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A comment in the Wall Street Journal "Best of the Web" section today managed to blame Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on George Bush, without actually using his name. Here it in in full: "The character of political leaders isn't the only factor determining geopolitical events." Perhaps the wisest insight from the BOTW I've ever seen. We like to blame the politicians who happen to be nominally in charge for the changing tides of history. This is the Great Man theory of history, and it is arguably wrong, or at least not sufficiently explanatory. Hitler, for example, did not kill a...

The latest round of speculation about the 2016 presidential race stars former Florida Governor Jeb Bush whose Republican nomination could potentially lead to a matchup between two powerhouse political families. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton holds a double-digit lead over Bush in a hypothetical matchup, but half of voters are less likely to vote for Bush because of his family’s history in the White House. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that if the 2016 presidential election were held today, 47% of Likely U.S. Voters would choose Clinton, while 33% would opt for Bush. Fourteen percent (14%) prefer some...

From George H.W. Bush to George W. Bush to now George P. Bush, the 37 year old attorney who is likely to be our next Land Commissioner: "George P. Bush took the first step toward continuing his family's political dynasty Tuesday, shaking off an under-funded primary challenger and securing the Republican nomination for the little-known but powerful post of Texas land commissioner.   The 37-year-old Fort Worth attorney is the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, nephew of former President and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and son of ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush who is frequently mentioned as a possible...

Former first lady Barbara Bush sat down with Fox News for an interview at her home in Houston, Texas that aired on Wednesday. After stating for over a year that she thinks the Bush family should stay out of presidential politics, she said "maybe it's ok" if another Bush runs in 2016.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — George P. Bush took the first step toward continuing his family's political dynasty Tuesday, shaking off an under-funded primary challenger and securing the Republican nomination for the little-known but powerful post of Texas land commissioner. The 37-year-old Fort Worth attorney is the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush, nephew of former President and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and son of ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is frequently mentioned as a possible GOP White House hopeful in 2016. He's also a Spanish speaker whose mother Columba was born in Mexico and who Republican leaders...

e are already at the point in this prematurely unfolding 2016 presidential campaign when a glance down the list of prospective candidates can cause most observers to wince. As that seductive and sultry crooner Peggy Lee once sang, “Is that all there is?” At the U.Va. Crystal Ball, we currently have 11 Republicans and nine Democrats as probable or possible presidential contenders. The Democrats have fewer and more tentative contenders because of the paralyzing gravitational pull of “Planet Hillary,” as the New York Times Magazine described the Clinton operation. The former secretary of state is a kind of massive Jupiter...

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow charged Monday that the George W. Bush administration's Middle East policy has steered America's current security policy and response to global crises — including the one in Ukraine. Talking about her new documentary, "Why We Did It," involving circumstances leading to the Iraq War, Maddow told MSNBC colleague Andrea Mitchell that the Bush administration is largely responsible for the nation's current course overseas. “The decisions of our generation on national security are determined more than anything by what the George W. Bush administration did with that nine-year war in Iraq and, alongside it, a 13-year war...

There is much hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth today in Washington DC over Russia's invasion of the Ukraine but this confrontation was lost years ago. Vladimir Putin has outwitted Barack Obama all along the way. The truth is, Obama is easy prey for Putin. Narcissists are prone to succumbing to the proper signals. Hubris is the fuel that runs the Obama mind. It's always been that way and we have documented that here often. Putin recognized it, having learned something from Obama's predecessor. Putin and Obama met in July of 2009 and it was in that meeting that Obama was...

There’s no way around it. America’s political establishment wants Bush vs. Clinton II. Is resistance futile? Every single Romney donor we spoke with this week listed the former Florida governor as their top choice… Also, with solid name recognition and the Bush political machine behind him, Romney donors believe Jeb is the most electable of the potential Republican candidates. For Romney donors, electability is the single most important trait. “If Jeb Bush is in the race, he clears the field,” said one major Romney donor. “You would have someone who has the talent that is equal to Mitt. The natural...

Mitt Romney knows how to raise money. He collected more than $1.1 billion in the 2012 campaign, relying on contacts he built during his time as Massachusetts governor, head of the Salt Lake City Olympics, years working in private equity, and as chairman of the Republican Governor's Association. And now, with Romney insisting that he will not run again in 2016, literally hundreds of millions of dollars-worth of Republican money is up for grabs -- and donors say that they are already being courted by several potential presidential candidates.

