Comments on: George W. Bush, Qianlong, and the end of an era http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/ A Qing historian reads the newspaper... Sat, 02 Jul 2011 03:31:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Dan http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/comment-page-1/#comment-10039 Dan Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:13:25 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=715#comment-10039 Any resemblance between the people in this post and anyone living or dead.... Any resemblance between the people in this post and anyone living or dead….

]]> By: J B http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/comment-page-1/#comment-10037 J B Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:10:39 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=715#comment-10037 I agree with Thomas- "admitting failure" in Iraq and just pulling out might have been an even worse idea. That Bush screwed up is for sure, that he failed... well, in some ways yes, but so far not completely. I hate Bush too, but let's give the guy what little credit he deserves... I agree with Thomas- “admitting failure” in Iraq and just pulling out might have been an even worse idea. That Bush screwed up is for sure, that he failed… well, in some ways yes, but so far not completely.
I hate Bush too, but let’s give the guy what little credit he deserves…

]]> By: The aftermath of George W. http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/comment-page-1/#comment-10032 The aftermath of George W. Wed, 21 Jan 2009 08:37:53 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=715#comment-10032 [...] http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/ [...] [...] http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/ [...]

]]> By: Thomas http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/comment-page-1/#comment-10028 Thomas Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:19:40 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=715#comment-10028 The big difference that you mention, that Qianlong could admit when he was beaten and Bush could not, is hardly fair as it overlooks the possibility that Bush may not think he had been beaten. And, in fact he may not have been. We just don't know. The jury is still out as to whether or not the Iraq fiasco, despite having harmed the US in several ways, was an overall failure in the end. You could say the same for the entire Bush presidency. Which is why, Obama safely elected, there is now a surge of articles in the same media, who almost universally lambasted Bush a few months ago, that claim that Bush's legacy is still unclear. Moreover, even if future generations label this as a period of absolute American decline, we have no way of knowing whether they would tag this on Bush or not. Some political commentators have noted before that many of the seeds of the current economic crisis, as well as those of anti-Americanism, were laid before Bush took office. History may actually just see him as one leader among many along a longer-term declining ladder. All of which basically means that, while people like discussing this sort of thing, it is not a very time-effective exercise as there are too many unknowns. The big difference that you mention, that Qianlong could admit when he was beaten and Bush could not, is hardly fair as it overlooks the possibility that Bush may not think he had been beaten. And, in fact he may not have been. We just don’t know. The jury is still out as to whether or not the Iraq fiasco, despite having harmed the US in several ways, was an overall failure in the end. You could say the same for the entire Bush presidency. Which is why, Obama safely elected, there is now a surge of articles in the same media, who almost universally lambasted Bush a few months ago, that claim that Bush’s legacy is still unclear.

Moreover, even if future generations label this as a period of absolute American decline, we have no way of knowing whether they would tag this on Bush or not. Some political commentators have noted before that many of the seeds of the current economic crisis, as well as those of anti-Americanism, were laid before Bush took office. History may actually just see him as one leader among many along a longer-term declining ladder.

All of which basically means that, while people like discussing this sort of thing, it is not a very time-effective exercise as there are too many unknowns.

]]> By: wu ming http://granitestudio.org/2009/01/20/george-w-bush-qianlong-and-the-end-of-an-era/comment-page-1/#comment-10013 wu ming Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:13:52 +0000 http://granitestudio.org/?p=715#comment-10013 hard to think of anything like the siku quanshu coming out of the bush the lesser's reign. even had he been granted 60 years (shudder), he'd have had trouble surpassing the cultural revolution in terms of his support of scholarship or learning. i mean, the zeroes were hardly a time of much of anything flourishing, besides real estate speculation and security contractors. hard to think of anything like the siku quanshu coming out of the bush the lesser’s reign. even had he been granted 60 years (shudder), he’d have had trouble surpassing the cultural revolution in terms of his support of scholarship or learning.

i mean, the zeroes were hardly a time of much of anything flourishing, besides real estate speculation and security contractors.

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