George W. Bush

Newsmax: Americans strongly prefer Obama -- to Bush

Joe Conason — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:09:00 PST

Online polls taken by partisan Web sites tend to be discounted -- and some observers would question a Zogby online poll in particular -- but when the results cut against the ideology of the sponsor, they may still be worth noting. Today's morning lead on the ultra-conservative Newsmax site touts a Zogby online survey on presidents past and present, with findings that bolster the White House’s current occupant, who is usually the target of extremely harsh criticism from Newsmax and its columnists (one of whom seemingly advocated a military coup last year).

The GOP's path to the future runs through the past

Mike Madden — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:01:00 PST

For weeks, Democrats have heaped loving attention on Dan Coats, the former Indiana senator-turned-lobbyist, who contemplated moving to North Carolina before he decided to leave northern Virginia and try to get his old job back again. But he's not alone.

George W. Bush's triumphant return

Mike Madden — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:06:00 PST

The George W. Bush love just keeps coming at CPAC 2010.

Obama, Bush, Clinton to talk Haiti

Alex Koppelman — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 10:30:00 PST

For the third time in as many days, on Friday President Obama spoke about Haiti, the situation there since the earthquake that devastated the country, and what the U.S. is doing to help. Among other things, he announced that he'll be meeting at the White House with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush on Saturday to discuss relief efforts.

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush join for Haiti

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:15:00 PST

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush aren't exactly kindred spirits. But they'll be working together for at least a little while now, as President Obama has asked them to lead fundraising efforts in the wake of the earthquake that hit Haiti earlier this week. Below, a joint statement the two put out Thursday:

A sharp contrast with Bush

Joan Walsh — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:08:00 PST

I watched President Obama detail his administration's review of missed signals in the Christmas Day bomb attempt, and one thought was inescapable: Imagine President Bush doing the same thing after 9/11. I know, you can't. I couldn't either. In almost eight years, he never did.

The Clinton boom was real -- then Bush happened

Will Marshall — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:15:00 PST

Most progressives were happy to say goodbye to the “aughts,” as dismal a decade as America has endured since the snake-bitten 1970s. But they may be surprised to learn that the U.S. economy’s poor performance on George W. Bush’s watch was actually Bill Clinton’s fault.

The decade's top 10 quotations

David Sirota — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:01:00 PST

While I'm loath to write a top-10 list, if only for fear of falling short of Dave Letterman's legendary bit, I'm making an exception in this first week of 2010 -- a moment when we get to not only make New Year's resolutions, but resolutions for the new decade. As we make those prospective pledges, let's take a moment to look back at the top 10 quotations from the last 10 years -- the ones telling us some painful truths about our country, society and worldview; the ones that might inform us of what we need to do as we move forward.

A deficit of responsibility

Thomas Schaller — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:29:00 PST

Center on budget and Policy Priorities

Dem congressman: Bush deliberately let bin Laden go

Alex Koppelman — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:10:00 PST

According to a new Senate report, the U.S. may have been closer to capturing Osama bin Laden than ever previously known -- only to have an order from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld cause him to slip through our hands. And according to a Democratic congressman, Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York, that slip-up may not have been accidental.

A sorry-state dinner

Francis Lam — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:01:00 PST

Is good food always about pleasure? In "Feast for Bush," the artist Lauren Garfinkel creates a menu in remembrance of the George W. Bush years that is delightful, playful and horrifying.

Rumsfeld order allowed bin Laden's escape

Gabriel Winant — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:50:00 PST

When Osama bin Laden gave American troops the slip in the early days of the Afghanistan war, it seemed reasonable to give the benefit of the doubt to American military leadership. Tora Bora, the cave complex where the al-Qaida chief had been hiding, is situated in some of the most impassable mountain terrain on the planet. American troops had little experience in the region or local connections, and it was winter to boot. Though they won the battle, catching one particular guy in that kind of scenario was never going to be an easy job.

Public still blames Bush for recession

Gabriel Winant — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:50:00 PDT

In the long view, how the economy is doing might matter more in shaping public opinion -- and hence, elections -- than everything else put together. Unsurprisingly, conservatives have been nattering for a while about how President Obama ought to shoulder the blame for the economy’s performance on his watch. But Republicans seem to be getting nowhere with that argument, according to a new survey from an unlikely source.

The end of the Pax Americana?

Michael Lind — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:08:00 PDT

While the economic crisis continues to overshadow other topics, world politics is undergoing rapid and dramatic changes. In areas from national security policy to trade, the Obama administration has repudiated Bush-era precedents significantly, if not rapidly enough for some critics on the left. The pressures on the administration to continue in the path followed by U.S. administrations since the fall of the Berlin Wall are intense, particularly in light of the victory of the hard-liners in Iran and new revelations about Iran's nuclear program. Even so, President Obama in partnership with other world leaders has a genuine opportunity to bring the post-Cold War era to a definitive end and to preside over the greatest reorganization of global politics since the end of World War II.

Feeling sorry for George Bush

Andrew Leonard — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 10:47:00 PDT

What's the first lesson to be learned from Matt Latimer's amazing account in GQ of the Bush White House during the height of the financial crisis?

Andy Card's appetite for punishment

Gabriel Winant — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:25:00 PDT

Andy Card, who served as White House chief of staff during President George W. Bush’s first term, has worked as a garbage collector, and at a McDonald’s. Even when he was ostensibly the manager of the Bush administration, he thought of himself as a service worker; in one infamous story, the president once supposedly sent him for a cheeseburger. A former colleague anonymously told the Washington Post, "[T]he president can walk on Andy a little bit. The president talks to him like he's hired help more than he would someone like Cheney or Rumsfeld.”

Cindy Sheehan protests this president, too

Gabriel Winant — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:45:00 PDT

The president has changed, and so has the vacation spot, but Cindy Sheehan hasn't. Little wonder, then, that the veteran Bush protester isn't giving up her practice of following the president on his summer vacation.

The media can't handle the truth

Gene Lyons — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:33:00 PDT

So yet another Bush administration Cabinet-level official has petitioned to get his conscience and reputation back. This time, it's Tom Ridge, former secretary of Homeland Security. The one-time Pennsylvania governor admits in a new book that he felt political pressure from the White House to issue bogus terror alerts before the 2004 presidential election.

John Brennan's dangerous national security advice

Marcy Wheeler — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:01:00 PDT

Editor's note: Glenn Greenwald is on vacation this week. Marcy Wheeler, who blogs at Firedoglake, is guest-blogging today.

Cheney to take his disagreements with Bush public

Alex Koppelman — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:25:00 PDT

There was a time when former Vice President Cheney despised the usual post-White House tell-all book. Now, he's reportedly writing his own, one that will detail his arguments and disappointment with his old boss, former President Bush.