Free Republic

"The Bush administration is coming together -- and adding a key ally for good measure. Oliver Stone has found the actress to play Condoleezza Rice in his upcoming "W," with Thandie Newton in final negotiations to star as the National Security Advisor-turned-Secretary of State. Meanwhile, Ioan Gruffudd is in final talks to play former British prime minister Tony Blair. Rice and Blair are the first non-Bush roles to be cast; Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Elizabeth Banks and Ellen Burstyn had previously been cast as George W., George Sr., Laura and Barbara Bush, respectively...."

What's so great about George W. Bush? His patriotism, his resolve, his principles, his steadfastness, his belief in America, his optimism, his refusal to get in the gutter... Character is king. Again.

TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 3963, the "Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007." Like its predecessor, H.R. 976, this bill does not put poor children first and it moves our country's health care system in the wrong direction. Ultimately, our Nation's goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage --not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage. As a result, I cannot sign this legislation. The purpose of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was to help low-income...

Bush Is Back By Emmett Tyrrell Thursday, December 6, 2007 WASHINGTON -- As with the late Abraham Lincoln, so with the present George W. Bush -- once the right general was found and the right strategy adopted, victory was in hand and a beleaguered president's fortunes were restored. Doubtless President Bush is aware of the parallel, and perchance, he will avoid Ford's Theatre. A curious inhibition shared by both Bush 41 and Bush 43 is to downplay their interest in reading. Actually both are hearty readers, certainly as compared with the general public. Earlier this year, I attended a luncheon...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush sternly called on Democrats to approve money to fund the Iraq war "without strings and without delay" before leaving town for the Christmas holidays, something congressional leaders have already indicated they will not do. After more failed attempts to pass legislation ordering troops home from Iraq, Democrats have said they plan to sit on Bush's $196 billion request for war spending until next year. Bush said this will push the Pentagon toward an accounting nightmare and affect the military's ability to do its job protecting the country. -snip- With such legislation failing to secure enough...

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I went out to California yesterday to meet with families affected by the wildfires, and to thank the state and local officials for their outstanding work in this difficult time. While I was there I saw the terrible destruction and heartbreaking loss. Yet I was also encouraged by the spirit I found -- the families determined to rebuild, the volunteers who stepped forward to help neighbors in need, and the first responders who have shown such courage in battling the flames and caring for those who were displaced. I returned to Washington late last night. And...

<p>As wildfires raged in Southern California this week, Richard Halsey's embrace of the local shrubland turned prickly.</p> <p>The founding director of the California Chaparral Institute, Mr. Halsey has spent four years defending the existence of chaparral, the term given to the wide varieties of shrubby plants, trees and bushes that dot the region's hilly landscape.</p>

www.smh.com.au/news/national/by-george-now-its-all-the-way-with-howard-j/2007/09/05/1188783320123.html We're kicking ass," Bush told Mark Vaile on the Australian tarmac after the Deputy Prime Minister inquired politely of the President's stopover in Iraq en route to Sydney.

The two most powerful boots in the world are on the ground, and they aren't running away. [SNIP] [The surprise visit] also was intended to send multiple messages [...] To the Democrats waiting for the report from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, Bush has provided a stunning visual aid. The leader who was called a cowboy has tamed the wild, wild west of Iraq. The cavalry has arrived. To the Iraqi politicians proceeding at a less-than-stellar pace towards political reconciliation and stabilization, Bush sends the message that it will be the people of Iraq, supported by their forces...

The Washington Post scorned President Truman as a “spoilsman” who “underestimated the people’s intelligence.” New York Times columnist James Reston wrote off President Eisenhower as “a tired man in a period of turbulence.” At the end of President Reagan’s second term, the New York Times dismissed him as “simplistic” and a “lazy and inattentive man.” These harsh judgments, made in the moment, have not weathered well over time. Fortunately, while contemporary observers have a habit of getting presidents wrong, history tends to be more accurate. So how might history view the 43rd president? I can hardly be considered an objective...

