

testimony." [President Bush, 3/30/04]

9. Science

BUSH PLEDGES TO ISSUE REGULATIONS BASED ON SCIENCE..."I think we

ought to have high standards set by agencies that rely upon science,

not by what may feel good or what sounds good." [then-Governor

George W. Bush, 1/15/00]

...BUSH ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS IGNORE SCIENCE "60 leading

scientists-including Nobel laureates, leading medical experts,

former federal agency directors and university chairs and

presidents-issued a statement calling for regulatory and legislative

action to restore scientific integrity to federal policymaking.

According to the scientists, the Bush administration has, among

other abuses, suppressed and distorted scientific analysis from

federal agencies, and taken actions that have undermined the quality

of scientific advisory panels." [union of Concerned Scientists,

2/18/04]

10. Ahmed Chalabi

BUSH INVITES CHALABI TO STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS...President Bush

also met with Chalabi during his brief trip to Iraq last

Thanksgiving [White House Documents 1/20/04, 11/27/03]

...BUSH MILITARY ASSISTS IN RAID OF CHALABI'S HOUSE "U.S. soldiers

raided the home of America's one-time ally Ahmad Chalabi on Thursday

>and seized documents and computers." [Washington Post, 5/20/04]

>

11. Department of Homeland Security

BUSH OPPOSES THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY..."So, creating a Cabinet office doesn't solve the problem. You still will have

agencies within the federal government that have to be coordinated.

So the answer is that creating a Cabinet post doesn't solve

anything." [White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, 3/19/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY "So tonight, I

ask the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent

department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the

homeland of America and protecting the American people." [President

Bush, Address to the Nation, 6/6/02]

12. Weapons of Mass Destruction

BUSH SAYS WE FOUND THE WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION..."We found the

weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories...for

those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or

banned weapons, they're wrong, we found them." [President Bush,

Interview in Poland, 5/29/03]

...BUSH SAYS WE HAVEN'T FOUND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION "David Kay

has found the capacity to produce weapons.And when David Kay goes in

and says we haven't found stockpiles yet, and there's theories as to

where the weapons went. They could have been destroyed during the

war. Saddam and his henchmen could have destroyed them as we entered

into Iraq. They could be hidden. They could have been transported to

another country, and we'll find out." [President Bush, Meet the

Press, 2/7/04]

13. Free Trade

BUSH SUPPORTS FREE TRADE... "I believe strongly that if we promote

trade, and when we promote trade, it will help workers on both sides

of this issue." [President Bush in Peru, 3/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS RESTRICTIONS ON TRADE "In a decision largely driven

by his political advisers, President Bush set aside his free-trade

principles last year and imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel to

help out struggling mills in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two

states crucial for his reelection." [Washington Post, 9/19/03]

...BUSH SUPPORTS FREE TRADE "President Bush recently signed into law

wo new free trade agreements with Chile and Singapore that will

enable U.S. manufacturers to compete on a level playing field - and

he will continue to work to open new markets around the world to

American products." [08/08/04 Bush webpage]

http://georgewbush.com/Economy/Read.aspx?ID=2005

14. Osama Bin Laden

BUSH WANTS OSAMA DEAD OR ALIVE... "I want justice. And there's an

old poster out West, I recall, that says, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'"

[President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden, 09/17/01]

...BUSH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OSAMA "I don't know where he is.You know,

I just don't spend that much time on him... I truly am not that

concerned about him."[President Bush, Press Conference, 3/13/02]

15. The Environment

BUSH SUPPORTS MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE... "[if elected],

Governor Bush will work to...establish mandatory reduction targets

for emissions of four main pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen

oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide." [bush Environmental Plan,

9/29/00]

...BUSH OPPOSES MANDATORY CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE "I do not believe,

however, that the government should impose on power plants mandatory

emissions reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a 'pollutant'

under the Clean Air Act." [President Bush, Letter to Sen. Chuck

Hagel (R-NE), 3/13/03]

16. WMD Commission

BUSH RESISTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE...

"The White House immediately turned aside the calls from Kay and

many Democrats for an immediate outside investigation, seeking to

head off any new wide-ranging election-year inquiry that might go

beyond reports already being assembled by congressional committees

and the Central Intelligence Agency." [NY Times, 1/29/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS AN OUTSIDE INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE

FAILURE "Today, by executive order, I am creating an independent

commission, chaired by Governor and former Senator Chuck Robb, Judge

Laurence Silberman, to look at American intelligence capabilities,

especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction."

[President Bush, 2/6/04]

17. Creation of the 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION... "President

Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice

his opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the

government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11." [CBS News,

5/23/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CREATION OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION "President

Bush said today he now supports establishing an independent

commission to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." [ABC

News, 09/20/02]

18. Time Extension for 9/11 Commission

BUSH OPPOSES TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION... "President Bush

and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose

granting more time to an independent commission investigating the

Sept. 11, 2001, attacks." [Washington Post, 1/19/04]

...BUSH SUPPORTS TIME EXTENSION FOR 9/11 COMMISSION "The White House

announced Wednesday its support for a request from the commission

investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks for more time to

complete its work." [CNN, 2/4/04]

19. One Hour Limit for 9/11 Commission Testimony

BUSH LIMITS TESTIMONY IN FRONT OF 9/11 COMMISSION TO ONE HOUR...

