Bush could have ended the nonsense by simply vetoing bills, particularly spending bills. He never did. He is the president with the second least number of veto’s to his name. Obama is the first. He gets everything he wants from the rubber stamp Republicans. Bush was always a go along to get along and he also did get us involved in Iraq which, right or wrong, in the end has damn near destroyed the Republican Party.
He went against the American people and forced the bailouts through the legislature instead of letting the losers lose and the much needed reset begin. When push came to shove he was little more than a crony capitalist like every Democrat and RINO.
Bush is one of the main reasons that after 30+ years as a Republican I registered as an Independent back in 2007. Among my gripes was his failure to veto any spending bill that came across his desk for the first 6 years of his presidency. But Republican spending is not what caused the economic crisis. The CRA, subprime lending and Dodd-Frank did. All democRAT.