Question:
Whether or not he gets re-elected, I think we can all agree that Bush's current term is nearing its end. Overall, and in comparison to past presidents, how do you think he did? I know I can't control your responses, but I would like to ask you to please try to keep Kerry, party alignment, and the coming election out of this thread as much as you can.

Of the following choices, which do you think best describes Bush's presidential record and why?

Choices:
He has done an outstanding job
He has done a good job
He has done an average job
He has done a bad job
He has done a horrendous job

 

I agree that Bush has done a horrendous job. Recently, I traveled outside of the U.S. and everyone says that Bush is bad. They blame Bush for corrupting what once was a free country and all the other good characteristics of America. However, now they don't even want to come near here. The economy is bad and the Saudi Scandel speaks more for itself. Ah what money makes people do.

Not especially. In all honesty, it's really hard to see any difference, positive or negative, from a firsthand viewpoint at all. But I guess that's how most governmental acts tend to go.

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-A special emphasis is placed on reading skills and improving literacy

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Good idea. Your country has a lower literacy rate than Russia, which is something I personally never expected.

So.... has this Act done anything great so far in your opinion?

It does a lot of things, a couple of them actually helpful. Under No Child Left Behind:

-Schools must describe how they will close the achievement gap and make sure all students achieve academic proficiency (i.e., make useless mission statements)

-Schools must produce annual state and school district report cards that inform parents and communities about state and school progress

-Schools that are not making adequate progress must provide supplemental services such as tutoring, and if no yearly progress can be shown after five years, make "dramatic changes" to the way the school is run (which, as far as I know, have yet to be specified)

-Schools are allowed to spend their money with more flexibility, so long as they are making adequate yearly academic progress

-Increased federal funding is provided for educational programs that have been "proven effective through scientific research" (i.e., nothing unconventional)

-A special emphasis is placed on reading skills and improving literacy

-Parents with children in schools that do not meet state standards for at least two consecutive years may transfer their children to a better-performing public or charter school within their district, and the district must provide transportation to the new school

The main problems people have with it are that it discourages new methods of teaching, puts a nearly exclusive emphasis on improving core grades and standardized test scores (this is the "yearly academic progress" part), thereby leaving out fine arts funding, and, of course, the part about how parents are encouraged to pull their students from failing schools. No Child Left Behind theoretically will work to bridge the achievement gap in schools, but 3 out of 4 teachers here in the States seem to realize that when you read between the lines, it's going to give the schools that are already doing well increased funding and flexibility, while the ones that aren't will be left to rot.

Can somebody explain to me what the No child Left Behind Act actually does?

-----"""Much appreciated, Ice."""

You will regret the sarcastic tone in that comment.


-----"""In conclusion, horrendous."""

Lol. It would have been just as funny if you'd just posted "Horrendous.". But the word was already in the poll...so that decreses the funniness of it, unfortunately.

i agree with toxic fox on bush's performance in presidency. he stinks! for example: bush knew of the attack that would come on 9-11, because of the fact that they had papers from the taliban warning of the attacks to come, at least 9 months before they actually did. yet all bush chose to do was ignore it. the result of his ignorance were the death's of over 5300 US citizens that can never return to those that lost their family members in the towers or the pentagon.also healthcare for seniors is really bad. many senior citizens can't even afford any insurance now because of the amount of money it takes to even keep it affordable. to finish what i'm saying, it's time for a new president to take office, but he had not better make the same mistakes as bush

Bush has done a great job, especially considering his presidency has largely been based upon cleaning up the messes left by Clinton (the economy, the f--ked up SEC, the education system, defense, etc.)

bush did a horrendous job in his presidency. Our countrys economy has gone down the drain, jobs have been shipped overseas, and look at gas prices now days. we were attacked because terrorists saw that bush was an easy target. he started a war against the wrong freakin organization for reasons that turned out to be incorrect. his promises for health care and education have all been rebuked since he was elected
the list goes on....

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what's the point of "no child left behind"?

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To make fun of the Bush administration. I'm still deciding whether I like, "No Child Left Alive" or "No Child Left A Dime." Its a hard choice.

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At first glance, I thought this board was "Raping Bush".

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Aw man, you got my hopes up.

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Lapses in intelligence and in national security issues during the Clinton administration made a large-scale terrorist attack on American soil possible within the first year of Bush's term.

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Clinton protected us from quite a few terrorist plots.
http://airamericaradio.com/weblogs/alfrankenshow/index.php?/franken/bushterrorrecord/
I realize its Air America, but they've got them listed as well as the "terrorist" activities Bushie-boy "prevented."

Not that it takes much saying from me, but my vote was cast for "horrendous."

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Originally posted by itialianeyes272:
Lapses in intelligence and in national security issues during the Clinton administration made a large-scale terrorist attack on American soil possible within the first year of Bush's term. There was no way Bush could have prevented this and it would be illogical to imply he could.

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I'll agree with you this far: I do think it is unreasonable to blame Bush for what was nearly impossible to foresee. But I would like to point out that when Clinton left office, he passed on a warning about Al Qaeda to Bush, which Bush didn't take terribly serious (I base this on the formation of his pre-9/11 "anti-terrorism committee", formed in May of 2001, which met exactly zero times before 9/11).

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After September 11, he united our nation as no other generation has ever seen.

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After something such as 9/11, the nation's gonna unite. It's just what the nation does. Granted, Bush did give a very moving speech, but I believe that following a tragic event on the scale of 9/11, a nation will simply unite behind its leader, for better or (in this case) for worse. And, as we can all see, the States didn't stay very United for long.

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He stood up for his nation in hopes that she will never be attacked on the scale of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor ever again.

