This is such a cogent, timely, and on-target article; you summed it up so beautifully why Jeb should be kept out of power levers in Washington D.C. Although, we need a companion piece for the other presumably "God-send" candidate.
24
"Where's the shame?" Republicans know no shame. But then, judging by Hillary, neither do Democrats.
20
This is brilliant. I never can decide which Maureen Dowd phrase to forward to friends, there are always such incisive, scathing, hilarious remarks about the political misery we find ourselves in. But this time it's simple: "Without their last names, Hillary and Jeb would not be front-runners"
Enough said!
(please indict Wolfowitz, Condi & Kissinger for war crimes already. That can never be said enough)
Enough said!
(please indict Wolfowitz, Condi & Kissinger for war crimes already. That can never be said enough)
75
Jeb was a one-trick pony with Florida Governorship. What has he done recently besides sit on fat fee- paying corporate boards? Living with his mother?
51
I'm glad Dowd is tarring them all with the same brush.
37
After 8 horrible years of his brother, if this country is stupid enough to vote for Jeb, than it deserves all that happens to it when he gets in office.
81
I'm planning to pen a new book entitled "Bush for Dummies." It will be extremely short, with one searing and succinct word only: "IRAQ."
87
Anyone counting on Jeb to reverse the "fundamental transformation" is dreaming. The "smart one" isn't a Reaganite.
9
I too was keeping an open mind about Jeb. He is his own man? Guess not. So disappointing that he is surrounding himself with the old cadre of NeoCons. If he were to be elected, there'd be boots on the ground around the globe. And, as you point out, it's even worse that that. Condi's back. For crying out Wolfowitz. What a shame. Not much of a choice so far for 2016. "Dynasty" will be coming back to our screens.
43
I think the most dangerous person on the list isn't even Wolfowitz but James Baker, who is the power and brain of the Bushes, every one of them. He operates under the radar and has an aura of respectability. But he is far more powerful than all of them. It was only he who had the power to call the Supreme Court and tell his justices to deliver their verdict for Bush in Bush v gore.
We don't know enough about this sleazy fellow at this point in history. What are his San Francisco connections? To whom is he connected? Even JEB marches not to his own thinking, as he claims, but to Bakers dictates.
This does not bode well for America.
We don't know enough about this sleazy fellow at this point in history. What are his San Francisco connections? To whom is he connected? Even JEB marches not to his own thinking, as he claims, but to Bakers dictates.
This does not bode well for America.
71
Jeb will make a much better president than Obama has proved to be, and better than Hillary the fund-raiser could ever be.
IMO.
IMO.
5
Great piece. Kudos again for Maureen ! She sweeps away the cobwebs and dirt to expose the historic facts and ugly reality of our political world today. Americans across the Nation thank you Ms Dowd. If only the Times had ten more of your ability.
32
Brilliant column. Absolutely brilliant. Where's the shame, indeed: not in the Bush family, which as Ms Dowd so crisply points out, doomed Wall Street and a generation of American service members, ruined America's credibility around the world and almost bankrupted the country.
And now the Bushes and their unapologetic advisers are back. We should run for our lives.
And now the Bushes and their unapologetic advisers are back. We should run for our lives.
66
It's a sign of the sad time we live in that we cannot give Jeb Bush a break because of his brother and father but are perfectly willing to support Hillary Clinton,who rode her husband's coat tails for years,is equally dependent on his advisers, but,unlike Jeb,has also never shown any ability to be an effective manager or leader.
6
Is there a Bush-family pattern going on here? Dubya became president to avenge his father; Jeb wants to be president to avenge his brother…
When did the Bush Family come to believe that the US presidency is their personal platform for redemption?
When did the Bush Family come to believe that the US presidency is their personal platform for redemption?
234
One definition of insanity is making the same mistake, over and over again, each time expecting a different, better result.
Now we see Jeb Bush, candidate for President, resurrecting the same crew that brought you Iraq.
George W. did not crash the family station wagon into the globe. He crashed a van full of not-so-merry jesters into the globe. It was as though the Grateful Dead had taken evil pills and rented a Greyhound bus.
So now we want them all back. Crazy, man - just crazy.
Now we see Jeb Bush, candidate for President, resurrecting the same crew that brought you Iraq.
George W. did not crash the family station wagon into the globe. He crashed a van full of not-so-merry jesters into the globe. It was as though the Grateful Dead had taken evil pills and rented a Greyhound bus.
So now we want them all back. Crazy, man - just crazy.
43
Ms. Dowd has, in a few short paragraphs, laid out the main reasons Jeb Bush should never be president.
51
Maureen Dowd nailed it. But, do the voters care?
32
The real brains of the family is probably their lawyer, James A Baker III.
10
If only Jeb's "Trust" were brainless. That would be an vast improvement.
Jeb Bush's foreign policy team is essentially W.'s. In other words, a proven team of the catastrophically incompetent. The only thing that could improve this team is group lobotomy.
If you loved W.'s foreign policy successes, you'll love W.'s third, er, I mean, Jeb's first term.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/18/jeb-bushs-fore...
Jeb Bush's foreign policy team is essentially W.'s. In other words, a proven team of the catastrophically incompetent. The only thing that could improve this team is group lobotomy.
If you loved W.'s foreign policy successes, you'll love W.'s third, er, I mean, Jeb's first term.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/18/jeb-bushs-fore...
16
This cadre of redux advisors makes me shudder. I was willing to give him a chance until this list appeared. Although Cheney is not listed, I am sure he is there in the shadows. And Mo, thanks for mentioning Bremer. Nobody could love him more than himself. But you forget to mention the CIA "Slam Dunk" guy who received the Medal of Freedom from Bush afterwards. How's that for insanity?
19
Iran, here we come!
9
If your children are within the age range of the draft, Jeb is going to need them to put "boots on the ground" everywhere his crew want to put "boots on the ground."
24
Jeb will be President and if not Hillary Clinton will be.
4
If Bush's Brain Trust has any credibility a month from now the news media in this country can have none.
24
Jeb Bush is the guy who brought you his brother, W., in the first place.
With Jeb's original 2000 Domestic and Foreign Policy Team: Florida Secretary of State and Florida's W. for President campaign chairman (Conflict of interest? How dare you suggest it? Just because as SoS she controlled the voter registration rolls? Oh, Ye of little faith!) Katherine Harris; U.S. Supreme Courtier Injustices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia; and Jeb as Governor of Florida.
Team Jeb first made sure to strip enough Florida poor and minority voters, who were legitimately registered, off the rolls, throwing the 2000 Florida Presidential vote, and Florida's Electoral College votes, into dispute. Then Jeb's Boys in the Supreme Court threw out the re-count process in Florida, when it became clear Jeb and Harris may not have done "enough," and appointed W. President.
So, when Jeb says "I'm my own man," he's just saying he's cutting W. out. W., in fact, will be about the only member of GWB 2000-2008 Administration not coming back if the Koch Brothers and Shelly Adelson, er, I mean Jeb, takes the White House in 2016.
Jeb should be placed under un-White House arrest. He should be wearing an ankle bracelet that goes off if he ever enters the building again.
With Jeb's original 2000 Domestic and Foreign Policy Team: Florida Secretary of State and Florida's W. for President campaign chairman (Conflict of interest? How dare you suggest it? Just because as SoS she controlled the voter registration rolls? Oh, Ye of little faith!) Katherine Harris; U.S. Supreme Courtier Injustices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia; and Jeb as Governor of Florida.
Team Jeb first made sure to strip enough Florida poor and minority voters, who were legitimately registered, off the rolls, throwing the 2000 Florida Presidential vote, and Florida's Electoral College votes, into dispute. Then Jeb's Boys in the Supreme Court threw out the re-count process in Florida, when it became clear Jeb and Harris may not have done "enough," and appointed W. President.
So, when Jeb says "I'm my own man," he's just saying he's cutting W. out. W., in fact, will be about the only member of GWB 2000-2008 Administration not coming back if the Koch Brothers and Shelly Adelson, er, I mean Jeb, takes the White House in 2016.
Jeb should be placed under un-White House arrest. He should be wearing an ankle bracelet that goes off if he ever enters the building again.
48
To br relevant one has to be honest and trustworthy. To meet those criteria Jeb will have to answer about all W's follies which he cannot brush away as 'mistakes were made'. To hire his brother's foreign policy advisers and say that he is his own man shows that he is not his own man. I am not sure Jeb will survive the primaries let alone being the GOPs nominee in 2016.
21
Pete Townshend said it best, "meet the new boss, same as the old boss." How many are willing to be fooled again?
46
Well, a lot of sarcasm here but unlike her typical columns on Hillary and Obama there is substance here. Some actual details about why we should be appalled by each of Jeb's shall we say unimaginative choices for advisors who will help him be "his own man". Aside from being a better style of column, the substance is valid, paragraph after paragraph. Jeb is smarter lightweight than his brother but he is still an empty suit. Hey maybe after he sews up the GOP nomination he'll name Cheney to head the committee to pick the VP candidate. That went well in the past
38
Way back in 1936 Robert Frost published one of those little poems for which he had that "knack", Neither Out Far Nor In Deep. A simple ditty of four stanzas, in English folk metre, it sings along with itself, in an easy ABAB rhyming scheme.
Requiring but an economical THREE STRONG STRESSes per line, but strung in among unruly, indeterminately numbered (but, who's counting?!) iambic syllable-sets, this deceptively simple "short meter" poem adopts one standard folk metre variant from a broad, supple framework of possibilities that has well served English-language poets from the very formal-est to the most folksiest, from the pious-est church-house rafter-raisers to the bluesiest barrelhouse syncopaters.
Now, why does what Ms. Maureen Dowd has written here, in her Sunday column, recall that poem to my mind, and seem to call forth from it, as usual and once again, a whole new sheen of meaning reflected meaning?
...And, was that Bob Frost a great poet or what?
Neither Out Far Nor In Deep
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be---
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?
Requiring but an economical THREE STRONG STRESSes per line, but strung in among unruly, indeterminately numbered (but, who's counting?!) iambic syllable-sets, this deceptively simple "short meter" poem adopts one standard folk metre variant from a broad, supple framework of possibilities that has well served English-language poets from the very formal-est to the most folksiest, from the pious-est church-house rafter-raisers to the bluesiest barrelhouse syncopaters.
Now, why does what Ms. Maureen Dowd has written here, in her Sunday column, recall that poem to my mind, and seem to call forth from it, as usual and once again, a whole new sheen of meaning reflected meaning?
...And, was that Bob Frost a great poet or what?
Neither Out Far Nor In Deep
The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.
As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its hull;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.
The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be---
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.
They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?
11
Jeb is counting, with good reason, on the national media not asking any hard and important questions. After all they have the kardashians et al to keep track of.
16
Well in fact, Obama doesn't seem to have seen it either. That's why Paul Wolfowitz and Stephen Hadley can still be threatening to come back into public life and run us into the ground again.
6
It is almost as stunning as the fact that America elected GW not once but twice. Read the facts, please. ISIS is a direct result of the Iraq war, period, end of story. Obama had nothing to do with it. If you disagree with Obama's reaction time, fine, I would not argue that, but to blame a President that wasn't in office yet, wow, that is a stretch. Only Fox news might give that a whirl with made up reasoning. Republican mantra is still, don't confuse me with the facts. The list of foreign policy advisors to Jeb Bush is shocking and needs to be more publicly disclosed by the media.
35
Haven't Wolfowitz and Kissinger done enough damage to America? The thought that these two might have a chance to do us more harm is scary and sad.
22
Its easy for me. NAB Never Another Bush.
12
Bravo, Mo!! The hammer nailed it!
Unfortunately, we're modern romans and the barbarians are at the gate.
Good luck getting our brain-dead constituency to vote for, or even discuss, any issues of substance.
I'm betting Hillary loses the nomination to a Kardashian. The campaign financed by the books Audacity of a Dope and Dreams of my StepFather/StepMother...
Write on, my friend, write on!!
Unfortunately, we're modern romans and the barbarians are at the gate.
Good luck getting our brain-dead constituency to vote for, or even discuss, any issues of substance.
I'm betting Hillary loses the nomination to a Kardashian. The campaign financed by the books Audacity of a Dope and Dreams of my StepFather/StepMother...
Write on, my friend, write on!!
6
All those so called advisors are still around?
That is frightening. Should we call them the
"The Stalking Dead"?
HW has a well earned reputation as an american leader.
His boys should have become dermatololgists in New Canaan or Dallas or Miami.
That is frightening. Should we call them the
"The Stalking Dead"?
HW has a well earned reputation as an american leader.
His boys should have become dermatololgists in New Canaan or Dallas or Miami.
6
Thank you Maureen. At least this clears the issue of Jeb for me.
But your column does bring into question the real issue for this country:
Are another Bush-Clinton the only names we can come up with for President?
What does that say about the future of this country?
I suppose the answer to my question is the same as "why hasn't Congress been impeached"?
