Some people believe George W. Bush is behaving like a fascist dictator:

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5648.htm

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/14_pts_2.htm

Others disagree:

http://www.socialistworker.org/2003-2/471/471_09_Fascism.shtml

What do you think?

I disagree that George W. Bush is behaving like a fascist dictator. Fascist dictators are generally more honest about what they are up to.

I am not going to sit here and say that he is the greatest President alive or that he has not made a few mistakes, but to say he is screwing up America is ludicrous. Unemployment is down, the stock market, until recently, was setting records, Conservatives are being appointed to the Supreme Court and I got back more on my tax return than I ever have.

Uhh... is there actually a President that the American's actually liked? I don't think he's doing too bad.

You think so? The Iraq war may be a terrible mistake, while domestically virtually an ineffective do nothing president. With all the money spent on the Iraq war, the US government could have spent building wind farms and such which could have alleviated the energy crisis.
Instead, bush invades Iraq probably at the behest of his oil company buddies. I believe Bush may be also responsible for high gas prices.

Although not my favorite person (or president) in the world, he gets a bad rep. Yes, nepotism is certainly there and he has shown he's not Albert Einstein but that doesn't mean he's screwing up America.... not that he's helping it all that much either :P.

Well, DUH!!...... Ok let me elaborate some more. Anyone literaly standing behind him, should move out of the way, because he will run over you with all of that backpedalling he is doing...... Karl Rove BACKPEDAL, WMD in Iraq BACKPEDAL. He isn't a person you can even take seriously. His legacy won't be a good one. I hate to say it so much; but every day the war in Iraq gets more and more similar to Vietnam. Now the number of soldiers coming back with PTSS is rising rapidly, the number of soldiers dying increases. We will soon lose more Americans in Iraq than we did on 9/11. The only difference that I am thankfull to see is that the soldiers aren't treated harshly when they get home as they did in nam. Most people against the war, myself included, simpathize with the troops. And I will say it again... YOU CAN'T FIGHT A LITERAL WAR ON TERROR!!!

Gas prices are horrible. We are being taken over by Mexicans and there are several other problems with this guy.

He can't be rated any better for two reasons, which far outweigh the good things he has done, in my opinion: 1) Iraq and the War on Terror - I'd be delighted if Iraq was peaceful, stable, and free. But instead we're seeing an unstable country with an occupation of indeterminate length that is proving to be a breeding ground and rallying cause for terrorists. Afghanistan was good, but this I fear does nothing but create more terrorists and weaken the cause. 2) Even if there were no Iraq, this would be enough to merit a one-star rating - he has managed to ROYALLY screw over the federal budget in an incredibly short period of time. In 2000, the government had an $86 billion surplus without even needing to touch a dime of social security or medicare surpluses. Since then he has gone on a spending spree unmatched in terms of % increases since Lyndon Johnson, all the while recklessly cutting taxes. The promise had been that a tax cut would spur the economy and increase revenues. Guess what, it hasn't worked. It worked under Ronald Reagan because the cuts came with tax simplification, which eliminated tax loopholes. So while rates had been cut from 70+% to 35%, the elimination of loopholes and credits meant that the wealthy actually could have seen tax increases. The benefit was a much more efficient tax collection system which gave Reagan the political capital of offering tax cuts that in many cases cut nothing. Bush offered no significant elimination of loopholes, the result being that revenues plummeted and the deficit soared. Let's face it, the economy is actually good historically speaking, but when the economy is good, the budget should be balanced or pulling a small surplus for a rainy day fund. Instead, the deficit is now projected at $540 billion for 2005, down from $567 billion in 2004. You only get the number lower by raiding social security surpluses, which he loves to do to make the deficit seem smaller, and to get close to his halving the deficit goal (without raiding, his budget proposals come nowhere close). So I don't blame him for the recession, but I do blame him for tax and spending policies that did nothing to accelerate the recovery (one of the slowest recoveries in modern history), and turned an $86 billion surplus in 2000 into deficits of $32.5 billion in 2001, $317.5 billion in 2002, $538.4 billion in 2003, and $567.4 billion in 2004. The budget surely would have pulled a deficit because of the recession, but a $600 billion annual swing?!?!?! That's outrageous.... We all like tax cuts, but don't blame me when taxes are raised to banana-republic levels in 10 years to pay for Bush's behavior now. (and don't give me any Congress passes spending bills crap, when Bush has never vetoed a single spending item)

