George W. Bush Weighs in on 2012 – As Expected Endorses Romney – AP Bush Polarizing? Compared to Whom? Opinion and Analysis

Former Presidents and Popularity - Pictured: Bill Clinton and George W. Bush - image Op-ed News



The Headline: AP Via ”The Chippewa Herald: “Role unlikely for George W. Bush in Romney bid”, speaks to the “endorsement of Mitt Romney by former President George W. Bush, and the fact that Bush might still be problematic for Republicans:

"Romney's campaign doesn't foresee the 43rd president playing a substantive role in the race. Aides are carefully weighing how much the former president should be involved in the GOP convention _ and for good reason. The Bush fatigue that was a drag on GOP nominee John McCain four years ago, and on the country, still lingers, including among Republicans."

"While Bush's standing has improved since he left office in January 2009, he remains a polarizing political figure."

One must note that Republicans (the Body Party Politics) are generally careful and pragmatic regarding appearances, specifically erring on the side of caution, being at times too timid and living in what amounts to a glass bowl. In addition, the role of former Presidents should not weigh a great deal in the campaigns of those who would be President. It is not the comparative that is at issue, it is the ability for the Romney Campaign to define Mitt Romney as an individual. One does not see Obama on stage with any former Democrat Presidents – unless one counts Jimmy Carter. It is highly doubtful the most popular Democrat former President Bill Clinton will be seen embracing Obama on the stump – he may support the Party, but it is not with enthusiasm.

Bush on the other hand has seen a bit of notoriety during the Obama Administration. First, the “Miss Me Yet” Billboards, then the “Miss Me Yet” T-Shirts, that continue to be “best Sellers” despite the fact that Obama is rounding the corner of the last year of his administration. They continue to sell on outlets such as Amazon, Café Press, and any one of thousands of internet based t-shirt outlets – In the case of Martha’s Vineyard (a favorite Obama vacation destination) Miss Me Yet t-shirts, outsell “I vacationed with Obama” on the resort island.

That does not speak to Romney, but it does speak to the Obama Presidency – especially in popular culture.

The idea that G.W. Bush would be the divisive President is perhaps ancient history – the most divisive President award will, in all likelihood, go to the current President – and although the economy may be his undoing, it is also quite possible that, it would be his ability to divide and divide and divide. It can only be someone else’s fault (Bush, the Congress, the Pollster (depending on the poll), for so long before the every voter except the base starts to notice one thing. The Man has yet to own the office, preferring the campaign trail to managing the nation.

Comparatively one has the impression that Mitt Romney has a plan to fix the economy, but that he would “own” the position of Chief Executive, and having played the role successfully in the private sector, may make hiring choices that are based less on cronyism and more on ability to do the job. That remains to be seen, as he has entered the body politic, but it is more likely than not, given his experience.

Therein lays the key word - divisive - as polls continue to show Romney besting the President, with Women, (CBS/NYTimes), and Independents (CBS/NYTimes) by varying margins of 3 to 7 points (the later Rasmussen).

Therefore, if Bush, who enjoys his low profile, endorses Romney (which one would expect), then the need for the Press to paint Bush as divisive, and suggest that the Obama administration might use that tactic in the campaign (which they will any wise), it would serve to strengthen the image that Obama is continuing give credit to a previous administration, long past the time where one would find these accusations credible.

There is public perception, the more that one hears Romney is in the lead nationally, or in key states, on the evening news, then when gas prices fall, or any improvement occurs, the danger for the Obama campaign is that Romney is the reason – logic? – If the nation is improving, it is because business believes that Romney is going to win – giving Romney an early boost or leg-up if one will. At this point, there appears little that Obama can do to salvage a win in 2012, given the consonant poll data from Gallup and the trend in polls for the general election.


Carter Obama, the comparisons continue - image: libertad.org

Of note: Edward Klein’s “The Amateur” is now available – and suggested reading. Having read “The Truth About Hillary, against the warnings of the likes of Bill O’Reilly on the right, and choose anyone on the “left” that has a public voice, the book allowed those that tended to dehumanize Hillary Clinton, with a vengeance, actually like her – more to the point, look at her record and then support her candidacy in 2008.

Rene Orta, Mexican Journalist - Murdered – Latest Journalist to be Killed in Mexico – Press in Mexico Death Sentence for Reporting on?

The body of Rene Orta discovered in trunk of his car - image and article from Siempre.com.mx

From Presna Latina: A Mexican journalist, Rene Orta, was found in the trunk of a car, cause of death not yet determined – he is the latest victim in a string of atrocities that appear to be a daily occurrence in this nation. . It is uncertain if the fact that the Orta was working for the Presidential campaign of the very popular, Enrique Peña Nieto, was a factor. (Presna Latina)

There was a case earlier in May, 2012 :

“The bodies of two Mexican news photographers who specialized in the crime beat were found along with the bodies of a former photojournalist and a fourth individual in a canal in the city of Boca del Río, in Veracruz state, according to news reports.
The dismembered bodies of photographers Gabriel Huge Córdova and Guillermo Luna Varela were found along with the body of Esteban Rodríguez, a former Veracruz news photographer, and Irasema Becerra, who was said to have been Luna's companion, according to news reports. News accounts said Huge and Luna had disappeared on Wednesday.”

