Free Republic

Patrick Bibb, a 19-year-old from Dallas, glanced at his cell phone. He was in the middle of his economics class at Texas Christian University on a February morning. His caller ID read withheld. He decided not to answer. When class ended, he checked his messages and found that George W. Bush had been trying to reach him. The sophomore listened to the voice mail. He heard the former president of the United States thank him at least four times. Bush was happy that the teenager had been selling welcome home george & laura signs for $20 to people all over...

The fight over national security increasingly threatens to drag the United States into a political civil war that could also fracture Barack Obama's political base. It is turning the President's own Democratic allies into potential enemies, while undermining his domestic priorities in health care and energy reform. Yesterday, New York Times columnist Frank Rich pointed all eyes to the website of Gentleman's Quarterly, which has posted a series of cover sheets to ultra-top-secret intelligence updates that former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld used to prepare daily for former president George W. Bush. It turns out that the cover sheets routinely showed...

Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld routinely used militaristic passages from the Bible on the cover pages of White House intelligence documents, according to new revelations by GQ magazine. It said Rumsfeld displayed the passages over photographs of US forces in Iraq to curry favor with then president George W. Bush, despite concerns about the incendiary impact on the Islamic world if they were ever made public. One republished on the GQ website came from March 31, 2003, showing a US tank roaring through the desert about 10 days after the United States invaded Iraq to topple the regime of Saddam...

A series of cover sheets for intelligence reports written for Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and other senior Pentagon officials during the early days of the war in Iraq in 2003 were adorned with biblical quotations, and appeared Sunday, six years later, on the Web site of GQ magazine. The daily briefings were called the “Worldwide Intelligence Update,” one of several intelligence reports compiled overnight and presented in a folder for Mr. Rumsfeld and other officials as they came to work. In the selection of the cover sheets that GQ placed on its Web site, photographs of soldiers praying...

Let's face it, this is shaping up as George W. Bush's best month in years. The last time the 43rd president enjoyed this kind of vindication was when a bedraggled Saddam Hussein was pulled from a hole in the ground by American soldiers in 2003. All of Barack Obama's efforts to cast the Bush administration as an immoral stain on American history have not merely collapsed, but collapsed on the heads of Bush's most public and vocal critics.Here's a non-stammering Nancy Pelosi talking about Bush last July: "God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a...

I, too, am a huge celebrity who happens to live in Preston Hollow. I expect George W. to drop by soon. by David Feherty ##### Given the events of the past eight years, once George the Second escaped from Washington, D.C., I think most of us here in Dallas would have understood if he and the former First Missus had moved someplace a little more secluded than Preston Hollow. Like Area 51, maybe, or some sandbar in the Galapagos Islands, just so they could catch their breath for a couple of years and take stock of their lives. I mean,...

The White House is planning a muted observance of Thursday's National Day of Prayer, a response that has disappointed both Christian conservatives and an atheist group that wants to end the tradition. Congress established the day in 1952 and in 1988 set the first Thursday in May as the day for presidents to issue proclamations asking Americans to pray. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama would issue such a proclamation Thursday but not hold any public events with religious leaders as President George W. Bush did. Obama's decision drew a rebuke from the National Day of...

President Bush has said on more than one occasion that his legacy can't be judged now and I agree, the battles are still too clear in our memory and the animosity still too fresh to make any type of assessment. I believe he was right in the respect of his handling of the war against international terrorism. It will be noted as a turning point and a model way of dealing with terrorists that don't represent a nation-state when viewed from a different paradigm a decade out. Here's further proof of what I'm talking about as Obama is rekindling a...

May 1, 2009 -- Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s sudden change from the Republican to the Democratic Party has left Republicans with mixed feelings: rage that he is probably handing the Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate at one of the most critical political junctures in modern times and relief that they’re rid of a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who has often been at odds with the majority of Republicans on crucial issues. George W. Bush’s eight years in the White House, during six of which the Republicans controlled both the House and Senate, were actually not good times for the GOP....

The Obama administration has relied on a Bush-era public health strategy aimed at coordinating its response across an array of government agencies in the week since the first reports of a swine flu outbreak emerged, officials say, as it attempts to balance safety concerns with a desire to prevent a panic. While Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has become the public face of the administration's effort to manage the outbreak, President Obama has been briefed three times a day on his administration's first public-health crisis. Behind the scenes, Deputy National Security Adviser John O. Brennan is coordinating the response to...

The Dalai Lama has been visiting the Boston area, and I’d like to mention a few reports. First, a note from an NRO reader: Hi, Jay, I had the great opportunity to see the Dalai Lama speak at MIT this afternoon. When he opened the forum to audience Q&A, the following stunning exchange occurred (I will paraphrase):  Audience member: “Can you give us an example of a leader we should look up to as a positive influence?” Dalai Lama (after thinking for a few seconds): “President Bush. I met him personally and liked him very much. He was honest and straightforward, and...