Ah, and the answer is: Citizen United! Thank you the 5 members of SCOTUS, who are the real politicians controlling this country.
But your column does bring into question the real issue for this country:
Are another Bush-Clinton the only names we can come up with for President?
What does that say about the future of this country?
I suppose the answer to my question is the same as "why hasn't Congress been impeached"?
Ah, and the answer is: Citizen United! Thank you the 5 members of SCOTUS, who are the real politicians controlling this country.
26
Another Bush? Are we stupid? Again those war mongers ? Again another large scale war ? Again another economic disaster ? Again those Neocons ? No way Maureen. This time money will not buy election. This time we will let them steal the election with the help from Supreme Court. By the way, where is Katherine Harris now?
18
More Bush,
More war.
More war.
30
You saw the same thing with Obama, appointing finacial advisors that had been the architects of the crash: Rubin, Summers…… There is a group of non-elected people, both liberals and conservatives, who have often have a greater impact on the country's policies then is known.
The stupidity of using Baker, the man many see as the man most responsible for getting Florida and the White House for big brother will not help Bush. I can not even begin to fathom the choice of Wolfowitz.
Bush as President, McCain-Graham as war mongers, watch for another couple of $trillion on another needless war and the even worse toll of deaths.
The stupidity of using Baker, the man many see as the man most responsible for getting Florida and the White House for big brother will not help Bush. I can not even begin to fathom the choice of Wolfowitz.
Bush as President, McCain-Graham as war mongers, watch for another couple of $trillion on another needless war and the even worse toll of deaths.
18
One answer to your question, Ms. Dowd, is on The Huffington Post and has aleady accrued close to 3,000 Likes already: "Jeb Bush's Secret is Out": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lev-raphael/jeb-bushs-secret-is-out_b_6716...
8
In concert with Bush entitlement syndrome, an alternate NYT article about Jeb's wife, Columba Bush, finishes with an observation she made in a 1991 interview...that people like her husband have a calling, that he has a destiny. Undoubtedly, this is the destiny to which the whole family believes he is bound to fulfill.
16
His stupidity - and let's not mince words, it is stupidity - will not be an impediment towards getting him elected in the US of A.
23
Of course one could be polite and say Jeb isn't an absolute moron like Rick Perry or an arrogant extremist like Ted Cruz, but why be polite when writing about advisers who should be at The Hague.
35
it will be a gift to the democrats if Jeb wins the nomination.
13
Know a man by the friends he keeps! How can he look for advice and not expect the same as his brother got.
16
In the end Jeb is just another rubber stamp. The question people should ask is.. What did he promise to get the 1% to donate to his campaign.
15
methinks, Jeb Bush is USAs second disaster waiting to happen. I dont need to remind you which is the first one.
10
If Jeb is elected, his most important mission will be to somehow rewrite the history of the disastrous years of W and to attempt to restore the tarnished Bush name. I'm sure that is why Cheney-Rummy-Wolfowitz and the rest of the motley crew will work so hard to get him elected by any means (no matter how sketchy) necessary. It's their legacy at stake too...
10
Jeb's most significant contribution to America was his role in 2000 when he and his GOP administration help suppress a record number of votes in order for his unqualified brother to gain GOP appointment to the Presidency.
There's nothing more American than free speech, and the right to vote is the most sacred form of free speech.
http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/trans.htm
What can you say about a massive vote suppressor...except that he's fundamentally un-American.
And of course, Jeb's and the 2000 GOP cleaning crew's stewardship of Florida's voting 'irregularities' gave us the gift of George W. Bush, the most disastrous President in memory who drove the country into an ocean of quicksand.
It would be difficult for Jeb to actually be dumber than George W. Bush - that's a low bar to get under - but on the other hand, any human being in 2015 who continues to seek foreign policy guidance from the Iraq Masters of Disaster instead of running from them like the Plague has a serious intelligence problem.
And Jeb is in love with for-profit charter schools; after all, 'choice' and the 'free-market' and vulture capitalism are what education needs, not teacher salaries and public schools.
Education is not really education --- it's an investment opportunity...for friends of Jeb.
Jeb is well-suited for the Presidency...of the George Bush School of Neo-Incompetence and Entitlement...and a plea bargain for his role in the Great Florida Voter Suppression of 2000.
There's nothing more American than free speech, and the right to vote is the most sacred form of free speech.
http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/vote2000/report/trans.htm
What can you say about a massive vote suppressor...except that he's fundamentally un-American.
And of course, Jeb's and the 2000 GOP cleaning crew's stewardship of Florida's voting 'irregularities' gave us the gift of George W. Bush, the most disastrous President in memory who drove the country into an ocean of quicksand.
It would be difficult for Jeb to actually be dumber than George W. Bush - that's a low bar to get under - but on the other hand, any human being in 2015 who continues to seek foreign policy guidance from the Iraq Masters of Disaster instead of running from them like the Plague has a serious intelligence problem.
And Jeb is in love with for-profit charter schools; after all, 'choice' and the 'free-market' and vulture capitalism are what education needs, not teacher salaries and public schools.
Education is not really education --- it's an investment opportunity...for friends of Jeb.
Jeb is well-suited for the Presidency...of the George Bush School of Neo-Incompetence and Entitlement...and a plea bargain for his role in the Great Florida Voter Suppression of 2000.
38
What we really need is an indictment of any/all on Jeb's list as war criminals to see just how long it would take for him to defend them on the world stage. It would, of course, be better to see his brother and Cheney so indicted as they should be...as well as tried and condemned when found guilty. Can you just imagine the reaction from Faux news and their ilk? As for me, it's birds of a feather with Jeb and all his clan. I've never witnessed such an inept and mediocre family that has risen to such lofty heights in US politics!
21
As Johnny Mercer put it the musical "Li'l Abner," "The country's in the very best of hands"
2
Entitlement in the Bush clan-- just like a gang!
13
Jeb may indeed be his own man (yeah, right), but based on that rambling, shambling masterpiece of incoherence that he presented on Wednesday, one thing is very clear:
He's just as dumb as his brother, but without the phony Texas drawl.
And we're supposed to buy that he's the "smart" one, because his syntax is a bit better than the master of the malaprop, his brother W.
You think you can fool a Corleone with that old trick, come on, Jeb.
After a few more weeks listening to that, the big money guys are going to have a full blown case of buyers remorse and beg the Mittster to get back in the race.
He's just as dumb as his brother, but without the phony Texas drawl.
And we're supposed to buy that he's the "smart" one, because his syntax is a bit better than the master of the malaprop, his brother W.
You think you can fool a Corleone with that old trick, come on, Jeb.
After a few more weeks listening to that, the big money guys are going to have a full blown case of buyers remorse and beg the Mittster to get back in the race.
21
Brainless or Shameless? Does it matter? Read Family of Secrets by Russ Baker to get the lowdown on the family dynamics. I'll only tell you one little story that brought Jeb's persona to the forefront for me in reality. One day when he was governor of Florida, I'm taking my sons to school one morning in Tallahassee. Now it was well-advertised that (when the weather allowed) Jeb made the 8-block walk from the Governor's Mansion to the Capitol rather than take a car. As I turn east onto Tennessee Street from Bronough and head towards Leon High, a young man at the bottom of the hill at early rush-hour-busy Duval and Tennessee looks to step off the curb, even though the light is green. I pointed and said to my sons, "That guy is stepping out into traffic!" Which he then did, holding up his arm and stopping traffic both ways, green light be damned. Behind him steps off Jeb, papers under his arm, and calmly walks across the usually otherwise bustling highway, eyes straight ahead. More than a few of us honked at him, and not in a nice way, but he never noticed, nor cared. Told me all I ever needed to know about the man.
51
From Poppy to the "Smirk" to Dismissive and Mocking. How and why do we do this to ourselves? Forest Gump comes to mind "stupid is as stupid does".
27
American democracy? Lenin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev are laughing their medals off in their mausoleums and Putin is doing it out loud.
18
The worst thing about the Bush/Cheney administration is that the wars they started in Iraq and Afghanistan, was fought on the shoulders of ordinary people. The neocon chicken hawks and the Bush/Cheneys/Romneys et al never contributed a single scion to the Afghan/Iraq war effort. Beside the point that they themselves never served but cheered NAM from the sidelines. Not a single boot on the ground for all the wrapping themselves in the flag. And Jeb trying to convince us that he is his own man. Seriously?
27
You nailed it, Maureen.
12
Most absurd line in this column: "If he wants to reclaim the Bush honor, Jeb should be holding accountable those who inflicted deep scars on America, not holding court with them." Bush honor? Puh-leeze.
16
OMG, just when I was ready to believe Maureen had only words to denigrate our current President, she comes back with her old acerbic wit for others who deserve it. Thank you.
24
Unless this is some kind of interesting move for John Huntsman, torpedoing Jeb Bush isn't going to lead to a better Republican candidate.
6
Maureen, nice to have you back doing adept analysis. Keep at it.
25
A true lineup of degenerates
22
Maureen,
Bravo!
I really fear for the country.
PS
Bravo!
I really fear for the country.
PS
9
A vote for JEB is a vote for the same Republican cabal that has been looting our national economy for decades.
28
Fair comment, MoDo. Many of us have some of those names etched in our bones. We watched in disbelief as the tragic farce unfolded in Iraq, but hardly thought that the miscreants could so easily be absolved… did they even get three Hail Marys?
Another tragic aspect is that the Bush machine seems confident that the base is so ignorant of history, so filled with Fox twists and deceptions, that they’ll believe anything the GOP machine tells them. There’s the rub, the sheer confused ignorance of a large slice of the electorate. And we know that rational argument is no cure for that.
Another tragic aspect is that the Bush machine seems confident that the base is so ignorant of history, so filled with Fox twists and deceptions, that they’ll believe anything the GOP machine tells them. There’s the rub, the sheer confused ignorance of a large slice of the electorate. And we know that rational argument is no cure for that.
26
"Where’s the shame?
For some reason, Jeb doesn’t see it."
And, I would bet, neither will a significant chunk of the American electorate. For them, all our present ills were created by the Obama administration. You can bet the GOP, and their drummer, Fox News, will continue to blame the uppity Muslim in the White House for everything from foreign policy weakness overseas to economic weakness at home.
And the Democrats have done precious little to counter this view. Shortly into his second term, the right wing had already hung the mess President Obama had inherited from Bush World around his own neck.
For some reason, Jeb doesn’t see it."
And, I would bet, neither will a significant chunk of the American electorate. For them, all our present ills were created by the Obama administration. You can bet the GOP, and their drummer, Fox News, will continue to blame the uppity Muslim in the White House for everything from foreign policy weakness overseas to economic weakness at home.
And the Democrats have done precious little to counter this view. Shortly into his second term, the right wing had already hung the mess President Obama had inherited from Bush World around his own neck.
18
"and his brother crashed the family station wagon into the globe" Brilliantly put! This neocon crowd will bring us to a third world war!
23
shame...what a quaint concept.
12
We need to remember that whatever the excuse 9-11 brings--it was used recently as a prop to support the ugliness of Rudy Gulliani--the response of invading Iraq not only squandered the world's good will but led directly to the destabilizing of the entire Middle East. The so-called Arab Spring (which but for Tunisia) became the return of Winter was the result of emboldenment of disaffected Moslems who watched the US ineptitude in its warfare against asymmetric fighters. We can also thank Bush et al for ISIS which is nothing more than a Sunni alliance in response to the Shiite death squads which exacted revenge when our supposed-to-be puppet Maliki came to power.
Americans, as Adlai Stevenson said, "fail to read the minutes of the last meeting." Apologists for war would like us to believe history began on 9-11 when "everything changed." In other peoples' reality 9-11 was a consequence of what came before. Pres. Carter (at urging of his consigliere, Zbigniew Brezinski, had the CIA arm the mujahideen to draw Russia into to a quagmire. Reagan stepped up the arms with Stinger missiles. OBL said after 9-11, "the goods you sent to us, we're sending back to you." There's plenty of blame to go round but George W. Bush stands out for bringing the whole mess including this country crashing down.
Americans, as Adlai Stevenson said, "fail to read the minutes of the last meeting." Apologists for war would like us to believe history began on 9-11 when "everything changed." In other peoples' reality 9-11 was a consequence of what came before. Pres. Carter (at urging of his consigliere, Zbigniew Brezinski, had the CIA arm the mujahideen to draw Russia into to a quagmire. Reagan stepped up the arms with Stinger missiles. OBL said after 9-11, "the goods you sent to us, we're sending back to you." There's plenty of blame to go round but George W. Bush stands out for bringing the whole mess including this country crashing down.
40
If you judge a man by the company he keeps, and Jeb Bush is elected, we will be in very big trouble indeed. The list of Cheney wannabes just waiting for the chance to be his "eminence grise" terrifies me.
33
Read my lips. No more Bushes...