(CPI.org)

The statistics are troubling, to say the least, journalism in Mexico is a high-risk profession, according to Presna Latina, The National Commission on Human Rights has filed 580 complaints since 2005. In that period, of known incidents: there were 79 journalists, 14 who had disappeared and an additional 26 assaults on media intuitions in the nation of Mexico. (Prena Latina)

Understanding that the drug cartels are extremely dangerous, does not belie the fact that even organized crime would welcome “good press” from time to time, and or the opportunity to allow the media to report in order to show their hold over the nation that separates the United States from Latin American – this appears not to be the case. There are instances where the brutality of the murders (decapitation, dismemberment) are not the norm of Mexican Culture, which begs the question, what have these dead and or missing journalist discovered that puts them at such a high risk? It could very well be that the war between the “king pins” of drugs that run the cartels and the nation, have become so violent that it is more than a high risk, rather suicidal. Perhaps it is hoped that if journalists do not report, then they will be able to precede business as usual – however, there is little to suggest that the nation in that time had a high success rate in corralling the king pins, and the violence against innocents, gang members, and members of the press, continues unabated. So what would be the purpose? Unless of course there may be a larger, underlying story unfolding in Mexico, one which would mean an immediate death sentence for anyone who might be looking for the scoop of the century. What that might be, is anyone’s guess.

Then again, there is the distinct possibility that the alleged drug cartels are only a cover story for terrorists, who are more familiar with the culture of beheading: The blog: Right Side News, chronicles the increase of Jihadist in the nation to our south – entitled Mexican Jihad, they cite sources such as the New York Daily News: “Close to home: Hezbollah terrorists are plotting right on the U.S. border” (2010), , The German News outlet, Der Spiegel, from 2005 offer the report “Praying to Allah in Mexico, Islam Is Gaining a Foothold in Chiapasl”.

Whatever the case may be, at this point, it is obvious that the nation of Mexico is out of control, and that it lays directly on an open border with the United States, one which may be the only hope for those escaping either the drug wars or the more troubling concept of having those who have vowed to destroy the west, within walking distance. Either way, as administration after U.S. administration has closed its eyes to the distinct possibility that an open border policy may not be such a great idea, and promises made by politicians are not kept, for fear that they may lose a constituency who apparently would destroy any political capital if someone had the gall to secure the U.S. border. Time for someone, on either side of the border, to step up and protect not only the citizens on the U.S. border, but the citizens behind what can only be referred to now as the Mexican Front lines. This last, an hypothesis based on minimal reporting, (outside of the Mexican state where any Reporting might land one a death sentence), cultural abnormalities, and the inclination for actual “crime” bosses to be more flamboyant, cultivating loyalty through both intimidation as well as charity. This is puzzling, and it appears that as more journalists are silenced, the true story of how, in less than a decade, the nation to our south has become the subject of world headlines touting multiple murders on a weekly or often more frequent, basis.

Mexican Drug War – 49 Bodies Found at U.S. Border Town – Beheadings and The Mexican Culture - A Mystery.

The most recent Mexican Beheadings & Mutilations: image from indiatv.com

The Violent Drug Gang War, that has seen an increasing body count, has been a situation in Mexico for years. In 2011 the incidents of beheading and mutilation began to appear, with victims ranging from journalist to alleged “rival drug cartel” members, yet there was little to no reporting on the growing number of incidents. It has, in some reports, spilled over the U.S. border(MSNBC) The latest is a mass murder of 48 individuals, found in a pool of blood on the road to one of the larger border cities being reported widely in U.S. newspapers:

Forty-nine bodies with their heads, hands and feet hacked off were found Sunday dumped on a northern Mexico highway leading to the Texas border in what appeared to be the latest massacre in an escalating war between Mexico's two dominant drug cartels. (San Francisco Chronicle)

How does beheading figure into Mexican Culture? It appears in only ancient instances – the main example being the Aztecs “ball games”, where the loser was summarily beheaded. Other than that there is little mention of the act of beheading as common in the Mexican Culture – rather, ripping out of the heart, was popular in the Mayan Culture, but of which have little bearing, other than commercial tourism on today’s Mexico.

Surprisingly there are few other modern cultures which actively use decapitation in practice, either terror and/or as a style of execution. One mostly finds instances in the Middle East, for example Saudi Arabia uses beheading as a means of execution(CBS News). An interesting report of modern-day beheading and culture by by Ronald Jones, a Carlisle Paper by the U.S. Army War College, is both historically accurate and well written (U here in PDF). In the report, the topics cover ancient civilizations and the methodology of execution by beheading, however, it then covers modern day executions as well as the use of the methodology in terror organizations, specifically in the Middle East. Also of note: the use of hanging multiple bodies from bridges do not appear outside of current history, except for two incidents, the Iraq war, and theorist use of the method, and the Mexican “drug war”. Although mass hangings did take place on what is now U.S. soil, it was the British Government whose “war on pirates” resulted in the hangings in pre-revolutionary Newport RI.

Which begs the question: Where did the “drug cartels” discover the art of beheading? Was it through their ancient cultures – if so, there would be more hearts ripped out of bodies than heads lying on the streets. One might speculate with the open border between the U.S. and Mexico, funds needed by terrorist organizations in the Middle East and the easy access to Mexico from those nations in the Middle East and Africa that use beheadings in terrorism , coupled with the huge amount of capital that can be gained from running drugs for cash and weapons (see Fast and Furious), if there isn’t another influence at work.