Any human being with a functioning conscience or a decent heart loathes torture. Its exercise has been a blight on humanity. With this in mind, those who oppose what the Bush administration did to some terror suspects may be justified. But in order to ascertain whether they are, they need to respond to some questions: 1. Given how much you rightly hate torture, why did you oppose the removal of Saddam Hussein, whose prisons engaged in far more hideous tortures, on thousands of times more people, than America did -- all of whom, moreover, were individuals and families who either...

Earlier on Monday, my colleague Tim Graham previewed a study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs finding that Barack Obama received more television coverage in his first 50 days in office than George W. Bush and Bill Clinton did through similar points in their presidencies combined. The final report has now been published, and the results are even more absurd. For instance: During his first 50 days in office, the three broadcast network evening news shows devoted 1021 stories lasting 27 hours 44 minutes to Barack Obama’s presidency. The daily average of seven stories and over 11...

Tools developed in the last few years will help the Obama administration fight back. Swine flu has presented the Obama administration with its first major public-health crisis. Fortunately for the Obama team, the Bush administration developed new tools that will prove critical in meeting this challenge. Under President Bush, the federal government worked with manufacturers to accelerate vaccine development, stockpiled crucial antivirals like Tamiflu, war-gamed pandemic scenarios with senior officials, and increased the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) sample identification capabilities. These activities are bearing fruit today. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has already deployed...

President Obama for the first time Tuesday opened the door to prosecuting former Bush administration officials, saying those who approved harsh interrogation techniques for suspected terrorists may be subject to criminal charges. The president also left open the possibility for an independent commission to examine the interrogations of detainees with techniques that included waterboarding, sleep deprivation and other tactics that defenders said produced valuable information. The remarks were a reversal from several days ago, when Mr. Obama said he wanted to move forward and his chief of staff appeared to rule out any prosecutions. The president took a harder line...

On the heals of announcements of the formation of a local Eureka Ca. ( Humboldt County ) committee and fund raising for the construction of a bust or statue of former president George W. Bush, local and state left wing radicals have announced terror threats and plans to destroy the proposed statue by explosion. - LINK TO FULL ARTIVLE -

Dick Cheney is not only smart but he is ruthless and is a shrewd politician. Obama is an amateur and not even remotely in Cheney's league, he should have left well-enough alone but opted to embarrass the Bush administration and neuter our intelligence efforts in one fell swoop by releasing the torture memos that, as I noted earlier, are dubious at best.

Well there is nothing like time to allow one to see the truth. Senator Reid was flat out lying about the war in order to score political points and win the presidency for Democrats and he was lying so that Democrat could increase their control of Congress. [Both objectives accomplished but at what cost to America?]

Alas for our left-wing friends, they will not see the objects of their scorn strung up because Obama--at least in prosecuting the War on Terror--knows full-well that he may be required to take steps that would have him answering to Congress in 2013 about the tactics he approved. He's now understanding that Bush took actions he deemed appropriate with arch terrorist Zubaydah who probably disclosed important info that we'll never hear about--info that may have saved lives. It seems Obama is realizing that repelling America's enemies and gaining intel is not like reading from a teleprompter in front of 10,000...

Take a gander yourself and you decide who is more popular. Sure President Bush is in Texas but Texas has a pretty large democrat population now and Biden is definitely in lefty loony land. Biden throwing first pitch in Baltimore; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0bVBdA7o9Q President Bush throwing first pitch in Texas; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVZgQ9wcxw4&feature=related

Aides to former President George W. Bush are challenging the veracity of Vice President Joe Biden's claim this week of having privately castigated Bush, who does not remember the incident or an earlier episode in which Biden claims to have similarly rebuked Bush.

ARLINGTON -- Former President George W. Bush received a strong standing ovation from Rangers fans as he walked to the mound on Monday afternoon at the Ballpark in Arlington to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day. Bush was joined at the mound by Texas Gov. Rick Perry and three military heroes: Gen. Jeffery Hammond of the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood, 1st. Sgt. David McNerney of Houston -- winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor in Vietnam -- and Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell, winner of the Navy Cross for heroism in Afghanistan. Bush threw a strike...

Bush throws first pitch at Rangers home opener The ball easily makes it over the plate and to Josh Hamilton's mitt April. 6, 2009 ARLINGTON, Texas - Former President George W. Bush wound up his right arm with two windmill whirls, then fired a high strike to help the Texas Rangers start the season Monday. In his first big appearance locally since moving to Dallas from the White House, Bush received a standing ovation and overwhelming cheers from a crowd of about 40,000 after the public address announcer said, "We welcome home the 43rd president." Bush, the team's managing general...

