Great Picture

[Agnostic007]

Nope. You would have said the same thing about him going when the spotlight would have been on him and his relationship with the Bushs. Good and respectful move by Trump to avoid any of that. Garbage opinion but hardly a surprise.

In this case I think Trump was between a rock and a hard place. It is true other presidents have not gone to a former 1st ladies funeral. Others have gone so the protocol would be it is optional. I have no issue with him not going. His reasoning is BS though. I don't blame him for making an excuse, I just don't buy it. He had to give a reason and the truth is, he didn't get along with the Bushes and has been derogatory towards them. To "show respect" at this stage would be meaningless. But for a person who his admirers claims "tells it like it is", I don't think he did. with him always being honest and straightforward, I would have expected him to say "In light of Mrs. Bush's opinion of me, and mine of her and her husband and sons, I didn't feel attending was the right thing to do. "

[polychronopolous]

From fivethirtyeight

“The Democratic Party is at its lowest point in my lifetime,” said Mark Longabaugh, a senior strategist on Bernie Sanders’s campaign. “I don’t know how you walk away from that fact.”

But the Democrats’ diminished power can’t be pinned entirely — or even mostly — on Obama. The number of congressional seats lost during his tenure is high but in line with what other two-term presidents have experienced. Where the party has ceded an extraordinary degree of its power is in state legislatures and governor’s mansions. If the blame for Democrats’ ebbing power fell squarely at Obama’s feet, the party’s losses in federal offices would likely be much more acute, matching the dramatic changes at the state level.

It matters, too, how the Democrats’ losses during Obama’s tenure are counted. Most analyses compare the number of seats Democrats held after the 2008 elections to those they held after 2016. But Obama’s 2008 election saw a surge of down-ballot Democratic wins, which makes the slide look that much more precipitous. If you compare the number of Democratic seats held after the 2006 midterms, prior to Obama’s election, with the number held after 2016, when he was off the ticket — as the Atlantic’s Ronald Brownstein has suggested — the loss of state-level seats is closer to the norm."

Yeah, the people were willing to give the "First Black President" a chance and he was completely inept.

And 2 years later the people got the "Change" that they felt necessary.

As much as the ass kissing media try to cover up for this guy, it doesn't change the fact that he was a horrible leader.

[Agnostic007]

Yeah, the people were willing to give the "First Black President" a chance and he was completely inept.

And 2 years later the people got the "Change" that they felt necessary.

As much as the ass kissing media try to cover up for this guy, it doesn't change the fact that he was a horrible leader.

I don't think he was horrible. Most people don't. I do think on the positive side, he treated the office of the President with the respect and decorum it deserved. He projected a level headed thoughtful person. There are other positive attributes and accomplishments that possessed and achieved.  Part of his roadblock was Congress' republican partisanship goal of not cooperating with him on anything. Some of it I'm sure was because they didn't agree with it, but part of it also was that he was a democrat. We are seeing that on the other foot now. In this case though the Republicans are the majority in both houses. But Obama also is to blame for many of the failures and decisions. When it was found out that military style long rifles were being allowed to be sold and transported across the border, resulting in the death of an agent, Eric Holder should have been fired. He took a gamble, it failed miserably and he should have been held accountable. He was too quick to side with BLM and didn't achieve the balance of recognizing there are racial issues but there are also good police officers enforcing the law. He said it on occasion but the effort I felt was in backing up blacks to the detriment  of Law Enforcement. He did nothing for tax reform. Something that is a hot button issue for me and many others. I also felt he just coasted in his last 18 months. He seemed to be happy just waiting out the rest of his term.     

[Straw Man]

Only GW Bush looks solemn in this picture. GHW is too old so I can't tell if his expression reflects his feelings. All the others smile like it's some festive social gathering.

I don't think GW looks solemn at all

It looks to me like everyone is smiling and genuinely smiling

[Straw Man]

This thread has been officially derailed. What a pity.

and still no explanation from poly about his issue with "a thread like this"

[Beefjake]

Melania seems genuinely happy ...maybe because her cheating spouse is not around

Not hers anyway...

[Straw Man]

Not hers anyway...

That's OK

We know adultery is not an issue for Republicans anymore

[Agnostic007]

I don't think GW looks solemn at all

It looks to me like everyone is smiling and genuinely smiling

''Can't wait for the X-men movie to come out

[mazrim]

In this case I think Trump was between a rock and a hard place. It is true other presidents have not gone to a former 1st ladies funeral. Others have gone so the protocol would be it is optional. I have no issue with him not going. His reasoning is BS though. I don't blame him for making an excuse, I just don't buy it. He had to give a reason and the truth is, he didn't get along with the Bushes and has been derogatory towards them. To "show respect" at this stage would be meaningless. But for a person who his admirers claims "tells it like it is", I don't think he did. with him always being honest and straightforward, I would have expected him to say "In light of Mrs. Bush's opinion of me, and mine of her and her husband and sons, I didn't feel attending was the right thing to do. "

And that would have been the whole story if he had said that completely overshadowing her funeral, imo.

Personally, I believe they all would have been fine but the media would have made a big deal of it as they always do so better to just avoid it all.

[Agnostic007]

And that would have been the whole story if he had said that completely overshadowing her funeral, imo.

Personally, I believe they all would have been fine but the media would have made a big deal of it as they always do so better to just avoid it all.

probably right.

[chaos]

I don't think he was horrible. Most people don't. I do think on the positive side, he treated the office of the President with the respect and decorum it deserved. He projected a level headed thoughtful person. There are other positive attributes and accomplishments that possessed and achieved.    

Stopped reading here. Have to disagree.

[Straw Man]

In this case I think Trump was between a rock and a hard place. It is true other presidents have not gone to a former 1st ladies funeral. Others have gone so the protocol would be it is optional. I have no issue with him not going. His reasoning is BS though. I don't blame him for making an excuse, I just don't buy it. He had to give a reason and the truth is, he didn't get along with the Bushes and has been derogatory towards them. To "show respect" at this stage would be meaningless. But for a person who his admirers claims "tells it like it is", I don't think he did. with him always being honest and straightforward, I would have expected him to say "In light of Mrs. Bush's opinion of me, and mine of her and her husband and sons, I didn't feel attending was the right thing to do. "

It's generous for you to assume that Trump does anything based on any kind of reasoning

gut level emotional response is all I've ever seen from him

[Agnostic007]

Stopped reading here. Have to disagree.

I assumed when I wrote it you wouldn't even get that far before replying.