DISQUS

RBMN · 1 year ago

In simplest terms, FDR was so popular (in challenging times) precisely because he was an all-powerful micro-managing authoritarian, and GWB is so unpopular (in challenging times) because he's not the least bit authoritarian. In fact until recently, apart from the War on Terror, Bush has been a pushover. Certainly on spending. Americans should be careful what kind of President they pray for now. They may get it.

Austin fitness trainer · 1 year ago

Consider how many seats Clinton lost during the 1994 midterm election. In first midterm election of Bush's term the Republican party did much better. Under the circumstances of war I think Bush did well. Bush had to give a lot to get a lot.

Scott Wiggins · 1 year ago

I will remember GWB as one of the greatest President's of my lifetime. He inherited a recession brought-on the by the dotcom bubble and exacerbated by 9-11, Sadaam Hussein, and al Qaeda. GW rolled up his sleaves and went to work with a resolve not seen since perhaps Churchill or Lincoln. His results have been exemplary. Al Qaeda has been beaten back to the frontiers of Pakistan, the US and the World have enjoyed many years of economic growth and prosperity, tens of millions of innocents have been freed from the tyranny of Sadaam and the Taliban, and we have not experienced a terrorist attack at home since 9-11...Those who choose to ignore the superlatives of this administration miss the point and forget or don't really understand the economic and security perils which this President guided us through. Peggy Noonen appears to be one of those...

steveangell · 1 year ago

Right.

But he still squandered the opportunity to improve the GOP. He just seemed to stop caring about what we thought. Get along seemed to be what he cared about and that doesn't work for a President. Presidents must thread a thin line but never forget the people that elect you. He seemed to forget us. Karen Hughes was a huge loss, he never seemed to get his bearings after she returned to Texas to care for her family. He may know this but it is impossible to replace some people.

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

Maybe he had more important things on his mind -- like the security of our nation.

Gone are the days of FDR when war made us march in lockstep to victory. We are lucky we had Bush to push back when the Dem dhimmis would have surrendered and every skyscraper in America would be a smoldering ruin. Now Osama is whining about how Iraq was his fault -- tacit acknowledgment that his movement has been seriously hurt.

He's taken care of the one thing that the Constitution says he must take care of.

The economy has proven that it is far more sensitive to the Fed than any actions (including words) from Congress or the President.

jharp · 1 year ago

He might not have destroyed it but he certainly did tremendous damage.

I think the hardest thing to explain away is the 4 trillion he added to the debt.

There are plenty of other reasons but the neanderthals seem to somehow justify them.

The debt though. That's a toughie. $4 trillion @ 5% = 200 billion a year. Forever.

terrye · 1 year ago

So after 9/11 Bush was supposed to say, I don't care about a recession, I don't care about terrorism, I only care about being a fiscal conservative. So screw the military buildup, screw creating the Homeland Security Department and screw the tax cuts.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Uhm....and what of creating the first entitlement program in 50 years? What about NCLB? And the Bush tax cuts have not paid for themselves and neither will the upcoming rebate.

The fact is, he should have vetoed many spending bills sent from the Republican controlled congress but he let them keep their pork.

Anthony Ragan · 1 year ago

I haven't taken Peggy seriously since the case of "the vapors" she developed after hearing Bush's second inaugural speech. The breathless column she wrote in response was a joke.

--Anthony

jyalai · 1 year ago

Actually, Bush has been a pretty good Republican President. He has only four failings:
1) He does not use his administration well enough to fight the constant barrage of lies by the MSM, and
2) He did not introduce fiscally sound budgets, leaving it to a slowly weakening Republican congress to make the hard choices.
3) He did not abolish the Department of Education, but passed the No Child "Leftist" Behind Act
4) Allowed the MSM to convince him to pass the prescription drug prgram.

What he did right outshines his failings:
1) Stayed strong on stem cell research, until science proved him right
2) Appointed Constitutionally minded judges to the Supreme Court, a move that will positively impact our country for years.
3) Did not fund abortions
4) Began a discussion on the third rail of Social Security and took the heat for it.
5) He faced down the UN and showed it for the weak corrupt institution it was.
6) He went after organizations who threatened or did harm to the United States, and after doing so, invested the time, effort, and lives of American soldiers to secure the best freedom possible for those left leaderless by his actions. Right now, there are more people in Iraq and Afghanistan who love the American GI than in the Democrat party.
7) He kept the economy going with tax cuts even after the major bubble break caused by exuberant, but unwise investing in the 90's.
8) He opened up ties with organizations and charities who know how to help people through the faith-based initiative.
There are enough positives to write a book on, and I am sure someone will. The few places where he let the Republican party down (pushing globalism, deficit spending, etc) do not outweigh the large positive impact he had in moving the Republican agenda forward.

olddeadmeat · 1 year ago

Dude:

Gotta cry bullS*** on this

Other failings:

5- Cronyism - Heckovajob Brown, Alberto Gonzales, nominating whoever that woman for the Supremes - she was so forgettable I can't even bring her name to mind.

6- poor management of Iraq - allowed Rumsfeld as SecDef one election too long, at the very least. By the time he acted, the only people who still wanted Rumsfeld running the war were Al-Qaeda.

7- continuing to permit earmarks to this very day - where's the fiscal discipline?

8- the justice department files a brief on behalf on gun restrictions? WTF? My jaw dropped when I heard that one. Gets tagged for failing to do what even a Republican vegetable would do.

9- Destroying his own credibility (indeed, destroying even the belief that he's in the same universe as the rest of us) by making statements about how great things are going re: Katrina and re: Iraq, when it's obvious to just about everyone from Michelle Malkin
on down that it ain't so.

10- minus 1 for letting wounded veterans get the shaft from the VA and the Pentagon. Don't think the grunts don't notice that nobody in the administration gave a rip about their injuries until the MSM puts it on the evening news about their poor treatment. I used to think the GOP supported the troops.

11- Successfully handed control of Congress to the Democrats. Huzzah! Good job, now they can share the blame for the sorry state of the budget.

Doing right:

minus 1/2 credit on #3 - not funding abortions - This one is par for the course for any Republican in that office. I would expect any decent Republican vegetable -like potato or lettuce, to do at least that much.

minus a credit on #7 - he can't be blamed much for the bubbles that are bursting right now, aside from letting the SEC snooze thru his administration.

#2 appointing Conservative judges - another half credit - again, this is par for the course.

So again, what exactly is the GOP proud of in this President?

Monkei · 1 year ago

spot on .. GW Bush is the best democrat I have known in my lifetime.

BurfordHolly · 1 year ago

>2) Appointed Constitutionally minded judges to the Supreme Court,

Translation - making shit up as they go

steveangell · 1 year ago

10 minus 1.
Congress bares most of the blame for this. They handcuffed Bush with rules that forbade better treatment.

#2 His SC Judges are far better than the norm. Remember many of he far left judges were nominated by Republican Presidents but none by Bush.

#7 He championed home ownership and raising prices as a great investment opportunity for the middle class. For the most part he was correct but failed to warn when the sign was clear the market was retreating, failed to encourage congress to address the 100% loans that were becoming far too common.

gaffo · 1 year ago

"you're doing a heck of a job Brownie!"....brownIE......oh so cute.

crony was named Harriet Miers.
.....


"allowed Rumsfeld as SecDef one election too long, at the very least. By the time he acted, the only people who still wanted Rumsfeld running the war were Al-Qaeda"

nope- not only Al Qaeda, millions of Brown-nosed Americans of the Bush appologist variety (many right here posting in defense of this loser) were in full support of each and every action the worst president in history did.

Harriet Miers - YA!! VEE SUPPORT!!

Alberto - YAVOL! VEE SUPPORT DER LEADER!!!

Rummy - Zeig! VEE SUPPORT!

...........................

pathetic.

Sailfish · 1 year ago

I disagree. While there is some hyperbole in her column, there is also much truth there as well. The only things Bush has got right has been the War on Terror (including invading Iraq but excluding Department of Homeland Security bundlefest) and his Pro-Life stance. On so many other issues he has failed, oftentimes, embarrassingly so.

On small government, he proposed both the expensive (and largely 'gamed') No Child Left Behind Act and the even more expensive Medicare prescription drug benefit. As president, he never used the bully pulpit to even attempt reign in Congress over their spendthrift ways until the base go so upset that they abandoned the Repubs in the last election. To suggest that his labeling himself as a 'compassionate conservative' was a clear sign of his intent to grow government is ironically Clintonesque, imo.

On illegal immigration, he displayed contempt for his base by labeling those who voiced legitimate concerns over the status quo as 'nativists' or worse.

On Supreme Court nominations he displayed a level of arrogance and ineptitude with his ridiculous Harriet Miers selection and then defended the selection by again labeling those who voiced legitimate concerns as her qualifications as prejudiced, or worse.

And, much like his dad before him, he had shown to be out-of-touch with his stand-offish approach to such an obviously RED ALERT catastrophe as Katrina.

It's a testament to the cast-iron stomachs of most conservatives and the equally idiotic unforced errors of the Dems that the 2006 mid-year election wasn't worse than it was.

To paraphrase Cal Thomas, the Boomer politicians are like a bad bout of stomach flu. It will just take time for them to pass through the system. Until then, we'll just have to make sure we don't venture too far from the commode.

gambo · 1 year ago

Peggy Noonan was severely disappointed not to be invited into the Bush Administration after she had taken a leave of absence from the Wall Street Journal during his campaign for re-election. She wrote scathingly of his Second Inaugural Address in her next column and has never stopped bashing him since that date.

Monkei · 1 year ago

Funny how things work out ... since she was not invited to participate in the 8 years of Bush/Cheney she comes out unscathed ... she should be thankful.

NahnCee · 1 year ago

Agree. I think she desperately misses her glory days of the Reagan administration.

When she's writing about America and patriotism, she can't be beat. When she's writing about the White House occupants, she sounds more and more like Helen Thomas. Someone had better ready a second room in the attic for her.

RBMN · 1 year ago

If you asked Peggy Noonan on Sept 12, 2001, if President Bush (with lots of help) prevents another attack like the one we had yesterday, for the next seven years, and does nothing else of note, will he have been a successful President? She would've said yes, and she would've been right.

