Today I was listening to an old song by Bob Dylan in which he sings about a Commander-in-Chief who says, "Death to all those who would whimper and cry!" then throws down a barbell and points to the sky, saying "The sun's not yellow- it's chicken!"

I started thinking about how someone could have been lampooning Bush with lines like that. Then it occurred to me that the president at the time the song was written was Johnson, who was also a Texan president and who also presided over a horrible screw-up of a war and seemed unwilling to face reality. The only other Texan president I could think of was George Bush, Sr., who I think one could argue also presided over a horrible screw-up of a war, although he screwed up in a less obvious and humiliating manner than his son and Johnson did. So I'm curious - are these three the only Texan presidents? If so, is there something about Texan culture that makes aggressive and unrealistic warfare more likely under a Texan leader, or am I just feeling bitter today and taking it out on Texans?

I don't think the comparison of either earlier President to the current one holds up. Johnson, for all his faults, inherited his war. Yes, he escalated it, and is, in my opinion, responsible for a lot of deaths, but he didn't start a foolish war. Bush I did the right thing in the first Gulf War. I am sure he had no idea that his namesake would ever be a success at anything, let alone get elected President and attack the country that was defeated so badly in that war and had not yet recovered from that defeat. The current president hasn't won either of the two wars he started, and is unlikely to. He was right to go into Afghanistan after bin Laden and overthrow the government that harbored him. But he didn't defeat that government, nor did he get the reason he invaded in the first place - bin Laden. The absurdity of stopping short is what we are paying for now in Afghanistan. The government he justifiably removed from power is still around, and increasing its power, controling large parts of the country. Afghanistan is a failure by any account. Removing a government whose army's main mode of transportation has 4 legs is by no means a feat worth noting.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, we have only removed Saddam from power. Everything else is bad news. We allowed a "not a civil war" to start by not planning for the result of overthrowing the only control of the simmering sectarian violence that was sure to erupt in Iraq. Excellent advice from the military was ignored and repressed, and only supporting opinion was allowed. We increased terrorism world-wide, and made jihadism a desirable profession for a great many Muslim youth.

Johnson's war was inevitably lost, but Americans now vacation in Vietnam and China. George H. W. Bush won his war, and Saddam never again crossed his borders to menace another country, being completely contained. The current president is losing and will lose both the wars he started, and we will be paying for it, in cash and in lives, for a long time.

Eisenhower was from Texas, too.

He was involved in a war before he was president -- one that he didn't start but that he definitely helped end!

If I remember correctly, Eisenhower sent the first US "advisors" to Vietnam.
--------
Oops -

July 26, 1950 - United States military involvement in Vietnam begins as President Harry Truman authorizes $15 million in military aid to the French.

American military advisors will accompany the flow of U.S. tanks, planes, artillery and other supplies to Vietnam. Over the next four years, the U.S. will spend $3 Billion on the French war and by 1954 will provide 80 percent of all war supplies used by the French.

September 27, 1950 - The U.S. establishes a Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) in Saigon to aid the French Army.

January 20, 1953 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, former five-star Army general and Allied commander in Europe during World War II, is inaugurated as the 34th U.S. President.

During his term, Eisenhower will greatly increase U.S. military aid to the French in Vietnam to prevent a Communist victory. U.S. military advisors will continue to accompany American supplies sent to Vietnam. To justify America's financial commitment, Eisenhower will cite a 'Domino Theory' in which a Communist victory in Vietnam would result in surrounding countries falling one after another like a "falling row of dominoes." The Domino Theory will be used by a succession of Presidents and their advisors to justify ever-deepening U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

March 30-May 1 - The siege at Dien Bien Phu occurs as nearly 10,000 French soldiers are trapped by 45,000 Viet Minh. French troops soon run out of fresh water and medical supplies.

The French urgently appeal to Washington for help. The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff now consider three possible military options: sending American combat troops to the rescue; a massive conventional air strike by B-29 bombers; the use of tactical atomic weapons.

President Eisenhower dismisses the conventional air raid and the nuclear option after getting a strong negative response to such actions from America's chief ally, Britain. Eisenhower also decides against sending U.S. ground troops to rescue the French, citing the likelihood of high casualty rates in the jungles around Dien Bien Phu. No action is taken.

May 7, 1954 - At 5:30 p.m., 10,000 French soldiers surrender at Dien Bien Phu. By now, an estimated 8000 Viet Minh and 1500 French have died. The French survivors are marched for up to 60 days to prison camps 500 hundred miles away. Nearly half die during the march or in captivity.

France proceeds to withdraw completely from Vietnam, ending a bitter eight year struggle against the Viet Minh in which 400,000 soldiers and civilians from all sides had perished.

May 8, 1954 - The Geneva Conference on Indochina begins, attended by the U.S., Britain, China, the Soviet Union, France, Vietnam (Viet Minh and representatives of Bao Dai), Cambodia and Laos, all meeting to negotiate a solution for Southeast Asia.

July 21, 1954 - The Geneva Accords divide Vietnam in half at the 17th parallel, with Ho Chi Minh's Communists ceded the North, while Bao Dai's regime is granted the South. The accords also provide for elections to be held in all of Vietnam within two years to reunify the country. The U.S. opposes the unifying elections, fearing a likely victory by Ho Chi Minh. (Another shining example of the US supporting democracy - DG)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,

Neither George H Bush or his son, George W Bush were native Texans.The first was born in Massachusettes and his son in Connecticut.

Maybe it's just the Texan climate that turns them crazy.