241
There has never been ANY evidence that Jeb is his own man, but the CEOs of our news corporations and their boards have sent the message loud and clear to the talking heads: "Take Jeb seriously. He's one of us." Reminds me of the Iraq War. Everyone knows the news guys and "very serious people" are lying but them.
25
Holy cow, Ms Dowd! You eviscerated someone not named Clinton or Obama! And you did it with style, humor and facts. But seriously , how can JEB be his own man when without Daddy and W's donors he cannot fund his run? And of course in order to get the donors he needs the " wise men" who Daddy and W depended and leaned upon to lead us into the global and economic morass only a Bush can oversee. Now just turn hard right on social issues to solidify and mollify the base and you have your candidate!
15
The only 'good' that can come out of a Clinton-Bush race is a frank discussion on the Iraq fiasco and what we learned from it. Hillary was for it, and then changed her mind. Jeb is still 'for' it (??) or unwilling to talk about it.
For the current and next President, there are endless "Iraq" decisions to be made. Syria/ISIS, Ukraine, Nigeria, etc. Projecting American 'power' can mean many things to many people. Fortunately our current President understands that 'bold' American leadership can be projected by stepping back from an abyss, like Syria. Would future candidates have that same type of 'courage'??
For the current and next President, there are endless "Iraq" decisions to be made. Syria/ISIS, Ukraine, Nigeria, etc. Projecting American 'power' can mean many things to many people. Fortunately our current President understands that 'bold' American leadership can be projected by stepping back from an abyss, like Syria. Would future candidates have that same type of 'courage'??
19
The critical oversight in Jeb Bush's remarks on Iraq is he neglected to clarify that - by law and policy, precedents of Presidents HW Bush and Clinton, and reiterated by his brother - the casus belli was Iraq's material breach of the Gulf War ceasefire. Not the 'mistaken' intelligence. In fact, Saddam was evidently noncompliant across the board with the UN mandates, including the disarmament mandates of UNSCR 687, at the decision point for OIF.
The critical missing piece in the discourse on Iraq is the intelligence could be wrong *and* Saddam could be guilty at the same time because the "governing standard of Iraqi compliance" (UNSCR 1441) was the UNSC resolutions. Not the intelligence.
Those who claim no WMD was found in Iraq make the category error of trying to match the Iraq Survey Group findings with the pre-war intelligence. However, the "governing standard of Iraqi compliance" that determined OIF was the UNSC resolutions, not the intelligence. In fact, UNMOVIC and ISG both found Iraq was in violation of the disarmament mandates of UNSCR 687.
For example, just because the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) "undeclared covert laboratories" uncovered by the ISG did not match the mobile labs indicated by the pre-war intelligence does not mean the secret IIS chemical and biological labs were allowed by UNSCR 687.
The critical missing piece in the discourse on Iraq is the intelligence could be wrong *and* Saddam could be guilty at the same time because the "governing standard of Iraqi compliance" (UNSCR 1441) was the UNSC resolutions. Not the intelligence.
Those who claim no WMD was found in Iraq make the category error of trying to match the Iraq Survey Group findings with the pre-war intelligence. However, the "governing standard of Iraqi compliance" that determined OIF was the UNSC resolutions, not the intelligence. In fact, UNMOVIC and ISG both found Iraq was in violation of the disarmament mandates of UNSCR 687.
For example, just because the Iraqi Intelligence Service (IIS) "undeclared covert laboratories" uncovered by the ISG did not match the mobile labs indicated by the pre-war intelligence does not mean the secret IIS chemical and biological labs were allowed by UNSCR 687.
2
Appreciate the rightward focus for a change and especially the link to Richard Nixon. The Republican Party has committed dastardly, dishonest and ruinous acts for decades. No fundamental difference now really, just a deeper, more malevolent profile. Same players. Same game. Nixon-Reagan-W etc… Could we agree these folks are a problem? Could we prevent another calamity? Next one could be bad…
7
The chickenhawk neocon warriors and torture boys: Act II and thinking bigger than W ever dared.
War with Islam financed with plutocrat tax cuts and eliminiation of medicare and social security.
Aim high! Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya--all crying out for G.I. liberation.
And higher still! Contain Putin's Ukrainian irredentism while encouraging Netanyahu's maximum vision of Greater Israel. Remember the Reagan doctrine that the U.S. will prevail in a nuclear war.
In a nation conceived and dedicated to the freedom of hereditary plutocracy it is lese-majeste, insolence of the highest order to request Jeb's tax statements. Plutocrats promote international development through offshore tax havens. And their tax evasions benefit us all through the Invisible Hand of the Laffer Curve.
With Jeb and the pre-emptive neocons coming the international bad guys should be quaking as the neocons bring the benefits of their Iraq audition to the whole of the Moslem world and the ex-Soviet empire.
The only mistake in Iraq was letting the photos out of Abu Ghraib humiliating the enemy sessions. And Cuba? Bay of Pigs 2 for you.
War with Islam financed with plutocrat tax cuts and eliminiation of medicare and social security.
Aim high! Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya--all crying out for G.I. liberation.
And higher still! Contain Putin's Ukrainian irredentism while encouraging Netanyahu's maximum vision of Greater Israel. Remember the Reagan doctrine that the U.S. will prevail in a nuclear war.
In a nation conceived and dedicated to the freedom of hereditary plutocracy it is lese-majeste, insolence of the highest order to request Jeb's tax statements. Plutocrats promote international development through offshore tax havens. And their tax evasions benefit us all through the Invisible Hand of the Laffer Curve.
With Jeb and the pre-emptive neocons coming the international bad guys should be quaking as the neocons bring the benefits of their Iraq audition to the whole of the Moslem world and the ex-Soviet empire.
The only mistake in Iraq was letting the photos out of Abu Ghraib humiliating the enemy sessions. And Cuba? Bay of Pigs 2 for you.
10
Born on third base, thinking that he hit a triple.
20
Let's not forget Terry Schiavo either.
21
Jeb Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, was a director of the NYC private investment Brown Brothers Harriman. During Bush's tenure BBH financed Hitler. Yes, that Hitler.
"In 1942, under the Trading With the Enemy Act, the U.S. government seized several companies in which he had an interest. Prescott at the time was an investment banker with Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), which had funneled U.S. capital into Germany during the 1920s and '30s. Among the seized companies was the Union Banking Corporation (UBC) of New York, which was controlled by German industrialist Fritz Thyssen. Thyssen had been an early financier of the Nazi party — in fact, in 1941 he published a book entitled I Paid Hitler. Ergo, Prescott helped finance the Nazis."
"In 1942, under the Trading With the Enemy Act, the U.S. government seized several companies in which he had an interest. Prescott at the time was an investment banker with Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), which had funneled U.S. capital into Germany during the 1920s and '30s. Among the seized companies was the Union Banking Corporation (UBC) of New York, which was controlled by German industrialist Fritz Thyssen. Thyssen had been an early financier of the Nazi party — in fact, in 1941 he published a book entitled I Paid Hitler. Ergo, Prescott helped finance the Nazis."
24
jeb doesn't see the shame because he's even dumber than w. he is a frightening prospect for America.
15
I am 75 and used to Joke when King Georgie was president that my wish was that I did not die under a Bush. If this refurbished cypher gets in I am facing the prospect that the country I have loved and served is finished... I still cringe at Wolfowitz combing his hair with his own spit and that about sums up my opinion of Jeb's brain trust.
44
Excellent article that should be read by all the voters so they know what kind of advice Jeb may get that could doom us to a repeat performance of the disaster W created.
21
Bush and Clinton, both owned by big oil, large corporations, wall street banks/hedge funds and Hollywood mogals....what a depressing choice for the"great unwashed masses" as the 1%'ers think of us. I guess we really do get the choices we deserve...because of our complacency.
9
The amateurish and vainglorious viceroy, Paul Bremer, was a political imbecile, the genuine article, but he was taking orders from a political imbecile, the Decider in Chief, who in turn was being guided by a war criminal, Dick Cheney. The Decider´s brother has now brought back the team that gave us the catastrophies of those eight awful years. And there´s no reason to believe that the brother cannot win in 2016.
17
Thanks Maureen for trying to write an article that doesn't for once take a swipe at the Clintons. You almost succeeded. There is much to research and remind about the Jeb-ster. I hope you take up the challenge lest the public fall for his bland, harmless demeanor.
17
Why is it that Republicans readily accept that "mistakes were made" in an unnecessary, disastrous, costly war that has led to further destabilization of the ME, including the rise of ISIS, in a country the size of California, but they cannot accept that mistakes were made during the rollout of a massive health insurance reform plan for a country of 300 million?
Once again, we see that the GOP has its priorities all wrong.
And let's hear it for those Republican family values: Jeb Bush: "Dubya who?" Distancing yourself from your brother, while invoking the names of people with blood all over their hands from his administration, just so you can become president.
Once again, we see that the GOP has its priorities all wrong.
And let's hear it for those Republican family values: Jeb Bush: "Dubya who?" Distancing yourself from your brother, while invoking the names of people with blood all over their hands from his administration, just so you can become president.
26
Your best column in a long time. Thanks for illuminating this Bush-family charade.
36
Proclaiming to be his own man and then hiring the same cabal of miscreants that led his bro down the primrose path should be the fodder for the Onion, SNL, etc.
28
Whoa, with a team like that who are they going to bring on board to throw under the bus(es)?
8
Clown car. Rogues' gallery. Ship of fools.
Egads, Maureen, there aren't enough cliches to accommodate this menagerie of retreads!
Egads, Maureen, there aren't enough cliches to accommodate this menagerie of retreads!
19
You mom was right (mother always knows best); there have been enough Bushes in the White House. In fact, two too many.
17
When Jeb said he's is own man what he really meant was he is owned by his brother's and father's bunglers. Case in point, the sorry bunch of charlatans he calls his "advisers." They all should have been brought before a court for their lies that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. When the Iraqi military was disbanded I wonder how many joined Al-Qaeda, the taliban et al. W's administration was an absolute disaster and Jeb Bush is merely a carbon copy or to use today's terminology, he's been copied and pasted. The real tragedy is, I know there are those who will vote for him just the way they voted for his brother. Before W was "elected" the first time I remember thinking that surely no one will vote for this stumble bum. Boy, was I shocked. And now, I'm just frightened. Not again, please God not another Bush! Our country deserves better.
35
The Bush crime family wants another shot at power. Be very, very scared.
31
I wondered where the name Jeb came from and now I see that the initials of John Ellis Bush spell J.E.B. He is undeserving of ever holding national office since he was responsible for his brother becoming one of America's worst presidents.
19
Ms. Dowd writes: "The older Bush circle seems confident that Jeb sided with his father and Brent Scowcroft on the folly of letting the neocons push America into diverting from Osama to Saddam."
Jeb Bush was a signatory to "The Project For The New American Century", a preeminent neocon think tank that wrote a letter to the President urging invasion of Iraq. I doubt the older Bushes are not aware of Jeb's affiliation to this group.
We can also mention Terri Schiavo, a despicable episode where Jeb Bush was a prominent player during his Florida governorship, sticking his nose in a situation where it did not belong.
His administration also threw thousands of legitimate citizens off the voting rolls.
He cut education funding. He is a proponent of private Charter Schools.
His business dealings also show he is not a stalwart of helping Main Street.. http://goo.gl/u475DX
Although it is always tempting to say the apples do not fall far from the tree, Jeb Bush's surname is not his only problem. His actions in the public arena are enough to eliminate him as someone who should sit in the highest office. Should be we also let someone with such a past have the power to possibly nominate 4 Supreme Court Justices over an 8 year span?
Jeb Bush was a signatory to "The Project For The New American Century", a preeminent neocon think tank that wrote a letter to the President urging invasion of Iraq. I doubt the older Bushes are not aware of Jeb's affiliation to this group.
We can also mention Terri Schiavo, a despicable episode where Jeb Bush was a prominent player during his Florida governorship, sticking his nose in a situation where it did not belong.
His administration also threw thousands of legitimate citizens off the voting rolls.
He cut education funding. He is a proponent of private Charter Schools.
His business dealings also show he is not a stalwart of helping Main Street.. http://goo.gl/u475DX
Although it is always tempting to say the apples do not fall far from the tree, Jeb Bush's surname is not his only problem. His actions in the public arena are enough to eliminate him as someone who should sit in the highest office. Should be we also let someone with such a past have the power to possibly nominate 4 Supreme Court Justices over an 8 year span?
37
2016 is a pivotal opportunity for America. Both the Clinton and Bush families should be kept in lock down in the run up to the election. I agree that no stand out candidate name jumps out of the pack, but we'll never know who our next leader could be if the Bush-Clinton money-raising machines dominate this election.
Great column.
I hope Joe Biden runs for President--on Barack Obama's record.
Great column.
I hope Joe Biden runs for President--on Barack Obama's record.
12
As a Radical Centrist I dream every night of folks like Jim Webb or John Kasich gaining ground on the "usual suspects". Both are reasonably centered, at least enough for me, and both have some appeal across the aisle. Either would be better than Bush or Clinton. Why not?