Raymond P. Martinez (Chief of Protocol): Good afternoon everyone. Thank you very much for having me on “Ask the White House.” I look forward to talking with you today about the Office of the Chief of Protocol and what our role is for the President. We are responsible for many activities including the planning, hosting, and officiating of ceremonial events for visiting chiefs of state and heads of government, as well as coordinating logistics for the visits. We also manage Blair House, the President's guesthouse, and oversee all protocol matters for Presidential, Vice Presidential and Presidential delegation trips abroad. As...

As we enter April 2009 we are being bombarded by the media hyping up the first 100 days of President Obama I thought it would be nice to look back at the first 100 days of George W Bush Presidency. The White House Website for the Bush Administration had a photo essay for the first 100 days which I am sure will provoke fond memories. At the weekend I will post photos covering the first 2 weeks of April 2001 which once again I am sure will make us all feel nostalgic for the President we supported, respected and trusted...

So, the lefts President goes to Mexico in mid-April...does anyone remember when our President George W. Bush went to Chile and this was the scene; Our President, after realizing his lead Secret Service agent was being blocked by Chilean security officials -- stepped right smack into the middle of the confrontation and pulled the agent out of the crowd. The president, looking irritated, straightened his shirt cuffs and went on into the dinner. The incident is also shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX3aaWlUmpc "Chilean security tried to stop the president's Secret Service from accompanying him," said White House deputy press secretary Claire Buchan....

Over 6,000 postcards from angry listeners of the Armstrong & Getty Show were delivered to the floor of the House of Representatives.

A crowd of roughly 200 noisy protesters gathered outside the Telus Convention Centre in downtown Calgary Tuesday to demonstrate against a noon speech by former U.S. president George W. Bush. Blowing whistles and chanting "war criminal," demonstrators carried signs and shouted "shame on you" at people attending the luncheon event at a cost of $400 each. One man was taken into police custody shortly before noon, apparently when he tried to enter the convention centre without a ticket. Security personnel are checking each guest individually at the event. Any public appearance by Bush, reviled in some circles for launching the...

WASHINGTON — Calling into question the legitimacy of all the signing statements that former President George W. Bush used to challenge new laws, President Obama on Monday ordered executive officials to consult with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. before relying on any of them to bypass a statute. But Mr. Obama also signaled that he intends to use signing statements himself if Congress sends him legislation that has provisions he decides are unconstitutional. He pledged to use a modest approach when doing so, but said there was a role for the practice if used appropriately.

Rush Limbaugh took a lot of heat for saying he wants President Obama to fail -- but a lot of Democrats felt the same way about former President George W. Bush during his second term. An August 2006 poll conducted by FOX News/Opinion Dynamics showed 51 percent of Democrats did not want Bush to succeed. Thirty-four percent of independents also did not want Bush to succeed. By comparison, 90 percent of Republicans said at the time that they wanted Bush to succeed, and 40 percent of Democrats said the same. Conservative radio talk show host Limbaugh says he doesn't want...

Speechwriter David Frum says Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh is hurting the Republican Party. Rush is new (talking) head of the GOP His controversial quips come faster than a locomotive and he leaps over spineless Republicans in a single sound bite. He's Rush Limbaugh - and he's kryptonite for the GOP, says conservative pundit David Frum. Frum, an influential former Bush speechwriter, charges in this week's Newsweek that the bombastic radio talk show host is trashing the Republican Party by allowing the Democrats to anoint him de facto party leader. "Limbaugh is kryptonite, weakening the GOP nationally," writes Frum, who...

George W. Bush had the misfortune to become president when two long-term trends that predated his presidency reached historical tipping points: First, decades of militant Islamic ferment culminated in 9/11. Second, a combination of a decades-long buildup of debt, reckless financial practices (abetted by government policies) established in the ‘90s, and habitual inflationary policies by the Federal Reserve System, finally culminated in the great financial panic of 2008. Twice, Bush reaped what he had not sown and, fairly or not, those historical events are what he will be remembered for. Of course, this is not to say he hasn’t made...

Just how close to the brink of executive tyranny did the United States come in the panic that swept George W. Bush's administration after 9/11? The answer, it now seems clear, is that we came far closer than even staunch critics of the White House believed. On Monday, the Obama administration released nine legal opinions produced for the Bush White House by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel shortly after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That heretofore obscure office essentially serves as the president's arbiter of what's legal and what isn't. Among other things,...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101395478&ft=1&f=1004

New York, NY -- Rolling Stone magazine is coming under fire for featuring a mock interview with former President George W. Bush in its latest issue. During the interview, Rolling Stone satirizes the death of Terri Schiavo by having the former president supposedly mocking her death, even though he tried to save her life.

