Author Topic: So George W. Bush isn't a monster, after all  (Read 363 times)

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Offline Machiavelli

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So George W. Bush isn't a monster, after all
« on: May 08, 2014, 05:10:24 pm »
Matt Bai
Yahoo News
May 8, 2014

Quote
If you've just crash-landed from the planet known as Kepler-186f and have no experience with the human life form or its recent history, let me just clarify something for you: George W. Bush was a divisive and unsuccessful president. Economically, internationally, culturally — you name the category of leadership, and the results pretty much range from disappointment to disaster. A CBS News/New York Times poll clocked Bush's final approval rating at 22 percent, which is about as low as you can go in politics without needing a parole officer.

You may get confused about this, because lately Bush is enjoying a public restoration. The Bush you read about these days is the kind of inclusive conservative you can deal with, a guy who bikes with wounded veterans, a sensitive portraitist of world leaders. A graphic this week on FiveThirtyEight.com showed how fewer and fewer Americans blame Bush for the country's economic morass, even though his successor, Barack Obama, won two presidential campaigns based on precisely that premise.
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Offline Relic

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Re: So George W. Bush isn't a monster, after all
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2014, 05:45:39 pm »
I believe GWB to be a good man. I also believe him to be slightly smarter than average. Unfortunately for him, the presidency requires a very smart person, not slightly above average. Bush was over matched, and one could construct the argument that Bush's failures gave us Obama.

I wish nothing but the best for GWB. I believe he was treated unfairly by the media. But, he left a lot to be desired as president.

Having said all that, Obama makes GWB look like Ronald Reagan.

Offline Machiavelli

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Re: So George W. Bush isn't a monster, after all
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2014, 11:41:26 pm »
Bush is a decent and classy man but he spent too much. He had a dry veto pen during his entire first year.

Offline rustynail

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Re: So George W. Bush isn't a monster, after all
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2014, 11:43:03 pm »
That does not mean we want his brother for president.