The 43rd president is the man who didn’t come to dinner at the 2012 Republican National Convention. Other than a brief video tribute of President George W. Bush with his father President George H.W. Bush, the immediate past Republican president has been conspicuous not only by his absence from the convention but by the way he is never mentioned. There are good reasons for this. When Bush 43 left office he was deeply unpopular due to the Iraq war and the legacy of Hurricane Katrina. Tea partiers and conservatives also rightly deprecate his profligate spending.
But for all of his faults, George W. Bush doesn’t deserve the egregious abuse to which he has been subjected. And his brother Jeb went off script tonight at the convention to speak bluntly about the way his brother has been treated not only by the public but also by his successor. In paying tribute to his family Bush said, “I love my brother. He is a man of integrity, courage and honor and during incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe.” Then he spoke directly to the president and said, “Mr. President it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies. You were dealt a tough hand but your policies have not worked.”
He’s right and though George W. Bush is the last person on earth that most Republicans want to talk about this week or during the campaign this fall, they should be taking direct aim at the idea that he can serve as an all-purpose alibi for every failure of the current administration. It’s been almost four years since Barack Obama was sworn into office and he still refuses to take responsibility for the state of the country. The weakness and cowardice of this stand is appalling. Jeb Bush was right to call him out on this. So should the rest of an ungrateful party that doesn’t appear to remember the job W did on 9/11 and its aftermath.
I agree with this, entirely.
Me too. I think it was a mistake not have George W. Bush at the convention. Obama will try to run against W regardless of the President's presence or nonpresence at the convention. When he does so, it makes him look small. Mitt Romney should have personally invited the President, it would have shown Mitt to be the bigger man.
I remember.
The world is not fair. George W. Bush is a major liability. He is also greatly responsible for the successful slime jobbing by his opponents. Bush 43 essentially refused to fight back! This was his choice. The price has to be paid. He now has to be hidden from the American people. Life sucks, and then you die.
So the worst economic collapse in 80 years should be solved in 3 with a congress that will not vote on a jobs bill 19 times in that same 3 years. Better to blame congress me thinks. The military debt is also the failure of the GOP very hard to saddle Obama with that. If Obama had gotten 45 warnings from 7 countries I bet he wouldn't have been on vacation for 60 days.
When it comes to the economy and to policies other than foreign, George W Bush deserves every bit of what he is getting. Every bit of it. No more RINOs and no more Republican establishment. Flush the toilet.
What makes anyone think that George W. Bush wants to be part of the circus? When asked to take up the reigns of power again, the Emperor Diocletian (who abdicated in 305) told those who wished his return, "If you could but see the cabbages I am growing in my garden!". W looks like a man who is happy, content and at peace with himself (he certainly looks a lot happier than Barack Obama does these days), so why disturb him at his ease?