Robert Crush · 1 year ago

Bush didn't climb into bed with K-Street? WTF are you talking about? Remember Jack Abramoff? If Bush wasn't sleeping with Jack then you don't know Jack. And don't forget about Jeff Gannon and his overnight stays. NOW THAT'S BEING IN BED WITH SOMEONE!

bt · 1 year ago

I used to read Peggy all the time. She has grown senile in the last year or so. It's tragic to watch, but then again, ces't la vie (ou la mort, pas de difference).

David Angel · 1 year ago

"Bush talked about working on bipartisan solutions to national issues, and he pretty much did that before the Iraq war turned sour."

I guess you don't even have your coffee poured by a democrat.

The idea that the President worked in any fashion of a bipartisan manner prior to November 2007 is absurd.

Steve Z · 1 year ago

The blame for what happened to the GOP lies partly with President Bush, and partly with some (not all) GOP members of Congress. After the 2004 elections, it seemed like both seemed to be willing to rest on their laurels, and not what they were elected to do--govern as conservatives.

President Bush's worst failure was his failure to communicate with the American people and with Congress, especially when the Republicans had the majority. All Republicans, whether a President or in Congress, should know that the mainstream press are ALWAYS for the Democrats, so they need to speak directly to the American people on TV, especially the President. During early 2005 when the President was trying to sell his Social Security reform, he was traveling around the country speaking to crowds in the thousands, but the Democrats via the MSM were telling TENS OF MILLIONS of people that the way to "save" Social Security from being "privatized" was to do nothing, and nothing ended up being done. What Bush should have done was to meet with House GOP leaders, and GOP leaders and moderate Democrats in the Senate (where 60 votes are needed to pass anything), find out what could get passed, and twist a few arms to get past filibusters (making some concessions if necessary). Instead, Bush was doing a lot of traveling, the American people were listening to the MSM, and Congress was out of the loop. A good way to campaign, but not a good way to govern.

Katrina was a major failure, not only by President Bush, but also by (Democrat) state and local governments. This was again a failure of communication. Maybe 2% of the American people know about the Posse Commitatis Act that prevents Presidents from sending National Guard troops across state lines without the receiving Governor's permission, but the American people saw on TV thousands of people standing on rooftops wondering why doesn't somebody DO something! President Bush could have avoided ALL criticism about Katrina by getting on national TV the day the levees broke and saying that he wants to order tens of thousands of National Guard troops and their military equipment that can drive through high water (or fly over it) to rescue people from New Orleans, but that he is awaiting Governor Blanco's permission so that he doesn't violate the law. If he had done that, Blanco would have caved immediately, otherwise SHE would be blamed for the delays. But by not talking to the American people, Bush was blamed for the Katrina mess.

Another problem, where blame should be shared between Bush and the Republican Congress, was their insistence on passing "comprehensive" laws, containing many things everyone agrees on, and a few controversial provisions that can't get past filibusters. We all have our ideals about the way the country should be, but politics is the art of the possible--they should pass things that a solid majority agrees on, twist arms and negotiate on mildly controversial proposals, and be willing to drop proposals that can't get past filibusters. There were too many "comprehensive" all-or-nothing proposals in 2005-2006, that ended up with nothing despite Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, because of a "my-way-or-the-highway" approach. You can never please everybody--just get through what half the House and 60 Senators will support, which is better than nothing.

Another problem was a toleration of corruption among Republican members of Congress. We should know that the MSM will play up any whiff of corruption from Republicans, and ignore corrupt Democrats (the guy with $90K in his freezer is still in Congress), and the Party should try to support primary opponents (with a clean record) for those in legal trouble. For example, if former Governor Racicot had run in a primary against Burns in 2006, he would be a Senator now, and Republicans would still hold the Senate via Vice President Cheney's vote. The last six weeks before the 2006 election were dominated by talk about Mark Foley, which probably dragged down other innocent Republicans in swing districts. The Foleys in our party need to be "primaried out" before they damage the entire Party.

To summarize:
1. Explain the truth to the American people, before they believe media lies
2. The President and Congress must talk to each other and work out compromises
3. Don't bite off more that we can chew
4. Throw out our own bad apples before they rot the bushel.

If Republicans get back to this, they can win elections, and when they do, they need to govern.

terrye · 1 year ago

And exactly what were Noonan's ideas about how to deal with illegal immigration before Bush came along? After all, if she is such an expert, why didn't she and people like her fix this or any of the other problems they blame on Bush. They had years to do it.

I think she is a bitter, petty woman who is trying to ignore the reality that most people are not like her. She has to find someone to blame for this and that of course is Bush. If not for him Noonan and her kind would be running the world by now. so she believes.

What exactly is small government? Is this complaint about Bush not shutting down major entitlements? Is that what Republicans are running on these days? Believe it or not helping an old lady buy her insulin is cheaper than paying to have the limb amputated when she fails to get her meds. The drug program is cost efficient and it is not a give away. Now maybe people think that being a Republican means you do not care about problems like that, if so... then run on that. Tell America that it is not the place of government to help the needy.

Don't blame Bush if he did not promote a policy he never ran on in the first place. If you wanted Gingrich, you should have nominated him. Of course if you had Al Gore would be ending his second term right now.

As for crap like Dubai Ports etc, that is all that is. I remember Reagan and Iran Contra and secret arms deals with Iranians and shredded papers and tax increases and an honest to God amnesty bill and I wonder what Noonan thought of all that. Nothing in that whole Dubai hysterical paranoid flight of fancy can compare with the real stuff that was going on back then. And yet, Reagan gets to be the hero and Bush is the bad guy.

I don't think the party is dead, I just think people like Peggy Noonan are upset because they feel like they lost their influence.

Bush has had to deal with a lot of problems that previous presidents were lucky enough to avoid. He deserves better than this backstabbing snarky assault.

LarryL · 1 year ago

Believe it or not helping an old lady buy her insulin is cheaper than paying to have the limb amputated when she fails to get her meds.

Whether or not the feds should cover medical expenses is a legitimate item for debate. With the ever-increasing effectiveness and cost share of total medical expenses of modern medications, it's more cost-effective as Terrye says. If you think medical expenses are legitimate federal expenses, you're immoral as well as stupid not to cover prescription medication.

terrye · 1 year ago

You are right, it is cheaper to help the old lady. What is that saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?

PDQuig · 1 year ago

I've got a few to add to the list started above.

12. NOT LEADING the GOP. When you get yourself elected to the top office in the land, you owe it to your party to use the bully pulpit to make the case YOUR OWN DAMNED policies! You also owe it to your party to slap them back into line when they abandon their principles. Washington D.C. is a corrupt place and eight years is just passing through. I don’t like much about McCain, but I love his idea of making porkers “famous.” Lead by example. Lead in word and deed. But, LEAD, dammit. Bush led on the war (see #13) and tax cuts—nothing else.
13. Allowing people in his administration to cozy up to CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood offshoots, invite them to the WH, and to lobby with them. ROP, indeed.
14. Allowing the State Department and CIA free to do battle against his foreign policy with impunity
15. Continuing the Roadmap idiocy
16. Continuing to manage our UN presence through the State Department appeaseniks. Does anybody actually believe that we won’t be seeing milquetoast Nick Burns again should a Democrat win in 2008?
17. Continuing the corporate welfare known as the $280 billion Farm Bill?
18. Signing McCain-Feingold even though he said it was probably unconstitutional
19. Leaving the NYT and its sources uninvestigated for multiple national security breaches
20. Not making the case directly to the American people for his judicial nominees. Anybody remember Miguel Estrada?

A president is not just another guy in the party. He must be the leader, articulate the guiding principles and their intellectual underpinnings. He can't hang back and let others do this important job. As communicator in chief he was an abject failure. If you don't want to give press conferences, the job of president is probably not for you.

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

12. We have it on the most earnest reports that Willian Jefferson Clinton is exactly the kind of guy you describe.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Not much of an argument there as you seem to be equating GWB with BC. Unless you wish to refute the above poster?

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

Well, we have that BC certainly did not lead the Republican Party. It's certainly clear at this point that he's not leading the Democrats either -- at least not that segment which supports someone other than Hillary.

So, while not agreeing with anything PDQuig has stated in the above comment, I've added my own obvious truths.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Well my point is that PDQuig is essentially railing against GWB and all you said is, well Clinton is a loser too.

Ed can easily make a zillion topics about the Clintons and corruption (and heck he has) but this isn't one of them.

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

And I can say whatever I please here.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Of course you can (I never said or implied otherwise).

Why not stay on topic and refute PDQuig's post though?

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

I see that my statement bothers you for some reason, which is, of course, why you are responding to me. Thank you.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Why would you think it bothers me? Furthermore, why should that please you - that seems..uhm...immature? Do you see me as some sort of political enemy or something, is that it?

I was just hoping that you would help to keep the discussion going with topical arguments. I enjoy reading everyone's opinions.

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

Of course I'm immature. Everybody who posts here has a bit of that.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

I won't disagree with that! :)

Gary · 1 year ago

Peggy, as usual got it right.

Sure it was not all Bush--Delay and his greedy colleagues played a major role too.

I admire W for focusing on winning in Iraq. But allowing spending to surge, watching the GOP assume the spend and corruption legacy of Tip O'Neal, mission creep in Iraq, and not changing course until electoral disaster is also his legacy.

The issue is NOT who will tear apart the party. The issue is who can pull it together.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Amen!

Bogey · 1 year ago

Not only Bush. The Republican Congress is at least as responsible.

Trying to impeach someone over a blowjob, and then going back on almost every single precept of the Contract with America..

Giving us corruption, pork and sleaze and hyperpartisanship,. all embodied by the likes of scumbag, Tom De Lay.

Bush just finished putting the nails in the coffin.

europa3962 · 1 year ago

Peggy Noonan is spot on. George Bush catered to conservatives and then turned his back. failing to secure the border becauase he is catering to the hispanics becasue he sees the demographic shift in the next few election cyces. He failed to rein in no-military spending with more giveaways. only in the last year has he puffed his chest about controling spending. His no child left behind is a joke if you talk to any qualified schooladministrator or teacher. He is a typical country club republican who has squanderd the coaltion that Ronald Reagan built

David · 1 year ago

One question about the Republican Congress and their spending - Where was George Bush and his Veto pen?