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I'm firmly hoping an attack on the scale of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor will happen again, but you don't see people trying to elect me for President. And if you do, give them my thanks.

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By going into Afghanistan, he brought democracy to a country whose people otherwise were miserably oppressed.

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Invading Afghanistan was dead on, but he didn't stay the course. We don't have Osama yet, and we probably won't until November 1.

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Bush was provided faulty information about WMD and did what he believed was best with what he knew.

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The information he was given told him there was inconclusive evidence that there might be WMDs in Iraq. But if you listen to his State of the Union address before the war, you wouldn't guess that.

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Also, keep in mind that the effects of each administration's changes always take a long time to become apparent. A year from now, we may see Bush's tax cuts and other measures improve the economy and job rate immensely.

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This is the argument Republicans constantly bring up regarding economics, and it annoys the hell outta me. According to some of the right-wingers, the positive effects of the Reagan administration took exactly twelve years to set in from the time they were implemented, and the negative effects of the Clinton administration took 7 and a half years. When you look at the nation's economy over the past 20 years, you can see that the effects of Presidential economic plans are indeed gradual, but they are also immediate.

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I respect any President who can face such criticism with such confidence and conviction.

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I'd be more impressed if he took our criticism contructively and used it to better himself and America.

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Consider the circumstances of his first term in office (and hopefully not his last) and understand that he did everything he could to make America a better place for everyone to live.

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In considering the bizarre circumstances of his first term, I'm left to conclude that 9/11 is the only reason he has a chance for re-election. As I said, the nation bands behind its leader in times of strife. Imagine where he'd be now if he hadn't gotten that two guaranteed months of an 80%+ approval rating? And also, if he didn't have the phrase "in the post-9/11 world" in his rhetoric, he wouldn't even have rhetoric.

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Originally posted by ICELAND:
At first glance, I thought this board was "Raping Bush". Then I saw it was made by Aguagon, and I was like "eh, sounds like somethin Aggy would do".

Then I finally noticed my mistake and was severely dissappointed. For that I am giving this board a low rating, in part to test out the rating feature I just discovered a few minutes ago.

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Much appreciated, Ice.

In conclusion, horrendous.

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Originally posted by loudnproud904:

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There was no way Bush could have prevented this and it would be illogical to imply he could. After September 11, he united our nation as no other generation has ever seen.

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i didn't say he COULD have prevented, but shouldn't have waited as long as he did to retaliate.

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I think he had to first gather all the intelligence possible and get the okay from Congress...I think the timing was just right...he didn't wait THAT long.

Or to force everyone into private education.

-----"""what's the point of "no child left behind"?"""

Apparently, to destroy the American education system and cause tons of problems.

what's the point of "no child left behind"? focusing on kids that need more help in school than others is okay. but don't forget about the rest of us. we're the future, too. we should all get the same amount of opportunities.

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There was no way Bush could have prevented this and it would be illogical to imply he could. After September 11, he united our nation as no other generation has ever seen.

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i didn't say he COULD have prevented, but shouldn't have waited as long as he did to retaliate.

Ok. Bush has this "No Child Left Behind" Act. Pretty much, it's saying, "ok, smart ppl, yeah, u pass. struggling ppl, even though ur not doing that well, you pass too!" What's the point of that? Number one, they need more teachers to help. Number 2, they need to make sure everyone has good health care at least. How can you pass if you're sick? Health care should be a part of this too. Which includes getting your eyes, ears, and bodies checked for anything that might hider them from paying attention and learning. Another thing that really pissed me off was this Patriot Act. The government now has the authority to tap your phones, go through your e-mails, and check any and all records you have if they think you might be a threat to this country. Now I don't kow everything, but isn't that invasion of privacy and limiting out freedom of speech? Bad mouthing Bush in a e-mail of some sort can be trouble as well. I don't think its fair for Bush to make the unconstitutional act and invading our privacy like that. My American History teacher not only told my class about this, but she also brung in a copy of the act as well.

At first glance, I thought this board was "Raping Bush". Then I saw it was made by Aguagon, and I was like "eh, sounds like somethin Aggy would do".

Then I finally noticed my mistake and was severely dissappointed. For that I am giving this board a low rating, in part to test out the rating feature I just discovered a few minutes ago.

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i think bush has done a horrendous job. this is because...well, have you seen what's happened to our country since he became president?!

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Yes, I've seen what's happened to America. Lapses in intelligence and in national security issues during the Clinton administration made a large-scale terrorist attack on American soil possible within the first year of Bush's term. There was no way Bush could have prevented this and it would be illogical to imply he could. After September 11, he united our nation as no other generation has ever seen. He stood up for his nation in hopes that she will never be attacked on the scale of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor ever again. By going into Afghanistan, he brought democracy to a country whose people otherwise were miserably oppressed. In Iraq, whether WMD's were found or not, he helped to liberate the nation from a brutal dictator and bring about a time in their history when they no longer had to fear Saddam Hussein's tyranny. Bush was provided faulty information about WMD and did what he believed was best with what he knew. Yes, employment rates have declined - would you expect them not to in the wake of 9/11? There were thousands of jobs in the Twin Towers alone that were lost, and the economy couldn't have fared better under any President under these circumstances. Also, keep in mind that the effects of each administration's changes always take a long time to become apparent. A year from now, we may see Bush's tax cuts and other measures improve the economy and job rate immensely. In addition, Bush sticks to what he believes in - and I respect any President who can face such criticism with such confidence and conviction. I'm sick of everyone who blames Bush for the state of certain aspects of our nation. Consider the circumstances of his first term in office (and hopefully not his last) and understand that he did everything he could to make America a better place for everyone to live.