Just breakin

Conservatives have not been happy with George W. Bush. For each brand of conservatism, there is a different critique. Not so with Ronald Reagan, whom conservatives uniformly praise for various reasons. Seventy-nine percent of those in attendance at last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference said they would prefer a candidate who is a Reagan Republican. Three percent would go for a G. W. Bush Republican. One gets the impression that Bush isn’t even considered a conservative. I argue with Joseph Bottum in the most recent First Things over whether President Bush should be seen as a disaster for conservatism. I...

Many Americans have lingering confusion about Iraq's role in the 9/11 attacks, a new Newsweek study reveals. For its "What You Need to Know" cover story, Newsweek found troubling gaps in knowledge of the 1,001 adult Americans who participated in a poll to test their knowledge of politics, foreign affairs, business, technology and popular culture. As the poll summary reports: "The results were mixed, to be charitible." Even today, more than four years into the war in Iraq, as many as four in 10 Americans (41 percent) still believe Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying...

President Bush inherited a recession, a stock market slump, a corporate corruption scandal and then had that whole economic morass topped off with a terrorist attack which cost the American economy greatly. From these economic doldrums, President Bush has cleared the way for an economic boom the likes of which America has never seen. Oh, to be sure, a lot of people don't see it - because the MSM simply will not tell the people the truth about what is happening in the economy. But for anyone paying attention, it is clear that we've never had it so good -...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: I think this needs to be noted for historical purposes. On October 7th of 2002, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, having been battered by the Clinton-Gore dot-com crash and the aftermath of 9/11 damage and fear and pessimism, October 7th on 2002, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 7,181. That's less than 7200, for those of you in Rio Linda. Today, less than five years from October 7th of 2002, the Dow all but doubled. It did cross 14,000 today. It got back just under 14,000, but it crossed 14,000 today, a humongously huge story that is...

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, we received more good news showing that our economy is strong and growing. The Department of Labor reports that our economy has now created jobs for 46 consecutive months. America added 132,000 jobs in June, and that means our economy has added more than 8.2 million new jobs since August of 2003. Unemployment is low, consumer confidence is high, incomes are rising, and opportunity is growing across America. Our Nation's strong economy is no accident. It is the result of the hard work of the American people and pro-growth policies in Washington. Starting in...

...I've spent a great deal of time thinking about Churchill while working on my book "Troublesome Young Men," a history of the small group of Conservative members of Parliament who defied British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasing Adolf Hitler, forced Chamberlain to resign in May 1940 and helped make Churchill his successor. I thought my audience would be largely limited to World War II buffs, so I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the president has been reading my book. He hasn't let me know what he thinks about it, but it's a safe bet that he's identifying...

Sufferers of Bush Betrayal Syndrome are easy to spot – they are the ones who continually repeat, “Bush Betrayed Us. I Feel So Betrayed! He Betrayed Us!” I’m one of the few lucky ones, I suppose, because I have never felt betrayed by Bush. He is, still, the same guy he was when I voted for him. You knew, by the way, that George W. Bush favored eventual naturalization for illegal immigrants. He said it when he was Governor of Texas. He said it when you elected him in 2000, and again when you voted him in again in 2004....

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. First, I thank you very much for your hard work on a comprehensive immigration bill and your concern about our country. And the two go hand-in-hand. I believe that now is the time to address the issue of immigration. I think it's in our national security interests, and I think it's in the interest of making sure America never loses sight of who we are. This is a difficult issue for a lot of folks. I understand that. But because it's difficult probably means we need to work doubly hard to get...

Peter Zefo, blogger and seminary student posed for a picture with Dennis Kucinich. Pete flashed a "W" sign while both he and Kucinich grinned widely adding Kucinich to the "Hall of Democrats Who Have Been Dubya'd." He joins Janet Reno and Patrick Leahy there. Click here to view the picturesFeel free to make your own additions to the Hall!