The Talk Shows February 23rd, 2014 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Govs. Scott Walker, R-Wis., and Peter Shumlin, D-Vt.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): National Security Adviser Susan Rice.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Govs. Bobby Jindal, R-La., and Martin O'Malley, D-Md.THIS WEEK (ABC): Former President George W. Bush.STATE OF THE UNION (CNN): Govs. Rick Perry, R-Texas, Mike Pence, R-Ind., Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., Jay Nixon D-Mo.

So we have reached the aporia of the Right’s main argument against President Obama, wherein their arguments are deconstructing themselves via their own rhetoric undermining their claims. Republicans call the President a dictator and say his boot is on their necks, he is stomping on the Constitution, he is an “imperial” president. And yet all of them remain free to say these things in public, on TV. There isn’t even any backlash to speak of. Leading this charge is the still bitter Sarah Palin, whose behavior post 2008 loss makes John McCain’s look magnanimous and mature. Palin posited that after...

The Congressional Budget Office’s warning that the Affordable Care Act will cause employment to fall by the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time workers is just the latest of Obamacare’s negative surprises. Unfortunately, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s statement that “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it” is proving to be depressingly accurate. The law’s defenders legitimately argue that it is not sufficient merely to criticize the Affordable Care Act; responsible action requires proposing an alternative. Fortunately, Republicans have a good one, and it’s been hiding in plain sight for the past...

The Congressional Budget Office’s warning that the Affordable Care Act will cause employment to fall by the equivalent of 2.5 million full-time workers is just the latest of Obamacare’s negative surprises. Unfortunately, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s statement that “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it” is proving to be depressingly accurate. The law’s defenders legitimately argue that it is not sufficient merely to criticize the Affordable Care Act; responsible action requires proposing an alternative. Fortunately, Republicans have a good one, and it’s been hiding in plain sight for the past...

Even to this day,when they ask liberal commentator questions regarding the current "Ambassador-Gate",first thing they say,"Well When Bush Was President".Now keep in mind,according to liberals,Bush was a blockhead,dumbest President since Carter.So why is it OK with liberals/democrats for Obama to make the same embarrassing mistake?,So what they are assuming is that Obama is on the same intelligence level as George Bush?,It's actually very childish to keep referring to the previous boss."Well,the last manager stole cash from the register and called his employees racist names"So why can't I"?, Pretty much explains the vulgarity we have been hearing from liberals since Obama...

“I taught constitutional law for ten years. I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that were facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all, and that’s what I intend to reverse when I’m President of the United States of America.” - Obama, 2008 What a difference six years makes. The above video, released tonight by The Heritage Foundation, shows two different faces of Barack Obama when it comes to executive branch. In 2008, then-candidate Obama said that America's "biggest...

As you may recall, we tend to reserve the "pure gold" descriptor for uniquely egregious instances of Obama hypocrisy. This one surely qualifies. American Commitment clips a stump speech snippet from 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama, scrupulous defender of our constitutional structure, and righteous critic of executive power grabs. Behold:

Nope. Imo, he was treated worse. http://youtu.be/1WJ03isLxjk Hat tip: BlackFive Political rancor and hatred as old as politics. “All of the folks who are saying, ‘We don’t like Barack Obama,’ they can’t tell youany reason that they don’t…I absolutely believe it’s all about race, andfor the first time in my life I’ve been able to convince my children finally that racism is alive and well.” -State Senator, Louise Lucas There's nothing unique to any disrespect shown to the current president. Certainly it isn't the color of President Obama's skin that drives the political opposition to his presidency. Yet so many...

Last week, I was one of the many students who crowded the Alumni Memorial Building to hear the amazing Angela Davis speak. She spoke about our country's history of slavery and slavery's modern incarnation: our nation's prison industrial complex. "We should seriously question the fact that punishment can be profitable," Davis challenged. She was referring to the multi-billion dollar industry of privatized correctional facilities, one of our economy's fastest growing sectors. The thing about capitalism is that in the right conditions, a profit can be made from just about anything — including the suffering of other people. Why do we...

