This man is a nuts

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

I don't know if you are kidding or not, but there are plenty of people in government in both parties who are very well respected on both sides of the aisle. For example, there are people in the Iraq Study Group such as Baker(R) and Warner(D) who are very well respected by both sides.

The new Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is well respected on both sides of the aisle. He was just confrimed by a vote of 95-2.

You would have to say the same thing for both Cheney and Rumsfeld at the beginning of the Administration. Both of these guys had great reputations of being extremely sharp and capable guys. Cheney was the Secretary of Defense under Bush senior back in the 1980s. He was consdiered to have done an excellent job. I believe Rumsfeld was the Sec of Defense under Ford. I don't remember what the vote was in confirming Rumsfeld but I would guess that it was quite one-sided.

So to answer your question of according to who, I would say according to their peers on both sides of the aisle.

Uh, Rupert, we werent talking about right NOW. We were talking about 2001. This was the quote I replied to:

I would say the same for the Bush Administration. Bush had what appeared to be one of the sharpest foreign policy teams ever assembled.

Baker IS an extremely capable man. Unfortunately, Baker was not apart of this all star foreign policy team that you were referring too. He entered the picture after the damage had already been done and despite being urged, Bush never put him in in place of Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld had a reputation for being extremely smart and capable? Are you joking? He had a reputation for being with the Carlyle group for 20 years. LOL. Rumsfeld pissed off many from the minute he walked through the door of this administration.

Cheney? You mean the twice convicted Drunk driver? Or the guy that had FIVE draft deferments? He had an agenda and that he was capable only of war and NOT of diplomacy of any kind. Again, capable in the eyes of whom?

Colin Powell? He was a tremendous failure and completely unqualified for the job. His asset was his popularity within our country and that doesnt help too much in dealings abroad.

What is the common denominator? All these men had defense backgrounds. And this is what you call one of the finest foreign policy teams ever assembled? The agenda was war and that was all these guys were good for. and as it turns out, they werent very good at that.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

Uh, Rupert, we werent talking about right NOW. We were talking about 2001. This was the quote I replied to:

I would say the same for the Bush Administration. Bush had what appeared to be one of the sharpest foreign policy teams ever assembled.

Baker IS an extremely capable man. Unfortunately, Baker was not apart of this all star foreign policy team that you were referring too. He entered the picture after the damage had already been done and despite being urged, Bush never put him in in place of Rumsfeld.

Rumsfeld had a reputation for being extremely smart and capable? Are you joking? He had a reputation for being with the Carlyle group for 20 years. LOL. Rumsfeld pissed off many from the minute he walked through the door of this administration.

Cheney? You mean the twice convicted Drunk driver? Or the guy that had FIVE draft deferments? He had an agenda and that he was capable only of war and NOT of diplomacy of any kind. Again, capable in the eyes of whom?

Colin Powell? He was a tremendous failure and completely unqualified for the job. His asset was his popularity within our country and that doesnt help too much in dealings abroad.

What is the common denominator? All these men had defense backgrounds. And this is what you call one of the finest foreign policy teams ever assembled? The agenda was war and that was all these guys were good for. and as it turns out, they werent very good at that.

I was not implying that Baker is part of Bush's team. I was just giving him as an example of a person that is well respected to see if you would at least agree with that, which you do. Then I was saying that I think that Cheney and Rumsfeld were very well respected too. I guess we disagree on that. I think we disagree about Powell too. I think he was very well respected at the time. Powell was hardly a controversial figure. He was one of those guys that everyone liked. He was considered to have a done a great job as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs during the first Persian Gulf War. He was Stormin' Norman's boss.

By the way, what was the confirmation vote on Rumsfeld when Bush named him as sec of Defense? I don't think there was much opposition to him.

I don't know if you are aware how successful Rumsfeld has been in the private sector. He was brought in as CEO at a few different companies that were not doing well. He totally turned these companies around. He couldn't be any more successful. I believe he's worth well over $100 million. If you don't think he's an extremely bright guy, you are kidding yourself.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by merasmag

bright and dangerous...i would put him on the same level as iran's president in evilness...don't u know where his fortune came from?

Yes, I do know where his fortune came from. He was an incredibly successful businessman.

When he took over as CEO at Searle, they were $28 million in the red. When he left 4 year later, they were $128 million in the black. Searle is a pharmaceutical company known for products such as Dramamine, Metamucil, and an early birth control pill.

He left Searle and became Chairman and CEO of General Instruments, where he did an amazing job. General Instruments is a leader in broadband transmissions, distributions, and access control technologies.

After leaving General Instruments, he became Chairman of the Board of Gilead Sciences, which is a huge pharmaceutical company.

Rumsfeld was incredibly successful everywhere he went. He was regarded as a guy who could go into a company and turn things around in a relatively quick time.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

Yes, I do know where his fortune came from. He was an incredibly successful businessman.

When he took over as CEO at Searle, they were $28 million in the red. When he left 4 year later, they were $128 million in the black. Searle is a pharmaceutical company known for products such as Dramamine, Metamucil, and an early birth control pill.

