Posted on 02/01/2009 5:28:32 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
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 policy institute at Southern Methodist University.
Bush critics warned from the outset that the SMU project could stray from biography and academics into hagiography and polemics. The reams of laudatory press clippings loaded on the alumni site, with nary a naysayer to be found, might prompt an "I told you so."
Three links titled "The Bush Record" bring the surfer to hundreds of pages of essays and articles. The subtitles on the links provide some clue to the tone of these assessments, nearly all of which were penned by conservative columnists or former Bush aides:
"Praise for President's Accomplishment,"
"More Praise for President's Accomplishments" and
"Praise Continues for President's Accomplishments."
With articles arranged thematically (Iraq, war on terror, domestic policy, etc.), the site is one-stop shopping for anyone seeking ammunition to rebut attacks on Bush, at a cocktail party or on a cable news show.
"It's got to be a virtually complete compilation of everything favorable said about him," said Bruce Buchanan, a University of Texas political scientist and longtime Bush watcher, exploring the site for the first time. "Other presidents and people supportive of them have in various ways collected testimonials. This is a far more exhaustive effort to do so, and I suspect it's because so many of Bush's supporters feel that he's getting a bum rap."
Bush granted a series of exit interviews at the end of his term, reviewing his time in office and averring that he would let history judge. He never said he and his aides would remain silent.
The alumni site offers networking to those who worked or volunteered for the 43rd president, along with those talking points.
The site's offerings include reprints of Bush economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey's critique of the Obama economic stimulus plan ("As crafted, it is unlikely to produce the desired results") and a tart assessment from Bush political guru Karl Rove suggesting a "perpetual campaign" mentality at the new White House.
Rove also predicts a host of management headaches as Obama crams more aides than usual – especially political aides – into the West Wing. ("My old, modest-sized office has been carved into four cubicles. ... All of this matters because management structure affects decision-making and determines the range and quality of voices the president hears," Rove writes.)
Both essays were published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, and posted on the alumni site the same day. A Bush Foundation spokesman declined to discuss the alumni association or the legacy-building effort.
"It's not unprecedented for these operations to be protective of the president and promotional vehicles for the president's reputation," Buchanan said. "They're doing their best to answer it like the administration itself did in the last few months."
The following was my on-line response to this snarky article:
-
UNBELIEVABLE! Not satisfied with their unfounded and vicious attacks against President Bush for the last eight years, the Soros-funded media/education/entertainment cabal is now obsessed with attacking President Bush’s legacy and those who plan to defend it.
Methinks this cabal (and their useful idiots) doth protest too much. Are they concerned that future BDS-free historians might actually evaluate President Bush’s record on its merits and determine that he was indeed a GREAT president?!
Perhaps they think that a positive assessment of President Bush will somehow diminish the eventual legacy of their beloved Barack Obama.
If the latter is true, Gillman, et al, need an immediate intervention. Perhaps they should be forced to read Bernie Goldberg’s new book: “A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (and Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media.”
Excellent, DrDeb.
He doesn’t need to build his legacy, it is already built on 50 million free human souls, and 378 million Americans who have not been bombed into oblivion by freaks with suicide vests.
~~Article I missed ....... PING!
I blame them for all the abuse they piled on the GOP and the country for eight years.
Thanks for the link
I meant thanks for the ping
This information needs to be pinged to the Day in the Life list.
Good response! I haven’t yet read “A Slobbering Love Affair”, but having just finished “Bias” I’m sure it will be a rollicking read!
Thanks for the ping!!
Do you know how to link to the Bush alumni Web site?
You can access the site via the primary portal here:
http://www.georgewbushlibrary.com/
—Click on “Get involved” and you will find hot links to 4 great options, including the alumni network!
—Click on the following link and you will find a pathway to the now archived GWB White House website: http://www.georgewbushlibrary.com/administration/archives
Ping to link at post #5.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.