7
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past"
--The Great Gatsby
--The Great Gatsby
24
There seems to be no accountability in the upper reaches of the republican political stratosphere. I can hear the claque rehearsing "Benghazi" and never mentioning Beirut ,where over 200 marines died during Reagan's watch
26
I know I couldn't bring myself to vote for either Hillary or Jeb. Enough of those two families already.
13
But "he will protect our freedoms".
Thats how the 'flyover country' will see it.
Thats how the 'flyover country' will see it.
13
Bush or Clinton. Clinton or Bush. Bush or Clinton. Clinton or Bush. Seriously? Give them a pass, America. We can do better than this.
21
"Where's the shame?" That is the question, alright.
30
Maureen doesn't use the term when referring to the men and woman who wrought the disaster of the George W. Bush administration, but let's know them for what they are: war criminals--all following in the footsteps of their patron saint: Henry Kissinger.
22
Just another reason to leave the US. Jeb, the smart Bush, will probably get close to 50% of the vote. This is how empires end
14
I'm a big fan Maureen. I would guess that he is giving a nod to the old guard to get the early support, but will 'become his own man' late in the election cycle to shore up the middle, and to allow you to say 'I told you so' and secure more of the middle left. Too early to tip his hand on who his eventual team will be. Let these old guys that don't care take the early arrows, and Jeb take the $'s.
If he keeps this crowd, he loses, pure and simple.
If he keeps this crowd, he loses, pure and simple.
2
Ms. Dowd got almost everything right about the Bushes, in contrast to the fact that she almost always gets everything wrong about President Obama. But she exaggerated when she said that Jeb can speak in complete or at least passable sentences. His recent "I am my own man" speech was full of fractured syntax and malapropisms and awkwardly delivered. There seems to be something in the DNA of the Bushes that leads to quirky and risible language. Apparently, Dowd did not read Dana Milbank's humorous dissection of Jeb's speech in the Washington Post.
17
The only bright spot as we look toward the '16 election and beyond is that we will at least have great columns from Maureen to look forward to when either Jeb or Hillary is elected. The material available from either camp is as endless as it is nauseating.
8
I am sick of both Bushes and Clintons. Please go away, and take your scheming, secret backdoor meetings with you, and your type-A staffers, and your soggy ideas that are fashioned around opinion poles and especially all the people who want to give you hundreds of millions for you to do their bidding. Trying to hide the money makes it all worse -- all of you are bought and paid for, and you haven't even announced your candidacy yet. I think you are all higly corrupted by campaign funds, even before you get elected. And I think every American knows this now. We know we don't even know a tenth of it. And some of us, all along the political spectrum, are angry and deeply resentful about it.
A few years ago I was, for some reason, reading the Web site of a small nation in the Caribbean. One of their recent press releases was a note from the country's president to the person who had cleaned the presidential offices for years, and was retiring. The President thanked her personally, by name. It seemed genuine, kind, and thoughtful.
I want to live there.
A few years ago I was, for some reason, reading the Web site of a small nation in the Caribbean. One of their recent press releases was a note from the country's president to the person who had cleaned the presidential offices for years, and was retiring. The President thanked her personally, by name. It seemed genuine, kind, and thoughtful.
I want to live there.
17
It's all enough to make you want to vote for Rand Paul, and then likely give the next election to the democrats. So be it.
2
A piece of writing that speaks the truth clearly and succinctly.
10
No one in the Bush family should be allowed to come anywhere near the White House ever again.
24
All I can think to say is, "Please run, Elizabeth Warren."
10
Right on--couldn't agree more. The tone aptly suits the subject.
3
My grandma told me that the reason she disapproved of the friends I had at one time was because their past records of bad behavior which they had not either apologized for nor had been punished for. She also said that if I ran around with them much longer, I would be tarred with the same brush of disapproval from others.
Jeb Bush singles out almost all the old players from his brother's group. The ones who encouraged his brother that invading a country that had not threatened us would be the highlight of the great American exceptionalism and carry democracy to that benighted land.
If he keeps hanging around with these people whose reputations are tarnished with the brush of an ongoing war where torture, Abu Grahib, GITMO and thousands of maimed and dead Americans will be our legacy forever in history books, then he will be considered just one of the group.
I stopped hanging around those friends. Will Jeb?
Jeb Bush singles out almost all the old players from his brother's group. The ones who encouraged his brother that invading a country that had not threatened us would be the highlight of the great American exceptionalism and carry democracy to that benighted land.
If he keeps hanging around with these people whose reputations are tarnished with the brush of an ongoing war where torture, Abu Grahib, GITMO and thousands of maimed and dead Americans will be our legacy forever in history books, then he will be considered just one of the group.
I stopped hanging around those friends. Will Jeb?
151
First time reader.I sure do hope Joe Scarborough reads this article he really needs a refresher course on the bush family. Also by the people that he's paling around or hiring that a good thing for Halliburton and the Cheeeenneys.
2
OMG, WMD, Rice, Rummy, Wolfy, Hannah, Cheney; The gang's all here. Bush, III want to bring back the brainless group, mostly who were present in 1976-1979 in Ford's era, who wanted Iran to pay for the embarrassment the Iranian Revolution caused on them and Kissinger's balance of powers doctrine of the day. Isn't there anyone else out there for the right to pick for support and doctrinal guidance??? Hopefully once Bush III talks and these folks words come out it will be obvious to the electorate that we need butter not guns this time. Unfortunately, we can not bank on that. The other big problem will be the eventual stalemate approaching on Iran Nuclear negotiations. That subject is getting primed to be the next war issue. If the right gets into office Wolfy, with a republican house and senate, may be the Sec. of Defense!!! Imagine that!
1
Many of us are quick to point out just how out of place poor Jeb appears in his public appearances outside of Florida. But remember, we said the same things about Bush 2 -- no way this spoiled child, baseball team owning, cocaine-experienced child could win the Presidency.
Many donors love the establishment of the Bush family because they are a known thing -- they know the way the system works, and they make the system work for their donors.
But yes, Jeb would be a new low. Poor guy doesn't even look like he wants to be up on the podium.
Many donors love the establishment of the Bush family because they are a known thing -- they know the way the system works, and they make the system work for their donors.
But yes, Jeb would be a new low. Poor guy doesn't even look like he wants to be up on the podium.
2
What amazes me is this sense of entitlement the Bush family has when it's time to elect a new president. J.E.B. , the heir apparent to the next presidency, should go ahead and plan a trip to Russia. Then he can meet with Vladimir Putin to get counsel on establishing American oligarchs to government positions, thereby bringing full circle the American one percent's full control of The American Way of Life. Don't thinks so? Wait, do nothing and watch.
2
Family dynamics? Are we, as a nation, behaving like abused children looking for ways, needing ways to placate out abusers? We made a break for it be electing President Obama, but we know that bad man is still lurking in the closet and again are trying to prepare ourselves for that terrifying footfall in the night.
Why do the majority of us keep electing men and women who not only do not serve our interests, but who militate against us? Have we fallen into a dissociative fugue state to protect ourselves in a situation we are not able to escape?
Maybe we stay away from the polls on election day because we have become hopeless battered children.
When I read columns like this I feel such a sense of despair that I want to watch cute cat and heroic dog videos.
Why do the majority of us keep electing men and women who not only do not serve our interests, but who militate against us? Have we fallen into a dissociative fugue state to protect ourselves in a situation we are not able to escape?
Maybe we stay away from the polls on election day because we have become hopeless battered children.
When I read columns like this I feel such a sense of despair that I want to watch cute cat and heroic dog videos.
3
Bush 3 and his toadies should all just go to one of the family compounds and be quiet. Stop trying to twist the past into a flattering family myth lost long ago. As for the foul cloud that taints whatever the Bush family touches, tell the warmongers and profiteers to get another business plan.
7
Maureen Dowd is spot on here. This ongoing cabal should be exposed daily. Interviews featuring Wolfowitz may jeopardize the integrity of my TV screen. I'll probably resort to throwing unbreakables. Money will try to bury the collusion in subterfuge and soft-ball questioning in the debates will prove standard fare. NFW Jebster.
2
It is not the fault of John Ellis Bush that he is the son of the valiant World War II New England WASP blueblood hero George H.W. Bush or the brother of the hedonistic plutocrat scion of the Texas Rangers and the Texas Air National Guard George W. Bush. We do not hold biology against most of our fellow Americans. Or did Jeb "wisely" pick his pedigree?
However, it is Jeb's fault that he never joined the military nor created and ran his own business nor performed community humanitarian service nor had an original independent creative thought.
But then the social insects by sheer biomass volume and longevity have shown that a hive mind brain is very evolutionary naturally biologically fit. The only real question is who is the current hive colony queen. And that depends on determining which kind of "royalty" the Founding Father's favored. Jeb looks pretty "queenly" to me.
However, it is Jeb's fault that he never joined the military nor created and ran his own business nor performed community humanitarian service nor had an original independent creative thought.
But then the social insects by sheer biomass volume and longevity have shown that a hive mind brain is very evolutionary naturally biologically fit. The only real question is who is the current hive colony queen. And that depends on determining which kind of "royalty" the Founding Father's favored. Jeb looks pretty "queenly" to me.
3
I am so proud of Ms Dowd for turning her considerable writing talent to something other than hurling vitriol at the Clintons and especially Hillary who has served this country for years. The non-caring public needs to remain aware of what it could cost us should this ill prepared clone get elected. How about a 30 years war in the Middle East with troops on the ground, draft reinstated, and American dreams gone like the helicopters falling off the building in Vietnam. Ready for that scenario again. How about a great American city drowning for lack of attention and thousands of our black brothers and sisters in misery displayed on TV for all to see? Read for that kind of crap? Not me.
4
These Bush advisers have proved how obsolete they now are in this internet age of conflict between the east and west. They and the Bushes are the passe' Viceroy's of the American Economic Empire. ENOUGH.
4
The sad thing is, this is the best of what the GOP has to offer.
6
If we could start a movement to establish an agreement between the Tea Party and the Progressives not to vote in the next election for Hillary or Bush then that would be something. What if we had an election and 10% of the voters showed up? Wouldn't that invalidate the election and both parties? When it happened in the Soviet Union the army helped throw the communists out. Do we not have a similar problem --- only with a two party system?
1
Excellent article. Substantive, clear, scathing without arrogance. One of teh best I have read by MD lately.
7
This is the best I have seen from Maureen in a very long time. Now if only the traditional media would wake up and stop the pattern of false equivalency that has contributed greatly to the current political quagmire.
The Republican Party has evolved into a far right money grubbing bunch of lunatics with an agenda to turn this country into an oligarchy and they have shown that are very good at what they do. They have bought the government and then proclaim that the Democrats do it too and the media, especially network news, gives them credibility.
And now we have Jeb who presents himself as a "Moderate" Republican. There have been no moderate Republicans since St. Ronnie who could not get on any Republican ballot today for any office.
Unless and until obscene amounts of money is taken out of politics this will end badly. Eventually the uninformed folks who have been voting against their own interests will wake up. Let's hope this happens in the voting booth, not in the streets.
The Republican Party has evolved into a far right money grubbing bunch of lunatics with an agenda to turn this country into an oligarchy and they have shown that are very good at what they do. They have bought the government and then proclaim that the Democrats do it too and the media, especially network news, gives them credibility.
And now we have Jeb who presents himself as a "Moderate" Republican. There have been no moderate Republicans since St. Ronnie who could not get on any Republican ballot today for any office.
Unless and until obscene amounts of money is taken out of politics this will end badly. Eventually the uninformed folks who have been voting against their own interests will wake up. Let's hope this happens in the voting booth, not in the streets.
8
With the specter of a Clinton v. Bush election looming, what I wouldn't give for the emergence of one honest soul.
5
Stimulating. But it is not the advisors it is the higher powers to whom they answer, and Hillary more than anyone else answers to them also. They all do. They have to, or else.
4
Well done Maureen for recording this all in black and white. So if Jeb Bush does get up next year - the American people will not be able to use the excuse that this horrifying phenomenon was a 'known unknown'; an 'unknown known' or any other variation on the weasel word theme. To see Wolfowitz's malevolent presence in 2015 is truly alarming.
2
IF this crowd gets back in power, it's time for some serious prosecutions for torture and war crimes.
Great column...thank you. If only all those who vote would read it and take it seriously.
3
When Jeb Bush recruited his foreign policy team he did so by shouting "Let's get the band back toghter. This is one reunion of Spinal Tap we don't need to see again
9
Maureen--So being a "Bush" disqualifies Jeb to run for President because of "W's" poor management and conduct of Iraq war. Did "HW"do a better job in the first Gulf war? Or, what about his role in bringing down Soviet Communism? Doesn't that count?
Point is let Jeb tell us who he is, what he's about, and why he's qualified?
Point is let Jeb tell us who he is, what he's about, and why he's qualified?