Has he really done more than any other president to screw things up? No. Has he done some good along the way? Yes. To the whiners, I'm doing okay moneywise despite our imagined economic crisis. To the doomsayers regarding the war, I voted to re-elect him despite a friend being killed over there and the possibility still remaining of MY VERY OWN ASS being called back into service with the Marines and perhaps meeting the same fate as my friend. UPDATE: Moan, whine, and btich all you like. If I have the balls to get shot at and you don't, keep sending the unhelpfuls my way. I'm sick of being treated like a brainwashed retard because I can come up with, ON MY OWN WITHOUT THE HELP OF LIBERAL NEWS OUTLETS, my very own opinion about our leaders. George W. Bush, flawed as he may be (like the rest of us), is not the evil bastard that some of us have come to think of him as. So knock it off with the spewing up of recycled garbage and think for yourselves! UPDATE: You can't fight a literal war on terror is garbage. They are fighting a very literal war against us. What can we do, you ask? Infiltrate and destroy terror networks, cut off their funds, smack around those who support them, and quite LITERALLY kill the little bastards. These are all things we are pursuing at this very moment, and last I heard the little goofs weren't bombing shopping malls or shooting up rush hour traffic here, yet. I'd like to keep it that way. But if we left them alone we wouldn't have these attacks, right? WRONG! That mentality gave us 9-11. If they are busy defending they have no time for offense. If they are fighting my well armed Jarheads they can't fight unarmed civilians. Keep them on their heels. If they add to their numbers my MARINES have a sure fire way to reduce them.

He is not hurting America. He has already hurt America. I fear, so much so, that it's beyond repair.)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))UPDATE: AMEN, 'Inmyopinion', I dislike you, but you're dead on as far as this one goes. Did you see the comment under ours about checks and balances? AIN'T THAT THE TRUTH! But yeah, I totally agree. We will either leave, or lose. THANKS MR. PRESIDENT ! And watch, we will eventually have to leave and they will come up with some bull%$^# reason why we didn't lose, and all the dumb people will buy it, and all of us will understand what really happened. JUST LIKE NAM! And yes, that is exactly right, you can't fight a literal war on terror. You fight a war on terror with intelligence followed by special forces. Annihilating this country and that, just creates more terrorist. I guarantee you! I GUARANTEE IT.........................we will have a London situation here soon. Then we'll see how safe he makes us feel. I GUARANTEE IT! That's another thing about these Bush supporters...................they seem to think that because we haven't had an attack in a while, that's justification to claim he's keeping us safe. They are biding their time people, trust me. We are no safer than we were on 9/11. Actually, we're less safe. I just saw this thing about how the Port of Charleston is being guarded - IT's HORRIFYING! They are biding their time! It's coming. The sad thing is, when it happens, all the idiots will rally behind their president again. Every time something bad happens, support our president! I feel the opposite. I think he's full of ^&%*. Really, I don't think he even cares to be honest. In fact, I'm not so certain 9/11 wasn't designed by this administration. Forget was their intelligence faulty, I'm thinking they might have designed it! Afterall, it's the best thing that has ever happeed to them. Let's not be naive. America is not their #1 concern.............................feel me? This administration cares about America like Latrell Sprewell cares about Minnesota fans. Catch my drift? I will definitely be CAMPAIGNING MY ASS OFF IN 2008! I hope the rest of you realize what is at stake.

I am truly amazed by the number of people who refer to the president of the United States as an idiot, of course our rights give us this ability to do so and freely, thank God for that. However, granted some mistakes have been made, he is human after all, not infallible and prone to make judgment calls that were often times based on the testimony given by his advisers and information that may not always be valid. He does not possess a crystal ball to foresee what all of the obstacles that would come against the mounting war on terror and the war in Iraq. I failed to notice during the last campaign that the opposition gave any indication that they would pull our troops out of Iraq, quite the opposite. They just said they would do it better than Bush had! The resistance movement and insurgencies by those in Iraq who know that their time is at hand and democracy is being set into motion in a country that was begging for it, are fighting hard to undermine any good that has been done. The so-called screwing up of America has not been done by this President or his administration, or by any other American president for that matter. Last time I noticed, this nation was still one where checks and balances were set in place, I certainly would not call Bush a dictator who has been granted the sovereign authority to act on his own. Now the president has a job to finish, not one that I can imagine anyone wanting to take his place in the carrying out and implementing some tough decisions.

Nothing personal against the folks who support(ed) him, but I think it's been a disastrous administration. I believe we'll be feeling the effects of GWB's socialist spending habits for decades. When the taxes skyrocket (which they'll have to), we'll know who to thank. I'm disappointed that in 5 years we've made zero progress in energy policy - we're no closer to kicking the oil habit than we were when GWB took over, maybe less close. I think this administration's lack of diplomacy skills has left us high and dry in terms of shouldering the human casualty and $$ costs of the prolonged war(s) to which he has led us. I think his lack of diplomacy skills at home has resulted in a unusually divided America. Some of us on this site seem to consider ourselves Republicans/Democrats first, Americans second. While I believe we should be in Iraq, and understand the argument for being in Iraq (though didn't appreciate the sloppy and/or deceitful case for war), I feel that in many ways it has been bungled. Not enough troops on the ground. Mixed messages to our soldiers regarding treatment of prisoners. Failure to hold decision makers accountable for errors. These blunders are putting our troops in impossible situations, spawning a new generation of terrorists, and will regrettably, result in us being less safe in the long term. The fact that I rate GWB a 4 in terms of screwing up the country is in some ways a compliment. He has been a strong, decisive, and impactful leader - at the end of the day, I just think that most of the decisions have been bad ones.

Its hard to believe that so many people still support this lying hypocrite. Its worthless to go into all the reasons because his supporters have sunken into a state of denial. It is pitiful how this guy and his ilk can flat out steal from the people of this country while sending its citizens to die for financial gain. Still, some of you praise the arrogant jackass.

