Thank you VDH!
As he points out, however, the things that Bush was criticized for are completely ignored in the case of Obama. Can you imagine what would have happened if Bush had made a joke about siccing drones on his daughters' suitors?
Also, even the very highly manipulated statistics are now being ignored. There is no logical reason for the press to ignore the fact that unemployment has been higher every month of Obama's terms than it was in any one month under Bush. But the press doesn't care, because it's all about covering Obama's posterior.
I think Bush's biggest failure was in not confronting the media and confronting his critics; he always thought it was more gentlemanly and contributed more to domestic harmony to just ignore it. But the problem is that so many unanswered challenges left the impression of guilt in the minds of the masses, and it was very easy for the Dems and the press to go on to demonize him (even here on FR, I have seen people refer to Bush as practically a horned monster).
I agree 100% with everything you say.