Free Republic

Social Security reform is doomed and the president's four-year marriage with House Republicans has ended in bitter separation. That's the story, according to hopeful media outlets like the Washington Post. The president's adversaries point to House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas's "dead horse" comment and his recent appearance on Meet the Press. However, a look at his actual remarks provides an alternative take: "I really want to compliment the president for getting the discussion of what we do with Social Security on the table. As you well know, it had been the so-called third rail — touch it...

ORLANDO, Fla.--In the aftermath of 9/11, conservatives bottled up their frustrations over some of President Bush's policies. Then they muted their criticism during the presidential campaign. But now it is spilling out in all directions--and the White House had better pay attention. On Friday Rush Limbaugh, a staunch Bush supporter, took two separate opportunities to warn the president that he faced conservative opposition on some key issues that could hurt his chances of passing the rest of his second-term agenda. First was federal spending, which "is surging out of control," according to the Heritage Foundation's new "Mandate for Leadership." The...

Limbaugh issues a warning to President Bush. Monday, January 31, 2005 12:01 a.m. ORLANDO, Fla.--In the aftermath of 9/11, conservatives bottled up their frustrations over some of President Bush's policies. Then they muted their criticism during the presidential campaign. But now it is spilling out in all directions--and the White House had better pay attention.

WASHINGTON -- It may have taken place 10 days ago, but the presidential inauguration with its pageantry and dignity jostling the protests, excesses and overkill is and will remain fresh in the memory of everyone who was there. But those among us, some veterans of nine inaugurals, were shocked and disgusted by a new phenomenon: the Sore Losers Club. There was no doubt that Al Gore, the former vice president and former presidential contender, is the club's leader. He found a black hole in which to again hide from the reality of voter rejection. Another card-carrying member of the club...

When President Bush stands before Congress on Wednesday night to deliver his State of the Union address, it is a safe bet that he will not announce that one of his goals is the long-term enfeeblement of the Democratic Party. But a recurring theme of many items on Bush's second-term domestic agenda is that if enacted, they would weaken political and financial pillars that have propped up Democrats for years, political strategists from both parties say. Legislation putting caps on civil damage awards, for instance, would choke income to trial lawyers, among the most generous contributors to the Democratic Party....

I am beginning to think John McCain actually won the presidency in 2000. Conservatives were relieved when the Straight Talk Express petered out during the 2000 primary season. John McCain, although tough on national security and runaway spending, was hardly a conservative on major issues such as campaign finance, healthcare reform and immigration. Yet this is exactly where we find President Bush today (except unlike McCain, Bush doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with runaway spending). Last year President George Bush signed the McCain-Feingold bill into law, which is one of the worst assaults on political speech this...

<p>WASHINGTON -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, along with Border Patrol agents, are on the ground in Iraq to help secure that country's war-torn borders prior to tomorrow's national elections, CBP officials said yesterday.</p> <p>CBP spokeswoman Kristi M. Clemens said the deployment team will bolster current border security efforts, providing support and additional training for Iraqi border police -- which will continue beyond the elections -- in an effort to keep saboteurs, terrorists and armaments from crossing into or out of the country.</p>

Journalists Say Their White House Advice Crossed No Line By Howard Kurtz Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, January 29, 2005; Page C01 Columnist Charles Krauthammer heaped praise on President Bush's inaugural address. But, he says, he had nothing to do with shaping the speech. Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol also lauded the speech. He says he did not consult on the speech itself but discussed with two White House officials "themes for the second term and included in that, themes for the inaugural." Both conservatives are unapologetic about having privately offered advice to top White House aides, saying that is...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 - The battle within the Republican Party over immigration policy was joined Wednesday as President Bush vigorously promoted his proposal for a guest worker program and conservatives in Congress introduced an alternative proposal to tighten immigration restrictions. At a news conference, President Bush said again that he considered his guest worker proposal "a priority" even though Senate Republicans left it off their list of top goals. "A program that enables people to come into our country in a legal way to work for a period of time, for jobs that Americans won't do, will help make it...

