Bush declines Ground Zero invitatio

Politico: Former President George W. Bush has turned down President Barack Obama’s invitation to join him at ground zero on Thursday, citing his desire to avoid the media glare.

"President Bush appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight,” Bush spokesman David Sherzer told POLITICO in an email Tuesday night. “He continues to celebrate with all Americans this important victory in the war on terror.”

Obama — who has sharply criticized Bush for neglecting the hunt for bin Laden by invading Iraq — made the offer to Bush shortly after he decided on his New York trip, according to two people familiar with the situation. [MORE]

I wonder if Bush is being a classy guy or is he being politically astute in this decision?

On one hand, it is classy to allow Obama the full spotlight he has earned. Despite not catching Osama, much of what Bush did to keep us safe after 9/11 played an important role in finding Osama. Plus, there are still strong memories linking Bush to Ground Zero. Thus for Bush to attend, there is some possibility for him to steal a little of Obama's thunder.

On the other hand it would be politically wise not to attend, given that Obama has not missed a single opportunity to blame Bush and throw him under the bus for everything under the sun. Furthermore, Obama has been known to slam his invited guests (e.g. Paul Ryan during Obama's deficit speech). There is good reason for Bush to believe that his attendance was required only to serve as a visual punching bag for Obama.

Whatever the case maybe, we won't know for sure until Obama is out of office, because Bush follows the unofficial rule of past presidents not criticizing the current president.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: Politico

Osama Dead: Reactions From Bush, Romney and Palin

National Journal: I congratulated him and the men and women of our military and intelligence communities who devoted their lives to this mission. They have our everlasting gratitude.

This momentous achievement marks a victory for America, for people who seek peace around the world, and for all those who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done.

Mitt Romney's Facebook Page: This is a great victory for lovers of freedom and justice everywhere.
Congratulations to our intelligence community, our military and the president. My thoughts are with the families of Osama bin Laden's many thousands of victims, and the brave servicemen and women who have laid down their lives in pursuit of this murderous terrorist.

Sarah Palin's Facebook Page: Americans tonight are united in celebration and gratitude. God bless all the brave men and women in our military and our intelligence services who contributed to carrying out the successful mission to bring Bin Laden to justice and who laid the groundwork over the years to make this victory possible. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of these brave Americans who relentlessly hunted down our enemy.

This is a victory for the American people, for the victims who were heartlessly murdered on September 11 and in Al Qaeda’s other numerous attacks, and for all the peace-loving people of the world.

May God bless our troops and our intelligence services, and God bless America!

- Sarah Palin

Via: Memeorandum
Via: National Journal
Via: Mitt Romney Facebook
Via: Sarah Palin Facebook

Bush wipes his hands on Clinton’s shirt

From Mediaite: Former President’s George W. Bush and Bill Clinton made their first joint visit to Haiti this week, touring and helping out in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital city devastated by the January earthquake.

It’s an admirable visit, but something else happened while down in Haiti – it appears Bush wiped his hand on Clinton’s shirt. Let’s go to the videotape! 

Oh boy! I watched this video like four times and my reaction is still the same, this looks bad but is kind of funny too.  I see three ways to interpret it.

Interpretation 1: A white conservative president wipes his hand after shaking a few black hands, 95% of liberals are going say it’s proof that Bush is a racist.

Interpretation 2: Bush really did get something on his hand after a handshake and slyly wiped his hand on his predecessor’s shirt. It is rascally behavior but looks kind of petty too. Note: I remember reading somewhere that Dubya might have germaphobia. If true, it would explain why Bush did not wipe his hands on his own clothes.

 

Interpretation 3: We are all reading too much into the video. Maybe Bush just lazily patted to Clinton’s shoulder.

What do you get from the video?

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Mediaite

Miss Me Yet? The mystery of the Bush billboard

Someone has a real sense of humor and a wallet to match. This billboard of Bush mysteriously went up in Wyoming, Minnesota along I-35 and no one seems to know who paid for it.

I would not be surprised if a local Tea Party sponsored the ad. Wouldn’t it be a hoot if this billboard started cropping up everywhere like the Obama Socialist poster?

NPR speculates about the message of the billboard:

  At first glance, it would seem to be from some person or group who isn't thrilled by President Barack Obama's performance so far -- unless it's a more ironic message from those who didn't think too much of Bush and want to remind voters about him.

I don’t think this billboard has anything to do with an ironic message. It seems more like it is asking, “How’s that Hopey Changey stuff out working out for ya”? 

Who do you think paid for the billboard?

Via: Memeorandum

ViaL NPR

Caokley’s slide in the polls is Bush’s fault?

Milking the blame Bush theme is reaching new heights. After the Obama/ Coakley rally, a few people seem to think her doing bad in the polls is Bush’s fault.

From Hotline On Call: 

As audience members streamed out of Pres. Obama's rally on behalf of AG Martha Coakley(D) here tonight, the consensus was that the fault for Coakley's now-floundering MA SEN bid lies with one person -- George W. Bush.

"People are upset because there's so many problems," Rosemary Kverek, 70, a retired Charleston schoolteacher said as tonight's rally wrapped up. "But the problems came from the previous administration. So we're blaming poor Obama, who's working 36 hours a day ... to solve these problems that he inherited."

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), speaking with a gaggle of reporters after the event, said that while state Sen. Scott Brown (R) offers voters a quick fix, in reality, the problems created by "George Bush and his cronies" are not so easily solved.

"If you think there's magic out there and things can be turned around overnight, then you would vote for someone who could promise you that, like Scott Brown," Kennedy said. "If you don't, if you know that it takes eight years for George Bush and his cronies to put our country into this hole ... then you know we have a lot of digging to do, but some work needs to be done and this president's in the process of doing it and we need to get Marcia Coakley to help him to do that."

 Yes, it must be Bush’s fault. Coakley’s daily missteps have absolutely nothing to do with it. By the way, the article also stated that Patrick Kennedy repeatedly referred to Martha Coakley as Marcia Coakley throughout his interview with reporters. But, that too is Bush’s fault.

At some point, the left is going to have to realize that there is a limit to passing the buck. Democrats have controlled Congress since 2006 not 2009, so some of the very things they complain about comes from their own hands.

I suspect that we will be hearing the blame Bush theme all the way until 2012.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Hotline On Call

Voters starting to see little difference between Bush and Obama

If there was ever a metric to show how unpopular Obama is becoming, this poll clearly shows it.

From Public Policy Polling: 

Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that's somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country's difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections. Using the Bush card may not be particularly effective for Democrats anymore, which is good news generally for Republicans and especially ones like Rob Portman who are running for office and have close ties to the former President. MORE

The blame Bush game is more than getting stale. At some point Obama has to take responsibility for his actions. Yes Bush ran up the deficit, but it was Obama and his administration that has exploded it. Obama can blame Bush until the cows come home, but people can see where all the new spending is coming from.

I have repeatedly said that because of all the promises and fanfare of Obama’s election, his failure to deliver on those promises will put him at risk of becoming the most despised president in our history. Americans hate getting suckered and Obama is starting to look like he played America for a fool.

Via: Memeorandum

Via: Public Policy Polling