Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

George W. Bush: ‘No need to defend myself’
The Hill ^

Posted on 04/22/2013 6:32:25 AM PDT by Sub-Driver

George W. Bush: ‘No need to defend myself’ By Jonathan Easley - 04/22/13 07:51 AM ET

Former President George W. Bush said he feels “no need to defend himself” over the high-profile decisions that marked his two terms in office, saying he will leave those judgments to history.

“There's no need to defend myself,” Bush said in an interview with USA Today. “I did what I did and ultimately history will judge.”

Bush, along with President Obama and former Presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Jimmy Carter, will be on hand to open the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas on Thursday.

Bush described the center as “a place to lay out the facts” behind his major policy decisions, including the decision to go to invade Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, not as a place that will explain or defend the actual policies.

Visitors to the library will be able to assess “the decisions that I had to make and the recommendations I received” at a “decision points theater,” according to Bush. In addition to the Iraq war and troop surge, the theater will focus on his handling of the 2008 financial collapse and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In an interview conducted before last Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings, Bush said terrorism should still be a primary concern for the federal government.

“It's apparent that time is quickly dimming our memories,” Bush said of 9/11. “Evil exists still in the form of people who murder innocent people to advance a point of view.”

“The lessons of 9/11 are as profound today as they were then,” he added.

Bush has taken up painting in his private time – a fact that became known after a hacker exposed some of his private emails. The former president said it helps to keep him “mellow,” and that he’s content in his new life outside of public view.

“I'm happy to be out of the limelight. I truly am,” he said. “My life is obviously much simpler than it was in the past, but in many ways the simplicity creates contentment.”

“Some people get confused about my desire not to have the klieg lights shining on me, but eight years is plenty to be in the lights,” he said.

In an interview last week, the former president also expressed hopes that his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) would run for president.

Asked if the nation was “ready for another Bush” in the Oval Office, he responded “That’s for Je to figure out.”

“I would hope that people would judge, if Jeb were to run, on his merits and his track record,” said Bush, adding “I hope he will run.”

His brother Jeb Bush has said he would weigh a 2016 GOP presidential bid and is seen as a prime contender for the nomination.


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bush43; georgewbush; presidents
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-145 next last
To: latina4dubya
What he did do... like his father did in Gulf War I... he failed to kill the Taliban and bin laden when they had the chance... as CNN showed video of all of the SUV's and autos fleeing... they were escaping on the only road to the Tora Bora region. They could have killed hussein and most of the republican guard in Gulf War I but for colostomy bowel ordering Stormin’ Norman from taking them all out of the Highway to Hell. We could have bought hussein outright and used him as a block against iran... but Bush wanted him dead because of his daddy and he mistakenly thought that he could build a democracy in Iraq... amongst the jihadis of the religion of peace. He then refused to defend the WMD’s not being found and then appointed the man that stopped Victory in Gulf War I and put him in as Secretary of State. Bush did many good things and was himself a righteous man... but he was not a great President due to his refusal to engage the domestic enemy in battle and refusing to defend his actions and those of us that defended him and his agenda... and his cockiness caused many of us to turn our backs on the Bush clan forever. “SEE YOU AT THE SIGNING”! Many of us remember the good and the bad.

LLS

81 posted on 04/22/2013 10:02:58 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 62 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

Indeed.

LLS


82 posted on 04/22/2013 10:04:24 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: ZULU

Thank you and I absolutely agree! evil is evil... lesser or not.

LLSS


83 posted on 04/22/2013 10:06:40 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: COBOL2Java

In my best Elvis, “Thank you... thank you very much”! ;-)

LLS


84 posted on 04/22/2013 10:10:47 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 74 | View Replies]

To: Sub-Driver

By not defending himself, this idiot left conservatives holding the bag. His inability or unwillingness to defend himself is why we have Obama today.


85 posted on 04/22/2013 10:13:11 AM PDT by Antoninus (Sorry, gone rogue.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LibLieSlayer

We do indeed.


86 posted on 04/22/2013 10:15:57 AM PDT by ZULU ((See: http://gatesofvienna.net/))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 83 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne

You were correct and many of us were wrong... but I was never going to vote for gore or kerry so... screwed again by our own so-called party.

LLS


87 posted on 04/22/2013 10:16:06 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: Houghton M.

china owns the oil and iran owns their hearts and minds... forget iraq... it is all but lost.

LLS


88 posted on 04/22/2013 10:18:03 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer (FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 79 | View Replies]

To: C. Edmund Wright
W, who I am inclined to like personally, is still shamefully naive and self righteous about "not defending himself," - which is precisely what tanked his and the GOP's reputation. He was so poor at this, that the GOP simultaneously became more unpopular with both liberals and conservatives.