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Oh he was there huffing and puffing about vetoing bills that exceeded X amount but when the bills arrived, he pussied out.

Scott Wiggins · 1 year ago

For those of you concerned about the National debt, remember that Congress votes approval of every nickel spent. Give GW credit for hammering out historic tax cuts which put money in your pocket. Congress should get the blame for overspending. Something like 51% of the Federal budget is now committed to entitlements and of course throw in thousands of earmarks for bridges to nowhere etc...Stop laying the blame at the President's feet for overspending an punish those 535 stout hearted individuals who are really responsible...

krome · 1 year ago

Even if the problem was roooted in Congress, Bush was the President and did nothing to stop the disintegration of his party. He gets the blame. Entirely fair? No. But not entirely unfair either.

Regardless of how he campigned, he had to read which way the wind was blowing and adjust - and show some leadership in the process.

RJD · 1 year ago

The conservative playbook has now been formally opened for the 2008 election. The pundits want to rally around whomever is perceived as being the most conservative candidate, electability be damned. Then, when that person gets trounced, they will lay blame where they always wanted to, the evil George Bush. That way they can believe that the problem is with the medium, not the message. Doesn't that sound familiar, somebody else had that message from about 1994 to 2006.

Conservatives can't get over the fact that America is only a moderate to conservative country, not a conservative country. Conservatives , while possibly a majority in the Republican party,can never get above the 25-30% national affiliation. They have a choice to make. Coalition with the moderates or accept permanent minority status. Petty Noonan and the rest of the conservative pundits have chosen to reject coalition politics, the results of which be damned.

Its ironic that the rest of the US (and the world for that matter) sees George Bush as this conservative extremist while conservatives see him as a liberal devil incarnate. The conservative movement can't accept that they have lost the battle of ideas, that while Rush Limbaugh may be successful, conservatism as a whole may have hit its high water mark. Instead of thinking about how to take it and th country to get to the next level, the immature conservative movement has decided to take its football and go home. Unfortunately, Al-Qaeda doesn't see this as a game the way conservatives do.

onlineanalyst · 1 year ago

I'm just curious: What elements of conservatism do you think that the majority in the country reject?

Just from my own (unscientific) observations, I note that most Americans want to be left alone to live their lives without intrusive, burdensome taxes and restrictions of their freedoms by an uber-Nanny-state; that most Americans value their self-deteminative individuality over the passiveness of the collective; that most Americans prefer the dignity of earning their own living and are not motivated by class warfare; that most Americans are affronted by preferential treatment that seems to be the reward for identity politics; that most Amercians prefer knowing that their elected officials provide national security and sovereignty; and that most Americans enjoy the guarantees of the Bill of Rights.

steveangell · 1 year ago

We are conservative. It does work.

But the MSM will never report that. You never hear about Iraq or the War on Terrorism because we are winning both. You never hear about the terrible conditions in Democrat run communities unless it can be spun as a GOP caused problem.

Awareness is the real problem. Although once in a while GOP Big Bucks Lobbyist gin the system to their own benefit. Thus allowing illegal immigrants in the US to suppress wages. Many Elitist Conservatives will push for policies that truly benefit the rich and hurt the rest of us. They fail to see that the 90% of us making less than $100K put them in office and care about wage cuts caused by (il/)legal immigrants, care about wages that at least keep families off Food Stamps and allow for real Health Coverage.

DaleinAtlanta · 1 year ago

Capt'n: I think you're spot on this one!

The BDS has now come back to the Republican Party, and it's struck Noonan down!

At work here, a few fellow "conservatives" and me, walk around work, and occasionally will interject comments into Liberal conversations such as "Mysterious gunman on the Grassy Knoll???......It was Bush!"; "Two Princes murdered in the Tower of London?....it WAS Bush!"; "Extinction of the Dinosaurs?...Global Warming, which make's it Bush's fault!"

That's how ludicrous the whole BDS thing has become.

Let me be clear; Bush is not my "favorite"; I vehemently disagree with him on many things; I'm incredulous at his Immigration Policy fiasco, Harriet Meirs, the Dubai Ports deal, ad naseum.

But then again, I've said many times, Americans, because of our ludicrous Two Party system, never get to Vote FOR someone for President; they only get to vote AGAINST someone:

Jimmy Carter vs. Reagen: ah, that's a no-brainer!

Walter Mondale vs. Bush Sr.: ah, another one!

Dukkais vs. whomever, Of course, you vote against DoCaCa!

Bush vs. Al Gore: again, no contest!

Bush vs. John Kerry: the most important election of my adult life; Bush, or the Traitor is not choice at all!

This upcoming election will also be equally important:

ANY Republican vs. the Most EVIL politician of our time (the Billary Symbiote) or the most Inconsequential Politician of our time (the Taqiyah practicing Muslim, Hussein Obama!)

You choose!


Anyway, I digress.....

You hit it dead on Capt'n, it was the Republicans in the Congress & Senate, the Delay's, the Lott's the Abramoff crowd, the Larry Craig's, the hypocrasy of the Mark Foley's ; THOSE are the "Republicans" that destroyed the Republican Party, and handed the 2006 Elections to the Leftists, not George Bush, despite his many missteps.

gaffo · 1 year ago

you a youngen?

Modale ran against Reagan. I voted for Modale.

Dukakis ran against Bush Sr. - voted for Ron Paul

Yashmak · 1 year ago

Nothing new here. How eagerly the MSM trumpeted certain Congressmen's announcement that we've already lost in Iraq. . .just a few months ago.

That's their job now, to sell sensationalism.

Steve Plunk · 1 year ago

To many conservatives the party is damaged but I hardly see it as destroyed. It's wrong to blame Bush for the damage as well. It takes many more people to do such a thing and those people reside in Congress.

steveangell · 1 year ago

Bush led the march though.

From the get go he was soft on the democrats and hard on the republicans.

Gingrich was pushed out with Bush's blessings along with Lott.

Bush praised Reid on numerous occasions when he he should have done the opposite.

Bush lost his veto pen, instead of stopping wasteful spending, to get along.

Bush failed to use the bully pulpit to help the GOP. He failed to replace properly those who could write his speeches effectively.

terrye · 1 year ago

So Bush was too hard on Republicans? One minute we are hearing how bad he was for not vetoing bills from a Republican Congress and then we hear that he was too hard on Republicans.

crybabies.

steveangell · 1 year ago

Individual Republicans including leaders. He threw them overboard at the first sign of problems with the Press. At the same time he protected Democrats accused of crimes.

terrye · 1 year ago

That is nonsense. Who did he throw overboard? one minute people accuse him of cronyism and then they say he throws people overboard. And there is no truth to Bush protecting Dems breaking the law. that is nuts.

gaffo · 1 year ago

alternate universe you live in?

Gingrich got "pushed out" due to his shady past on matters of ethics - a full THREE YEARS BEFORE Bush even took office!!!!!!!

another shady hypocrite Livingston took his place for a short time - until he was pushed out for his version of unethic behavior.

philwynk · 1 year ago

Pulleeeez. Gingrich's "shady past" was to teach a college course on politics, and not declare it as a campaign contribution.

Democrats targeted Gingrich because he correctly identified House Speaker Jim Wright as a crook, and saw that he was removed from office. In retaliation, the Democrats launched 75 ethics violation charges against Gingrich -- all dismissed as baseless. This was as clear an abuse of the machinery of government as we've seen in our lifetimes. The best they could come up with was this nonsense about not declaring his paycheck for doing what he does (teach history at the college level) as a campaign contribution; and three years later, the IRS declared him clean, but somehow the Democrats in Congress never got around to apologizing.

Here's a little test of your knowledge of history and ethics: in what document will you find "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," and what's your excuse for ignoring that with respect to Speaker Gingrich?

LYNNDH · 1 year ago

Some of those that define a rather narrow, restricted Republican party are not happy. Those of us that have a broader view do not feel that way. The narrow view throw the baby out with the bath water. Would Hillary be better than one of these Republicans now running for offce?

steveangell · 1 year ago

I voted for Bush twice (holding my nose). I didn't trust him as his dad turned out so bad I was almost glad he lost to Clinton, at least it sent a message. Unfortunately his son failed to learn much from his dad's mistakes and repeated them many times over in his second term.

gaffo · 1 year ago

Sr was one of the best Repubican presidents you ever elected!

better than Reagan.

why do you not think so?

philwynk · 1 year ago

Um... because we're Republicans, and prefer smaller government?

gaffo · 1 year ago

ummmmmmmmm

you claiming Sr expanded government more than Reagan?

how so?

gaffo · 1 year ago

.............?????????

Sr was for and expanded gov. while Reagan did not?

how so?

DaleinAtlanta · 1 year ago

and...I might add; you can't count out people like John McCain, the erstwhile Republican Party nominee, for his hand in the declining fortunes of the Republican Party for acting like a dyed-in-the-wool Leftist on the Immigration issue, and Trent Lott was right there with him!

That, more than any other issue, contributed of the revolt of the Republican base, who got fed up and just stayed home in the 2006 Elections, thus all this talk about the "Destruction" of the Republican Party.

McCain is a fence-sitter, and waffler, and his uholy alliance with the Leftists in the Senate on a whole host of issues, Immigration, McCain-Feingold, the Gang of 14, all helped to bring the Republican Party down!

Ironic, isn't it?

bikerken · 1 year ago

Couldn't agree more Dale. I don't know if you've seen the story over on HotAir yet, but it appears McCain has on staff, as his Hispanic Outreach Director, one Juan Hernandez! Do you realize who this despcible ass is? He has joint US-Mexican citizenship, born in TX. Worked for the Mexican govt in a program to support illegals coming to the US. He is an Aztan supporter. I've seen him on tv, (and believe me, you can't watch this guy without screaming at the tv) countless times pretty much telling the US that we have no right to tell Mexicans that they can't come here. He denies they are costing us billions in services, education, healthcare. This man wipes his ass with the American flag and then smirks in your face and calls you his friend. He is the Mexican Joseph Goebles. And he is on John McCains staff!

