Posted on 05/31/2012 7:38:41 AM PDT by Colonel Kangaroo
John Bolton, Mr Bush's ambassador to the United Nations, said it would not be helpful for the Republicans to more vigorously defend the former president's record, which Democrats have sharply criticised.
Mr Bolton urged Mitt Romney, the party's nominee to face Mr Obama in November, to focus on the future and resist arguing over whether their last president left behind "a big mess or a little mess".
His remarks came as Mr Bush prepared to return to the White House for only the second time since leaving office in January 2009, for the unveiling of his official portrait.
"I think people would agree with Obama that he was left with a mess," Mr Bolton told The Daily Telegraph.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
That is a good point. Obama is on record saying the bailout he (somewhat erroneously) attributes to Bush was too small. So what’s he complaining about?
Yes, the Community Reinvestment Act was passed under Carter, but was ramped up under Clinton including getting his people placed in high positions at Fannie to continue after Bush was elected.
Sorry, it’s Congress that is primarily responsible, and the Pelosi-Reid Congress, starting in 2006, that was the clear and instant downfall for the economy.
Very true. There are strong parallels with Hoover and FDR.
..................... FDR completely destroyed the fascists. Were there any armed nazi units running around, anywhere, after 1945? No! Bush should have followed that example, but didn’t........................
I wonder how the Clinton, Bush years would have faired if Bush I had taken that advise and marched into Baghdad and took out Saddam??
When you start a new job and there’s a steaming bag of stink on the desk, you can blame the prior occupant of the office.
When it’s still there four years later, and is accompanied by another bigger bag of steaming stink, you can’t.
“George Bush was a failed President.”
The major reason being that in his last 2 years the government was run roughshod by the Democrat majority in both the House and Senate.
Real blame????? “We have met the enemy, and he is us”......for voting in the likes of Pelosi and Reid....Congress sets the economic agenda and the fault rightfully falls in P & R’s laps........
It continues......Even in these economic times Reidf has failed to pass a single Budget in the Senate over the past 4 years.......
That's a very interesting question. Some people that Bush I was correct in leaving Saddam in place, and Bush II was wrong in removing him.
The thinking is that Saddam provided a real counterweight to Iran. And Saddam was fundamentally against Al Qaeda because he did not want to end up sharing power with them.
I personally believe that that thinking is correct. Saddam should have been pushed out of Kuwait. But then he should have been monitored, and left in power.
In the second sentence I also said that Bush didn’t help himself at all. He ABSOLUTELY made mistakes, what you outlined chief among them.
By the time that happened though, the media had basically destroyed him over Iraq and waterboarding and “killing civilians” in Afghanistan, and privatizing social security etc...
W didn’t help his reputation much - and in some cases certainly hurt himself - but a lot of the negativity surrounding his reputation came directly from the adversarial media.
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