The wide variety of potential candidates for the Republican presidential nomination boils down to one question in many quarters — which one can beat Hillary Clinton? But to at least one powerful Republican consultant, Mary Matalin, the "Hillary" question is pointless. "Hillary Clinton’s lead is ephemeral," Matalin told Politico Magazine. "As soon as she gets in, if she gets in, she will be challenged and it will evaporate. Just the nature of the beast. I predict she doesn’t run." ---snip--- Political consultant and media strategist Mark McKinnon predicts a "Clash of the Titans" battle between Clinton and Bush for the...

And why is that? Because it's beginning to dawn on me that Jeb Bush is probably going to be the Republican Party's nominee for president in 2016. Consider: With the ongoing implosion of Chris Christie's political career, the GOP establishment has lost its best hope for a candidate who could stop a libertarian-populist insurgency during the primaries. Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker — the list of viable fire-breathers is longer (and less dominated by incompetents, crazies, and one-note sideshow acts) than establishment types would like.

**SNIP** The Salt Lake Games were held less than five months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Bush prefaced his declaration with a few non-scripted patriotic words: "On behalf of a proud, determined and grateful nation, I declare open the games of Salt Lake City, celebrating the Winter Games." Said Bach: "All the other heads of state respected the charter and I'm absolutely sure the charter will be respected tonight." Putin stayed true to the text, saying in Russian: "I declare open the 22nd Olympic Winter Games in Sochi."

Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin would prove "formidable" in a 2016 run for president, Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol predicted Thursday. "She's a huge political talent. She has a real populist streak, and a real feel for, sort of, middle America in a way that very few politicians do," Kristol told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "The truth is, she might be kind of formidable," he added.(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Her biggest obstacle, Kristol maintained, would be explaining why she stepped down as Alaska's governor before serving her entire term. Kristol advised the next Republican nominee to "spend some time...

Best listen to your mother, boy... It's time to give-up on the "nostolgia" of the Reagan era: "So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant.  I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the  good old days in the [Republican] messaging.  I mean, it’s great, but it doesn’t draw people toward your cause"  "From the conservative side, it’s time for us to listen first,  to learn a little bit, to upgrade our message a little bit,  to not be nostalgic about the past because,  you know, things do ebb and flow..." "I don't think a...

Though former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) is often hailed by the Republican establishment as the best candidate to take on Hillary Clinton in a potential 2016 general election contest for president, Clinton clobbers Bush by 20 percentage points in a hypothetical matchup. According to a CNN/ORC poll released Monday, Clinton leads Bush 57% to 37%. Bush does worse against Clinton than do Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R), and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)...

I am weighed down by some thoughts I have been having lately. I think that since you are my family out there is Spectator-land, I will share them with you. (Although usually family are the last people who want to hear your thoughts. My sister is an exception, of course.) First, a few days ago, I had a brief talk with a thoughtful high school student in my beloved Greenville. The topic was whether or not Osama bin Laden had realized his objectives in the attack of 9/11. The woman had all kinds of brilliant insights, and herewith I add...

The president and his queen are the epitome of corruption and greed. They talk about “caring for the poor” while spending piles of other people’s money on their celebrity parties.Disgusting. If anyone still clings to some charitable notion that there is more to Michelle Obama than a celebrity wanna-be opportunist, let her 50thbirthday celebration be the proof that does away with any remaining delusions. The FLOTUS’ birthday bash invitees included such moneyed stars as Gladys Knight, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jordan, Stevie Wonder, Samuel L. Jackson, Ashley Judd, and, of course, power couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z (the latter...

Republicans rate Sarah Palin higher than every potential 2016 presidential contender, even though she is not even considered to be in the running, a new poll has found. A Public Policy Polling survey conducted Jan. 23-26 showed that the former governor of Alaska has a 70 percent favorability rating among GOP primary voters, topping six other potential candidates in the poll, even though her name was not on the list of 2016 GOP candidates to choose from. "The best-liked person we tested on this poll with Republican primary voters is actually Sarah Palin," the poll noted. In the survey of...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Jeb Bush is considering a run for the White House — no matter what his mother thinks. With two recent national polls showing Jeb among the top potential 2016 Republican presidential contenders, a local Florida reporter asked the former Sunshine State governor Wednesday about a potential run. “I’m considering — I’m going to think about it later,” he said. “So I don’t wake up each day saying, ‘oh, what am I going to do today to make this decision. I’m deferring the decision to the right time, which is later this year.” The son and brother of former presidents continued...