If Mitt Romney starts running campaign ads with some choice clips of this outspoken anti-American propagandist, all Mitt has to say is one sentence, "This man is John McCains Hispanic Outreach Director." McCain is over. This man is so virulently smug and in your face to Americans, he would offend even most of the democrats.

gaffo · 1 year ago

"He has joint US-Mexican citizenship, born in TX."

hhhmmmmmmmm and this is damning somehow?

Last time I checked Mexico was a friendly nation and ally.

.....so I guess you must disslike Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Elliot Abrams, and Douglas Fieth - all responsible for your glorious War in Iraq - for having dual citizenship. Israeli and American.

unlike that wetback you hate - i don't know if the above traitors were actually born here or not.

not that you would care since I'm sure they don't even need to be Americans in order for you to love those guys.

- I wonder if Doug or Paul would choose Israel before America if they could only chose one.

philwynk · 1 year ago

Actually, I think it's his referring to northern Mexico and the western US as a borderless region that earns Dr. Hernandez our ire. That, and his open advocacy for Mexicans remaining cultural Mexicans forever, despite their living and working in the US. The man serves Mexico wholeheartedly, to the point of deliberately sending Mexicans into the US with the express intent of having them send money back to Mexico. This makes him a good Mexican official, but hardly a good choice for a campaign position for a Republican candidate.

Mexico is friendly on the surface, but only because money being sent from Mexican workers in the US back home is their nation's second largest source of income. If you consider that friendship, I guess you'd consider leeches stuck to your legs your friends as well, eh?

(Unrelated to this topic, please visit my political blog, "Plumb Bob Blog: Squaring the Culture," at http://www.plumbbobblog.com. Thanks.)

DaleinAtlanta · 1 year ago

bikerken: good to "see" you man, been a long time! yeah, I'm no McCain "fan", trust me!

The only good thing about the Republican candidates,is that unlike ALL of the Leftist candidates, at least the Republican's are Americans!

NONE of the Leftist candidates are Americans; in fact, they are all Vehemently Anti-American, Pro-Jihadi Leftist Nutbags.

When compared against that, MCCain actually looks okay!

bikerken · 1 year ago

Good to see you too Dale. Latest update, MM has posted a story linking George Soros to NcCains political organization! As we know, this is internet stuff, but if this is true, he isn't going to be trusted by any conservative anymore.

bikerken · 1 year ago

That's McCain, with an M. Typing without glasses again.

Soros has done more to destroy the republican party and this country than anyone. He hates the US.

DaleinAtlanta · 1 year ago

No suprise there; Soros is the leader of the Anti-American/Pro-Jihadi Leftist
Nutbag colony.

The sad thing about Soros, is he was born Jewish, openly collaborated with the Nazis against his own people, and has admitted it; did it to get along, he was the worst of all human being, one who betrays his own people to get ahead; now he's spent the past 40 years, because of his guilt and safe-hate, trying to destory Israel, and the United States because it support Isreael

For the idiot below, who disputes the "Obama is a Muslim"; I suggest that a certified Moron, you attempt to at least educate yourself. Start with this word: "Taqiyah", then come back and see if you can talk to me!

BurfordHolly · 1 year ago

Soros is a Nazi AND Obama is a Muslim?

Anything else?

Monkei · 1 year ago

yet, there is Mr McCain winning your parties nomination. Let's face it, it's either McCain or the biggest flip flopper on the planet, Mitt ...

Yashmak · 1 year ago

Kerry already holds the flip flopper title, you know. All subsequent flip floppers must be compared to him as the baseline definition.

gaffo · 1 year ago

it will be Mitt.

americans love frauds - sine most of us are ourselves.

Mitt and Billary.

sad but true.

Mitt will beat McCain in Florida. - you can bet on it. - f^&k just look at that Atomaton, perfect Hair (cultivated and genetically improved no doubt), perfect cleft chin (eat your heart out Kirk Douglas - sorry guy), perfect voice, prefect hieght (TALL), perfect weight (thin), perfect eyes (no glasses)....................................................

all systems go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

............programmers have fed the positronic brain to repeat phraises which please and cloud the moral's minds with "feel good" energy!!!!!!!!!!!)

The Automaton is now ready to walk and speak and look "presidential"


game over - programers did a good job.


sorry humans McCain and Huck........you just are not plastic enough to please the shallow American consumer.

........now wheres that remote!? some mindless shallow realit y show is coming on!

Bender · 1 year ago

Conservative elites started blaming Bush for every problem in the world some time ago, unwilling to look in the mirror for their own failings to persuade more than a handful of like-minded people, and blind to the fact that countless rank-and-file conservatives stopped calling themselves "Republican" back in the 1990s, when they re-took the House and proceeded to govern as Democrats, with folks like hayseed Trent Lott leading the way to frustrate conservative initiatives.

These same conservative elites are going to rue the day that they ever spewed venom against Bush. Compared to the current crop of candidates, Bush looks like Reagan on steroids.

Mwalimu_Daudi · 1 year ago

I have mixed feelings about Bush. On the whole, he has been a good president, especially in fighting terrorism, winning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, appointing judges, and holding the line on taxes. But Bush, who imitated a doormat when dealing with Democrats after the 2004 election and initiated the amnesty debacle, tends to be his own worst enemy. Recall also that Bush issued his first veto (about stem cell research) almost six years into his administration, so he is not exactly innocent when it comes to out of control spending.

On the other hand...I predict that after a few years of a McCain, Obama or Clinton II administration, people of all political stripes will really start to miss W!

steveangell · 1 year ago

Bush stopped listening. Just like his dad.

At first he was fine but then he stopped listening to the base and started listening to Washington insiders more and more. Thus we got Medicaid Prescription Drugs that cost us dearly, scorn is all we get is in return. He listened to the Mexican Presidents more than the base and we got shamnesty. He listened to the Lobbyist and we got wasteful spending.

Now he was soft on immigration even when running for his first term. But he listened then. He did say he wanted a softer tone in Washington, but not that he would allow Crimes committed by Democrats to go un investigated.

AndyJ · 1 year ago

The Congressional Republicans "broke" the Republican Party by acting like Democrats. The public rightly decided that -IF- we're gonna have Democrats, let's have Real Democrats... So they elected the ones that sounded like moderate Republicans... The PORK has to stop... Until the Republicans can act like they have discipline, principle and restraint they will be on the outs... and deservedly so.

Noonan spends TOO much time in Manhattan... She is losing her relevancy... Has been for sometime... She needs to have lunch elsewhere.

Charlie · 1 year ago

More than a little over the top. I've always enjoyed Noonan... lots of heart to go with her sharps. The last few years seem to have brought an increasing bitterness.

George Bush is the best president of my lifetime, with an amazing ability to be resolute yet compassionate, tough yet flexible. I can't imagine how we'd have fared if anyone else had been at the helm these past years, even Noonan's beloved Reagan.

Bottom line is, Bush has brought freedom to 40 million people in the Middle East. That's a sapling that will bear fruit for years to come.

freethinking · 1 year ago

Iraq had an estimated population of more then 26 million in 2006.

Between March 2003 and July 2006 more then 150.000 civilians died (source: New England Journal of Medicine) and their number is rising constantly.

Between March 2003 and now more then 4.000.000 have fled Iraq and their number is rising constantly too.

This is an other “information" then conservative "convictions" about the "freedom" of "40.000.0000"

patrickneid · 1 year ago

Afghanistan is part of the equation......duh.

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

The actual death rate should be about 244,000 per year, or approximately 9.1/1000, per wikipedia's UN numbers. That death rate corresponds to that of Norway, Uruguay, Macedonia, and Japan.

Just so you have a little perspective.

And, according to the most recent Iraqi government numbers, this year has seen a net return of +47,000. I know you probably don't believe the Iraqi government is telling the truth, but I don't see any other place your numbers could have come from.

Mikey NTH · 1 year ago

Pundits are frequently ideologues, and full of themselves. Any deviation form their personal orthodoxy is a deviation from the "true base of the party". That of course, is a crock of warm fertilizer. These are not ideological parties, these are coalition parties with different bases and groups within. Having the constituent bases and groups arguing about direction (as you noted) is normal. Having everyone moving in perfect lock-step isn't. Noonan, Coulter, Novak, Limbaugh, etc. are not my leader, they don't get to give me orders, and if they don't like that they are welcome to take a flying leap.

What's next, having some declare "Comrade, I find your views politically unreliable?"

J'hn1 · 1 year ago

I would agree that she is a bit over the top.
But only a bit.
It would probably be more accurate that Pres. Bush enticed or corrupted the elected republican officials with an example of "you can claim to be conservative and still have all the perks of a democrat just like me".
Without electoral repercussion. Or criminal procecution.
And for the ones who lost elections, Pres W can be magnanimous and bipartisan and do what the (supposedly) opposing party wants..
And far too many are doing just that.
And the rest of the race's candidates (including the recently lost seats) are left with little cred to claim that they stand for smaller government,
or fiscal restraint,
or against corruption,
or ...

Our President had set up just such an example, and the "bully pulpit" is one of the strongest tools a president has, and this one has used his for Harriet Meirs and amnesty.

Labamigo · 1 year ago

Type your comment here.
Solely because he signed McCain Feingold, in derogation of the citizens' First Amendment rights, I consider George W. Bush as the worst president in history.

I voted for him twice.

jimhu · 1 year ago

I'm no fan of BiCRA, but those who say W is the worst in history are just showing their ignorance about history. Sheesh, isn't enough to say you don't like what he's done? Is McCain-Feingold worse than the Sedition Act of 1918? Worse than Kansas-Nebraska? Get a grip.

gaffo · 1 year ago

the people damanded REFORM of the process - a process that has gotten too corrupt. Money corrupted it.

oh ya Money is a resource - like Land it does not speak.

People do.

so get over it.

why you want a corrupt process where anyone with money can buy his office all the way to the top is beyond me.

most Americans do not think buying yourself into office is a good thing.

philwynk · 1 year ago

Most Americans don't think allowing incumbents to keep their seats unchallenged is such a good thing, either, and that's all McCain-Feingold accomplished. That, and giving the advantage to whomever has the most money is his own bank account.

