Moving Past George W Bush

[tcaudilllg]

One of the biggest mistakes Americans tend to make -- and people in other nations, too -- is letting George W. Bush get to us. He's really good at doing it, and counts on it to bring out the worst in his enemies and the best in his allies.

When SLEs try to model social conditions, they use +Fi. They mean to use +Fi to make things happen socially, like for example, LIIs use +Se to try to tweak a person's character. SLEs think, "X could happen; X would make me feel Y, which I don't want." So SLE thinks, "I'll make people feel W, which I've already determined will allow me to fulfull Z over X". When we get upset at Bush, or overreact to him at all, we're playing by his rules on his public emotional chessboard.

So how do we overcome his manipulations, when we are so near to being rid of him? First up, ignore him. Make a point of it. Remember: any emotional action you make towards him has probably been precalculated to his advantage. Instead, look at the facts: he's squandered his power, and all that he has left now is your Fi reactions by which means he might re-energize his Te, if we weren't on to him. So long as Americans keep their cool about him and avoid getting swept up into his emotional harangues, it'll be Americans voting for American reasons, not his. (like he tried to bait today, when he "predicted" a Republican victory in Nov. He also predicted Americans would support the war in Iraq so... don't take it too seriously.)

[lefty]

One of the biggest mistakes Americans tend to make -- and people in other nations, too -- is letting George W. Bush get to us. He's really good at doing it, and counts on it to bring out the worst in his enemies and the best in his allies.

When SLEs try to model social conditions, they use +Fi. They mean to use +Fi to make things happen socially, like for example, LIIs use +Se to try to tweak a person's character. SLEs think, "X could happen; X would make me feel Y, which I don't want." So SLE thinks, "I'll make people feel W, which I've already determined will allow me to fulfull Z over X". When we get upset at Bush, or overreact to him at all, we're playing by his rules on his public emotional chessboard.

So how do we overcome his manipulations, when we are so near to being rid of him? First up, ignore him. Make a point of it. Remember: any emotional action you make towards him has probably been precalculated to his advantage. Instead, look at the facts: he's squandered his power, and all that he has left now is your Fi reactions by which means he might re-energize his Te, if we weren't on to him. So long as Americans keep their cool about him and avoid getting swept up into his emotional harangues, it'll be Americans voting for American reasons, not his. (like he tried to bait today, when he "predicted" a Republican victory in Nov. He also predicted Americans would support the war in Iraq so... don't take it too seriously.)

i think bush is an isfp working with cheney the entj. that's my opinion. however i appreciate you post and have given people the advice before not to play games on other peoples termsi also think our idealism shouldn't be rattled too much...honestly im afraid of the future in some ways....afraid we'll find out the govt really is in charge ...we'll see what happens...we've had too many of our left idealist leaders killed...however its pretty apparent what the american public wants at this point. i wondered all along why the american public allowed him to continue to hold office...what happend to the lessons of the 60s...why weren't people protesting...what happend to us...then obama came along and said the 60s are alive and that we haven't failed to learn those lessons and honestly im happier now than i have been in eight years. what a miserable and unfortunate oppression this has been for america, iraq, africa...the world. was shocked listening to martin luther king talk about vietnam....years in a war almost a decade...how war is the enemy of american poverty...that we fight supposedly to offer freedoms to other nations we dont offer our people...all true today. all an obvious exploitation.

***america....heal thyself. ***

thanks for your post,

[akeaneau]

The real big thing about Obama isn't what his policies are or his politics. It's that he's the first candidate in a long, long time that actually seems presidential - seems like what a president should be. That more than anything - his oratory, his calls for unity - is what I believe appeals.

[Kim]

i think bush is an isfp working with cheney the entj. that's my opinion. however i appreciate you post and have given people the advice before not to play games on other peoples termsi also think our idealism shouldn't be rattled too much...honestly im afraid of the future in some ways....afraid we'll find out the govt really is in charge ...we'll see what happens...we've had too many of our left idealist leaders killed...however its pretty apparent what the american public wants at this point. i wondered all along why the american public allowed him to continue to hold office...what happend to the lessons of the 60s...why weren't people protesting...what happend to us...then obama came along and said the 60s are alive and that we haven't failed to learn those lessons and honestly im happier now than i have been in eight years. what a miserable and unfortunate oppression this has been for america, iraq, africa...the world. was shocked listening to martin luther king talk about vietnam....years in a war almost a decade...how war is the enemy of american poverty...that we fight supposedly to offer freedoms to other nations we dont offer our people...all true today. all an obvious exploitation.

***america....heal thyself. ***

thanks for your post,

America has never had a genuine protest culture and the "protest=traitor" rhetoric has worked very well, along with the creation and exploitation of people's fears. Patriotism is indeed at the root of these evils. And Fox News.

The American public needs to look to Europe to regain a spirit of protest and make the government afraid of them. And the Democrats need to get their half-assed act together and NOT let Republican liars get away with bloody everything.

At this point, the Republicans are so desperate that it's getting ludicrous. The Democrats need to FINALLY call them out on all of it. I am also optimistic that Obama will make it. What a relief that would be...

[tcaudilllg]

The Democrats need to FINALLY call them out on all of it.

That's exactly what we shouldn't do, because if we did, we'd be reacting to them. McCain's nomination means nothing: Bush remains the Republican's leader. I have little doubt that he thinks he should be able to stay in office... he will go on leading the Republican party until Jan 20th, 2009, after which point the fiscal conservatives will tell him in no uncertain terms that he is no longer their leader, and a new leader for the Republicans will rise.

But the country is swinging to the Left. The conservatives had control for some 30 years... it was evident the country was swinging right when Carter had the trouble he did. By 1994 it had become difficult to tell a Dem from a (fiscal) conservative, because the Right had made steady inroads into the party. When the Republicans took over these "Democrats" (Dems = mainstream American Left) switched over to them and buffed their majority. (I remember the Kentucky state senate switched hands when a "Dem" went Republican... KY has many such problem Dems.) Now the Dems are all but purified and working up an entirely new philosophical system.... (or the progressives and liberals are, anyway; we'll see about the other half.) I don't anticipate the Republicans coming back until the limits of this system are explicit and its parameters well defined... by which time I further anticipate Americans will be rethinking politics all together. (there will be more studies on how the brain determines political alignment, and those facts must be dealt with responsibly.) That's some 25-30 years off, perhaps....