President Bush headed to Cleveland, Ohio today to participate in a healthcare forum about conversation on the benefits of health care information technology. The President also visited with Doctors and staff at the Cleveland Clinic. Bush also spoke with President Yawar from Iraq regarding the elections on Sunday in Iraq. Enjoy your daily dose of Dubya!

Reports from across Iran are stating about the massive welcoming of President George W. Bush's inaugural speech and his promise of helping to bring down the last outposts of tyranny. Millions of Iranians have been reported as having stayed home, on Thursday night which is their usual Weekend and outgoing night, in order to see or hear the Presidential speech and the comments made by the Los Angeles based Iranian satellite TV and radio networks, such as, NITV or KRSI. The speech and its package of hope have been, since late yesterday night and this morning, the main topics of...

I've posted some photos of the Free Republic folks at Pres. Bush's Inauguration to my Blog (http://kenny1957.blogspot.com). Even more posted in a few days.

Is is the most un-American speech I've ever heard a chief executive give to the United States, and only one was as gruesome and off key as this and that guy is Harry Truman who's being made into a hero because he fits the imperial mode.That's just never existed in our history, that a president says 'Well, I think Im going to take over Costa Rica. There may be some terrorists down there some day. Oh, they arent there yet, but they are planning for it. And they've got bicarbonate of soda. Once you have that, you can build all...

I originally planned to defend President Bush's second inaugural address from the usual and increasingly bitter Democratic attacks. But with four more years of the Bush White House, there will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I must answer the few - but pressing - conservative criticisms of Bush's truly momentous speech. In a National Review article assessing the inaugural address, conservative commentator Peter Robinson disturbingly lamented that "the speech was in almost no way that of a conservative ... It amounted to a thoroughgoing exaltation of the state." I couldn't believe my eyes, but unfortunately, some...

Krauthammer Consulted on Inaugural, Then Praised It By Dave Astor Published: January 26, 2005 12:05 PM ET NEW YORK Liberal watchdog group Media Matters for America says columnist Charles Krauthammer praised President Bush's Jan. 20 inauguration speech on TV without disclosing his role consulting on the speech. Krauthammer's syndicate responded this morning. When Krauthammer was among a group of people invited to the White House Jan. 10, "he did not get the sense that this was an exercise in speech preparation," Alan Shearer, editorial director/general manager of the Washington Post Writers Group, told E&P. "If he had, he would very...

Observing one of the more obvious idiosyncrasies concerning President Bush one can always tell when his heart fully believes what his mouth is saying. Contrast the inauguration speech given on Thursday against his occasional press conferences and interviews, and the differences are night and day. In settings outside of a "big soulful moment," like parrying with the press corps, or even the 2004 State of the Union speech, Bush does not rise to the moment. For in those settings, it is not Bush the visionary, but rather Bush the functionary.

Celebration and ConcernWill the Bush administration remember what the president said Thursday? By William J. BennettPresident George W. Bush's inaugural address pleased and inspired me. Talk about a return to, and affirmation of, first and best principles! This exhilarating testament to freedom reminded me of why I became a member of the Republican party 20 years ago, the Democrats having then abandoned the fields of human rights and national security. And, it warmed my heart to see the long and hard-wrought toilings of old friends payoff in what sounded to me like a new theme in foreign policy: "The...

WASHINGTON - President Bush [related, bio] will take new aim at tyranny across the globe in next week's State of the Union Address - bolstering his inaugural pitch that America must expand freedom and democracy abroad to stay safe at home.      ``It will be a speech that continues to talk about freedom,'' Bush said in a wide-ranging 45-minute Oval Office interview with Herald editors yesterday, one of his first such sessions since being sworn in to a second term last week. ``In order to lead, you gotta know where you are going. These two speeches will make it very clear...

President Bush's 2005 inaugural address was one of the most exhilarating ever delivered — but also one of the most disconcerting. The address was soaringly eloquent, audaciously idealistic and deeply reverent. Yet its content was so breathtakingly ambitious as to verge on hubris. The president set nothing less than this as the standard by which his tenure will be judged: "America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout the world, and to all inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength — tested, but not weary — we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." This was a...