Great solution, that. I feel safer already.

gaffo · 1 year ago

I'm waiting for your solution.

Lsabsmigo seems to think there is no problem and thus no need for solution!

philwynk · 1 year ago

No restrictions on contributions. None.

Absolute, complete disclosure with full public view. Every penny disclosed.

Who the hell is Lsabsmigo?

sharinlite · 1 year ago

Cap'n couldn't agree more. I have always had a slight dislike for Noonan...in the past few years it has increased to the point I don't read her stuff anymore. This article sounded an awful lot like a civil Hillary for goodness sake. I don't believe Bush every said he was a "conservative". And, until he decides to speak publicly, none of truly "know" anything much about what he wanted to do and what he felt he did nor did not accomplish. But, history will treat him very well. BDS has created a horrible atmosphere in America. Perhaps the CHDS beginning now will help the blind and deaf hear and see the truth. Time will tell.

steveangell · 1 year ago

On numerous occasions he did. But mostly he called himself a "Compassionate Conservative".

onlineanalyst · 1 year ago

Superb summaries all on the Noonan evaluations. Somehow along the way, she lost her balanced objectivity in critiquing President Bush. Was it her role as a Reagan speechwriter that soured her on anyone but her hero?

I don't remember her lambasting any Democrat for far more egregious judgments than Bush's. In fact, she wrote another piece not all that long ago with strategic advice for Madame Hillary that sounded as if Noonan was providing her own credentials as a Clinton II flack.

BurfordHolly · 1 year ago

>Was it her role as a Reagan speechwriter that soured her on anyone but her hero?

I'd say you nailed it there. She does not want to go as far back as Reagan whose religious pandering and wedge issues would eventually fractrure the party on numerous ideological lines. As long as the money flowed, everybody got a slice. When funds got tight, everyone reverted into competing groups.

Monkei · 1 year ago

You need to read her entire column, after blaming the Clinton's for 3/4th of the piece she finally gets around to calling Bush the loser he is in the last paragraph.

pilsener · 1 year ago

Good analysis by the Captain.

I'm sure that inside-the-beltway there are incumbent Republicans who are desperately seeking anyone but themselves to blame. The siren's song to Congress is incumbency, not good government.

The real break-up that needs to happen in the Republican party is the casting out of Ted Stevens and his ilk.

John · 1 year ago

What Peggy forgets is that the Republican Party is in a position it hasn't found itself in since 1928 -- ownership of the White House with a retiring/term limited president and with no frontrunner-in-waiting to grab the nomination. And the last time there was an open primary with no incumbent vice-president running on either side was 1952.

What that means is that, with no heir apparent to the nomination, the various factions of the Republican Party during the primary season don't have to subjugate their primary beliefs because it's somebody else's turn. That's why you see the economic conservatives, military hawks and Christian fundamentalists going their own ways, because none of the candidates can say it's "my turn" (McCain might have the best claim to that, if he had not played up to the media so much between 2000 and 2004 whenever they wanted a Republican to attack Bush).

Steve · 1 year ago

I agree as well - the cause is rooted much more widely than with Mr. Bush alone. But did he ever once veto, or threaten to veto, any of those pork-laden spending bills until after control of Congress was lost in the most recent elections?

davecatbone · 1 year ago

I'm hearing good arguments in defense of Bush, but spending, globalism and illegal immigration threaten this nation as much as any Islamic Fascist Killer. And the President is not acting in our best wishes in regards to these issues.

Corsair · 1 year ago

It's certainly not just Bush. It is this whole neo-con thing. What is a neo-con? Whats wrong with good old fashioned conservatism. The Republicans used to be for limited government, keeping the federal government in line with the constitution, etc. When the Republican leadership started thinking the federal government is the solution to all our problems, that was the latest torpedo in the side of the ship. Bush just happens to be the captain (no offense to you Ed) of the sinking ship. He was all for the outrageous spending that congress was sending him with the republicans in charge. The president has done a good job on several issues, so I certainly wouldn't put him at the bottom of quality presidents(jimmah carter owns that in recent history). But If the republicans cannot get back to their core conservatism, he may shoulder all the blame.
There is a popular song out that seems to sum up politics right now. If it is not the name it has the lyrics "to the left, to the left, to the left". Dems moving to the left, repubs moving to the left. It makes me wonder if the silent majority is also moving to the left.

gaffo · 1 year ago

"It makes me wonder if the silent majority is also moving to the left."

it is.

these things move in a cycle - Nam and watergate moved the Nation to the Left (just as the Cold War and Korea in earlier times moved the Nation to the Right for a while), OPEC, high inflation, and dissatifaction with Carter (Iran hostages mainly (sadly that they all returned ALIVE is not appreciated today)) moved the Nation to the Right - thus Reagan won. (not vise versa - nation did not move to right due to Reagan).

"the base" i.e. the Republican base thinks their party lost in 2006 for acting like RINOs - but in fact it was the opposite! The Republicans in congress were removed due to being to extreme to the RIGHT!...............

all due to Iraqnam. The American people were (are still) fatigued over this war and this "War" is ALL Republican owned in the Amerian mindset.

anyway ALL this ties in to Iraqnam. Yes I know the surge is working.....but 2006 was before the surge (and the surge in 2009 will not be working without a political solution in Iraq itself).

You can create all sorts of theories and excuses - but had Iraqnam been the cakewalk the Pres told us it would be the Republicans would still be the Majority party!!!

no cakewalk = no majority - it really is THAT simple.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Amen, the NeoCon experiment is a huge failure.

essucht · 1 year ago

It is odd how Bush has become such a lightning rod. He promised bipartisanship and tried to deliver - in many cases compromised far more then was reasonable.

And this of course is where Bush failed. I don't think the bipartisan model ever works out well for the Republicans - look at Bush's father as a prime example.

steveangell · 1 year ago

bipartisan = Democrat way

Real definition. So of course it doesn't work.

Jeff_from_Mpls · 1 year ago

Do you get the feeling there's a lot of stuff we don't know about?

Think about the 1994 conservative revolution. We thought if only the right people got in, we could stop the massive outflow of junk spending. But mere days into the session, these guys who we thought were gladiators went squishy. Our new conservative leaders were showing up on television whimpering and blubbering and apologizing for even thinking about eliminating funding for PBS. And they rolled over. For PBS, they rolled over!

Remember that?

How could congress folk go in one door believing that Social Security is going to break this country, and emerge moments later preaching that we mustn't violate the Sacred Social Security Trust?

I have this image of normal citizens, regular human beings, entering the Capitol building, and once inside, a mysterious man whispers a dark secret in their ear, and their faces go instantly pale, and they become drones.

What is that dark secret? What is it we don't know?

Jwt4412 · 1 year ago

I simply do not understand why Republicans blame Bush because we have to now choose between McCain, Huck and Romney when we had exactly what everybody says they wanted in Fred... and Republicans spit on him.

Nice.

essucht · 1 year ago

Actually there was a massive campaign to stop the Republicans from cutting the CPB.

The '94 Republicans got beat down hard by the press and outmanuevered by the Democrats. It isn't all that complicated if quite depressing.

serfer62 · 1 year ago

I don't remember when I quit reading Peggy, possibly when she started to sound like ellen goodman (an ironic name for a feminazi). But several other political commentaers have been added to my "ignore list" too. I think with the Blogshere pudits can be ignored completely now. After all they have to sell and sensationalizm has taken over.

Steve Poling · 1 year ago

If you are to point fingers, consider Lee Atwater who spoke of "a big tent." I think this is the central paradigm. Is the Republican party a "big tent" that expands itself to bring into its fold a lot of big-government liberals? democrats lite? This is one way to become a majority party, the most obvious one.

But I'm an Evangelical and Evangelicals believe in converting sinners. Now, being a Liberal isn't condemned by Scripture, so I'm speaking metaphorically.

We need to make the case for Conservative principles and convert Moderates and Liberals to our way of thinking. We are conservatives for good reasons and we need to articulate those reasons as articulately and as winsomely as possible. Mr. Reagan won a majority by getting people to think that Republicans weren't just rich guys trying to run things, but a force for the little guy who stands powerless against the evils of Big Government, Big Labor and Big Business.

Monkei · 1 year ago

While Bush garners much of the blame simply because he is the face of the GOP, I think you can look no further than to the right-right wing of the party, the bible thumpers, who successfully took over the party after the Clinton years and was totally embraced by GWB. That it his legacy and one which will cause the GOP problems for years to come. This is not Ronald Reagan or Goldwater's party anymore, it is the party of Jesus Christ.

Yashmak · 1 year ago

Wait a minute. . . a moment ago, you talked about how Bush is the greatest Democrat president ever. Talking out of both sides of your mouth a bit, aren't you?

keemo · 1 year ago

BINGO....

Monkei · 1 year ago

I guess the figure of speech of meaning that Bush is the best democrat I know because he is in fact the worst example of a republican I can think of ... of course there are those here who also thought Lynn Swan would win the governors race in PA.

Counterfactual · 1 year ago

I think it is a bit disingenuous to excuse Bush for the huge growth in the government (and the other misjudgments) by blaming Congress. Congressmen follow their President's lead. Bush made it clear he wanted to lead them into along the big spending path, how is it not his fault if they follow?

And as far as electoral success goes, we shall see. Right now we are rushing headlong into a restoration of the Clinton dynasty with clear Democratic majorities in both houses (my prediction is Clinton beats Romney by 10%). I don't claim that just because I predict it, we should act now like it has already happened. I merely note that after the election we need to revisit the "Bush is a failure' question, and if I am right, it is very strong evidence that he is.

patrickneid · 1 year ago

While she has it wrong, being all George's fault, she does have it right about the repub party being broken. Wars, recessions, natural disasters etc come and go but a party has to be true to its roots. For the repubs that's fiscal responsibility and restraint. On both these core issues these last seven years, soon to be eight, have been a disaster.

Even with substantial warnings from their base they continued to waste money at a greater rate than even dems have been known for. Bush himself has done virtually nothing to halt this madness. Despite his leadership in so many areas he was blind on this essential point. He's lucky he ran against John Kerry.

