Salon.com > Bush Family

How to debunk George W. Bush’s attempts at revisionism

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Every dog goes to heaven and every former president should get a shot at repairing his legacy, especially when it's as tattered as George W. Bush's. With the opening of his presidential library and museum this week, observers from former Bush officials to mainstream outlets were taking a fresh, rosy look at the Bush legacy. Some offered dopey and facially ridiculous cheerleading, while others offered more compelling suggestions to return to the Bush era with an open mind. After all, other presidents left office in a cloud only to be redeemed by history years later.

So, is this week making you feel a bit nostalgic for the Bush era? Don't. It's been almost half a decade since the 43rd president left office, and he's looking as bad as ever. Of course, that won't stop a small circle of admirers (many of whom used to be on his payroll) from trying, so here's your guide to taking on the five biggest specious pro-Bush talking points put forward this week:

Bush family furiously selling itself to Americans once again

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:45:00 +0000

Have you been enjoying the big national Reassessment of the George W. Bush Era rollout this week? It was basically promotion for his library, which opens today in Fallujah Dallas. The Bush family and their friends/donors have been busy, giving quotes and encouraging pundits to write some "hey now that we think about it Bush was a pretty good guy" pieces. The former president himself has even been on TV (though too much reminding us of his existence might hurt those new poll numbers a bit). Today on Fox he will be interviewed by his former press secretary Dana Perino, perhaps because Jenna Bush couldn't get let out of her contract with NBC News to conduct it instead. Matt Lauer got the live interview, Diane Sawyer the taped one.

After presidents are done being presidents, they get to build big museums about themselves, because a tradition that originally involved simply making the documents and papers and records of a president available to researchers and the public obviously became this giant, expensive, pseudo-regal tribute thing, because this is America and we're really weird about presidents.

The four most interesting revelations from the hacked Bush emails

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:20:00 +0000

A hacker who goes by the name "Guccifer" claims to have stolen emails from about a half dozen members and close friends of the Bush family, and posted some of the exchanges and photos online. The Smoking Gun obtained the hacked files, which included a private list of home addresses, cellphone numbers and email addresses for dozens of Bush family members, including both former presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush. Though their authenticity has not been confirmed, the emails appear legitimate and offer some interesting revelations. Here are the four weirest ones:

-- Fox News' Brit Hume was disappointed by the 2012 election results: In a Nov. 9 email to Willard Heminway, a close friend of the elder bush, the Fox News analyst wrote: “Election outcome disappointing, but there are many silver linings."

-- The Bush kids have a strange relationship with Bill Clinton: George W. Bush apparently calls him "bubba" or "brother," given the closeness between his father and the Democratic former president. As his father lay in the hospital in late December, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush praised his father and “how kind he was with President Clinton." "[H]e helped restore his sordid reputation. A very tough thing to do but with kindness, dad probably helped Bill Clinton than anything he himself has done," he said of his father and Clinton.

Sorry, Republicans, a Latino George Bush won’t cut it

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:30:00 +0000

George P. Bush -- the handsome one with the Mexican immigrant mother -- is going to run for something in Texas, the official "second home" of the Bush family. He filed papers to run for office last Thursday, though he did not say which office. The New York Times thinks state land commissioner or attorney general, either of which could be a stepping stone to the governor's mansion. Fox News Latino is straight trolling with its headline, "George P. Bush Begins Road to the White House."

This was long in the cards. Bush went to Yale and did his requisite military service; while he curiously didn't join the forces until he was already 30, Bush did actually serve for a while overseas, putting him in the top tier of Bushes. He married young and has worked in mostly respectable fields. He is largely "outside" the public eye but involved in Texas Republican politics. Mark McKinnon jokingly refers to George P. Bush as "47," as in the 47th president. (After Bush, Obama, Jeb Bush, and Chelsea Clinton. Then after George P. Bush is Malia.)