Joe Scarborough did a segment back in 2006 on the former Republican president by asking an obvious question at the time. Is Bush an Idiot?
Scarborough: I remember Eisenhower, hearing how stupid Eisenhower was, which, of course, the guy was about as shrewd and calculated as you could be. And now they‘re saying that about George Bush, but I think George Bush is in a league by himself.
Well, it's almost seven years later and the Dallas Morning News interviewed president George W. Bush as his new Presidential Center prepares to open. Will he say he screwed up by going to war with Iraq?
Asked what he might have done differently — with the benefit of hindsight — Bush listed the same regrets he mentioned upon leaving the White House: the failure to overhaul Social Security and immigration policy. But he also noted that his presidency was shaped by the unexpected, such as the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. “Much of my presidency was defined by things that you didn’t necessarily want to have happen,” he said.
Bush defended his handling of the economy, recalling that he came into office during a recession, albeit a modest one compared with the financial crisis near the end of his term. He touted his tax cuts as the “most sustaining” and “fairest” way to boost economic growth. Though he described the Wall Street bailout as a “painful decision,” he said it had to be done to break the country’s “psychological gridlock” after the financial meltdown. He likewise reiterated his support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, saying that he’s “confident the decisions were made the right way.”
Near the Iraq war’s 10th anniversary — as many stepped forward to revisit their criticism of the conflict — Bush made no mention of weapons of mass destruction, “enhanced interrogation techniques” or other controversies. But he reflected on the “realities of the situation 10 years ago”: that the Iraq invasion had bipartisan support and that seeking regime change in Iraq had also been the policy under Clinton. “It’s easy to forget what life was like when the decision was made,” Bush said.
Since he left office, Bush has been a punching bag for Obama, Democrats and even some Republicans. But while he said “nobody likes to be criticized all the time,” he brushed aside the constant pummeling. “I’m comfortable with what I did,” he said. “I’m comfortable with who I am.” Bush’s confidants said that’s real talk, too.
He'll never admit that the Iraq war was based on lies and deception and was a complete failure on every level possible. The entire GOP made sure to lock Bush up in the basement during the whole 2012 Presidential general election because he was so unpopular in the oval office. He's not only despised by the left, but also by many on the right who view him as not even a conservative anymore and blame him for the current state of the GOP. They are all hypocrites on Bush of course because during his eight years, every Republican operative staunchly defended Bush's policies at every turn including the two wars. But his coming back into the limelight now will only bring out the mass resentment the nation felt during his time in the White House and which conservatives have been trying to hide for almost five years now.
