Free Republic

When Gov. Sarah Palin was deciding whether or not to get into the presidential race, Karl Rove was popping up on Fox News to talk about why her skin was too thin for the job. And when Gov. Rick Perry was thinking about his entrance into the race, Rove was Johnny-on-the-spot with reasons why a Perry candidacy would not be viable either. Now Rove’s moved on to Herman Cain, whose candidacy he’s doing all he can to sink, sidetrack, or On Fox News this past Monday, Rove did his best Mr. Rogers imitation by holding up a small dry-erase board...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he isn't ruling out a possible presidential run in 2016. At the inauguration Tuesday of new Gov. Rick Scott, Bush repeated his stance that he's positively not running for president in 2012.

President Barack Obama called former President George W. Bush Tuesday hours before he was set to deliver an Oval Office speech on the drawdown of U.S. troops from Iraq, the White House said. Obama made the call aboard Air Force One on his way to Ft. Bliss, Tex., where he will visit U.S. troops. White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said the “private” call lasted “a few minutes,” but declined to give further detail. Obama telephoned Bush in February 2009 before announcing his plans for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

My fellow Americans - boy, are you fickle. How else to explain the rising popularity of former presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton? Yes, President Obama has been mulligan-ing it up on Martha’s Vineyard on what seems like his umpteenth vacation this year. The polls put his popularity at basement level. But must we pine for those other two clowns? Guess so. In its story “The Resurgence of Bill Clinton” Newsweek declared this week “most Democrats would rather have (Clinton) campaign for them this fall than Obama.” Worse, the former philanderer-in-chief is almost 10 points more popular among Americans...

At a briefing today to discuss the administration’s efforts to rescue the auto industry, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs took on conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh—and every other critic “sitting in the cheap seats” –for criticizing the rescue of General Motors and Chrysler as a “government takeover” that smacks of socialism. Told by a reporter that “You had Rush Limbaugh today — today or yesterday — talking Obama Motors again,” Gibbs, who doesn’t often provide free advertising by taking on his critics by name from the podium, let fire. “Look, Rush Limbaugh and others wanted to walk away. Rush...

A former White House speechwriter, Mark Thiessen, has jumped to the defense of his former boss, writing for the Washington Post that George W. Bush “established a conservative record without parallel.” Even by the loose standards of Washington, that is a jaw-dropping assertion. I’ve been explaining for years that Bush was a big-government advocate, even writing a column back in 2007 for the Washington Examiner pointing out that Clinton had a much better economic record from a free-market perspective. I also groused to the Wall Street Journal the following year about Bush’s dismal performance. “Bush doesn’t have a conservative legacy”...

NAPLES — The Bush brothers packed the house at the Naples Grande Beach Resort. Former President George W. Bush and his brother Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, spoke Tuesday night as part of the Naples Town Hall Distinguished Speakers Series. They talked issues _ everything from health care and the Iraq war to budget deficits and Social Security reform. George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. president, has stayed out of the spotlight, limiting his face-time in public since leaving the White House about a year ago. He and his brother – the state’s 43rd governor – addressed a...