Sen. Clinton challenges veto threat By MIKE GLOVER, AP Political WriterTue Apr 3, 10:25 AM ET New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday criticized President Bush for his plan to veto a measure setting a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq."This is vetoing the will of the American people," Clinton said. "It is time for us to get them out of the middle of this sectarian civil war."Clinton began her day by joining former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and his wife, Christie, for breakfast at their Mount Pleasant home. Clinton hopes to build support for her presidential campaign...

Ok, I have it all figured out if Dubya does the right thing. Cheney, takes one for the team, and resigns because of the blood clot/Libby verdict. Fred Thompson comes off the bench as the new VP, and is easily confirmed by the Senate. Duncan Hunter joins the ticket for VP in 2008 and we are off to the races. You read it here first.

US Senator Hillary Clinton has stepped up her criticism of the Bush administration, blasting its new Iraq strategy while Washington buzzes with speculation she will announce her presidential candidacy soon. The former first lady's offensive on the war, which she backed in a 2002 Congress vote authorising it, came amid expectations she will add her name to the list of Democrats running in the 2008 campaign by this weekend. Political observers believe she could announce her intentions this week to catch up to two other Democratic heavyweights, Senator Barack Obama, who took this week a key step towards running, and...

President Bush signals for media to leave following a live weekly radio address to the nation from the Mile High Coffee Shop in Englewood, Colorado, November 4, 2006. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Anybody watching this? A skit showing that Michael J. Fox as Michael P. Keaton wants stem cells from aborted babies to make Back to the Future 4, Condi as a modern day Super Hero, and John F'n Kerry getting the treatment for his "uneducated troops" line.....just curious

Much of the business of Presidents of the United States these days involves special, symbolic support and caring for causes, the injured, and the grieving. On September 11, 2006, the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, President Bush traveled from “Ground Zero” in New York City, to an empty field near Shanksville, Pa., and onward to the pentagon. At each site of loss and suffering, the president served largely a symbolic yet very meaningful role. Three days after the terror and destruction of 9/11, on September 14, 2001, the President of the United States traveled to New York City to...

Excerpt - The political overtones of “W” will be the subject of a courtroom debate as part of an alleged copyright infringement case is considered in Texarkana this week. The Republican National Committee and the Spalding Group are being sued by Rally Concepts LLC about the ubiquitous “W” used in President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign. ~ snip ~

President Bush Files for Divorce with Catholic BaseCatholic Pro-Life Leader states: “President Bush’s implied support for the abortion-causing drug Plan B is completely inconsistent with his recent veto of the embryonic stem cell research funding bill”FRONT ROYAL, Va., Aug. 21 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, issued the following response to President George W. Bush’s statements today regarding his support for Andrew von Eschenbach and his recent decision to seek over-the-counter (OTC) status for the abortifacient drug Plan B. When asked by reporter Bill Sammon about the situation, Bush stated: “I believe that...

Help Me, Dubya! (With apologies to the Beach Boys) Well since Katrina came I've been out layin' on my roof. When the water came in that's when I finally knew the truth! Well, Dubya you look so wise (look so wise) And I don't believe the Democrat's lies! You gotta help me, Dubya Help me get a FEMA card! Help me, Dubya! Help, help me, Dubya! Help me, Dubya! Help, help me, Dubya! Help me, Dubya! Help, help me, Dubya! Help me, Dubya! Help, help me, Dubya! Help me, Dubya! Help, help me, Dubya! Help me, Dubya! Help, help me,...

July 9, 2006 -- LOS ANGELES - Former President Bill Clinton yesterday praised President Bush for supporting reforms that would allow millions of illegal immigrants to seek citizenship but said the debate in Congress is being fomented by Republicans who want to divide America. "I'm proud of him for doing it and I thanked him for doing it," he said of Bush during a "Cafe con Clinton" breakfast speech to the annual conference of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil-rights advocacy group. Clinton said Bush's roots in Texas - which has one of the nation's...