Is liberating a repressed country who was in the proverbial bed with the terrorists screwing up America? Is relaunching the glorious cause of Space Exploration for an eventual return to Mars and the Moons screwing up America? Is reducing the deficit screwing up America? Is the administration that has seen NO major terror attacks on our nation screwing up America? I don't think so!

He has made you guys look like idiots to the rest of us.

Shut the hell up, hippie liberals!

My, my, oskar, we've never heard any of that before. He (Bush) risks screwing up America by not adhering to conservative philosophy (like his father did not) when they are the people who elected him (and re-elected him) . He will receive credit, probably the day after he passes away, for overseeing the philosophical destruction of what used to be the Democratic Party, whether he deserves the credit or not. It will be easier to credit him with it than Ronald Reagan and his Conservative Revolution.

the fact Bush wont deal with the illegal alien problem shows he is bad

He's taken the country backwards. Things were messed up with Clinton, but now they are worse. We've had a war imposed upon us and who knows how long will it go on. With all of the open displays of corruption these days I wonder if I'm still living in America or if I am in Mexico.

This idiot should have been removed from office the day he started shipping our servicemen and women into Iraq for no good reason, killing them off one by one. I am in full support of the troops, but I don't support the ( no ) reason they are over there in Iraq. Let's see, Osama is responsible for what, an estimation of 3,000 lives that were lost on 9/11? George W. Bush is well on his way to shattering the 3,000 lives lost mark. The only difference between Osama and Bush is that Osama did it all in one day, Bush is letting it drag out over time. At the same time he is killing off our servicemen and women, he is letting our own economy go into shambles even further. Still the worst the economy has been in over 75 years, I guess since he is down to about 3 1/2 years left in office, why should he give a rats ass what the economy is going to do? His family is taken care of for life. I say bring back Clinton!! Sure, Clinton has terrible family values, but the way I see it, if he can run the country he did for 8 years ( highest employment rates in history, lowest crime rates in over a 25 year span, lowest welfare rates, etc ) he could be right there on the front lawn of the White House getting a BJ from Monica, and I would be right there cheering him on!

The biggest joke for a President this country has ever seen. I think the booze has fried a majority of his brain cells.

He'll be out of office soon enough, but the damage wrought during his presidency will be with us for generations. Does anyone with an IQ above that of room temperature really think he's made America safer? Wonder what the people in England think of that?

As of this date, he'll be out of office in 42 more months. I can't wait. I'm sick and tired of all the screwups that he has done since 2001. Reforming Social Security, more work hours on welfare recipients, starting a war against Iraq, scaling back on environmental regulations, prayer in state-controlled public schools, his good-for-nothing tax cuts for the wealthy, his dream of an amendment against gay marriages, the Karl Rove scandals, his right-wing nominee for the Supreme Court. I'm fed up with him!

Cant say he's screwing things up as much as he's trying to do things HIS way. Like it or not, he's entitled to do so since he was elected and re-elected to office. He certainly has made some questionable decisions and I dont totally agree with his politics, but I dont hold quite the same animosity towards him that others do. Eight years of Clinton, eight years of Bush. Seems like Democracy in action.

No way! I can understand and tolerate disagreements, but to say he is screwing up the country is extreme. He is a two-term president serving in the Oval Office during a far more difficult period of time than most previous presidents. He has had to make difficult decisions that no doubt inherit large disagreements. The same can be said for previous presidents who have had to do the same during our nation's more challenging time periods.

Something I have noticed is how the Conservative Americans turn a blind eye to any part their Government have had in the matter of causing more instability in the world than there was...and then blaming someone like Michael Moore (like him or loathe him) for pointing the truth out! Incredible! Whilst he might not have started it, realist observers will hold Bush at least culpable of stirring it all up.

He has accomplished what I used to think was once impossible- we are now in more danger than before 9/11 due to the war in Iraq. Millions of Muslims (who know a pro-Christian anti-Muslim geopolitical move when they see one) now have a complete hard-on for our nation. Hey Dubya lovers, there weren't any terrorists before but now your New-Jerusalem-land-of-the-Crusades is just full of weapons and terrorists! (Imagine that! People actually refusing to roll over and play dead! I guess our military advisors hadn't planned on that. . .) And taking off shoes and showing driver's liscences (sp?) at airports are meant to placate the masses. . .those 'security measures' mean nothing. We are in more danger-period. . .and the man at the top was on the watch while it happened.

This list, and Goldberg's book, which inspired it, are symptomatic of our cultural desire to scapegoat. By all means, let us ignore the myriad complexities of our society, and its increasingly difficult and possibly insoluble problems; let us instead point to our whipping boy of choice, be it Bush, or Moore, or Clinton or Rove or Romero, or whomever, and blame it on them. Sorry folks, I ain't buying. If we're getting screwed up, we all bear a piece of the responsibility.

Has done nothing more than any other president to screw up anything. Hell, there are fifty other places on this site ranking President Bush, and there's nothing new to say. If you like him you like him, if you don't you don't.