Following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, former George W. Bush speechwriter Mark Thiessen told Fox News Channel’s “The Kelly File” host Megyn Kelly that Obama’s speech plagiarized lines from Bush’s 2007 speech, for which he said he was the lead speechwriter. “It was eerily familiar,” Thiessen said. “There were lines like, ‘Our job is to help Americans build a future of hope and opportunity. A future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy. A future of hope and opportunity requires our citizens have affordable and available health care.’ ‘Extending opportunity and hope depends...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said Tuesday that a large segment of the GOP is “anti-government, anti-science and anti-Obama” and that while Democrats opposed much of President George W. Bush’s agenda, Republican obstruction to President Obama is “something quite stunning.” “What’s interesting to me is that Democrats and Republicans know what they believe,” Mrs. Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown.” “They know what they believe, and that’s what’s happening in Congress … what’s happening here now is we have a large segment of the Republican party that is anti-government. We don’t want any more government than we...

It’s an unseasonably warm midwinter day when a giant blue campaign bus arrives at a downscale strip mall in Pasadena, Texas, announcing the imminent return of a Republican dynasty. George Prescott Bush, the scion of arguably the most successful political family in American history, is launching a statewide bus tour that will introduce him to public prominence as he runs for commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, an important but generally obscure statewide position. Bush is a lock: He faces no serious challengers, a fact attributable largely to the overwhelming advantages that accompany his name. Come November, the handsome,...

Sarah Palin is known to say that America is governed by a “permanent political class,” and recent comments by former first lady Barbara Bush about how she views former President Bill Clinton lends credence to that point of view. Before Bush’s recent health issues, she sat down for an interview with C-SPAN, part of a series of profiles on America’s first ladies, Investor’s Business Daily reported. In a candid conversation, Mrs. Bush reveals the bond of friendship that has formed between former President George H.W. Bush, herself and Clinton, whom she said visits “every summer.” While noting that they do...

<p>She professes her love for Bill in the video at the web link.</p> <p>She professes her love for Bill Clinton twice and speaks glowingly of Bill.</p>

A major peculiarity of Obama's recent promises involving his upcoming "Year of Action" is that the chief enemy he's sworn to overcome is none other than... Barack Obama. Consider "income inequality." As far as this can be said to actually exist, it's a function of certain sectors of the financial industry reaping massive windfalls over the past few years while the rest of the country has stagnated under the burden of the recession. So who is responsible for this state of affairs? Consider the trillion and a half dollars handed over to the banks and other financial institutions shortly after...

My Post colleague Dan Balz has some very interesting reporting from Democratic and Republican strategists. Both groups seem somewhat pessimistic about the GOP’s chances in 2016: A recent conversation with a veteran of GOP presidential campaigns raised this question: Which, if any, of the recent battleground states are likely to become more Republican by 2016? The consensus: very few. That reality highlights one problem Republicans face as they seek to regain the White House after six years under President Obama. Lots of factors affect elections: The quality of the candidates, the state of the economy, the effectiveness of the campaigns....

<p>Laura Bush can’t wait to turn the tables on the first man to occupy the position she held as the spouse of a president. “Maybe we should be that way about the First Gentleman, also, and really critique the way they look all the time,” she said in an interview with C-SPAN, referring to the scrutiny so often heaped on first spouses — who have all been women....</p>

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Former first lady Barbara Bush reiterates in a new interview that presidents don’t have to be members of political dynasties. "If we can't find more than two or three families to run for office, that's silly, because there are great governors and great eligible people to run," Bush says in an interview that will air Monday on C-SPAN. "And I think that the Kennedys, Clintons, Bushes — there are just more families than that. And I'm not arrogant enough to think that we alone are raising" presidential candidates. Her son Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, is considered a potential...

Unreal. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) told Face the Nation today Obama cares about the troops – something he didn’t see with President Bush. “I know the president. I know how he feels about these troops and that’s basically what the secretary said so I’m glad he did that. I’m glad he had second thoughts. And, I cannot say that was the situation always with President Bush.” (VIDEO-AT-LINK)Cummings has obviously never seen this.