1
Jebby was one of the founding members of PNAC; the war-lobbying "think-tank" that wanted to attack Iraq, while Clinton was still president. Dumbya aside, I think there are legitimate questions that Jebby should be asked about PNAC's war plans, which he himself signed off on.
7
This article explains why Jeb is persona non grata and I agree with M. Dowd. No more Bush's please. They are not the Republican American Kennedy's. George H. W. Bush's father Prescott was a man who made billions…you read that right…on manufacturing for war. This is the family';s business. Start wars, kill people because of lies, and make billions. Period.
6
Neo-con reunion with Jeb Bush as Class Mascot is frightening. When I see that group of names on one list , I feel like its time for a duck and cover air raid.
4
Welcome back Maureen! I had begun to wonder why the NYT kept you, but this column is full of facts and and lacks snarkiness ( well truthiness is kind of in ). As Winston Churchill would have said, Jeb Bush is a modest man and has much to be modest about.
3
The idea of a Jeb Bush presidency made me a little nauseated. When I heard about his 'advisors' , I was close to retching
8
{Actually, his brother’s invasion of Iraq is what spawned Al Qaeda in Iraq, which drew from an insurgency of Sunni soldiers angry about being thrown out of work by the amateurish and vainglorious viceroy, Paul Bremer.}
Spot on target, MD!
Few Americans understand this fundamental mistake on the part of both Bremer and the Bush Administration.
Saddam's Sunni Army, by means of its commanding general, had contacted Washington sources prior to the invasion to advise that the division would refrain from fighting the American invasion.
Did anyone take notice? No one. The Dubya-Gang ignored the information. Which meant the entire division was disbanded post-war, the soldiers trained told to go home and fend for themselves. And, of course, we, the conquerors, would retrain an entirely new Iraqi Army of Shiite adherents.
The result is the mess we have today when the Shiite Army hightailed out of the battlefield at first site of the enemy IS-forces.
America should have stayed out of the Middle-east as despicable was the undemocratic, totalitarian nature of regimes in place. But we Americans wanted to vindicate our losses from 9/11 and the possibility of cheap oil.
That vindication cost us a further 4500 American combat deaths.
For what? Having defeated a dictator?
We should have developed an alternative to BigOil, thus starving the Oil-Dictators of their riches. But as long as politics in America will remain at the heal of BigMoney, then "common sense" hasn't a chance ...
Spot on target, MD!
Few Americans understand this fundamental mistake on the part of both Bremer and the Bush Administration.
Saddam's Sunni Army, by means of its commanding general, had contacted Washington sources prior to the invasion to advise that the division would refrain from fighting the American invasion.
Did anyone take notice? No one. The Dubya-Gang ignored the information. Which meant the entire division was disbanded post-war, the soldiers trained told to go home and fend for themselves. And, of course, we, the conquerors, would retrain an entirely new Iraqi Army of Shiite adherents.
The result is the mess we have today when the Shiite Army hightailed out of the battlefield at first site of the enemy IS-forces.
America should have stayed out of the Middle-east as despicable was the undemocratic, totalitarian nature of regimes in place. But we Americans wanted to vindicate our losses from 9/11 and the possibility of cheap oil.
That vindication cost us a further 4500 American combat deaths.
For what? Having defeated a dictator?
We should have developed an alternative to BigOil, thus starving the Oil-Dictators of their riches. But as long as politics in America will remain at the heal of BigMoney, then "common sense" hasn't a chance ...
10
Bravo Maureen for your "spot on" article on Jeb and his motley band of rogues...the only one I might have sympathy for is Colin Powell who may have been as mislead as the rest of us...correct me if I'm wrong. There's definitely no shame!
To Bush Brothers.
Have you no shame sir?
Have you no shame sir?
3
"Where’s the shame?"
Shame? This is the Bush family we're talking about.
Shame? This is the Bush family we're talking about.
7
"now the 62-year-old feels he needs “to try to correct and make up for some of W.’s mistakes"
Now, what would those mistakes be? Not privatizing Social Security. Not overturning Roe v. Wade. Not eliminating the EPA and the Federal minimum wage. What Jebya considers Dubya's "mistakes" to have been is the stuff of nightmares.
Now, what would those mistakes be? Not privatizing Social Security. Not overturning Roe v. Wade. Not eliminating the EPA and the Federal minimum wage. What Jebya considers Dubya's "mistakes" to have been is the stuff of nightmares.
6
Right on, Maureen Dowd. There's another name on the list of Jeb's foreign policy that merits scrutiny: Lincoln Diaz-Balart. I assume he'd advise Jeb to reinstate the embargo on Cuba.
1
Good column - you nailed the central problem. Thank you.
"For some reason, Jeb doesn't get it." ? That whole column, and more that you didn't mention, screams that JEB only gets that he woulda, coulda shoulda ougtha be President. He might have more actual reflective thoughts on public policy than his brother, and appear to be more polished, but he doesn't and he isn't. More entitled yes. Why keep an open mind about JEB, when it is apparent that his is already closed?
7
"Jeb doesn't see it." And that is the reason why he should NEVER, ever be elected President of this country.
5
Wow! A Maureen Dowd column that's smart and insightful instead of just smart-alecky and snarky.
Jeb can come across as smart and a policy wonk, a la Bill Clinton but remember, a man is known by the company he keeps and these neo-cons even gave the honorable Colin Powell a bad name.
In addition to Wolfowitz let's add another name not to forget--Terry Schiavo.
Jeb can come across as smart and a policy wonk, a la Bill Clinton but remember, a man is known by the company he keeps and these neo-cons even gave the honorable Colin Powell a bad name.
In addition to Wolfowitz let's add another name not to forget--Terry Schiavo.
8
Ms. Dowd provided us with the names of many "advisors" that Jeb included in his brainless trust list. But there is one name that is NOT listed who, although he will certainly be hiding in the bushes (no pun intended) during the campaign, will no doubt be brought in as a senior advisor if JEB were to reside at the White House for 4 years. That name represents the scariest and the most brainless by far of all the others that have been publicly acknowledged to date -- Mr Dick Cheney (aka "He Who Shall Not be Named"). Be very afraid America !!! Be very afraid !!!
9
Crashing the family station wagon into the globe!!!!!!
I've been CRYING for 10 minutes!
I've been CRYING for 10 minutes!
5
This is the most straightforward (and depressing) electoral reality check I've read in a long time and one every American, especially every Republican, should read AT LEAST twice.
14
Maureen Dowd's writing seems most inspired and prescient when writing about the Bushes. With this Bush, she sounds an alarm that ought to wake us up after the soothing but false lullaby we've heard that Jeb is the thinker, Jeb is the moderate, Jeb is the capable brother, Jeb was always Poppy's choice. The reality is that Jeb embraces dangerous advisers who we've met before and who, with W., did serious damage to this nation. Knowing Jeb's advisers should tell us what need to know about Jeb.
12
Republicans appear to be taking seriously that factoid about the GOP and 1928--namely, the fact that no Republican has been elected president since 1928 without having somebody named Bush or Nixon on the national ticket (as presidential or vice-presidential nominee).
The GOP brand is at something of a dead end, and the best hope for the country and for the world is that the outcome of the 2016 election will lead to a kind of Stalinist purge within the party that gets rid of all the bigots, homophobes, chickenhawks, fake deficit hawks, John Galtists, anti-tax fanatics, and other assorted flotsam.
Jeb Bush doesn't appear to be the person prepared to tell such people within the GOP to take a hike. The GOP really, really does need to enter a post-Southern Strategy era. Appealing to the worst prejudices of lower-income whites in the South and pitting them against blacks--honestly, this type of tactic for winning elections is redolent of how elites in India stoke the fires of Hindu-Muslim strife to get elected to public office. One thing I've always wondered--are whites in the South not aware of how the GOP targets them by essentially saying "Vote for us because we KNOW you don't like blacks." Are whites in the South not embarrassed by such demagoguery aimed at them?
The GOP brand is at something of a dead end, and the best hope for the country and for the world is that the outcome of the 2016 election will lead to a kind of Stalinist purge within the party that gets rid of all the bigots, homophobes, chickenhawks, fake deficit hawks, John Galtists, anti-tax fanatics, and other assorted flotsam.
Jeb Bush doesn't appear to be the person prepared to tell such people within the GOP to take a hike. The GOP really, really does need to enter a post-Southern Strategy era. Appealing to the worst prejudices of lower-income whites in the South and pitting them against blacks--honestly, this type of tactic for winning elections is redolent of how elites in India stoke the fires of Hindu-Muslim strife to get elected to public office. One thing I've always wondered--are whites in the South not aware of how the GOP targets them by essentially saying "Vote for us because we KNOW you don't like blacks." Are whites in the South not embarrassed by such demagoguery aimed at them?
2
This is ABSOLUTELY one of Maureen Dowd's best, most articulate, clear-minded, and apt commentaries. But coupled with "Where's the shame"? should also be "Where's the prosecution"? - for these noted warmongers, then followed by "Where's the punishment"? and "Where's the apology"? - to all the citizens of this great country
26
My apologizes to James Baker, I was thinking of Howard Baker. I miss Republicans like him. The good old days.
Well, James Baker strategized the successful theft of Florida's electoral vote in 2000. That episode wasn't part of any good old days.
5
It's become pretty obvious by now that the Republican playbook going forward is to point to the Iraq war right up to the end of W.'s presidency as one of the great achievements of U.S. foreign policy that was botched by W.'s successor.
But here's the real takeaway from that endeavor: Don't leave quagmires to your successor. If it all falls apart, don't blame it on the guy whose lap you threw it into to clean up. Clean it up yourself before leaving office if you want to claim great success for it.
But here's the real takeaway from that endeavor: Don't leave quagmires to your successor. If it all falls apart, don't blame it on the guy whose lap you threw it into to clean up. Clean it up yourself before leaving office if you want to claim great success for it.
2
I totally agree with Maureen Dowd and her arguments about Jeb Bush. Jeb Bush was involved in rigging the results of elections in Florida in 2000, which actually allowed his brother George W.Bush to become the President of the United States. Some years ago Jeb Bush came to power in the state of Florida under mysterious circumstances (the candidate who opposed Bush died suddenly during the election campaign). 'Funny' family, 'awful deeds'. 19 of 21 advisers worked in the administrations of his father and his brother.
New policy and priorities? Leopard never changes its color.
New policy and priorities? Leopard never changes its color.
11
Bravo, Maureen. I don't believe we need another ignoramus, who pronounces "nuclear" as "nucular," leading this nation. Enough is enough! Time to sunset the Bushes and Clintons. Can't we find anyone else in this nation of 320 million? What a sorry mess this nation has descended to!
13
Dunno. I'm old enough to remember that Ike pronounced it newk-u-lar and the consensus of historians is that he was a pretty damn good President.
2
There is a long list of the usual suspects that are constantly being written about and why they should not run. I would like someone to write a column on who would be suitable to run this country and why. Perhaps Ms. Dowd could make some suggestions in her next column.
6
One missing component at this point: Karl Rove being declared Bush lll's "Brain". This going to get very ugly.
6
These are only the "official" members of the legion of the damned. Outside the Venn diagram there are even stranger creatures lurking. Elliott Abrams anyone?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/18/jeb-bushs-fore...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/02/18/jeb-bushs-fore...
8
As any good gardener knows, plant only one species and pestilence takes over. Monoculture always enables the enemies of pluralism to thrive ultimately killing the organism.
Don't you think three Bushes will destroy the grand experiment?
Don't you think three Bushes will destroy the grand experiment?
9
Interesting that Bush 3 would be taking advice from "advisers" who wouldn't be able to leave the US for fear of being arrested as war criminals. That says it all for me.
21
Ms. Dowd:
Shame is no longer part of the American cultural lexicon. It is a quaint notion from a distant past that liars have banished from public discourse.Perhaps your mention of it here will revive its use. However, expect stiff opposition on this point from Republicans who have no shame. They prefer a Christian guilt which is easily absolved by being "forgiven", yet again, and the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. "Jesus is my personal absolver" might make a good campaign slogan for who or what they end up nominating. Kissinger can give an invocation, no problem, hypocracy has never been in his dictionary either.
Shame is no longer part of the American cultural lexicon. It is a quaint notion from a distant past that liars have banished from public discourse.Perhaps your mention of it here will revive its use. However, expect stiff opposition on this point from Republicans who have no shame. They prefer a Christian guilt which is easily absolved by being "forgiven", yet again, and the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. "Jesus is my personal absolver" might make a good campaign slogan for who or what they end up nominating. Kissinger can give an invocation, no problem, hypocracy has never been in his dictionary either.
7
Let's face it. The Republican Party has a deluge of takers but a dirth of quality specimen. Everyone who has ever made the national new in the party wants to run for president. Unfortunately for them these people have many flaws especially in their Vision for the party and the country. You can't just talk the talk if you don't walk the walk. Pretending to be interested in the middle class while planning it's rise with upper class programs just won't work.
