Letter to the editor:

Bush can’t spin his way out of serious failings

Steve Metz, Henderson

Friday, Jan. 9, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.

I am amazed at the rewriting of history relative to the Bush presidency, given his revisionist tour. It seems everything that has gone wrong in this country is someone else’s fault.

I wish to name four things that crystallize the sum total of his presidency.

George W. Bush rightfully claims he kept us safe after 9/11, yet he is making it seem as if he had no responsibility for our safety before the 9/11 attack on this nation. I would remind him of the Aug. 6, 2001, presidential daily briefing titled “Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S.” Wasn’t he president on Aug. 6, 2001? Why did he not protect us starting the day he was sworn into office, given the warning that ultimately became reality?

Next up, Katrina. Where was he days before the peril named Katrina, during all the warnings? He later flew over New Orleans. I ask: Why was he totally passive and ineffectual in helping them?

Third, the endless daily presidential reasons of why we went into Iraq, whether it was weapons of mass destruction and mushroom clouds or Saddam Hussein posing a risk to U.S. security, or harboring al-Qaida, or spreading democracy.

Then there was the collapse of the financial and housing markets. Before all of this he was telling us about how strong the fundamentals of our economy were and how we were not in a recession.

The truth is that no president is always right or always wrong. But the mistakes Bush has made make the job of finding Bush’s positives almost imperceptible. It’s time he just says, “I’m sorry, America” before he heads off to Crawford, Texas, where he has time to think up new excuses.

Discussion: 27 comments so far…

By Houstonjac

1/9/09 at 6:02 a.m.

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Bush's greatest hour was his prompt and persistent responses to 9/11, including his staunch support of anti terrorism
efforts in the aftermath of 9/11. His address to the UN on the subject of Iraq before the invasion was outstanding. Bush addressed the UN at that time on the UN's failed policy on Iraq and on Iraq's open and longstanding defiance of the world community. Bush was right on this assessment of failed UN efforts to bring Iraq to task for its perceived WMD program. His greatest mistake in Iraq was the failure to attack with overwhelming force, to totally miss the mark on the unintended consequences that would result from the war. This he later remedied with the Surge.

History will take a much broader view of the times in which Bush served. It will show the generations who follow, the horrific man made and natural disasters of this time in American history--it will show both the mistakes that were made and the successes achieved. History has a way of smoothing out the piecemeal sharp ended events that protrude from the timeline involved.

I hope that Iraq becomes a model of freedom in the region. Bush took the shoes in the face with quiet understanding--Hussein would have murdered the same reporter who felt safe enough in the present situation to express his new found freedom.
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 8:07 a.m.

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Bush has failed us. He did some good things too.

Clinton failed us, too. He did some good things too.
By KillerB

1/9/09 at 8:17 a.m.

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Bush is one of the worst ever to occupy the White House. What was that Benjamin Franklin said about those who sacrifice liberty in the name of safety deserving neither?

His power grab created an imperial presidency that was never meant to be. The Bill of Rights was sacrificed on the altar of that power in the name of safety.

Don't believe me, believe those who say it better, the Cato Institute. Check it out -- "Power Surge: The Constitutional Record of George W. Bush"
http://www.catostore.org/index.asp?fa=Pr...
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 8:28 a.m.

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Bush is a boy scout compared to many other Presidents.

Put down the jug of DailyKos koolaid and take a deep breath.
By rusty57

1/9/09 at 10 a.m.

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Behold, the monster, FRANK 'n DODD, unbounded. The housing bubble-crash has many fathers, Dr FRANK 'n DODD is still out there, more powerful than ever!
By PhilVentura

1/9/09 at 10:06 a.m.

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To be wrong so completely, so often, coupled with his insistence to blame everyone but himself for his failures, puts him in the category of a person of inferior character. His presidency is a reflection of his character.
By Gordon

1/9/09 at 10:26 a.m.

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Praising Bush, to me, is like the murderer pleading for leniency at his sentencing hearing by highlighting the 'good' they have done.

Comparing Bush to Clinton is an absolute joke. As I've said before, Clinton got 9 out of 10 decisions correct; Bush got maybe 1 of 10 decisions correct. I also recall that while Clinton was focused on Al Qaeda, the republicans were focused on a 60 million dollar witch hunt that turned up nothing. Remember 'wag the dog' accusations. I wonder what a 60 million dollar investigation into Bush would turn up?

I have a feeling there will be a flood of 'whistle blowers', with smoking gun evidence, coming forward starting January 21. I believe they feared speaking up during Bush's reign. The 5 million missing emails from the RNC servers between administration officials discussing government business will turn up.

Claiming Bush kept us safe after 9/11 is also a joke. He had the biggest national security failure in my history, 9/11, at keeping us safe. He failed. To then claim success because it didn't happen again doesn't fly with me. The PDB and Clinton saying during the transition that he told Bush the number one national security threat was Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. Also, millions of illegals entering our country after 9/11 doesn't exactly make me feel safe that none of them are terrorists.