WASHINGTON -- By the end of this year, responsibility for security in about half of Iraq's 18 provinces will have been shifted from U.S. to Iraqi forces, a senior American military officer said Friday. Brig. Gen. Kurt A. Cichowski, deputy chief of strategy and plans for the U.S. military command headquarters in Baghdad, said the shift is part of a broad "road map" worked out by U.S. and Iraqi officials. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon by video teleconference from Iraq, Cichowski said there is no firm timeline for transferring provincial security responsibility to the Iraqis. "While we have a...

CLAYTON, Mo., June 28 -- President Bush attacked congressional Democrats and the news media at a Republican fundraiser Wednesday night, accusing the opposition of "waving the white flag of surrender" in Iraq and declaring that there is "no excuse" for journalists to write about secret intelligence programs. Sharpening his rhetoric as the midterm congressional campaign season accelerates, Bush offered a robust defense of his decision to invade Iraq even though, ultimately, no weapons of mass destruction were found, and drew standing ovations for his attacks on those who question his leadership of the war or the fight against terrorists. "There's...

A coalition calling itself "Bush Go Home" said Monday it hoped some 10,000 to 15,000 demonstrators will take to the streets of Vienna Wednesday to protest against the visit of U.S. President George W. Bush. "The name George Bush, the name of the American president, has become a symbol for war crimes, for Abu Ghraib, for Guantanamo, for Jenin, said organizer Michael Proebsting, a member of the Austrian faction of the League for the Fifth International. The coalition is made up of groups including the Communist Initiative, the Anti-Imperialist Coalition and representatives from Austria's Turkish, Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian communities....

June 14, 2006 — The president was in a jovial mood during his Rose Garden press conference Wednesday, joshing with reporters, excited to aggressively defend the Iraq war in the midterm elections, optimistic about his recent trip to Baghdad. Then he was told a reporter he playfully teased about wearing sunglasses during the press conference has a serious vision problem and is legally blind. By the end of the day, the exchange had merited a presidential apology. The reporter, Peter Wallsten of the Los Angeles Times, said he bears no grudges and accepted the president's apology quickly. "Clearly the president...

President Bush predicted on Wednesday that Republicans will maintain majority control of the House and Senate this November despite polls showing voters favor putting Democrats in charge. "I believe we're going to hold the House and the Senate because our philosophy is one that is forward-looking and optimistic and has worked," Bush told reporters at a White House news conference. Last week, the Associated Press-Ipsos poll found that only 24 percent of those surveyed approve of the way the Republican-controlled Congress is doing its job. Fifty-two percent said they want Democrats to capture control of Congress in November, about the...

Bush reviews Iraq plan, says oil is keyBy DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer 23 minutes ago CAMP DAVID, Md. - President Bush began a two-day strategy session on Iraq at Camp David on Monday, saying Iraq's neighbors should be doing more to help and suggesting the nation's vast supply of oil could be a way of reuniting the country. Bush said the United States expects countries that have promised $13 billion in financial assistance to make good on their pledges. He also reassured Iraqis the U.S. stands ready to help the new government, but said success depends largely on Baghdad's...

By-election defeat could signal disaster for Bush By Tim Reid The Republicans are alarmed after polls show that voters may turn against them in one of their strongholds A US by-election tomorrow to replace a jailed Congressman in a traditionally safe Republican seat is too close to call, an alarming sign for President Bush and his party ahead of November’s mid-term elections.

NEW YORK It started innocently enough, with an op-ed in this past Sunday's Washington Post, written by Richard A. Viguerie, a leading figure in the conservative political revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, generally described as a "direct mail genius." His opinion piece was only the latest from a conservative icon to charge that President Bush had betrayed his conservative base... [snip] This inspired a direct response from the White House, as described by Viguerie in a press statement today: "Apparently the White House's response to my article in the May 21 Washington Post is to send out an e-mail...