Check out this graph, it pretty much explains it all: http://perotcharts.com/images/challenges/challenges01.png also, check out the slope of the line starting in 2000, when Bush took office.... even taking out the Iraq war, the slope would still be greater than in the Clinton era....

So far six audience members have stormed out midperformance of the Broadway show “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W Bush,” the comedian Will Ferrell’s lampooning of the 43rd president, according to those keeping count at the Cort Theater. But they haven’t been leaving after a particular Ferrell quip. They’ve been standing up, instead, after the projection of a supersize photo on the backdrop of the stage. A photo of a penis. Specifically, as Mr. Ferrell (who plays President Bush) leads the audience to believe, the president’s penis. Except that’s not quite right. “It’s an anonymous but age-appropriate...

Nouri al-Maliki coailition scores landslide victory in Iraq elections Deborah Haynes and Wail al-Obaidi in Baghdad Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s Prime Minister, savoured a stunning election victory last night, as improved security drew voters to his coalition and away from the sectarian division offered by hardline religious parties. The victory in provincial elections will encourage him to run for a second term in office in the approaching general election, less than a year after he was derided in the West for his ambitious military crackdown on militants. A coalition headed by Mr al-Maliki had landslide wins in Baghdad and Basra, the...

Bush may have helped Obama here and I think that was part of his plan. He was saddled with an al-Qaeda that was emboldened by the Clinton administrations inaction and they unleashed 9/11 on us because of that inaction. My estimation is that Bush didn't want to leave Obama the al-Qaeda threat like it was carelessly left to him.

Keep in mind I didn't write this. This is from an e-mail I received, and I thought it showed a side to the former President that most people don't know. Enjoy: A loving tribute to George and Laura Bush on their 31st Anniversary! November 5, 2008. Who could have predicted that when Joe and Jan O'Neill invited their two single friends, George Walker Bush and Laura Lane Welch to a backyard barbecue, in the summer of 1977, their efforts at matchmaking would end up making history? Who would have known the couple would not only be attracted to each other,...

<p>A leaked memo from the office of West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller urges fellow Democrats on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to use its probe into Iraq war planning as a staging ground to beat President Bush. It calls for an independent investigation of the president next year, timed for maximum negative impact on Mr. Bush's re-election effort.</p>

The Bush legacy-protection machinery isn't in full gear yet. But it's getting there, with former aides gathering online to share talking points and swap spin. "We were there. And as members of the team, we know the difference between rumor, reality, fact, and fiction. This is our chance to stand up, speak up, and set the record straight," says the Web site dedicated to the task. The Bush-Cheney Alumni Association Web site, 43alumni.com, appeared last week as a link from the Web site of the George W. Bush Foundation, which is raising funds to build the Bush presidential library and...

You haven't heard much in the MSM because they've essentially stopped reporting anything from Iraq save a large bombing. Even when they do report about it, it's with a negative spin. They're pissed that George W. Bush had the nerve to order the surge and give Gen David Petraeus the tools needed to win. They wanted a loss and once it appeared we were victorious, all reporting stopped.

At times, it seemed as if Baylor Lady Bears basketball coach Kim Mulkey might turn and ask former President George W. Bush to exert his influence and change a referee’s call Wednesday night at the Ferrell Center. Who knows? Bush might have obliged. In his first public appearance since leaving the White House, Bush sat beside his wife, Laura Bush, just behind the Baylor bench as the No. 4-ranked Lady Bears lost to No. 2 Oklahoma, 56-51. Bush said recently in a television interview that he wanted to attend a Baylor women’s basketball game. He made good on that statement...

I had a chance to watch the coverage of President Bush’s return to Texas and I have to say, there is something that has bothered me ever since. He addressed the crowd from behind a podium bearing the Texas state seal and spoke in the same folksy manner we have seen from him since day one. As he finished his speech and went on to wave, shake hands and swagger through the crowd of well-wishers, there was one thought, more of a question really, that I couldn’t get out of my head. Why the hell have we abandoned this guy?...

The Tribune- Herald photo staff has captured history in our backyards for the past 8 years.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Some Republican National Committee members in Washington for winter meetings say any vestige of former President George Bush must go, including the RNC chief. With six candidates competing to run the Grand Old Party, some RNC members said they are determined to remove Mike Duncan, the current RNC chairman seeking re-election, because he is seen as a candidate who would maintain the status quo, The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Wednesday. The winter meetings run through Saturday. Duncan "has never criticized Bush when the president was wrong," said Shawn Steel, a member from California. "He's the...

Among Democrats, there are two views as to how to pull this off now. The popular view is the one that looks to Bush making mistakes and, perhaps, to an economic downturn that will make swing voters long for the days of Democratic prosperity under Clinton.

The old White Hose website is now available online. Daily dosers like me rejoice! (clik on source link)