Jeb may not be the best man for the job but he may be the best man the party has to offer.
Jeb may not be the best man for the job but he may be the best man the party has to offer.
I have some lingering respect for Papa HW Bush. But the brains in the family seem to belong to Mama Bush, Smith College Graduate. Didn't she actually and correctly say "we've had enough Bushes in the White House." Barbara and Millie, my favorite Bushes. And I'm sure she never would have allowed Millie to ride on the top of the car when driving to a vacation in Kennebunkport.
144
As I recall Mama Bush she had some pretty nasty things to say about poor people and others who are dispossessed.
8
I always thought the sign "The George Bush Center for Intelligence" on the GW Parkway in Langley, VA, signifying CIA headquarters was an oxymoron.
4
Right on you are, Maureen. These "GudOlBoys" oh, I'm sorry, these Bush boys, have played destructo-mayhem in the world's back-yard for long enough. Not one of them have ever served any where with honor, (and just where was George the last year he was ''signed into the Guard"?)
Are there no worthy folks, no honorable persons, no unfettered, no family icons to again spend our treasury... Are there none out there? Surely their delusions of grandeur are just so much silly conjecture...
Thank you for calling out the ''king's new clothes''.
Daniel Langner,
San Antonio,
Texas
Are there no worthy folks, no honorable persons, no unfettered, no family icons to again spend our treasury... Are there none out there? Surely their delusions of grandeur are just so much silly conjecture...
Thank you for calling out the ''king's new clothes''.
Daniel Langner,
San Antonio,
Texas
1
Jeb is going no where. In order to do so he'd need a significant amount of the minority vote, and he is just too creepy for that to happen. We are use to white guys being stiff and robotic, but Jeb takes it to a whole different level. Romney even seem to have a soul compared to this guy.
Jeb's failure to give an honest appraisal of American history, whether that includes his relatives or not, is disqualifying. That Jeb doesn't realize this self-evident fact shows his petty, small mind in action.
History will eventually show that George Bush, for all his catastrophes, is actually the more emotionally intelligent brother with a keener political mind. Jeb is the most overrated "frontrunner" in modern history.
He divisive name sells newspapers, otherwise, we wouldn't hear a word about him today. He's a very dull politician that can't excite a room full of 5 year olds.
History will eventually show that George Bush, for all his catastrophes, is actually the more emotionally intelligent brother with a keener political mind. Jeb is the most overrated "frontrunner" in modern history.
He divisive name sells newspapers, otherwise, we wouldn't hear a word about him today. He's a very dull politician that can't excite a room full of 5 year olds.
2
Good assessment. I hope middle America and all voters (not just NYT readers) read this. It is a warning based on facts.
4
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, fool me thrice, shame on all of us.
9
Ms. Dowd has a good shot at Jeb's bow, except for thinking Baker is Mr. Nice. I would love to see a liberal GOP debate Jeb on foreign polic decisions of the last 20 years and then on economic agendas of the 2 parties.
Alas, there is no liberal Repub anywhere on the horizon. Even in nursery school, a womb, a compassionate eye, or a truly religious heart. Gone fishin', all of them..
Alas, there is no liberal Repub anywhere on the horizon. Even in nursery school, a womb, a compassionate eye, or a truly religious heart. Gone fishin', all of them..
8
Maureen at her best. I always refer to Dubya as President Bush-Cheney.
The leadership of the Republican Party asks only one thing of its presidential candidates and that is that they have hooks where strings can be attached from above.
It's a colossal American tragedy only made possible by the GOP propaganda engine and really troublesome immigrants like Rupert Murdoch who is technically a political sociopath. He has a partner in this endeavor namely Roger Ailes who insists that FOX news is "Fair and Balanced."
Whenever a major media outlet starts a drum beat insisting that it is fair and balanced you had better turn on the blinking yellow lights. Can you imagine using that tag line? Its preposterous.
Watch for the drum beats.
The leadership of the Republican Party asks only one thing of its presidential candidates and that is that they have hooks where strings can be attached from above.
It's a colossal American tragedy only made possible by the GOP propaganda engine and really troublesome immigrants like Rupert Murdoch who is technically a political sociopath. He has a partner in this endeavor namely Roger Ailes who insists that FOX news is "Fair and Balanced."
Whenever a major media outlet starts a drum beat insisting that it is fair and balanced you had better turn on the blinking yellow lights. Can you imagine using that tag line? Its preposterous.
Watch for the drum beats.
3
Not one of them sees the shame. Not an apologetic word from any of them. No reflection. Nothing learned. Bush 2, Cheney, Rummy, Wolfie, Steve, Condi, even little Rudy -- the arrogant lot of war criminals except, maybe, for another thoughtful, black policy-maker, Colin Powell.
Just some pig-headed tripe about W's political heroism with his "surge," a pathetic and spendthrift scramble to salvage what could be saved from an out-of-control catastrophe before handing an overflowing air-sickness bag to the next administration.
Now they blame that same next administration for their world-wrecking ball. The current President is "too weak." "He doesn't love America." He has "squandered American prestige."
Say WHAT!? How could he have squandered what the last Bush administration had already poured down a rat hole?
www.endthemadnessnow.org
Just some pig-headed tripe about W's political heroism with his "surge," a pathetic and spendthrift scramble to salvage what could be saved from an out-of-control catastrophe before handing an overflowing air-sickness bag to the next administration.
Now they blame that same next administration for their world-wrecking ball. The current President is "too weak." "He doesn't love America." He has "squandered American prestige."
Say WHAT!? How could he have squandered what the last Bush administration had already poured down a rat hole?
www.endthemadnessnow.org
17
His choice of advisers is startling and I wonder: will Jeb being his own man include Jeb having his own war?
6
I read many opinion pieces but this one nearly moved me to tears. Yes! Doesn't anyone remember the travesties of the Bush administration? Jeb's brother was, indeed, a propped-up boy king whose legacy was senseless death and squandering of national treasure to benefit his handlers. We should recoil not only from the Bush brand but from the idea that any of those complicit in the disastrous years of the Bush administration should ever have a role in shaping public policy. Thank you, Ms. Dowd for shining a bright light upon this threat to all of us.
13
Don't see the point of more attacks on W now, but I admire Dowd's integrity. O has pretty much continued or enhanced W's policies, but his party has controlled the press better. The 100s of civilians killed in drone strikes every year in North Africa and the Mideast rarely make news. Obama very publicly let hard-won Iraq and Mosul go, to public acclaim -- but wait!! aargh! Clinton and Obama were completely clueless their first 4 years and now things are out of control with ISIS the new global threat. Gotta retake Mosul, bomb relentlessly throughout the Mideast to protect America, and retake Mosul!
This is a wretched comedy, and W, O, and HC are all tragi-comic losers. Also, go away Jeb.
This is a wretched comedy, and W, O, and HC are all tragi-comic losers. Also, go away Jeb.
3
How can one family be so wrong about everything?
6
"Jeb Bush’s Brainless Trust".
I wish they really were brainless. Unfortunately, they're more like a pack of evil geniuses.
I wish they really were brainless. Unfortunately, they're more like a pack of evil geniuses.
8
I can't believe the American people, who I so love, will make the same mistake a third time. But if they do, get your grandchildren and your money out of this country because you and they will not survive.
9
Just what "national traumas" did the Clintons put us through? The impeachment crisis, over a trivial affair, was something deranged Republicans put the nation through.
Ms. Dowd might have paid lip service the traumas inflicted on others by the Bushes, particularly Bush 43. This would include a million or so premature Iraqi deaths from his unnecessary war, and the horrors inflicted by ISIS, since he is the real Founding Father of them: Yazidi women sold into sex slavery, Jordanian pilots burned alive; Egyptian Coptics beheaded en masse, etc. So much evil has flowed directly from those corrupt Supreme Court Justices who put him in office.
Ms. Dowd might have paid lip service the traumas inflicted on others by the Bushes, particularly Bush 43. This would include a million or so premature Iraqi deaths from his unnecessary war, and the horrors inflicted by ISIS, since he is the real Founding Father of them: Yazidi women sold into sex slavery, Jordanian pilots burned alive; Egyptian Coptics beheaded en masse, etc. So much evil has flowed directly from those corrupt Supreme Court Justices who put him in office.
11
The author is strong on assumptions and weak on perspective. The fact that Jeb Bush has Paul Wolfowitz and some of the other neo-con crowd on his list of advisers could mean no more than that Bush is trying not to alienate those Republicans who still think, foolishly to be sure, that invading Iraq was a good idea. After all, he does not need to TAKE their advice, and he does have some of the sane advisers like Brent Scowcroft from the administration of G.H.W. Bush---a person who the author does not bother to mention (unless I missed it).
To be effective a president ought to have a wide variety of advisers, allow them to argue with each other, and then decide. So having a few neo-cons might not be a bad idea as long as they do not have a monopoly of the president's ear.
And ultimately, everything depends on the wisdom of the president. As Machiavelli tells us, "A prince who is without any wisdom himself, cannot be well advised."
To be effective a president ought to have a wide variety of advisers, allow them to argue with each other, and then decide. So having a few neo-cons might not be a bad idea as long as they do not have a monopoly of the president's ear.
And ultimately, everything depends on the wisdom of the president. As Machiavelli tells us, "A prince who is without any wisdom himself, cannot be well advised."
24
Paul,
If Jeb wanted to strike out on his own he could find advisers that are not neocons. There are middle of the road democrats and republicans hiding in the sticks waiting to be noticed and called out. He had a choice and he picked vanilla.
If Jeb wanted to strike out on his own he could find advisers that are not neocons. There are middle of the road democrats and republicans hiding in the sticks waiting to be noticed and called out. He had a choice and he picked vanilla.
6
At least I did not see "Palin" on Jeb's list.....
1
Maybe JEB needs to worry a little more about not alienating the rest of us who remember all too week the legacy of these advisers. I don't think those who still subscribe to the opinions of the likes of Paul Wolfowitz are worth worrying about.
3
Bullseye.
The country should always be interested in who will get the President's ear when it comes to policy making. To see Jeb Bush assembling the same group of Neo Cons that many believe orchestrated and misled us into the worst conflict in American history is astonishing. And then to claim he is his own man with this group surrounding him in the back rooms is beyond belief. When all is said and done, it really speaks to the arrogance and hubris of the privileged.
The country should always be interested in who will get the President's ear when it comes to policy making. To see Jeb Bush assembling the same group of Neo Cons that many believe orchestrated and misled us into the worst conflict in American history is astonishing. And then to claim he is his own man with this group surrounding him in the back rooms is beyond belief. When all is said and done, it really speaks to the arrogance and hubris of the privileged.
11
A small part of me, a very small part, wants to think that Jeb Bush could be a decent President. But then he, his family and his team remind me that he'll do just what I fear, work to justify his brother's despicable decisions and actions, and try and fix them in attempt to show George W. in better light.
Now that I see his list of advisers, I'm done. Entirely possible that Jeb's presidency would be an even bigger disaster than George W.'s, something many of us didn't think possible, but ...
Has big money so destroyed politics in America that we are stuck with the same small minority of candidates? The crazies and a Bush and a Clinton?
Now that I see his list of advisers, I'm done. Entirely possible that Jeb's presidency would be an even bigger disaster than George W.'s, something many of us didn't think possible, but ...
Has big money so destroyed politics in America that we are stuck with the same small minority of candidates? The crazies and a Bush and a Clinton?
8
I could never vote for Jeb Bush. His brother was the worst president in my lifetime, and I remember Dwight Eisenhower.
11
Oh boy would I love to have President Eisenhower back now.
5
Mo, are you tired of leading with the truth? The other side is relentless in shoveling doo doo against the tide. I am a couple of years older than you and I am exhausted with the absurdity of American politics. The Koch and Fox propaganda machine. Endless talking points, hate around every corner.
Ignorance oozing from darkened minds.
The flag of nationalism being used to subvert the truth.
Scoundrels abound, may God help us.
Ignorance oozing from darkened minds.
The flag of nationalism being used to subvert the truth.
Scoundrels abound, may God help us.
13
Thanks to MD for the fire alarm on the list of 'chuckleheads' that Jeb Bush is consulting --- can Doug Feith and Paul Bremer be far behind? The problem is, of course, that American voters have all the attention span of a hummingbird's wing beat, and these names, along with those of other war criminals, will not be recalled or paid much attention to. Lessons of the past --- something to which we seem almost oblivious.
9
The "acorn doesn't fall far from the tree," as far as I'm concerned when it comes to the Bushes.
7
I agree with much that you say but take exception to two items.
First, W. led us into two wars that cost tens of thousands of *American* lives *and hundreds of thousands if not millions of Iraqi and Afgan lives*.
Second, Jeb is just as inarticulate as W. if not more.
First, W. led us into two wars that cost tens of thousands of *American* lives *and hundreds of thousands if not millions of Iraqi and Afgan lives*.
Second, Jeb is just as inarticulate as W. if not more.