Just dig a little deeper into who has been driving the anti-Gitmo disinformation campaign these past 12 years, and we discover an international, fervently anti-American, far-left coalition attacking the nation through a savvy propaganda effort. This includes those linked to Al Qaeda financiers, communist groups, anarchist movements - backed by sympathetic press and politicians. Regrettably, it’s a coalition President Barack Obama has sided with in his priority to release as many Al Qaeda, Taliban and “affiliates” as humanly possible.the State Dept. will finally designate ex-Gitmo detainee, Libya’s Sufian Bin Qumu, and his group, Ansar Al-Sharia as “foreign terrorist entities” for...

The traffic scandal that has engulfed Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may strengthen the prospects of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has always been the default candidate for the GOP establishment and Wall Street.

Since 1992, when Bill Clinton moderated the Democratic Party's image by criticizing a hip-hop artist for her racially incendiary comments, politicians have searched for their "Sister Souljah moment" – when a candidate takes what appears to be a brave stand against extremes in their party. In 2000, George W. Bush caricaturized conservative jurist Robert Bork in an attempt to appear more compassionate than the GOP brand. That same year, Republican presidential candidate John McCain demonized the far right's "agents of intolerance." Eight years later, Sen. Barack Obama distanced himself from his own pastor, calling Jeremiah Wright's racially charged comments "a...

Apparently we’re on George W. Bush’s fourth term. And here I’ve been making a fool of myself criticizing some Illinois senator for messing up the country. If only NBC News had told me this piece of breaking news sooner. Introducing a report on Monday’s NBC Nightly News about Al-Qaeda forces seizing control of the Iraqi city of Fallujah, anchor Brian Williams went out of his way to blame the President George W. Bush for the deteriorating security situation: “U.S. fighting forces are gone from Iraq. But as so many predicted when President Bush chose to go to war there after...

They may have felt really awkward after seeing how they ended up making total fools of themselves but the cringing by viewers is much more difficult to endure. 1. Algore getting his lips locked when Tipper tried on her crazy glue/lipstick combination for the first time that afternoon. 2.Biden's "This is a Big F**king Deal" to Yobama 3.President Bush Sneaking up Behind The German Chancellorgripping her shoulders for what seemed like an hour 4. Quayle and His World Class Spelling Skills 5.Special Advisory Must Be Administered Before You Can View This Particular Moment When a Man Gets Transformed from Respected...

Just over two years since American troops entirely withdrew from Iraq, the black flag of Al Qaeda flies over the city of Fallujah’s government buildings in Iraq’s western Anbar Province. It was there that several American contractors were killed and strung up over a bridge in 2004 and American Marines fought the biggest battle of the Iraq War. “The capture of Fallujah came amid an explosion of violence across the western desert province of Anbar in which local tribes, the Iraqi security forces and al-Qaeda militants have been fighting one another for days in a confusingly chaotic three-way war,” reads...

Former First Lady Barbara Bush has been hospitalized in Houston, according to a local report.

A federal judge in New Orleans has dismissed almost all remaining lawsuits against the federal government for damages caused by the failure of levees and floodwalls during Hurricane Katrina, ordering both sides to pay for their own legal expenses. The clean-up ruling by U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr., filed Dec. 20, marks the end of an unprecedented series of class-action lawsuits aimed at collecting damages from insurance companies or the federal government that could have totaled billions of dollars. The final ruling was not unexpected. In earlier decisions Duval found the Army Corps of Engineers was immune from damages...

Former Florida Governor and amnesty advocate Jeb Bush alleged that America's economy needs an influx of foreign workers across all sectors and declared that 2014 would be a "blockbuster year that finally takes [immigration] reform" across the finish line. Bush noted that "every member of the House leadership team has expressed commitment to move reform forward in 2014" and the "home stretch" is in sight." Bush wrote his op-ed a day before President Barack Obama on Friday said that comprehensive immigration reform had been his "biggest" goal in 2013. Obama said it was "frustrating" that he could not accomplish his...

The enemies within and without seem to have been shrouding an act of war and Americans need to wrest control of our Republic back into the hands of patriots. A scandal that spans three presidencies and more is coming to light. In a non-defined conflict against terrorism, we have lost over 6,750 U.S. service members who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. American blood spilled in wars that do not attack those who attacked us on 9-11. To put this in perspective, fewer died in Pearl Harbor and we nuked the Japanese. We were told after...