This November, despite the highest negatives in the land Hillary will be elected President. Had the repubs shown fiscal restraint and basically stuck to their 1994 manifesto they would be winning very easily against her.

Dan · 1 year ago

People like the joker who used "Obama the Muslim" are the reason that people think the modern Republican party is full of morons.

This is just an observation and perhaps even a piece of advice. Perhaps true Republicans should expel the wing-nuts and take their party back.

PDQuig · 1 year ago

Good Lord! How did I forget?

21. Supporting the amnesty bill!

Cydney · 1 year ago

Great points, Ed. I just read that article before seeing your post, and was not sure exactly what to think of Noonan's comments.

The president is no supreme potentate--the congress can be blamed for a lot more than the president in many cases, but it's just too easy to pass the hot potato on to the most visible figure.

Boris Badenov · 1 year ago

It was during Mr. Bush's watch that I first noticed that the Republicans, for whom I'd been voting for years, really like illegal immigration. You have to admit Bush certainly hasn't done anything to stem the tide. In this respect, he exemplifies the miserable record of all the current Republican hopefuls. Did Bush break the party? I don't know. On the immigration issue, though, he certainly certainly made me skeptical about voting for Republicans in the future. Increasingly, this one issue is all it takes.

Sayinhey · 1 year ago

Man, are you people deranged and delusional. Creepy just to skim the comments. Be so glad when you're out of the picture for good.

majgross · 1 year ago

President Bush serves not only as president but as figure head for our party. He could have done a lot to keep our (wish they were only drunken sailors) reps from spending like crazy, but he chose not to enter that fight. That lack of leadership and unwillingness to do anything lasting on the border are my only complaints about my commander in chief. But those are two pretty big issues he defaulted on. He is still a great president who will be vindicated by history.

Buzz · 1 year ago

As much as Bush has dissapointed me (especially om immigration), I'm with Ed on this. All of the scandals really hurt - Cunningham, Abramoff, and Foley, not to mention pseudo scandals like Libby/Plame and DeLay..

Maniac · 1 year ago

It was not Bush II who started the destruction of the GOP. We also have to give some to Bush I, who got in bed with the Left and raised taxes after promising not too. Bush II has many of his father's failings. His focus on getting legislation through Congress resulted in accommadating the Left way too often. He also failed to communicate conservative principles and allowed the Left to make wild accusations without combatting them effectively. Iraq and the war on terror was sucessfully portrayed as a failure and Bush did very little to put the Left in their place. Conservatives have no one to blame but themselves for nominating him in the first place. The hole notion of compassionate conservatism is insulting. It is not the role of Government to dole out favors or to act as a helping hand.

As for the future for the GOP, it is not as bad as it seems. The Democrats have a very good chance to make substantial gains this year, but despite those favorable conditions, they seem to be turning to the corrupt hacks who lost them majority status in the first place. Despite McCain's many short-comings, in a general election, he will be hard to beat by someone as osious as Hillary Clinton. God Bless the Democrats for being so stupid. I guess that is what happens when you pander to lower-income and the uneducated for political survival.

Frank · 1 year ago

Ed said:

It was the succession of Republican Congresses that refused to cut spending, and instead blew wads of cash on non-defense discretionary spending.

Well where are all the Republicans voting for fiscal discipline and small government?

How is it that Huckabee gets any votes at all?

Thompson shouldn't have had to campaign given his positions: Republicans should have just given him the majority of votes from the first primary and caucus. I mean weren't his positions exactly what Republican's stand for?

Clearly, small government, Federalist, fiscal conservatives are not the majority in the Republican Party. And from what I can tell, it was Independents who really threw the Republicans out of power for not being more fiscally disciplined, not Republicans so much.

What does it mean when Independents are more in line with Republican ideals than are actual registered Republicans?

Yashmak · 1 year ago

Well, it's likely independents who are currently ejecting the most conservative of the Republican candidates now, or at least giving the needed boost to the less conservative candidates. . .so I think your hypothesis is somewhat flawed.

Dan · 1 year ago

Bush did destroy the party. He let the nation builders prosecute the war instead of the war fighters. The nation lost its stomach for the war and this will affect the party for some time to come. Peggy has a keen sense for these things. In one of her books she described a meeting she had with GHW Bush at the Whitehouse while he was president. At the end of which Bush called for a limo to make sure Peggy would not miss her flight.........it took 45 minutes for Bush's staff to get a limo there.

I don't think Bush realized the bureacracy worked in the executive branch the way he left all the people in place who worked against him.

jerseymac · 1 year ago

These defenses of Bush are insane. Do they come from GOP HQ?

I plead guilty: I voted for Bush twice and was a Florida volunteer for GOTV in 2004. If I knew then what I came to realize in 2005, I would have written in Pat Buchanan's name. Yes, mistakes are made in war, but you hope honest ones. GWB relied on no one except Uncle Dick and Rummy
(a real disgrace). Iraq was the chance to settle family scores.

Bush is the worst President in history. He has no connection to anyone. He has achieved something that no other nation or fighting force on earth even dreamed of: Breaking the U.S.
Army! And fracturing the National Guard and Reserve system. Hyperbole? Consider this: For decades, Pentagon Doctrine relied on a two-theatre global capability in the event of war. Now we can't handle a single conflict from Baghdad to Kabul. Disagreement, anyone?

Screw the political fallout. Where do you think the US military will be 10 years from now? No, we've dug a big hole for ourselves and the first step to recovery is to stop digging.

Republicans don't owe this jerk anything. Let him go back to Texas and replenish the ol' coffers
while Walter Reed fills up.

Finally: Only a perfect storm of massive incompetence, arrogance and hubris---and public disgust with all that---could have given Hillary even a remote chance of winning the White House. Now look where we are.

My fellow Republicans, GWB left you a long time ago.

terrye · 1 year ago

I don't think you are a Republican, unless you are one of Ron Paul's followers and he has some demons of his own to deal with.

The worse President in history? Oh yeah, just look at the soup lines. the hundreds of thousands of dead soldiers, shanty towns, gulags.....

I think you are not what you claim to be.

winoohno · 1 year ago

Why can't a Republican criticize the President? That is part of the reason the Republican party is losing members: everyone has a holier than thou attitude." I am GOP man since 1988 and most of the time I am happy with the leadership, but I am against the war in Iraq and ashamed at how much we are in debt. I am also interested in this Administration's role in 9/11 and if they were really that incompetent. But, the bottom line is this: everyone should be able to debate, argue, and critique our own party. That is America man, love it or leave it!

terrye · 1 year ago

Bush was the first Republican president I ever voted for. In fact more people voted for Bush in 2004 than for any president in history.

I think you sound like one of Ron Paul's fan club. If they take over the party, I am gone and so are most sane people.

Maybe you were against the war in Iraq, but the Republican party backed that party and if Bush had tried to back off of it they would have said he was soft.

Buckingham · 1 year ago

Was Bush the first Republican or the first President you voted for?

Charlie · 1 year ago

Ha, ha, ha

Nobody is stopping your dumb frat brother from criticizing.

What you want is criticism without the stupidity of the criticism being pointed out.

Kent · 1 year ago

I"m going to have to side with Noonan here. Yes, we could have done a lot worse than Bush -- Kerry and Gore come to mind. And we haven't suffered another terrorist attack in this country. Nor has the Democratic reaction to Bush been rational.

Nevertheless, Bush has badly hurt conservatism, and thereby hurt the GOP. It may be true that a lot of Republican Congressmen have used Bush as cover -- but he largely made that possible.

This isn't the death of conservatism. Truth will win out in the end. But it may be the death of conservatism in my lifetime, which is bad enough.

Jwt4412 · 1 year ago

The only man to keep his dignity in the last eight years has been GWB... you can't tell the difference between a comment section on the Kos and the Quarters these days... and that is truly sad.

And yeah, I am talking to you [in the plural].

winoohno · 1 year ago

Ed Morrissey tries to explain away Peggy Noonan's column by crying on the shoulders of the 20% or so of people who still think Bush is doing a good job. What the other 80% of the population see (including Republicans) is a president that is so incompetent, arrogant and clueless -- it strains the imagination to think of a worse leader of our country. He and his adminstration lied us into a war that contactors have syphoned off billions of dollars. It was not only the Republican Congress that led the party astray (as Morrissey asserts), but Bush was the one sending budgets to the Hill that kept the wild spending spree alive. He spents billions on Homeland Security and what do we have to show for it? He's spent billions (if not a trillion) on the war in Iraq and what do we have to show for it? Mr. Morrissey mentions pork barrel spending, but anyone who pays attention knows that domestic discretionary spending is the smallest fraction of our budget. Even a few million here and there has not tarnished the image of the Republicans. The sooner the GOP realizes how horrible Bush was as a President -- and distance themselves from him -- the better off our party will be...

terrye · 1 year ago

Bush's numbers might not be high but they are not 80/20. And Bush did not lie us into a war. He just made the mistake of thinking the Clinton administration knew what they were talking about.

What do we have to show for the war in Iraq? Saddam is gone, his sons are gone. There is a representative government in the Arab world. I forget, none of that matters. much better to bring back the Butcher of Bagdad. The world would be a peaceful place if we did. Sure.

Jwt4412 · 1 year ago

Bush gave us 8 more years that when we deserved before the wheels fell off...

Charlie · 1 year ago

Okay, winknomore, here're the president's of my lifetime. Tell me who tops Bush.

Truman -- Blundered in Korea
Eisenhoower -- Golfed
Kennedy --Tactically stared down the Russkies after blundering in Cuba
Johnson -- Broke the bank in domestic and foregn policy
Nixon -- Opened China, miscellaneous shenanigans
Ford -- Hit his head a lot
Carter -- Gave away Panama, swatted a rabbit
Reagan -- Strategically stared down the Russkies; boogied from Beirut
Bush -- Drew a line in the sand and made it stick... mostly
Clinton -- Got a $3 mil campaign donation from the ChiComs for reviewing their troops in Tiananmen Sq; Intern training programs
Bush -- Freed 40 million people despite massive political opposition over hanging chad

You're telling me they're all better than George!? Son, only Reagan is close to his league, though Ike was pretty good in his previous job.