19
Very frightening, and dismaying, presenting himself as moderate with them as advisors. Who'd imagine he'd have those liars and hit-men on board.
Makes one realize how little we really know about what the power players are doing, shaping candidates to "win" our little votes.
We're now like Hong Kong, where they only get to vote on who the powerful say they can choose from, and call it democracy.
Still I'll vote for a D over any R they put up, let alone another Bush.
Makes one realize how little we really know about what the power players are doing, shaping candidates to "win" our little votes.
We're now like Hong Kong, where they only get to vote on who the powerful say they can choose from, and call it democracy.
Still I'll vote for a D over any R they put up, let alone another Bush.
10
I think it also shows a profound contempt for the American public, believing apparently that most attention spans are so short, they won't notice.
And he's probably right.
And he's probably right.
3
After the foreign policy failures of Obama we will need a foreign policy president to rebuild lost prestige and that cannot be Jeb Bush.
2
Will be saying it at least through next spring: It's as if James Buchanan's little brother showed up after the Civil War, running for president vowing to clean up Lincoln's mess.
13
I am beginning to think we are electing a homecoming queen.
7
A presidential race between, possibly, yet another Bush and another Clinton. A Supreme Court open only to graduates of Ivy League Universities. Isn't democracy grand?
3
After this article, I fervently hope Ms. Dowd gives credit for the work Obama has done in correcting the political, military, social and economic disasters that were left after the horrid 8 years of the Bush/Cheney presidency. Who wants to return to that era?
Jeb bush wants to bring back the same neocon crew that advised his brother? After the loss of life and treasure sustained by the American people, I doubt the electorate will accept Bush III.
Jeb bush wants to bring back the same neocon crew that advised his brother? After the loss of life and treasure sustained by the American people, I doubt the electorate will accept Bush III.
4
Take heart, the neocon crew to which you refer could be (hopefully) the albatross around JEB's neck.
Hard to believe that another Bush is even mentioned as a candidate for Prez. Hasn't the family inflicted enough pain and suffering on this nation for one 50 year period. Hasn't the family screwed up the third world enough. In their eyes I guess not, they come back like cockroaches. Just when you think they are gone you turn the lights on and there is another one, feeding off table scraps. And damn, every one of the kids is breeding too. We could end up with another couple of the Bush clan in the future. So please god, I know I don't check in that often. I will pretend I am on my knees. Grant me this one wish, no more Bushes.
12
Vote these guys back to power and expect a different result?
No. Not Again. No Way. Never.
No. Not Again. No Way. Never.
8
With its ten aircraft carriers and 72 missile filled submarines - double of the rest of the world together- the US dominates the globe, not only its seas.Thinking about the Republican party in the USA, trigger happy and focussed on remodelling the world according to an image of their Wall Street led 'democracy', the prospect of any US President sends shivers around my spine. Not only the Bush family, any US 'family'. In the world of the Maffia the term 'family' has a sinister meaning, and with consiglieri like Wolfowitz waiting to spring to life, the end of the Obama period seems like a dark future indeed. The Republican version of the world has killed so many people that the threat of Isis sounds like no more than the buzzing of a sting bee.
8
320 million people and the choice is between the son and brother of two presidents, and the wife of another?
What sort of political regime is that?
What sort of political regime is that?
9
We do not need another Bush.
We do not need another Clinton.
We need someone new even if we have to manufacture one.
We do not need another Clinton.
We need someone new even if we have to manufacture one.
5
H W, Bill Clinton, the Bush/Cheney, and Obama all said all sorts of strange and wonderful things, but they all backed endless Oil Wars, The teetering, corrupt financial system and the ever growing War Industry because they were paid to do so.
So what the Shining Warrior Queen or the Spawn of the Burnt Bush have to say really doesn't matter, does it? - Both need Oil Cartel Money, and will do their bidding.
We have reached the level of corruption that we know what's wrong but are just about out of options of what to do about it.
So what the Shining Warrior Queen or the Spawn of the Burnt Bush have to say really doesn't matter, does it? - Both need Oil Cartel Money, and will do their bidding.
We have reached the level of corruption that we know what's wrong but are just about out of options of what to do about it.
2
We know W should have empowered Powell and Scowcroft, but he didn't. Doubtful Powell would advise another Bush. Had W listened, the world would be different. Cheney is a war criminal, and nothing will change that. For every person who insists that water boarding is not torture, each should try to endure a full session; it probably would have killed Cheney. Think how much better off we would be. It's surprising that someone as allegedly intelligent, as much of a conscientious thinker as is Jeb, would throw that much spaghetti up against the wall and hope the right noodles will stick. Wolfowitz? The shame, the horror...
7
The tragic irony is ..in a country as truly blessed as ours...the most capable people (on either side of the aisle) have absolutely no interest in serving in our nations' highest office. That is not to say that the inevitable choices we are left with aren't intelligent, well-meaning American's who's willingness to make the personal & professional sacrifices necessary to dutifully fulfill the responsibilities of the office should not be supported, admired and respected...they should. Nor, I might add, am I attempting to deify the office holders who went before them...some great, some not-so-great, some lacking the ability to find greatness with two hands and a flashlight.
We need to figure out how to cast a wider net and accept the fact that some of these men and women may be flawed....(you can't learn w/o making mistakes) but are the right person, with the right skill set, in the right place at the right time. They are out there....we need to engage them...
We need to figure out how to cast a wider net and accept the fact that some of these men and women may be flawed....(you can't learn w/o making mistakes) but are the right person, with the right skill set, in the right place at the right time. They are out there....we need to engage them...
4
We are the brainless citizens who put this brainless trust into power the first time, and now, it seems, we just might do it again. By the time the Kochs spend a very small chunk of their daddy's money on their next election, they will have enough of us convinced that President Obama started the Iraq War and caused the economic meltdown, so we need Jeb to come in and straighten it all out again, if Jeb promises to run Rand Paul as his Vice President that is!
7
He has blinders on, it is called familial ties. The only reason he has national recognition for the presidential election is because of his name. Not diminishing his accomplishments as Governor of Florida, but is he that exceptional?
2
Who wouldn't want to see Bush The Third ascend to his rightful place on the family's favorite throne?
Answer: The majority of the American people.
Answer: The majority of the American people.
6
War mongers? I think you meant to say war criminals. I will work day and night for the Democratic Party nominee (whether it be Hillary Clinton or anyone else) to ensure that the keys to the White House are never returned to another member of the rotten Bush family. Haven't we (and the entire world for that matter) suffered enough?!
28
By the time Obama leaves office, the Taliban will be ruling over Afghanistan and ISIS in full control of Iraq. Countries that were secured and on their way to working democracies under Bush.
In addition, Obama will leave office with income inequality the worst at any time in modern history, the highest percentage of Americans on some form of welfare and the unemployment rate still higher than the highest level during Bush's two terms.
Obama will leave a weakened, divided, demoralized and unexceptional America. Just like the left always wanted it.
In addition, Obama will leave office with income inequality the worst at any time in modern history, the highest percentage of Americans on some form of welfare and the unemployment rate still higher than the highest level during Bush's two terms.
Obama will leave a weakened, divided, demoralized and unexceptional America. Just like the left always wanted it.
4
what you are describing are outcomes of foolish full scale invasions, for which there are no easy solutions. talking "tough" and sending in troops will make matters much worse. as for income inequality, that is a problem that has been growing for decades and is a direct result of republican policies. people concerned about the issues you raise should run as fast as they can from any republican candidate.
5
I had thought originally that Jeb would be the most "reasonable" of the GOP pack of presidential hopefuls. Then came the list of bad advisers that were a big part of the creation of disasters from W.'s terms. He needs to find fresh faces for his team or fold his ambitions now.
1
Thanks - exactly what I would have wanted to write. Notice how Cheney has gone silent. Unbelievable that Americans would elect a guy who is going to turn to the same men who advised Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush almost 30 years ago. Just unreal.
5
Too late now for another about face. Supra-nationalism had one shot, and the public chose a decent uncertainty over certainty and indecency. As Einstein famously said, you can't solve a new problem with old thinking. To mischaracterize one of Dowd's rogues, it's time to face the uncertainties we can't see, instead of the ones we can.
1
" without their last names Hillary and Jeb would not be frontrunners".
How about, with a voting public too lazy too learn about issues affecting their lives, they turn to the saccharin candidates offered by both parties, who are purchased by the elites and promoted by a collaborating media.
Hillary Clinton is no prize package that is certain. But in the world of relativity in which we live and must vote in, Jeb Bush is a downright danger to anyone but the elites of this country.
Is it really a surprise that his advisors would be the same group of warmongers and genuine cronies of his father and repugnant brother? Birds of a feather.
Its up to the American people to take responsibly for recognizing where Their interests lie and who will best represent them. We know the wealthy and wealthier have to go with Bush. For the rest of us, voting for any republican candidate is an economic death sentence. Bush is capable of putting the best face on some evil intentions. Just look at his advisors and recall the past his brother gave us. Not too pretty.
Let's try not to make another disastrous presidential mistake. It takes too long to recover.
How about, with a voting public too lazy too learn about issues affecting their lives, they turn to the saccharin candidates offered by both parties, who are purchased by the elites and promoted by a collaborating media.
Hillary Clinton is no prize package that is certain. But in the world of relativity in which we live and must vote in, Jeb Bush is a downright danger to anyone but the elites of this country.
Is it really a surprise that his advisors would be the same group of warmongers and genuine cronies of his father and repugnant brother? Birds of a feather.
Its up to the American people to take responsibly for recognizing where Their interests lie and who will best represent them. We know the wealthy and wealthier have to go with Bush. For the rest of us, voting for any republican candidate is an economic death sentence. Bush is capable of putting the best face on some evil intentions. Just look at his advisors and recall the past his brother gave us. Not too pretty.
Let's try not to make another disastrous presidential mistake. It takes too long to recover.
3
The way the Republican governors are destroying public education, it's only going to get worse I fear. Check out Mike Pence and his attack on education and remember it for when he throws his hat in the ring!!
1
Terrific column as always and especially Condi Rice as the "queen of apocalyptic mushroom cloud comment". Brilliant as it sums up the entire official pr stance of anyone associated with the W. Bush administration with more than a community college degree. Why is anyone surprised other than desperate hope that Jeb Bush would be anything different out of the official Texas clown car crowd?
Just look back at his Florida record of being governor and some of the ugly right wing or unconstitutional positions he took during that time. Does Terri Schiavo ring a bell to anyone? He broke constitutional federal law by supporting a Florida legislative act to keep her alive in spite of knowing it would be overturned and took over a very personal painful family dispute in order to make capital gain.
Until Jeb buddy comes out and states that in hindsight most of his brother's architects for war should have been indicted as war criminals he is in my mind the breed of same. He is in the Republican clown car with the least amount of circus paint on but still waving from the back seat holding the big red balloon.
Just look back at his Florida record of being governor and some of the ugly right wing or unconstitutional positions he took during that time. Does Terri Schiavo ring a bell to anyone? He broke constitutional federal law by supporting a Florida legislative act to keep her alive in spite of knowing it would be overturned and took over a very personal painful family dispute in order to make capital gain.
Until Jeb buddy comes out and states that in hindsight most of his brother's architects for war should have been indicted as war criminals he is in my mind the breed of same. He is in the Republican clown car with the least amount of circus paint on but still waving from the back seat holding the big red balloon.
4
Republican Presidential candidates ought to take note of this column and use it as part of their platform. The "gotcha" moment that it will present to the Dems will pass and the electorate should be able to see a Party owing up to its obvious mistakes, showing why such mistakes will not be repeated and laying out a way forward.
Such a strategy could be a vote getter. Why pay political consultants millions to put a different spin on the past when voters have already figured it out?
Such a strategy could be a vote getter. Why pay political consultants millions to put a different spin on the past when voters have already figured it out?
1
While Jeb was with PNAC, along with many of the names listed, he signed a letter to President Clinton pushing for an invasion of Iraq at that point in the 1990s. How can we doubt that he would not be a hawk and led us in to war in order to profit his gang of neocons. He was in on the conception of the whole dominos theory which has lead us straight into our current dilemma in the mid east. This man is not the right leader for the times. I only wish that for a change I could vote for someone for a reason other than that he or she is not the worst.
3
Jeb Bush's pursuit of the presidency will serve a very good purpose: a reminder of how awful things were under the presidency of his brother. This should further assure the election of a Democrat.
2
The Jeb Bush campaign strategy is based on solid evidence. The American Electorate fails so many easy tests, why should that Electorate not fail another easy test?
5
Ms. Dowd provides one of the most thorough, cogent analyses of the "Bush Effect" on the nation. They are incompetent plutocrats, the worst kind.
Seldom do we see such a critical treatment of the facts. She raises the standard at the NYT with this one. This is essential reading for all voters.