President Bush's job approval rating has jumped six points in the wake of a media barrage of criticism over his administration's telephone records collection program. A Harris Interactive poll published in The Wall Street Journal Online on Friday had Bush’s approval rating at an all time low - with just 29 percent of Americans saying they liked the way he was handling his job. The Harris survey polled 1,003 adults on May 5-8 - before USA Today frontpaged their report on the National Security Agency's telephone records collection program. A Gallup survey released Friday yielded a similar result, with just...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. First lady Laura Bush said on Sunday she does not believe opinion polls showing her husband's approval ratings at record low levels. Interviewed on Fox News Sunday, Laura Bush said she did not think people were losing confidence in President George W. Bush, despite a series of polls showing support for him at its lowest point in his five-year presidency and among the lowest for any president in the past 50 years. "I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country. I see people, I see their responses to my husband. I see their...

EVEN conservatives are losing faith in President George W. Bush now, putting Republican control of Congress at risk in November's midterm elections. Six months before voters decide the balance of power in Congress, an increasingly gloomy and anxious electorate has become disenchanted with Mr Bush and grown more pessimistic about the Iraq war, gas prices and the country's future, according to a flurry of recent polls. More than two-thirds of the American public thinks the country is on the wrong track and voters prefer Democrats to Republicans by double-digits margins. Mr Bush's job approval rating has reached a low for...

What is happening to George W. Bush is that dissenters are moving from criticism of him to just plain hostility to him. Swings in the public mood that emphatic aren't unknown to American history, though these days they are more lacerating because of the diurnal polls that give lapidary attention to wisps of sentiment. No doubt about it, the president's popularity is very low, though the exact meaning of that, and the causes of it, aren't obvious. The most amusing, and jauntily informative, depiction of the popularity track was done by Stuart Eugene Thiel, an enterprising student of psephology. One...

Asked to say one nice thing about President Bush, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton went one better: She named two things. "He is someone who has a lot of charm and charisma, and I think in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, I was very grateful to him for his support for New York," Clinton said Tuesday night during a talk at the National Archives about her life in politics. Clinton, a potential presidential candidate in 2008, said that despite their "many disagreements about many, many issues," she has always had a good personal relationship with the president. "He's been very willing...

There’s nothing harder in public life than admitting you’re wrong. By the way, admitting you’re wrong can be even tougher in private life. If you don’t believe me, just ask Bill Clinton or Charlie Sheen. But when you go out on the limb in public, it’s out there where everyone can see it, or in my case, hear it. So, I’m saying today, I was wrong to have voted for George W. Bush. In historic terms, I believe George W. Bush is the worst two-term President in the history of the country. Worse than Grant. I also believe a case...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush hailed the health of the US small business sector, using a neighborhood hardware store a short drive from the White House as a homespun backdrop. The president hailed what he described as a roaring US economy and its healthy jobs growth, after picking up few chew toys for Barney, the White House dog. "I just spent some of my hard-earned money on Barney," the president said during the photo-op at Frager's, an old-fashioned hardware store that he praised as "a good place to shop."

I was watching the videos of the American Idol performances and I saw something completely unexpected during the Taylor Hicks performance of "Play That Funky Music White Boy." One audience member is holding a sign that isn't rooting for a contestant - instead it is rooting for our president!Here's the "W" sign, plain as day...It ain't doctored folks - check the video yourself. Now... I wonder how that slipped in? ;)

President Bush approved a deal to allow a company from Dubai, the country that was forced to withdraw from the Portgate deal, to take over American plants that make parts for jets and tanks for the United States. Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, a country that continues to pay money to the families of homicide bombers and to the Hamas terrorist group. It appears to have been protecting Osama bin Laden in the late 1990s for some period of time. America was unable to bomb Osama's hideout because he was meeting with officials of the government of...

#1 L-R) US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Japanese Minister of State for Defense Agency Fukushiro Nukaga shake hands together after making post-meeting statement at the US Department of State in Washington, DC.(AFP/Getty Images/Alex Wong) #2 #3