George W. slams Trumpism, without mentioning president by name

[alp227]

Source: Politico

Former President George W. Bush offered an unmistakable denunciation of Trumpism Thursday without mentioning the president by name, decrying bigotry, bullying and fabrication as he urged citizens to oppose threats to American democracy.

“This is a unique moment. The great democracies face new and serious threats yet seem to be losing confidence in their own calling and competence,” Bush said, in concluding remarks at the Bush Institute’s Spirit of Liberty event in New York.

“When we lose sight of our ideals, it is not democracy that has failed. It is the failure of those charged with protecting and defending democracy,” adding later, “We need to recall and recover our own identity. Americans have great advantage. To renew our country, we only need to remember our values.”

By chance, Bush was standing in the same spot at the Time Warner Center where former President Barack Obama made a similar plea for democracy and American leadership in late September, shortly after President Donald Trump had finished a belligerent, isolationist speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/19/george-w-bush-trumpism-243945

[7962]

1. Trump is so bad, he makes W seem like a statesman. nt

[Kimchijeon]

10. Yeah it is just nuts!

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. Right?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

23. No kidding

I'm afraid to ask how low Trump can go. He seems to take it as a challenge.

[niyad]

2. who is this pod person? is georgie boy trying to salvage his soul?

[zentrum]

3. That's what it looks like to me.

The cynical, murdering, bastard.

[niyad]

4. NOTHING will ever make up for what he and his cronies did to this country, to iraq,

afghanistan, etc.

[demmiblue]

9. +1

It is kind of sickening to see his revival.

[zentrum]

24. Nothing. We will

...play it out for generations considering the mess it made or made worse in the middle east. It is one of the main threads unraveling our democracy.

W sort of, kind fo, almost, feels guilt for what he did to us. But notice the cold stone silence of Cheney, Rummy and the other thugs as they watch their party undo every last institution of our government.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. "who is this pod person?"

DUzy!

[Lifelong Protester]

5. Wow! to call W's presidency "the good old days"

[extvbroadcaster]

6. Dubya lookin' good

Dubya is lookin' goo in the rear view mirror. I thought he was the worst, but I was wrong. Trump makes him look like a genius, with a moral compass and a true American patriot. Trump takes the Constitution and wipes his ass with it. Nobody, even Dubya, comes close to being as bad. And before you talk about Iraq, remember Trump could start WWIII and make Iraq look like a flesh wound. I for one would take Dubya back in a heartbeat to get rid of Trump. Compared to Trump, Dubya's the man!

[PatSeg]

20. Just because Trump is a horrible person

and a disaster as president, that does not make GW Bush look good in hindsight. 100,000s died because of his incompetence and reckless decisions. The Middle East is a tinder box and terrorism has increased because of him. Bush made torture acceptable and mercenaries profitable. He enriched companies like Halliburton and Kellogg Brown. People lost their jobs and homes because of his domestic policies.

There are so many reasons that GW Bush was NOT the man and we would be wise to not forget them. It is very likely that Bush paved the way for a demigod like Trump. Yes, Trump could kill more people, but meanwhile, Bush already has. He does not get a pass for compassion.

............Oh yeah, can't forget about torture in our name.

[Siwsan]

7. I've suspected that GW was used as a cover for Cheney's malfeasance

Kind of like a 'useful idiot'. I don't think he's all that bright or motivated, and was in no way, shape or form up to the job of being POTUS. And I do think he has some massive "Daddy" issues, just shy of Oedipus levels.

Cheney likely figured he'd never be able to be elected, on his own, to exploit the office to his financial benefit. So he leeched on to GWB, and with the help of Rove, manipulated his way into office.

That being said, I still would never consider "W" to be someone I'd like to drink some beers with, without Barack Obama sitting between us.

[HughBeaumont]

8. When your presidency is such an undisciplined trainwreck . . .

. . . that a war criminal seems palatable.

[Snake Plissken]

11. Trump may be trying to cut funds for Geometry and Trigonometry, but he's all for increasing Bigotry

[Martin Eden]

12. That's all well and good, but ...

... GW Bush belongs in a jail cell with Dick Cheney for war crimes -- not on a podium offering his opinion.

It's easy for politicians who no longer need to run for office to speak out against the creature 45. The real test is for Republicans with political ambitions and for religious leaders on the right to denounce the orange abomination.

[Achilleaze]

13. Hey Comrade Casino - Are you going to let him talk about you like that?

Are you a man, or are you a lowly five-time republican Draft-Dodger ?

[IronLionZion]

14. The blatant demonization of brown people as foreign enemies started under W

Not W personally, but after 9/11, a lot of America chose to go full white supremacist and started believing there was only one type of American and that brown people are dangerous and suspicious and discrimination is patriotic. This continued through the economic recession and Obama's recovery, and helped enable Trump to win the election.

If we had never had W, we might not have Trump today. Same if we had never had Reagan, we may have never gotten W.

[peace frog]

15. Before we cover Dubya with glory

let's review some of the lowlights of his presidency: stolen 2000 election in Florida, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Patriot Act which slid us down the slippery slope into surveillance state, "Mission Accomplished", the outing of Valerie Plame, Abu Ghraib, rendition and torture, his heckuva-job-Brownie non-response to Hurricane Katrina. There's more but suddenly I'm depressed, for no particular reason.

[yankeepants]

16. Said the man who sent 100s of thousands

To be needlessly and senselessly killed, injured, or left psychologically damaged. He will never get a pass from this dem.

[PatSeg]

21. Never ever

Just because Trump is worse, does not absolve Bush of his many crimes.

[SpankMe]

19. If Obama had read the same speech, the right would be exploding with indignation right now. n/t

[murielm99]

22. He stole an election.

I will not forget that.

[Paladin]

25. It really is this bad, now. Dubya looks good by comparison. (nt)