The list of Bush failures is so overwhelming it's difficult to highlight just a few.

The Bushies need to take off the blinders and stop trying to justify BUSH's failures by pointing blame at others or highlighting his few successes.
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 10:35 a.m.

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"Comparing Bush to Clinton is an absolute joke. As I've said before, Clinton got 9 out of 10 decisions correct; Bush got maybe 1 of 10 decisions correct"

Koolaid OD......you need to go see a doctor.

Both man made a ton of horrible decisions. Clinton did not help Bush one bit.

"Claiming Bush kept us safe after 9/11 is also a joke. He had the biggest national security failure in my history, 9/11"

This is the biggest clue on how off your Clinton got 9 out of 10 right.

If you think that Clinton got 9 out 10 right in regards to the Tablian, terrorism and Bin Laden then there is no hope for you.

You probably are clueless on Clinton's role in sub-prime meltdown down, too

Clinton was rotten in regard to foreign policy and protecting our country. He was also rotten in policies that greatly contributed to the sub-prime meltdown.

You need to go through a kooliad rehab program and realized that Clinton was a big screw up, too.
By azsk8fan

1/9/09 at 12:45 p.m.

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Bush is just a bloomin' idiot and a total embarrassment - other countries have lost respect for America and I believe we have the bloomin' idiot to blame for it.
By bigdaddyQ36

1/9/09 at 1:18 p.m.

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I don't understand why people are so bent on blaming President Bush for everything that has gone wrong in this country.
Katrina - A failure at the local level, the state level, and the federal level.
9/11 - Clinton never did anything about the attack on the World Trade Center during his administration, allowing the attack on 9/11 to go on with the terrorists thinking there would be no consequences, President Bush took the fight to them!
The financial debacle - Look at who is really responsible, Dodd, Frank, ACORN, Obama, Reid, Pelosi, all of these people did everything in their power to allow what happened to happen. Not to mention the people that lied about their ability to make payments on homes they couldn't afford, and the mortgage agents that allowed them to do it.
I suppose that if your power gets shut off for non-payment that is Bush's fault also?

Put the Kool-aid down and back away.

I guess no one has to worry after January 20, because Obama will take care of everything. What a joke, Obama is in way over his head, things are going to get much worse, and there is nothing that a bigger government can do about it, you must let things happen as they may and quit tinkering with the process. America will fix itself without throwing taxpayer money at all the problems.
By johnevegas

1/9/09 at 2:07 p.m.

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BigDaddy sounds like a big sore loser. Geez, what an outdated rant. I'm surprised you didn't say "And get off my lawn!"
By teach172

1/9/09 at 3:23 p.m.

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THE WORST PRESIDENT EVER!

The Iraq War!
Katrina!
The Failing Economy!

THE WORST PRESIDENT EVER!
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 3:38 p.m.

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The failing economy.....yes that is Bush's fault but you can add Clinton's name to the list of major contributors to that event.

Katrina was bad and Bush failed there, too, but it was mainly a failure on the state government level.

If Clinton did his job and convinced Saddam to prove that he destroyed WMD's then there would have been no Iraq. If Clinton did his job and killed Bin Laden then there probably would not have been 9/11 or Iraq.

I be OK if it is said that Bush and Clinton were respondible for one of the toughest times in US history.

Our failed economy is nowhere near the Great Depression (not yet).

I do not think one can blame Bush for the Great Depression, Slavery, Civil War, WWII and Vietnam. I think Presidents responsible for generating those events rank lower on the presidency scale than Bush.

Worst President Ever???....put down the glass of koolaid and go take a nap.
By teach172

1/9/09 at 3:47 p.m.

Comment removed by staff.
By cgriffin

1/9/09 at 3:58 p.m.

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I thought all involved in 911 were born in saudi arabia!
By LV_Tom

1/9/09 at 4:01 p.m.

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Katrina was the fault of blacks total dependency on the Federal Government. They expected the Feds to carry them to safety. They showed zero self responsibility up to and including the corrupt, uneducated black mayor. This country will experience more intercity Katrina disasters as we increase the expectation of the federal government to take care of us. YOU WILL SEE MORE BLACKS TAKE THE BRUNT OF THESE DISASTERS. To those that are critical of Bush just flying over the flooding, that was a well thought out decision since it would have stopped what recovery work was going on to accommodate the presidents entourage. Succinctly it would have hurt the recovery effort. Of course, your beloved Billy Clinton would have been there with the puppy dog media cameras flashing while he spewed "feel good" comments but accomplished zero.
By redferret

1/9/09 at 4:09 p.m.

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First off it's more than a little racist to say that only the blacks expected something out of the feds. There were more than just black people stuck in Katrina. To say otherwise is skewing the issue. Part of the reason that many blacks were still in the city is because blacks are disproportionately poor, and it was mostly the poor folk who stayed there.
As for the ludicrous, Bush did a good job on Katrina is laughable. What about the line, "You're doing a heck of a job". It's also hilarious that he waited how long again before declaring an emergency and mobilizing federal resources to help those cities?
As for Clinton, hmmm a good comparison, hmmmm. Oh YEAH, Hurricane Andrew. A far more destructive hurricane that affected a larger area. Last I checked there wasn't a huge snafu when Clinton mopped up that one. LVTom there are defensible areas of Bush's presidency and there are indefensible ones. Katrina is very indefensible.
By cgriffin

1/9/09 at 4:14 p.m.

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where did the ten trillion dollars go?? if any of it landed in the hole that WE THE PEOPLE are in then there should be a lot of cash floating around....
By spartacus84

1/9/09 at 6 p.m.

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A complete failure.
Mission accomplished!
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 7:33 p.m.

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No terrorist attack since 2001 on US soil....at least he something right.
By PhilVentura

1/9/09 at 8:04 p.m.

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9/11, the biggest security failure in U.S. history. What did he get right in the days leading up to it?
Reading the warning memos from the CIA Director and the head of the Anti-Terrorism department might have helped! DUH!
By ksand99

1/9/09 at 9:20 p.m.

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I'm still not sure why we went into Iraq.

Bush kept telling us there were weapons of mass destruction. This was a year and a half after taking office and appointing his people. But to listen to the Freepers around here, Bush's bad judgment was Clinton's fault! How convenient!

Bush told us that Saddam had anthrax and botulism toxin, that he had VX, sarin, cyclosarin and mustard gas. He told us that Saddam had an active program to develop nuclear weapons.

Some people around here want to assuage their guilt by pointing at prior administrations. That is reprehensible. The man they supported, the compassionate conservative, turned out to be anything but! He appointed cronys or backbenchers who would obey any command, no matter the cost or casualties.

I loved the previous commenters' adoration of Bush! Bush's "prompt response" to 9/11! HA! He sat, reading a children's book!

Then he sends an ill-prepared and poorly-supported force to Afghanistan to go after the Taliban and al-Quaida. And where are we, almost eight years later? STILL FIGHTING! Afghanistan has been a total failure, and Bush has let victory fall from our grasp too many times.

Then there's Iraq. How anyone can excuse the bungled and mangled excuses and prosecution of the war I will never understand. It was a war undertook under false pretenses, and conducted shoddily, wasting the lives of brave men and women.

And Katrina, the second-worst natural disaster to hit the United States? Blame FEMA's response on LOCAL government? HA! From the temporary homes laced with toxic chemicals to the nightmarish images coming from the stadium, that was Bush's federal response at it's worst. A response put into the hands of a crony who had NO CLUE what he was doing.

And the Bushies cheer and want to withhold judgment? How quaint!
By jfnance32

1/9/09 at 9:57 p.m.

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I think most people understand that Bush failed in many ways.

But it is the Clintonites that believe Clinton created this amazing and perfect world.

Grow up. Clinton failed big time so did Bush.
By getalife

1/9/09 at 10:59 p.m.

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For all of you Obama kool-aid drinkers ........ red alert ...... I will JUDGE Obama as narrow-mindedly as you judge Bush.

I know, I know that's unfair and un-american of me, but for you it's your patriotic duty. Please.
By maco9005

1/11/09 at 8:09 a.m.

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I was not aware that the president took resposibility for day to day operation of financial markets,(private or federal.) I thought people like Dodd,Pelosi,Reid,Frank, and so on were charged with that.And didn"t they assure us shortly before and long before that all was well?
The sad part of all this, is they will all be re-elected again but you will still be blaming Bush.What is it they say about insanity?Again and again, expecting.........
By johnevegas

1/11/09 at 8:33 a.m.

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"Clintonites that believe Clinton created this amazing and perfect world."

Nah. Just that the last four years of his presidency we ran with a surplus. Doesn't that sound good right now? I would certainly trade a presidential affair for the affair Bush has left us with. Sure, it's not the "perfect world" you describe, but it isn't near depression world either.

I'm no Clintonite. But I know a good president when I see one, no matter the party.
By jfnance32

1/11/09 at 9:12 a.m.

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Clinton gets a extremely poor score on protecting our country. He did not kill Bin Laden when had several easy attempts to do so. He allowed Afghanistan to grow an army of terrorists to attack us. He allowed terrorists to sneak into our country and take flight lessons. He did not resloved the problem of Israel conflict and instead created a full pledge conflict there. He did not resolved the Iraq problem in 8 years.

Clinton pushed the gate open on generating poor sub-prime loans and Bush continued that stupid policy. That killed us now.

Clinton handed Bush a recession and 9/11 to deal with.

Clinton sucked as president, but if one wants to close their eyes then they probably would believe that even Carter was a good president.