Mr. Compassion.

October 31, 2000 11:45 PM

Mr. Compassion. This man sickens me. "When did you graduate?" Bush asked her, as she recalls. She told him. That's when Bush told her that Yale "went downhill since they admitted women." Your president, America?
posted by owillis (12 comments total)

If you read the whole quote, you see he's not talking about the quality of education but the social climate of the school, which of course changed drastically
when it went co-ed.

If you've ever been in a men-only or women-only group like a choir or a frat or sports team, you know its a very different social environment, and I don't think it's just sexism to admit that you might enjoy that environment.

Of course that kind of preference isn't sufficient justification for keeping women out of top schools like Yale, and I don't see Bush making an argument that it should, just lamenting the loss of something he enjoyed.
posted by straight at 6:19 AM on November 1, 2000

But that's not the only issue brought up in this article. I raises some other situations that could cause problems if Bush ever becomes President.

What would happen if he mixed up the names of ambassadors or leaders from foreign countries? An insult like that could have heavy repercussions to foreign policy.

And yes, Dubya may have been lamenting the change in social environment when women were admitted into Yale but apparently his comments alluded to the fact that the change was for the worse. I could understand if he said he missed the camaraderie of the men-only environment but to say the change was bad? or that it made the school worse?

Finally it bugs the hell out of me that he denies Wicca is a religion on the one hand and on the other hand can't understand why the American public doesn't support prayer in schools and other public places/events.

Not someone I want representing my views.

posted by bkdelong at 6:32 AM on November 1, 2000

I can't wait for this election to be over.

What would happen if he mixed up the names of ambassadors or leaders from foreign countries? An insult like that could have heavy repercussions to foreign policy.

I could make the *same* argument towards Gore. What would happen if he sighed condescendingly when a foreign leader said something he didn't agree with?

If Bush does get in, it will only be because the Dems put up such a terrible candidate. You'll spend the next 4-8 years being represented by a man you clearly dislike. Welcome to my world.
posted by dandot at 7:07 AM on November 1, 2000

Personally, it doesn't really matter to me if Bush thinks that Yale was better before they let in women for whatever reason. If you're the type of person that loves the all-male camaraderie-thing that comes from an all-male group like a fraternity, and probably to a greater extent at an all-male school, then, sure you'd think things went downhill once they started letting women in. Now, personally I would think that the addition of women to the social mix would make things more interesting and more fun, but that's my opinion. I don't go for the fraternity-type stuff.

But what is amazing to me is that Bush would expound on how the admission of women ruined the social climate in the presence of a woman--worse, a woman who went to Yale. Even if that's his opinion, anyone with some common sense and experience dealing with people should realize that those kinds of statements are going to be taken as personal attacks, even if they aren't intended that way. Bush was essentially saying that Yale women were bad for the social environment, to a Yale woman. I'm sorry, but that's just dumb. At least, it's dumb if you want her support.
posted by daveadams at 7:45 AM on November 1, 2000

How dumb? He's just not sure about evolution:

He seems exceptionally unreflective, impatient with the world of ideas, uninterested in some of the nation's key political debates. Characteristically, he does not believe in evolution — he says the jury is still out — but he does not actively disbelieve in it either; as a friend puts it, "he doesn't really care about that kind of thing."

Also see this article in Slate; from which there's this lovely little Gore pander attempt:

Amid the political furor, Al Gore said through a spokesman that he favored teaching evolution in the public schools, that the decision should be made at the local level, and that "localities should be free to teach creationism as well." But after the Gore campaign was informed that the 1987 Supreme Court decision Edwards v. Aguillard prohibited teaching creationism because it constituted religious belief, Gore retreated to the more sound position that creationism could be taught only in religion classes. In effect, Gore backed off from the cowardly relativism of his initial answer

I'd say I'm glad to live in Canada, but then someone would bring up the specter of a Stockwell Day majority government. Yikes!
posted by icathing at 9:34 AM on November 1, 2000

If my exwife wasn't moving to Canada, at this point I'd seriously consider it. I wonder how long I'd last in Mexico?
posted by ZachsMind at 11:00 AM on November 1, 2000

Zach, Vancouver is further from Toronto than Moscow is from London. Big place. I wouldn't worry about it.
posted by sylloge at 11:38 AM on November 1, 2000

That reminds me of what always happens when someone mentions they're from Canada: "So, you're from Canada... have you ever met _____ _____?"
posted by kidsplateusa at 5:31 PM on November 1, 2000

My favorite was (in Seattle): "Oh, you're from Canada huh? Do you know Terry? Brown Camaro, Washington plates?"
posted by sylloge at 6:11 PM on November 1, 2000

".... but I'm sure they're really, really nice."
posted by dhartung at 8:38 PM on November 1, 2000

Y'know, that whole "Do you know..." thing doesn't bother me as much as it apparently does other Canadians.

I mean, if I meet someone from Australia, I'm inclined to wonder if they know any of the people I've met from there, though the chances are just as slim as me knowing Terry with the Washington plates. Those instances were we realize how small the world is are great, and I wouldn't mind being able to experience that neat little surrealistic rush I get when seperation reaches less than 6-degrees.

Mind you, it's also not a question I'm asked often, since I haven't actually been outside of Canada in a couple of years. :-)
posted by cCranium at 6:03 AM on November 2, 2000

Which reminds me: whenever someone (civilian) finds out that I'm in the US Air Force, one of two questions emanates: "Oh, do you know ____ _____?" That's possible, I suppose; there are only about 360,000 of us in the USAF. The other: "Oh, what kind of plane do you fly?" Haw, haw! Only a very small number of us actually fly the planes; the vast majority do things like fix the planes, pay the people, treat the ill, manage resources, etc.
posted by davidmsc at 10:03 PM on December 1, 2001