Yes, I Miss Him Yet...

I miss having a genuinely compassionate and warm man as our President.  I had (and have) many disagreements with George W. Bush, but his humanity and his humility are very attractive compared with the cold, narcissistic, and egotistic Barack Hussein Obama...

RIP Barney...

Barney, First Dog during George W. Bush's two terms, passed away yesterday at the age of 12.  The Bushs released this statement:

Laura and I are sad to announce that our Scottish Terrier, Barney, has passed away. The little fellow had been suffering from lymphoma and after twelve and a half years of life, his body could not fight off the illness.

Barney and I enjoyed the outdoors. He loved to accompany me when I fished for bass at the ranch. He was a fierce armadillo hunter. At Camp David, his favorite activity was chasing golf balls on the chipping green.

Barney guarded the South Lawn entrance of the White House as if he were a Secret Service agent. He wandered the halls of the West Wing looking for treats from his many friends. He starred in Barney Cam and gave the American people Christmas tours of the White House. Barney greeted Queens, Heads of State, and Prime Ministers. He was always polite and never jumped in their laps.

Barney was by my side during our eight years in the White House. He never discussed politics and was always a faithful friend. Laura and I will miss our pal.

I really, really miss having a class act in the White House...

Update 2/3/2013: Did you know that G.W. has taken up oil painting?  The Bushes released this painting yesterday (check out the signature)...

If Obama is Elected for a Second Term...

Via reader Simi L.:

I'll say!

A Bush League President...

That's Peggy Noonan's pun of a title for her latest column up at the WSJ...

Do You Miss Him Yet?

George Bush had many faults, but this is a great illustration of an aspect of him that I greatly admire.  And I miss it, badly. One cannot doubt his sincerity and his caring.  One cannot imagine either in Obama.  Via my mom...

A Class Act...

There are many things I didn't like about George W. Bush, and many things I did like.  Amongst the latter: his general adult demeanor and frequent demonstrations of classy behavior.  These are prominently on display in his recent interview with Oprah.  I sure miss that part of W...

Was George W. Bush an Idiot?

Via my lovely wife:

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a TelePrompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan's holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in GM, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the nonexistent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current in their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had stated that there were 57 states in the United States, would you have said that he is clueless.

If George W. Bush would have flown all the way to Denmark to make a five minute speech about how the Olympics would benefit him walking out his front door in Texas, would you have thought he was a self important, conceited, egotistical jerk.

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to "Cinco de Cuatro" in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the 5th of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had misspelled the word "advice" would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoes as proof of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on Earth Day, would you have concluded he's a hypocrite?

If George W. Bush's administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually get what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had created the position of 32 Czars who report directly to him, bypassing the House and Senate on much of what is happening in America, would you have approved.

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 15 months -- so you'll have two years and nine months to come up with an answer.

Genuine Caring...

There are many things I don't miss about George W. Bush.  But one thing I do miss is the man's genuine, selfless caring and warmth:

Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.

The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."

No cameras, no publicity.  Just showing up and offering comfort...

Marines and the President...

My mom sent a link to this video, which has been floating around for a while.  I refrained from posting it when it initially came out because there was much criticism of the careful and obviously biased (for George W. Bush) editing.

However, since that time I have corresponded with a fair number of our warriors in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Their comments lead me to believe that this video is a fairer portrayal of our military's attitudes than the critics would have us believe. 

So here's the video, and you can make up your own mind about an appropriate reaction:

The Marines: GWB vs. BHO...

I can't help but wonder how these Marines would react to BHO were they unconstrained by their decorum and military obligations...