He left Searle and became Chairman and CEO of General Instruments, where he did an amazing job. General Instruments is a leader in broadband transmissions, distributions, and access control technologies.

After leaving General Instruments, he became Chairman of the Board of Gilead Sciences, which is a huge pharmaceutical company.

Rumsfeld was incredibly successful everywhere he went. He was regarded as a guy who could go into a company and turn things around in a relatively quick time.

Okay, leave out the good stuff.

Remember Searle also put out Nutrasweet. I wonder how much impact THAT had on the bottom line. And i wonder how he got that by the FDA. HMMMMMM.

How about his dealings with North Korea later. Or Sadaam earlier? HMMMM.

Does anyone else realize that BOTH times he was the Sec of Defense that neither of the presidents he served were elected by popular vote? HMMMMM.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

Okay, leave out the good stuff.

Remember Searle also put out Nutrasweet. I wonder how much impact THAT had on the bottom line. And i wonder how he got that by the FDA. HMMMMMM.

How about his dealings with North Korea later. Or Sadaam earlier? HMMMM.

Does anyone else realize that BOTH times he was the Sec of Defense that neither of the presidents he served were elected by popular vote? HMMMMM.

What about his dealings with North Korea? What about his dealings with Saddam? You tell me. What about them?

Searle put out Nutrasweet? So? Nutrasweet is still around. When I drink coffee once a year, I use nutrasweet. They are still flourishing. Here is a link to their website: http://www.nutrasweet.com

Rumsfeld was Sec of Defense under Presidents that did not win the popular election. So? How is this relevant to anything? Was Ford not supposed to have a Defense Secreatry? Was Bush not supposed to have a Defense Secretary? Rumsfled could not have been any more qualified.

Hey Dalkhani, What about the Carlyle Group? Ooooooh. LOL. As if that means something. I love it when you make these veiled accusations which imply some type of wrongdoing when there is no evidence of any wrongdoing.

"HMMMM", as you would say. As if that means anything.

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Rupert Pupkin

What about his dealings with North Korea? What about his dealings with Saddam? You tell me. What about them?

Searle put out Nutrasweet? So? Nutrasweet is still around. When I drink coffee once a year, I use nutrasweet. They are still flourishing. Here is a link to their website: http://www.nutrasweet.com

Rumsfeld was Sec of Defense under Presidents that did not win the popular election. So? How is this relevant to anything? Was Ford not supposed to have a Defense Secreatry? Was Bush not supposed to have a Defense Secretary? Rumsfled could not have been any more qualified.

Hey Dalkhani, What about the Carlyle Group? Ooooooh. LOL. As if that means something. I love it when you make these veiled accusations which imply some type of wrongdoing when there is no evidence of any wrongdoing.

"HMMMM", as you would say. As if that means anything.

What I think is hilarious is that not one but two republican presidents passed on Rumsfeld and Bush HW even went as far as push Cheney PAST Rumsfeld. Think he knew something? Think Reagan knew something? Obviously, Rumsfeld didnt do too well in this job SO THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN SOMETHING.

The FDA objected to passing Nutrasweet. Maybe you should go back and look up how that came about. Use that BA of yours.

Yes, the Carlyle group. Does anything more need to be said?

Rumsfeld was a complete failure as was this administration. A group of historians that were polled say that this will go down as one of the five WORST ever.

HMMMMMMMMMMM

[dalakhani]

Your original contention was that this was one of the best foreign policy teams ever assembled. Obviously, that wasnt the case.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

What I think is hilarious is that not one but two republican presidents passed on Rumsfeld and Bush HW even went as far as push Cheney PAST Rumsfeld. Think he knew something? Think Reagan knew something? Obviously, Rumsfeld didnt do too well in this job SO THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN SOMETHING.

The FDA objected to passing Nutrasweet. Maybe you should go back and look up how that came about. Use that BA of yours.

Yes, the Carlyle group. Does anything more need to be said?

Rumsfeld was a complete failure as was this administration. A group of historians that were polled say that this will go down as one of the five WORST ever.

HMMMMMMMMMMM

I don't think Rumsfeld was interested in being Defense Secretary for Reagan or Bush senior. He was a little bit busy at the time running billion dollar companies.

Rumsfeld and the Admisistration did make one major blunder. They severely underestimated the strength of the insurgency. That was obviously a huge blunder. When you are in a position of power and you are constantly making tough decisions, you will probably make a poor decision eventually. If I was going to pick someone to run a company, Rumsfeld would still be at the top of my list.

You keep mentioning the Carlyle Group. Tell us what is wrong with the Carlyle Group. And tell us what Rumsfeld's relationship was to the group.

In addition to the B.A., I have an M.A. But I don't need the M.A. to figure out that Nutrasweet is still on the market today. The FDA has pulled thousands of things off the shelf. If there was conclusive evidence that Nutrasweet was dangerous, it would be pulled off the shelf. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't ingest Nutrasweet every day, but I wouldn't eat meat every day either.