Bennett · 1 year ago

Not really fair about Ford. He did a politically courageous thing in pardoning Nixon, which went a long way to getting us past Watergate in a hurry although it probably cost him the 1976 election. He was a decent man and a true patriot. And Truman is before my time but he had to make the decision about dropping the A-bomb and he faced up to the task. Again, a decent man and a true patriot. And Johnson, yes it is true that he burdened us with his social welfare programs and mismanaged the Vietnam war but he had the horrible task of taking over the presidency after Kennedy was killed and I think his calm and decisive leadership brought us through a devastating time.

That's the thing about Presidents. We don't really know who they are until they have to do something unimaginable (like the 2nd Bush after 9/11), when they truly have to lead and there are really hard decisions to make. Some rise to the occasion and we come to admire them for it. And others? They get B.J.s under the desk while talking on the phone to some congressman.

Charlie · 1 year ago

I woulda been kinder to Ford except that, unfortunately, I heard him speak about his Vladivostok meeting with Brezhnev, which he described in terms of his awe at sharing a limo with the leader of the Soviet Union. No Reagan there.

Charlie · 1 year ago

Better than Agnew though.

Robert Crush · 1 year ago

nixon... miscellaneous shenanigans... oh please he got caught breaking into and spying on the Democrats... then he lied about it... manipulated the judicial branch so there would be no investigation then when he was about to be impeached ALL THE WAY he resigned.

Reagan... gave S&Ls billions of tax dollars... killed nuns in nicaragua... gave guns and money to Saddam... broke the bank more than Johnson... senile old fool.

Bush 1... continued Reagan's voodoo economics. Smartly decided not to invade Iraq because of costs, loss of lives and instability.

Clinton... greatest economy ever in the history of our nation. Handed budget surplus to Bush 2... balanced budget... reduced size of government... brought perps of WTC attack to justice... foiled by Republicans to increase airline security and reduce terrorism by hunting down OBL.

Bush 2... killed more than a million people. Dislocated 3 million people. Created army of wounded soldiers both physically and emotionally. Destabilized an entire region of the globe. Trillion dollar deficit spending. Increased size of government. Appointed cronies and industry insiders to important posts. Can't put two sentences together when speaking. Doesn't care if OBL is caught and brought to justice. Redirected resources from avenging WTC 2 attack. Brother manipulated elections in Florida and was selected by party line Supreme Court for presidency.

Del_Dolemonte · 1 year ago

Brilliant satire!

Tell us again about how the economic recovery of the 1990s that Clinton claimed as his own actually started in March of 1991.

jfm · 1 year ago

UN resolution 666 makes George Bush officially responsible for everything bad that happens.

Global warming? It's Bush's fault!

Late for work? It's Bush's fault!

Burnt your toast? It's Bush's fault!

Explanations are so much simpler once you realize it's all Bush's fault.

Bennett · 1 year ago

I think Peggy is forgetting that Bush won his elections by incredibly thin margins.

My point is the GOP is not an overwhelming majority party in this country. It's hardcore base is fairly small I think (the group of people who would never ever vote for a Democrat). Everybody else is up for grabs. Just as is true on the other side. And Bush pulled in enough Dems and Indies to get him over the line. He didn't do that by being a conservative ideologue.

If Bush did push the party off the wall and broke it, it's because it didn't have that far to fall. The perch has never been that lofty.

In any event, I think Ms. Noonan spends far too much time in her digs on the Upper East Side. She needs to get out and mix with us common folk a little more.

chillspike · 1 year ago

The Republican party killed the Republican party.

Jim Campbell, Phoenix · 1 year ago

As an Arizonan, I am witnessing how Mexico is using its citizens to reclaim the territory that it claims to have lost circa 1848. Anglos in large numbers colonized Texas and displaced /crowded out the Hispanics. George Bush can't see this happening slowly, but surely.

Bobby · 1 year ago

Many people detest the non-involvement, even encouragement of Mr. Bush, on illegal immigration for the last seven years. Many blue collar workers suffering wage depression because of illegal immigration have abandoned the republicans under Bush.

Sean · 1 year ago

Sorry, must agree with Noonan. This man is not only a bozo -- he's a callous bozo. Reading Putin's heart (probably a man responsible for much suffering for man) and sending off the two Border Patrol agents to jail (while pardoning Scooter Libby). I won't even mention his Justice Dept (for whom he's ultimately respsonsible) giving Clintons NSA a pass on stealing uncopied still-classified info from the National Archives. This man is contemptible -- and I voted for him.

Del_Dolemonte · 1 year ago

Uh, Bush never pardoned Scooter Libby. He commuted his sentence, but let the original conviction stand. I'm not all that familiar with the 2 Border Patrol guys but they did break the law, so should be held accountable for their actions.

As for the "Bush Justice Department", Clinton infested that place with all sorts of high and mid-level people who are still there. Can't blame Bush for that one.

steveangell · 1 year ago

Alla they did is return fire from a Drug smuggler shooting at them. They reported it to their superior but did not know they hit the man (if they did). No written report was required.

Bush (d.o.j.) gave the drug smuggler immunity and kept this past from being discussed at trial as well as evidence that he never left home without his .38.

He continued running drugs with a special DOJ issued border pass for two years till the DOJ stopped protecting him and he was caught again.

Bush wanted a chance alontwith the Mexican President to send a clear message to our Border Agents that if they protected themselves with deadly force they would end up in prison. Anything to protect the drug trade (mexican relations).

Libby mostly got taken to the cleaners while Sidney got of with a slap on the wrist for a much more serious crime. Perjury puts a Republican in prison but elects a Democrat with Bush's blessing. Furthermore Bush protected Clinton at every opportunity. All investigations were stopped, the missing 'W' keys and other damage to the White House covered up along with the theft of Government property by the Clintons to furnish their new home.

Bush is a bigger crook than Clinton or Nixon.

terrye · 1 year ago

That was just crazy.

Del_Dolemonte · 1 year ago

In doing some research, I find that the Border Patrol guys turned themselves in. They also filed false reports in the case. Should they be held to be above the law?

philwynk · 1 year ago

But Del, I do blame Bush for the people in the Justice Department. He knew when he took office that Clinton had left moles, not just in Justice, but in CIA, State, and every other agency. But especially in Justice.

If I had been Bush, I would have cleaned house, right after I'd rescinded every damn one of those Executive Orders Clinton signed during his last days in office (how anyone with a conscience and the slightest concern for the nation could justify that, I don't even want to imagine).

But Bush, good Evangelical that he is, wanted to heal the nation after the divisiveness of the Clinton years, and refused to treat the Clintonistas as enemies. Thus, he's been saddled for years with Clinton moles -- by his own choice.

I don't think badly of President Bush for wanting to heal the nation. I do think it was very bad judgment indeed to allow the Clinton moles to stay put.

(Unrelated to this topic, please visit my political blog, "Plumb Bob Blog: Squaring the Culture," at http://www.plumbbobblog.com. Thanks.)

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Yes, all Hail GWB, the great healer.

SDN · 1 year ago

Those mid and high level operatives just happen to be Civil Service. They are impossible to fire, given the current Civil Service laws, the "whistleblower" laws, and the willing cover provided by the MSM, the Democrats (and RINOs like McCain) in Congress, and the courts.

George Washington couldn't manage the bureaucracy we have today.

PersonFromPorlock · 1 year ago

Those mid and high level operatives just happen to be Civil Service. They are impossible to fire....

We have a plethora of inactive military bases in remote parts of the country, with invigorating climates, empty housing and much office space, just waiting to be used as satellite facilities for our crowded Washington bureaucracies....

skippystalin · 1 year ago

In just a decade, the GOP has gone from being the party of small government to the party of Terri Schiavo. While President Bush may not have started that trend, he has certainly come to personify it.

Since embracing the economics of Lyndon Johnson (deep tax cuts and increased domestic spending during a time of war) and fighting the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq without adequate resources, the president has given away two key Republican issues, fiscal responsibilty and national security.

It will be a good long time before Republicans can credibly campaign as the party of a responsible foreign policy and fiscal sanity without being laughed at. Not only did George Bush do everything that he campaigned on, he did everything Al Gore campaigned on, too.

norm · 1 year ago

"...Bush, or the Traitor is not choice at all!..."
let's see...an actual decorated war hero vs. a draft avoider (and then awol) who participated in the outing of a covert operative, and has aided and abbeted our enemies. the facts say bush is the traitor. i can only assume bds is a description of the few remaining extremeists who do not grasp the abject reality of the incompetence and ethical bancruptcy of the president and his administration and continue to view him as the best president of their lifetime. unless of course they are seven and have only lived thru this one presidency.

Del_Dolemonte · 1 year ago

NORM!!!

"an actual decorated war hero "

Who refuses still to release all of his military records, most likely because he got a dishonorable discharge

"a draft avoider (and then awol)"

First, Bush volunteered to go to Viet Nam, and many from his NG unit did go. Second, he was never AWOL, unless you know something Dan Rather doesn't.

"who participated in the outing of a covert operative"

Bush never outed her, and she wasn't covert. I love how you leftists, who have been on record as hating the CIA for decades (see Phillip Agee) suddenly got on your high horses to "protect" one of them when it was politically expedient for you to do so. Too funny!

"and has aided and abbeted our enemies."

Who? And how?

"the facts say bush is the traitor"

Since your post so far hasn't had ANY "facts" in it, how can you claim this with a straight face?

". i can only assume bds is a description of the few remaining extremeists who do not grasp the abject reality of the incompetence and ethical bancruptcy of the president and his administration "

As opposed to his predecessor?

Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates.

▪ Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation.

▪ Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify.

▪ Most number of witnesses to die suddenly.

▪ First president sued for sexual harassment.

▪ First president accused of rape.

▪ First president to be held in contempt of court.

▪ First president to be impeached for personal malfeasance.

▪ First first lady to come under criminal investigation.

▪ Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign-contribution case.

▪ Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions.

▪ Number of Starr-Ray investigation convictions or guilty pleas to date: one governor, one associate attorney general and two Clinton business partners:

▪ Number of Cabinet members who came under criminal investigation: 5.

