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Oversight
We Don’t Need to Rehabilitate George W. Bush to Fight Trump
Politicians are pining for the days of Bush Jr. — but his presidency was a disaster in its own right
There are a million ways to criticize President Donald Trump. Why do prominent pundits and politicians find it necessary to rehabilitate the image of George W. Bush while doing so?
The latest example of this bizarre trend comes from former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who, in an interview with CNN on Monday, said that he finds himself pining for the days of Bush “every day.” As Reid explained:
He and I had our differences, but no one ever questioned his patriotism. Our battles were strictly political battles.
“There’s no question in my mind that George Bush would be Babe Ruth in this league that he’s in with Donald Trump in the league. Donald Trump wouldn’t make the team,” Reid added.
It’s ironic that Reid claimed that no one ever questioned Bush’s patriotism, given that Bush and his team spent the entire presidency “questioning the patriotism” of anyone who disagreed with them, whether it be the war on terror or the myriad illegal policies that violated the Constitution.
It’s almost like people forget that it was the Bush administration who authorized the CIA’s illegal worldwide torture regime, and branded anyone who questioned such a move — despite the many statutes and treaties outlawing it — as supporting terrorists and “putting our troops in greater danger.”
The same game was played during the passage of the Patriot Act — one of the most invasive laws passed in the modern era. Bush’s Attorney General John Ashcroft said of the critics opposing the law on civil liberties grounds: “Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America’s enemies, and pause to America’s friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil.”
When the New York Times revealed the National Security Agency (NSA) was conducting warrantless wiretaps on Americans — again, in clear violation of the law — it was Bush’s second Attorney General Alberto…
