Posted on 10/17/2019 7:48:39 AM PDT by sickoflibs
George W. Bush’s presidency is an interesting period to reflect back on. By a certain sect of Republicans, Bush is held up as a good man that did the best he could in a difficult time. There’s some truth to that characterization in so far as the challenges after 9/11 were real.
As time has passed though, Republicans at large have taken a more critical eye at his myriad of missteps, not just on foreign policy (of which the ramifications we are still suffering today), but also in his inability to accomplish much of anything for the conservative cause in his eight years. When one thinks of his “signature” achievements, the mind is more likely to go to his expansion of Medicare than any conservative victory. Is John Roberts as the new swing vote on the Supreme Court really a decisive win at this point?
But perhaps the thing that bothered some Republicans the most was all the wasted political capital. For eight long years, Republicans rallied around Bush and his failures, supporting him even when he wouldn’t speak out to support himself. He was given the benefit of the doubt even when he probably didn’t deserve it. In the end, he left the party in shambles, ushering in the era of Barack Obama.
Despite all the capital expended on his behalf, Bush couldn’t be bothered to return the favor. He spent most of his post-presidency palling around with Bill Clinton and painting pictures. He refused to speak out even as the Middle East and North Africa burned the ground. This left some Republicans disillusioned. Where was the reciprocity for all those years of support?
Apparently, Bush has found his tongue again though, because he’s speaking out against Trump’s pull out of Syria in a comment that can only be described as face palm worthy.
Josh Rogin ✔ @joshrogin · 15h President George W. Bush tonight at the Nir School of the Heart event: “I don’t think the Iranians believe a peaceful Middle East is in their national interest.”
Josh Rogin ✔ @joshrogin George W Bush takes a direct shot at Trump: “An isolationist United States is destabilizing around the world. We are becoming isolationist and that’s dangerous for the sake of peace.”
2,896 7:26 PM - Oct 16, 2019 1,617 people are talking about this After nearly a decade of refusing to say a cross word about Obama’s policies, the moment Trump steps out of line and becomes too “isolationist,” he’s ready to talk again. It’s this kind of thing that produces so much of the angst from mainline Republicans toward the establishment figures in their party.
We’ve seen this same thing with Mitt Romney. When Republicans needed voices to speak against Obama, Romney was nowhere to be found. When it’s Trump and it may benefit him personally, he’s ready to talk again though. It’s opportunism at its worst and it makes Republicans feel like their own leaders don’t have their back. In short, it’s how you got Trump.
The easiest thing in the world to do right now is criticize Donald Trump. There’s no bravery in that. It’d have been much more impressive had they been willing to withstand the onslaught that would come by criticizing Obama when Republicans needed their voices.
Further, the topic in question is something Bush should sit out for the rest of his life. His track record on the Middle East simply does not lend him the credibly to speak on the issue any longer. It’d be like Donald Trump criticizing someone for having an affair. It just doesn’t make sense.
I’ll end by nothing that when the Obama administration propagated a civil war that led to 500,000 dead people, Bush didn’t speak up. When Ben Rhodes helped orchestrate the disastrous Arab Spring, Bush had nothing to say. When ISIS formed in the rubble of it all, Bush had more pictures to paint. But now, all of the sudden, he finds his voice to go after a fellow Republicans president? Really odd how that works.
The Bush never saw a war that they couldnt say no to.
Interesting to see Bush lose Red State. That place was always pretty mainline GOPe “conservative.”
George Bush probably says “this war will only be a half a trillion so what is Trump’s problem”?
Bush makes me want to puke. I wonder if all of the drooling former participants in the day in the life threads which I found nauseating at the time still worship the ground he walks on or have they had their eyes opened as to what he really was. (nah probably not)
“Trump made Jeb look like a fool”
Trump exposed the entire Bush family’s foolishness.
And remember his deal to get consensus to invade Iraq DHS and the domesication of the MIC and all the social program spending to buy off left and right and center and everyone else. We also bought off our allies.
And to think I voted for this moron.
I really hate what Bus-Clinton-Bush-Obama have done to my country.
I’m actually checking Trump’s Twitter page 2-3 times every hour today ... because I expect his response to the braying of this retarded jackass to be epic.
Kicking my self in the ass for Ever voting for Any Bush.
Kicking my self in the ass for Ever voting for Any Bush.
MR. BUSH WAS SILENT DURING HIS ADMINISTRATION AND SILENT DURING OBAMA’S ADMINISTRATION, ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING. WHY IS HE SPEAKING UP NOW?
Dubya needs to STFU and paint.
War in Afghanistan 2001-present
Iraq War 2003 - 2011
War in North-West Pakistan 2004 - present
Second U.S. Intervention in the Somali Civil War 2007 - present
Operation Ocean Shield (Somali pirates) 2009 -2016
International intervention in Libya 2011
Operation Observant Compass (Uganda) 2011 -2017
American-led intervention in Iraq 2014 - present
American-led intervention in Syria 2014 -= present
Yemeni Civil War 2015 - present
American intervention in Libya 2015 - present
They might try to find a place for themselves in the Party of Hate, Violence, and Evil, but no respectable person going to give them any consideration or support.
The Democrats were right about George W. Bush. They were the clock that's not working but was right twice a day.
The Bushes have revealed exactly what they are to history and all the world.
No honest, intelligent, benevolent, decent person cares what they say.
I despise him even more than I do obama.
“An isolationist United States is destabilizing around the world. We are becoming isolationist and that’s dangerous for the sake of peace.”
Yeah... because the Iraq war really stabilized the middle East.
Bush is a moron, placed there to shepherd the globalist money machine.
Of course he is speaking out against President Trump - he made the Kurds into the stuff of folklore when he decided they had a partial parallel desire and began arming them....his “reasoning seemed to be, “Because you’re partially for me in part of my endeavors, I’ll tell everyone you’re 100% for me”. He leveraged their short-term benefits. We’ve heard of some of the arms intended for Kurds ended up in ISIS hands and probably more ended up in other enemy hands.
“Trump made Jeb look like a fool”
Jeb made Jeb look like a fool.
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