▪ Number of individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine that were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes: 47.

▪ Number of these convictions during Clinton's presidency: 33.

▪ Number of indictments/misdemeanor charges: 61.

▪ Number of congressional witnesses who pleaded the Fifth Amendment, fled the country to avoid testifying, or (in the case of foreign witnesses) refused to be interviewed: 122.

▪ Guilty pleas and convictions obtained by Donald Smaltz in cases involving charges of bribery and fraud against former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy and associated individuals and businesses: 15; acquitted or overturned cases (including Espy): 6.

▪ Clinton machine crimes for which convictions were obtained: drug trafficking, 3; racketeering, extortion, bribery, 4; tax evasion, kickbacks, embezzlement, 2; fraud, 12; conspiracy, 5; fraudulent loans, illegal gifts, 1; illegal campaign contributions, 5; money laundering, 6; perjury, et al.

▪ Number of times that Clinton figures who testified in court or before Congress said that they didn't remember, didn't know, or something similar: Bill Kennedy, 116; Harold Ickes, 148; Ricki Seidman, 160; Bruce Lindsey, 161; Bill Burton, 191; Mark Gearan, 221; Mack McLarty, 233; Neil Egglseston, 250; John Podesta, 264; Jennifer O'Connor, 343; Dwight Holton 348; Patsy Thomasson, 420; Jeff Eller, 697; and Hillary Clinton, 250.

When you have some real facts to go after Bush with, let us know.

keemo · 1 year ago

Del,

Remind me to "never" piss you off...

Not only did Noonan miss the mark on GW Bush, she also went after Rush and talk radio. Regardless, I'm just fine with all of this critique. A party that fails to have these conservations, is a party that will fail to grow and evolve.

Monkei · 1 year ago

Norm, the people who call Kerry a traitor are the same ones who don't recognize a true American Hero unless he has an (R) beside his name ... even McCain can't get a break from these quick to throw traitor labels out crowd.

Yashmak · 1 year ago

How come Kerry can't collect the $1,000,000 offered to anyone who can prove the Swift Boat Vets claims innaccurate? Hint: The answer is easy.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Because Pickens RETRACTED it, otherwise Kerry was going to (so he said anyhow) take him up on it.

Del_Dolemonte · 1 year ago

No, actually T-Bone asked for a bunch of stuff, like Kerry's journal and films.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

That was AFTER Kerry accepted the challenge that Pickens first mentioned at a speech of The American Spectator.

Even Redstate admits that Pickens "clarified or moved the goalposts".

Del_Dolemonte · 1 year ago

How come Kerry won't release all of his military records? Until he does, he's no "war hero"

BoWowBoy · 1 year ago

Most definitely he destroyed the Republican Party ........ and ............... now he and the like minded liberal congress .............. are in the redistribution of wealth game ......... by redistributing future tax dollars to people who don't pay taxes.

Can you tell this is an election year .......???

Warner Todd Huston · 1 year ago

The GOP isn't dead... but the conservative part of it sure is. The GOP is lining itself up to be the permanent party again like it was in the 40s,50s,60s and 70s. Without conservative support the GOP is doomed to be the "other guys" that have no power.

Buckingham · 1 year ago

Maybe we can get Bob Michaels to come back.

paul_abarge_at_email_dot_com · 1 year ago

You are much too forgiving. This may have come from Peggy Noonan, the Blanche Dubois of punditry, but in this case she is precisely right.

Here is what is interesting. GWB did with Liberals and the Left what his father did with Saddam Hussein: walk away from victory without putting in the knife into his enemy. I suspect that both men did this for the same reason: they lack the appetite and the balls for victory.

BurfordHolly · 1 year ago

So the consensus is that Bush simply went rogue, he's a renegade?

I think he's doing what he's told, and that he is last gasp of the oil age status quo.

But if we get another republican, we are likely to get exactly the same polices as Bush.

MB · 1 year ago

Peggy Noonan has been annoying for years. Her tone reminds me of someone scolding a child at the dinner table. Reagan wasn't everything she thought he was, and his coalition of diverse groups had its time in the sun. The Republicans will have to recreate themselves I believe. Bush hasn't helped, but I don't think he was the cause.

MB

Dan · 1 year ago

Romney's momentum is gaining by the day. More and more conservative icons (Rush, Hannity, O'Reilly, Coulter, etc.) are blasting Old Man McCain for his clear pro-amnesty, anti-tax cut, anti-Republican record.

As Rush said, McCain will destroy the party because he fundamentally disagrees with its core principles.

Romney gets it. He's brilliant, he's a proven genius at turning bad situations into successes and he's got the family values that the others lack (see McCain's shameful affair and decision to marry a filthy rich heiress).

Romney will carry Florida on Tuesday. Mark my word.

TyCaptains · 1 year ago

Yes, Romney gets it. He understands that he needs to flip-flop worse than a salmon tossed onto a frying pan, to get the win.

What a genius!

Maniac · 1 year ago

Bush II was not the sole cause the GOP's current problems, but he certainly not helped by spending money recklessly and expanding the welfare state in his deluded hopes for some kind of consensus with the far radical Left. More importantly, he has failed to communicate conservative principles as a counter to the attacks made by the radical Left, most of which has focussed on the Iraq war. His father also hurt the GOP by raising taxes after promising not too and then running a tepid campaign against the ruthless Clintons.

But in the end, the GOP may not end up so destroyed since Clinton is a fundamentally weak candidate with enough baggage. As a consequence of their failed leadership, the GOP did obtain majority status. In a year when the GOP should expect to perform poorly, the Democrats once again prove how stupid they are nominating these damaged and depraved people for more the same nonsense that damaged them in the first place. I would not be so quick to call an end to the GOP when the alternative is the pardon pimping, impeached and disbarred frauds who stole furniture on their way out of the White House.

terrye · 1 year ago

Maniac:

The President of the United States does not spend money, the Congress does.

An American With Open Eyes · 1 year ago

terrye,

The President has a say in who gets to spend money, ultimately he must be involved in the decision. All of his bills - which have cost us as a country billions of tax dollars, thousands of lives and all of our international face value - are bought and paid for. You state he doesn't spend money? Are we living in the same economy?? Obviously one does not read the news and follow politics. Have fun with your rebate check. I'll be using it to pay debts that I couldn't pay because of the hiked cost of living in this declining nation.

Buckingham · 1 year ago

Bush has destroyed the Conservative influence of the party. He let the nation builders fight the war instead of the war fighters. The war stalled so long voters lost their stomach for the mission,this will affect the party for a long time.

terrye · 1 year ago

Are you really a Republican?

Buckingham · 1 year ago

I'm a Conservative.

terrye · 1 year ago

I bet you are.

When Bush helped the Republicans gain a majority in 2002 and 2004, people were kissing up to him. But things get hard, the rats bail. Is that his fault or the rats?

Buckingham · 1 year ago

You're still kissing!

terrye · 1 year ago

No, I am not kissing. I am just not a fair weather friend who uses someone when it suits me and then dumps them when it is easier. No doubt these stalwart conservatives would do the same thing to the next guy if they thought it would work for them.

Buckingham · 1 year ago

You said Bush was the first Republican you voted for . Was that your first election or were you in a different party.

harleycon5 · 1 year ago

I agree Noonan on most of what she said, but I think she is a bit off on what Limbaugh meant.
I think Limbaugh was simply stating that the moderate traits of GWB were the beginning of the end of the Republican party because we as a party decided to move toward who was sold as a "compassionate Conservative" when indeed this meant a pretty Liberal guy in some respects. When he says that either McCain or Huckabee will destroy the party, he is saying that we would be moving to the Left once again, and this would be the factor toward alienating the common and sensible voter.

So, in a way, both Noonan and Limbaugh are correct.

terrye · 1 year ago

Since when are all Republicans conservatives? I live in Indiana. Dick Lugar has been my Senator for a long long time. He goes back further than Reagan, and Bush is more conservative than he is.

Someone told me a long time ago that everytime Republicans win a majority, the right starts thinking the run the country and then the party loses that majority and the right blames everyone else. The truth is the party was not all that right to begin with. The Gingriches did not deal with immigration. The let Clinton gut the military. They ignored the whole looming mortgage crisis. I honestly do not know what it is they think they lost.

Buckingham · 1 year ago

You are so right.

levotb · 1 year ago

Ed Morrisey is an idiot, but he's welcome to say that Bush is the best president he's ever seen. Noonan is right though being a left-of-RINO, she never completely "gets it" right. That sucking sound heard last year and in 2006 was the sound of conservatives leaving the GOP and becoming Independents. If Bush was such a great Republican president, he failed miserably in keeping the Party together. Morrisey IS right about the GOP Congress; it was an abysmal failure. But if you all remember, it basically was a "rubber stamp" for Bush. The President is the leader. Bush lead the GOP over a cliff. Now it appears, a man who admires Bush and speaks glowingly of him, Mitt Romney, is going to be the new standard-bearer. He talks tough on the Invasion from Mexico, but will not take on the most pressing issue of our time--what to do about the 40 million mostly Mexican nationals here illegally. The states are speaking loud and clear--they want the illegals out of here. Bush and his DHS puppet and Katrina failure Chertoff have done everything BUT enforce Fed. Immigration law. The public screams for the Feds to get off their duffs. Bush won't let them.

The reason the Invasion by Mexico (alternately referred to as "illegal immigration") is such an important issue is the anchor baby phenomena. If it wasn't for millions of illegal alien babies being dropped on U.S. soil every year, the American people wouldn't be as concerned about this issue. But anchor babies are the financially responsibility of American citizens and American citizens have had enough The other part of the Invasion that is unacceptable fro American citizens is the crime that the Invasion has brought. It is horrific and unacceptable and should be unacceptable to ALL Americans.

captained · 1 year ago

Please point to where I said Bush is the best president I've ever seen. You being a supposed non-idiot should find this an easy task.

I'll be waiting. Links and quotes, please, to where I've ever said this. Until then, we know who the real idiot is.

unclesmrgol · 1 year ago

Are you really a member of the Party of Lincoln?