A fair assessment. The compassionate conservative marketing scheme GW Bush used had a 4 year shelf life, if that. What he and Rove sold was not delivered, bottom line. An aside, if Bush feels he doesn't need to defend himself, why does he keep bringing the subject up? I suspect it's designed to provide cover for Jeb.

89 posted on 04/22/2013 10:18:53 AM PDT by TADSLOS (The Event Horizon has come and gone. Buckle up and hang on.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: ZULU

Bump

For Bush Reality


90 posted on 04/22/2013 10:20:44 AM PDT by itsahoot (It is not so much that history repeats, but that human nature does not change.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Reddy; C. Edmund Wright
In total agreement!

Does Bush have some sort of complex? Does he enjoy being crucified?

To be a good leader you have to out maneuver your opponents. By not successfully defending your positions you are giving ground to your opponents. What the heck is he talking about?

91 posted on 04/22/2013 10:27:08 AM PDT by Chgogal (Obama murdered the SEALs.They "were hung out to dry, basically exposed like a set of dog balls,...")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: LibLieSlayer

nobody is perfect...


92 posted on 04/22/2013 10:42:37 AM PDT by latina4dubya
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 81 | View Replies]

To: dfwgator

I’m not criticizing him, although there is much to criticize. It’s just that I am totally baffled about how two supposed insiders can be so naive about the lengths to which their enemies will go to destroy them.


93 posted on 04/22/2013 11:11:18 AM PDT by Daveinyork (."Trusting government with power and money is like trusting teenaged boys with whiskey and car keys,)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Piranha
Not to engage in politics itself is a political decision, and his humility is actually disguised arrogance.

Thank you. Bush gets to go feel all smug and self-righteous about letting the left seize the agenda and leaving those that supported him deal with the aftermath.

Not another Bush. Not ever.

94 posted on 04/22/2013 11:19:33 AM PDT by hcmama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: hcmama

Bush let the liberals bitch slap him from day one. He was weak just like his father. People lose respect, when you will not defend yourself.


95 posted on 04/22/2013 11:23:32 AM PDT by No Surrender No Retreat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 94 | View Replies]

To: LibLieSlayer

We lost that battle before any primaries took place. The party faithful bought into Bush hook line and sinker.

We didn’t have Gore or Kerry to battle early on. We had our own guys like the RNC, Rove, Card, et al.

And then we had our own party faithful who had been raised supporting the party no matter what. And these days, we simply cannot count on that any longer.

The elites are selling us out on every issue. I’ll strike that a bit, in that they actually stood up against new gun control measures, but that is basically the single bright spot of the last five years IMO.

Where is the Conservative voice of America hawked by someone who wants to lead us?

Some folks talk a great game, then sell us out on vitally important issues. First one guy then another reveals themselves to be ‘closet confused’. (not to be confused with the homosexual connotation) These folks just don’t get it, and sooner or later they reveal themselves. It’s just demoralizing to the max.

No inference is intended here, so don’t read that into it.

Many of us were raised to follow the party line. When you note where that has gotten us, it’s obvious that policy failed us miserably.


96 posted on 04/22/2013 11:24:09 AM PDT by DoughtyOne (Leftist, Progressive, Socialist, Communist, fundamentalist Islamic policies, the death of a nation.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: DoughtyOne

Reviewing some of Lady Thatcher’s speeches during her tenure as PM and seeing her brilliant, impassioned defense of her policies drove home the fact that we have had 12 years of governance by utter mediocrities—and with disastrous results.


97 posted on 04/22/2013 11:29:30 AM PDT by hcmama
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 61 | View Replies]

To: TADSLOS
The compassionate conservative marketing scheme GW Bush used had a 4 year shelf life, if that. What he and Rove sold was not delivered, bottom line. An aside, if Bush feels he doesn't need to defend himself, why does he keep bringing the subject up? I suspect it's designed to provide cover for Jeb.

You are a bit more charitable than am I. My take is that the compassionate conservatism schtick was dead on arrival because it was based on the false premise that conservatism itself is not compassionate. I doubt W even realizes this. As for the other, yes, I think cover for Jeb is part of it. I also think he remains cluless.

98 posted on 04/22/2013 11:33:15 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (Tokyo Rove is more than a name, it's a GREAT WEBSITE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 89 | View Replies]

To: LibLieSlayer

Yes, we must asses Bush/Rove’s “strength of schedule “so to speak.....as bad as Bush was, Kerry and Gore were even more so. That’ why they won, and it’s also why we had no choice.


99 posted on 04/22/2013 11:35:21 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (Tokyo Rove is more than a name, it's a GREAT WEBSITE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 87 | View Replies]

To: SueRae

I don’t think the lines are very long.......


100 posted on 04/22/2013 11:36:34 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (Tokyo Rove is more than a name, it's a GREAT WEBSITE)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-145 next last

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.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson