Bush Library Dedication

[Trapper John]

Democrat reveals 3 things liberals don't get about George W. Bush

By Lanny Davis

Published April 25, 2013

FoxNews.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/...#ixzz2RVev14Dw

Thursday, April 25, on the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas, four living presidents — Jimmy Carter, No. 39; George H.W. Bush, No. 41; Bill Clinton, No. 42, and Barack Obama, No. 44 — will honor one of their colleagues, George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, at the dedication of his presidential library.
So I take this occasion to remind my fellow liberal Democrats, many of whom continue to attack Bush in harsh and personal terms, of three things about him that I don’t think they understand or appreciate.
First, while there were many polices under Bush with which liberal Democrats (myself included) disagreed — such as tax cuts, the Iraq War and not paying for either (as well as the Afghan war) with current revenues rather than borrowed money — there must be a distinction between disagreement and personal attack.
It is important to remember what a good man with a good heart George W. Bush is.
For example, many Democrats still use the “lie” word in describing Bush’s rationale for the Iraq War — that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. This turned out to be wrong.But Democrats in the Clinton administration also believed Saddam had WMDs, as did most experts in the U.S. intelligence community.
Our politics have become so poisoned and our government so dysfunctional precisely because too many people — on both sides — can’t make a distinction between lies and being sincerely wrong.
Second, Bush is known for his brilliant slogan when he first ran in 2000, describing himself as a “compassionate conservative.” But let’s not forget that on many issues, Bush was more “compassionate” than “conservative” — indeed, he was sometimes closer to Republican Theodore Roosevelt’s free-market progressivism than William Howard Taft’s laissez-faire conservatism.
Examples include “No Child Left Behind” education reform, presented together at the White House by Bush and the liberal icon Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in the early days of the Bush presidency; support for broad immigration reform, very similar to the bipartisan legislation recently proposed in the Senate; and an extension of Medicare to include prescription drug benefits — the most far-reaching and generous Medicare reform since Lyndon Johnson.
Third, it is important to remember what a good man with a good heart George W. Bush is.
I know from personal experience.
As I have written before, I remember sitting next to Bush when we were in the same residential college at Yale (Davenport — he graduated a year after me). I recall an evening when a group of us was sitting in the common room outside the college dining hall after dinner and a fellow Yale student walked by who was known to be gay, but in those days was not “out.” Someone said some ugly homophobic slurs.
I didn’t like it, yet sat silently. But Bush snapped, saying something like “Hey, knock it off. Why don’t you walk in his shoes awhile and feel what he feels?”
I remember thinking, “Whoa. This guy is much different inside than the fun-loving frat brother partying with me at Delta Kappa Epsilon.”
As I watched him grow and evolve over the years, overcoming times of great personal pain and challenge to become a two-time governor of Texas and a two-term president of the United States, I only came to admire and like him even more than that evening at Yale.
My late mother always used to say you can judge people on how they love and treat animals — good if they do, bad if they don’t.
When Bush’s beloved dog, Barney, died recently, the statement he issued exemplified for me the inner core of goodness on my mother’s scale of judgment.
“Barney never discussed politics,” he said in bidding Barney a sad farewell, “and he was always a faithful friend. Laura and I will miss our pal.”
I know my mom in heaven, who would never have voted for George W. Bush for president, would have read that comment about Barney and insisted:
“He is a good man.”
I agree.
Godspeed to you, George Bush, and blessings for your mom and dad and family on this great occasion.

[Richard]

Those are some very 'spot on' remarks.

Richard

[MR2]

I don't know where you got that Trap, but I watched The President give those remarks on live TV this morning. Those are not the words that he uttered.

[PSM]

Originally Posted by MR2

I don't know where you got that Trap, but I watched The President give those remarks on live TV this morning. Those are not the words that he uttered.

Sounds more like Clinton:

"As I have written before, I remember sitting next to Bush when we were in the same residential college at Yale (Davenport — he graduated a year after me)."

Bush and Obama were not in school at the same time.

Pat

[Trapper John]

That struck me as odd too. But that was taken directly from the Fox News website. Here's the citation:

Democrat reveals 3 things liberals don't get about George W. Bush

By Lanny Davis

Published April 25, 2013

FoxNews.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/...#ixzz2RVev14Dw

I note that the speaker is not identified. Good Grief! Probably was BC given the Yale reference. And here I was trying to paint President Obama in a favorable light. Should have known it was too good to be true. Commencing push-ups Sergeant!

[PSM]

Originally Posted by Trapper John

That struck me as odd too. But that was taken directly from the Fox News website.

It was neither. It was written by Lanny Davis:

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnist...rmer-president

Pat

[MR2]

Brother, you need to recheck those meds your on.

[Trapper John]

Originally Posted by MR2

Brother, you need to recheck those meds your on.

Yup!

[cbtengr]

He was a good man with a good heart there is no denying that but I will always believe that he was more than generous when it came to dealing with the other side of the aisle. The problem is that they never appreciated him then. Lanny is being a pretty generous guy and I hope he means it.

Parade Magazine ran a very nice article about President Bush last Sunday in regards to his new library, I thought the article was nicely done, Parade invited all to go to their web site and post your thoughts on President Bush. I went out to their site and was appalled by the hate filled references made about him, where does that come from?

He was not a great conservative but he was indeed a good and decent individual and I never questioned his motives or his sincerity.

[MR2]

Compromise with so-called Progressives is like compromise with the Taliban.

You either agree with them or it's off with your head.

[longrange1947]

Originally Posted by PSM

It was neither. It was written by Lanny Davis:

http://thehill.com/opinion/columnist...rmer-president

Pat

Yeah I was getting confused with the other guys because I thought it was very obvious that the person narrating was the author of the article. Oh well.

BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome) has been created and fed by the lame stream. Their never ending painting of President Bush in only negative light, and the fact that many, and way too many, liberals get their news from these same sources, thus their hate is fueled by the BS put out by the rags.

[orion5]

“One of the benefits of freedom is that people can disagree,” Mr. Bush told a crowd of thousands on a bright Texas day. “It’s fair to say I created plenty of opportunities to exercise that right. But when future generations come to this library and study this administration, they’re going to find out that we stayed true to our convictions.” - President George W. Bush



A little background on the George W. Bush Presidential Center...

First, the Bush Center includes the Bush Presidential Library, the Museum, and the Bush Institute. Fact sheets: [LINK]

• 226,000 sq ft building and 15 acre urban park; 23 acres total.
• On the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas.
• First presidential library to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

The Bush Library will house 43,000 artifacts, including items from 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2000 election vote recount. A bit of controversy surrounds the gifts Lance Armstrong gave him, but they decided to keep those in the exhibit. [LINK]

The Bush Museum offers a revealing look into the decisions and events of the Bush Presidency. The Museum features important artifacts; such as a piece of the World Trade Center; an interactive Decision Points Theater where visitors make real-time crisis decisions similar to those made by President Bush; and a full-scale replica of the Oval Office complete with a Resolute Desk that visitors can sit behind. [LINK] Details on how to visit: [LINK]

The Bush Institute, in President Bush's words, will be "a place of action, a results-oriented institute that will have an effect on our country and, we think, on the world.” Their programs cover economic growth, education reform, global health, human freedom, military service, and women. [LINK]


Some pictures from the Bush Center dedication today, from their Facebook page...

1) The 5 living Presidents take the stage. Favorite FB comment: "If you don't like that picture, you're un-American."

2) Formal photo inside the Center. I loved the elder Bush's pink socks. Favorite FB comment: "if you know anything about Bush Sr, you know his love for fun soxs. its his thang.."

3) Formal picture with the wives. There aren't too many countries in the world where you would have a peaceful gathering of all former/current leaders. Favorite FB comment: "Every man there was elected by the People, and we all should be proud they stand together for a moment in time. My hat is off to all of them!!!"

4) Four Presidents sharing a laugh before taking the stage. Favorite FB comment: "Carter is laughing cause he is no longer the worst ...."

5) The Bush Center lighted at night.

[Peregrino]

I too never doubted the quality of his character; and to me, character counts for a lot. I'm looking forward to history's verdict. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll still be around when the passage of time finally allows an objective analysis of his presidency. I suspect if they're still around, significant numbers of his most vocal detractors will spontaneously combust when the final verdict is made known.

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

I too never doubted the quality of his character; and to me, character counts for a lot. I'm looking forward to history's verdict. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll still be around when the passage of time finally allows an objective analysis of his presidency. I suspect if they're still around, significant numbers of his most vocal detractors will spontaneously combust when the final verdict is made known.

My guestimate is that, eventually, historians will group together the post-Cold War presidents and spend as much writing about what they had in common than what set them apart. The reputations of the Bush the Elder and his son will go up, as will Clinton's. The current president will be cast as much less liberal and progressive as his contemporaneous supporters and critics believe.

Domestically, the U.S. will be portrayed as being increasingly fragmented politically, socially, and culturally even though, overall, it will have continued its ongoing shift to the right on a great many issues.

Internationally, these four presidents will take a drubbing for not being more effective in taking America from the Cold War to what followed.

One prevailing theme will be of lost opportunities. For the two Bushes, the opportunities will be about vision. Bush the Elder couldn't quite see the everyday concerns of the American people IRT the economy. Bush the Younger was largely disinterested in the details of his grand strategy for GWOT.

For Clinton, the lost opportunities will be due to the former letting his little head do the thinking for his big head. Like the guy, hate the guy, Clinton had the makings for presidential greatness.

For the current president, the lost opportunity will be an occasion for enduring bitter irony. His opportunistic, self-interested approach to politics will end up costing the nation myriad opportunities to advance its self interest both at home and abroad. (The guy needed to do his job as a senator, to develop a basic level of competence as a parliamentarian, to answer questions as asked, and to figure out that it isn't all about him before he threw his hat in the ring.)

Another prevailing theme will the impact of populism on both parties. Populism, more than gridlock in the Beltway, is at the core of the decreasing effectiveness of .GOV and the deterioration of American political culture.

YMMV.