"President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have placed strict

limits on the private interviews they will grant to the federal

commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, saying that they will

meet only with the panel's top two officials and that Mr. Bush will

submit to only a single hour of questioning, commission members said

Wednesday." [NY Times, 2/26/04]

...BUSH SETS NO TIMELIMIT FOR TESTIMONY "The president's going to

answer all of the questions they want to raise. Nobody's watching

the clock." [White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 3/10/04]

20. Gay Marriage

BUSH SAYS GAY MARRIAGE IS A STATE ISSUE... "The state can do what

they want to do. Don't try to trap me in this state's issue like

you're trying to get me into." [Gov. George W. Bush on Gay Marriage,

Larry King Live, 2/15/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BANNING GAY MARRIAGE

"Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the

states for ratification, an amendment to our Constitution defining

and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and

wife." [President Bush, 2/24/04]

21. Nation Building

BUSH OPPOSES NATION BUILDING... "If we don't stop extending our

troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're

going to have a serious problem coming down the road." [Gov. George

W. Bush, 10/3/00]

...BUSH SUPPORTS NATION BUILDING "We will be changing the regime of

Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people." [President Bush, 3/6/03]

22. Saddam/al Qaeda Link

BUSH SAYS IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEEN AL QAEDA AND

SADDAM... "You can't distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when

you talk about the war on terror." [President Bush, 9/25/02]

...BUSH SAYS SADDAM HAD NO ROLE IN AL QAEDA PLOT "We've had no

evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept. 11." [President

Bush, 9/17/03]

23. U.N. Resolution

BUSH VOWS TO HAVE A UN VOTE NO MATTER WHAT... "No matter what the

whip count is, we're calling for the vote. We want to see people

stand up and say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and the

utility of the United Nations Security Council. And so, you bet.

It's time for people to show their cards, to let the world know

where they stand when it comes to Saddam." [President Bush 3/6/03]

...BUSH WITHDRAWS REQUEST FOR VOTE "At a National Security Council

meeting convened at the White House at 8:55 a.m., Bush finalized the

decision to withdraw the resolution from consideration and prepared

to deliver an address to the nation that had already been written."

[Washington Post, 3/18/03]

24. Involvement in the Palestinian Conflict

BUSH OPPOSES SUMMITS... "Well, we've tried summits in the past, as

you may remember. It wasn't all that long ago where a summit was

called and nothing happened, and as a result we had significant

intifada in the area." [President Bush, 04/05/02]

...BUSH SUPPORTS SUMMITS "If a meeting advances progress toward two

states living side by side in peace, I will strongly consider such a

meeting. I'm committed to working toward peace in the Middle East."

[President Bush, 5/23/03]

25. Campaign Finance

BUSH OPPOSES MCCAIN-FEINGOLD... "George W. Bush opposes

McCain-Feingold...as an infringement on free expression."

[Washington Post, 3/28/2000]

...BUSH SIGNS MCCAIN-FEINGOLD INTO LAW "[T]his bill improves the

current system of financing for Federal campaigns, and therefore I

have signed it into law." [President Bush, at the McCain-Feingold

signing ceremony, 03/27/02]

Just some nice info

[TrueBlue72 0]

IS THAT ALL YOU CAN COME UP WITH???? Kerry does more flip flops than than in a normal week.

[AUBURNTIGERFAN 0]

do you have proof? documented saying he does more then that in a week? Right back at ya

[Ranger12 46]

Nice try. Let's see, you compare a change in policy or deciding that maybe a certain path may not be the best way and you call that a flip-flop? Woe to the man that has too much pride to noy change when necessary. You see Bush did not flip-flop on any of these. If he did that would mean the said he has always had a certain stand when past comments proved otherwise. Bush was not quoted in any of these statements as denying an old stance. Never in these statements did Bush ever pull a Kerry and say he supported something or never supported something and then go back and say the opposite. There is a big difference in changing policy then when you lie about what you stand for. John Kerry's stance is determined by who he is speaking too at the time. John Kerry. One would be naive to believe that a governor or president could go a whole term without having to make concessions to get anything done. That is called politics BTW. So again, I ask where is the flip-flop compared to what Kerry does. Let's see, Kerry has been caught in how many lies about his past this week?

[TrueBlue72 0]

All you have to do is read the news, FAN!

FAN: A device which blows a lot of air!!!!!

[TexasTiger 13,006]

IS THAT ALL YOU CAN COME UP WITH???? Kerry does more flip flops than than in a normal week.

This is actually an abreviated list.

[WarTim 3,457]

All one need do is listen to any kerry speech. ALL flip-flop, ALL the time ! ! !

[CCTAU 3,342]

IS THAT ALL YOU CAN COME UP WITH????  Kerry does more flip flops than than in a normal week.

This is actually an abreviated list.

I am sure the (demoncratic) voices in your head could come up with more!

[Tigermike 3,053]

"After listening to John Kerry's acceptance address...I did a little experiment. ... I edited out phony religiosity and pointless political platitudes of the sort that could be used by any politician in any situation, including Hitler (i.e., "We're the optimists"). I also chopped out all gratuitous flag-waving all forced and hollow tough-talking, and all draping of the clearly unworthy self in the ill-fitting cloak of the great figures of history. Further down the line were the intellectual crimes. Lies went out right away, but I also cut out things that were not lies exactly, but mere words. Also banished were the many species of literary fraud -- from facile generalizations to redundancies to such crass, hypersentimental, factory-generated cliches as 'trees [are] the cathedrals of nature.' There were also many shades of disingenuousness to deal with, most of which came into play when Kerry levied attacks against George Bush. ... When I was done cutting, there were only two lines left. 'I was born in Colorado. America can do better. Amen'. " --Matt Taibbi

No I don't have a link for this, I received it in an e-mail.

[WarTim 3,457]

Maybe, just maybe, kerry is capable of telling the truth on occasion.