We face a test. Can the monied .01% elect another of this family of steadily declining leadership? Poppy is a war hero, and we should not take that from him. That was when even the monied class sent their sons to war. Sadly Poppy saw fit to game the system so W did not have to serve. That should keep him up at night. His sons have nothing to offer the country. His wife belongs on reality TV.
Seldom do we see such a critical treatment of the facts. She raises the standard at the NYT with this one. This is essential reading for all voters.
We face a test. Can the monied .01% elect another of this family of steadily declining leadership? Poppy is a war hero, and we should not take that from him. That was when even the monied class sent their sons to war. Sadly Poppy saw fit to game the system so W did not have to serve. That should keep him up at night. His sons have nothing to offer the country. His wife belongs on reality TV.
4
The fact that the republicans (Bush,etc) are unwilling to speak of W with a modicum of truth; citing not going back to the past is frightening. America and the rest of the globe have something called "history". History helps us address the now by supposedly learning about the then, taking what is good and not repeating what is bad. We bring up our children (well most of us) that way. What's wrong with making sure our country is strong by avoiding errors of the past - and that means addressing it and speaking of it.
2
George W. is Jeb's glass jaw, his rookie defensive back, his weak backhand. A glaring liability. Now, does the coach on the opposing team say, "Don't throw in the direction of that poor rookie kid, it'll embarrass him, and we don't want that." Of course not. They exploit the opposition's weakness. Just so, the Democratic faithful will pepper Jeb with questions about his brother's questionable presidency--keep socking that weak jaw--and the media will love it. Generational political thought will become a leading issue on Sunday morning pundit shows. The disastrous war in Iraq will make a return to the American consciousness... And that's a good thing. We've been in denial since the recession diverted our attention. I hope Jeb runs. It'll be good for us to face the realities of that war, whose ramifications are great, but whose memory is weak. Jeb will keep saying what politicians say when "mistakes were made": "Let's move forward and not dwell in the past." But the coaches on the other side of the court won't let him. And the announcers will announce it and discuss it and analyze it at every turn.
3
This article completely misses the point of the Bush family business - war profiteering. W was very successful at this game. The money taxpayers spent in Iraq was not dumped into the ocean. It was transferred to the Military-Industrial-Complex with no-bid contracts to Halliburton, Blackwater and others. W's Iraq war guaranteed future generations of terrorists along with future wars and future war profits. They are simply carrying on Prescott Bush's business - war profiteering. Cha Ching!
10
Every time a Bush gets in the White House, our economy is shattered, the stock market tanks, the housing industry implodes, millions lose their jobs, and young American men and women eventually end up fighting wars and dying.
Also, is there any other political family in America that is so inept in the private sector that all of its male members need to be on the public dole?
Almost every Bush male has been subsidized by the American taxpayer for the past 50 years or more. It's gotten so bad that one of the Bush grandchildren is a commissioner or such in Texas and drawing a public salary --- as a precursor, of course --- to running for another public office that will surely be subsidized by those same Texas taxpayers.
Amazing that those Bush children learn so young: is there some kind of family motto emblazoned on a wall in Kennebunkport, some longstanding Bush family advice like: "Family, never forget: Get thee on the public dole!"
P.S. Jeb, I know it scares the heck out of you, but try the (Dreaded) private sector --- and give us taxpayers a break!
Also, is there any other political family in America that is so inept in the private sector that all of its male members need to be on the public dole?
Almost every Bush male has been subsidized by the American taxpayer for the past 50 years or more. It's gotten so bad that one of the Bush grandchildren is a commissioner or such in Texas and drawing a public salary --- as a precursor, of course --- to running for another public office that will surely be subsidized by those same Texas taxpayers.
Amazing that those Bush children learn so young: is there some kind of family motto emblazoned on a wall in Kennebunkport, some longstanding Bush family advice like: "Family, never forget: Get thee on the public dole!"
P.S. Jeb, I know it scares the heck out of you, but try the (Dreaded) private sector --- and give us taxpayers a break!
6
Being devoid of shame seems to be a requirement in politics, but republicans have taken it to new heights. Never mind Sen Vitters preaching family values to Bill Clinton, while in the arms of a prostitute. Don't pay attention to Gingrich leading the parade to impeachment of an ethically challenged president, while having an affair with an aide, after leaving a former wife on her "deathbed". Be entertained by the false anger displayed by Sen Paul when accused of plagiarism, or the similarly laughable anger of Sen Rubio when his politically advantageous lies about his family were exposed. There are so many examples!
None of these individuals even knows the meaning of shame.
But we, the voters have a more dangerous pathology; we choose to have amnesia about the past or buy into the nonsense sold by politicians that we should focus on the future not the past. We proceed to vote for those politicians only to see them repeat the same errors made in the past.
Is it possible we will do this with Jeb Bush?
It is my recurring nightmare!
None of these individuals even knows the meaning of shame.
But we, the voters have a more dangerous pathology; we choose to have amnesia about the past or buy into the nonsense sold by politicians that we should focus on the future not the past. We proceed to vote for those politicians only to see them repeat the same errors made in the past.
Is it possible we will do this with Jeb Bush?
It is my recurring nightmare!
5
What scares me about America is how little most people (including senior, experienced politicians) know about the rest of the world. When their foreign affairs advisors turn out to be all wrong, they have little or no foundational knowledge to draw on to assess alternative experts and choose among them. Some people mistrust Obama or think he's unpatriotic because of his internationalist worldview that was shaped by his own family history and childhood experiences. I think this kind of experience ought to be a pre-requisite for any American president in this day and age (but will certainly not hold my breath waiting for it...)
6
Our democracy, if you can call it that, is teetering on the edge of the abyss. Another Bush would shove us in. I am tired of Bushes and the Clintons are not far behind. Name recognition is a poor way of selecting political leaders. At least another Clinton would probably preserve most of our social programs. A Bush would probably set out to dismantle the programs that practically all of us will one day depend on for any measure of well-being. I get the sinking feeling that the voters of this country will one day get what they are asking for.
6
Jeb runs into the same problem Romney had except with more baggage. He's not a corporate shill, so the big corporate donors won't be excited about him. He's not especially conservative, so the Republican base and tea party wingnuts won't be excited about him. His wife is Mexican but he's still a Republican (who in case you haven't noticed want to wall-in the U.S. and throw illegals out of the country) so Latinos and resident immigrant voters won't be excited about him. And most importantly his "Dynasty" status is pretty lame, given that his father was a mediocre president at best, and his brother was completely incompetent and is universally hated. Add to that the fact that America is really not interested in electing another entitled white guy to office and I honestly can't think of a less attractive candidate. His strategists have their work cut out for them!
Hillary, although not without her own baggage, is popular with huge and important demographics. Her policies are well known and she is one of the most vetted candidates in history. Her husband retains his rock-star popularity and is universally considered brilliant and a fine president. With Hillary you get a two-fer and a HillBill presidency. Together they are one of the most proven and formidable political teams in history.
Good luck Jeb. My prediction - he won't even be his party's nominee in 2016.
Hillary, although not without her own baggage, is popular with huge and important demographics. Her policies are well known and she is one of the most vetted candidates in history. Her husband retains his rock-star popularity and is universally considered brilliant and a fine president. With Hillary you get a two-fer and a HillBill presidency. Together they are one of the most proven and formidable political teams in history.
Good luck Jeb. My prediction - he won't even be his party's nominee in 2016.
232
Oh you are back, Maureen! This piece is chock full of goodies. Kevin Phillip's book "American Dynasty" should be required reading for each and every voter where the ins and outs of the machinations of politics for the past fifty or more years orchestrated by Bush's and cronies is laid out clearly. And there is little alternative voting for Hiliary Clinton. I think Bernie Sanders is looking pretty good.
39
Goodies by that I guess you mean the lie that Bush allowed Wall Street to gamble away the economy, when the main driver was the housing bubble created mainly by Democrats and Clinton affordable housing act? Or a Middle East that is more democratized now than in any point in history, oh and millions of women now have rights where before they where stoned to death for adultery? By the way they been trying socialism in Europe for over a century, how's that worked out for them?
1
Mark..read the book I recommended by Kevin Phillips..a Republican by the way.
4
Clinton and Bush's are not that different. The political parties are not that different in who they serve. Actually socialism was working fine here and in Europe until the big corporations became more and more successful at undermining the progress. Europe is in better condition to deal with energy issues over all. They have worked on replacing fossil fuels with a great deal of success (Germany with 40% renewables and cheap electricity) and are better positioned because their infrastructure is new and up to date. Europe can sell to itself. There is no pure socialism, but pure capitalism is not working for most of us. It is destined to create a lopsided society driven by outdated dependence on oil. Read some of Jeremy Rifkin's books. He's not a "socialist" but has some very interesting insights about where the world and business is heading next. He is an observer of trends from the Wharton School of Business. This is not a matter of one side being wrong and the other right. We are trying to solve human problems together so we can all move forward. I like "The Third Industrial Revolution" and "The Zero Marginal Cost Society". I found these books to be hopeful and real eye openers.
2
"What's past is prologue" Wm. Shakespeare.
Who can look at the future without consulting the past? It wouldn't be reasonable not to focus on the past, that's what people running for public office
do, and if he's a Bush he's always going to be a Bush. As the Bard said, "what's past is prologue".
Who can look at the future without consulting the past? It wouldn't be reasonable not to focus on the past, that's what people running for public office
do, and if he's a Bush he's always going to be a Bush. As the Bard said, "what's past is prologue".
5
Outside of James Baker, there isn't a name on the list of foreign policy advisers that Jeb Bush released that is even qualified to hold a foreign affairs position of the United States Government solely on the basis of their work during their time in G.W. Bush's government.
19
The last election proves that people vote on fringe issues and believe the special interest super pac fueled propaganda rather than actually looking at the facts. They believe the Benghazi fiction, even though a Republican investigation refuted it. They are influenced by their fearful friends who eat up the pap spewed by Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly and the rest of the Faux News team of disinformationists. They buy the story that the President hates America and the Constitution and is pushing a Marxist agenda, even though they don't even know who Marx was. They equate government with crippling regulations and restriction of their "freedoms". They forget that those socialist times of the 50's, with high taxes and massive government programs like the interstate highway system and DARPANET were the foundation for the creation of our juggernaut economy. If Jesus came back and ran as a Democrat they would vote against him. And let a woman be President? Please.
17
That is because there is enough money put to media publicity to steer people that way. It is stupid but that is how it is!
2
" If Jesus came back and ran as a Democrat they would vote against him."
Not only that. If Jesus came back as a Republican to heal this country from all its ailments, they would first ask for his birth certificate, and before deporting him tar and feather him because of his oh-so socialist teachings.
Not only that. If Jesus came back as a Republican to heal this country from all its ailments, they would first ask for his birth certificate, and before deporting him tar and feather him because of his oh-so socialist teachings.
1
Frankly I do not care who the republican candidate for president is. What I DO care about is the very scary possibility that it would be a republican. The nominee's positions on issues will be the GOPs platform. Kiss goodbye your hopes for the American dream, good jobs, peace on earth, the social safety net, healthcare, and a decent affordable education. You think this is an over-exaggeration? Think again...
40
Your list of Bush miscreants is impressive--and true. However, Jeb and GW didn't just "snatch" the election in 2000. There was serious illegal activity (including a butterfly ballot) on their part and that of Kathleen Harris, the then extremely biased FL Secretary of State. They were never held accountable--the Gore legal team seemed to let the Supreme Court give them a pass at the time.
And it was Bill Clinton who signed the law that resulted in the financial meltdown of 2007. He might contest the meaning of "signed"--you know "signed, did sign, is signing, etc", but the appearance was to help out his wife with NY bankers. Do we need another Republican president?
And it was Bill Clinton who signed the law that resulted in the financial meltdown of 2007. He might contest the meaning of "signed"--you know "signed, did sign, is signing, etc", but the appearance was to help out his wife with NY bankers. Do we need another Republican president?
6
It is naive to think that the bushes did not nudge Kathleen the "election boss" of Florida .
Maureen seems to have noticeably become aware of the damage inflicted by W and his clueless and dangerous advisors. A cast of misbegotten characters that can never be allowed to run things ever again.
41
One person in ten million can remember names and faces as well as GWB. He was and is not stupid. He consciously decided to ignore what he wanted to ignore. Calling him unintelligent is giving him the benefit of the doubt. He was evil, but conceived himself to be good, no matter what.
13
W was a notoriously nasty frat brat when we were at Yale.
1
This thread, when read entire, might seem to be exactly that which toe-in-the-water Jeb and his crowd are hoping for: the acquired legitimacy of NYT column attention and the ensuing "debate" (here) that places him, he hopes, on a footing equal to that of a competent former secretary of state and able United States senator. No sale. Which wonders have sprung recently from gubernatorial swamps? Rick Perry springs to mind. No shortage of Texas talent apparent.
10
Excellent piece, but from the Republican point of view it gives legitimacy to Jeb Bush's candidacy because it's a hostile column in the "leftist" NY Times.
America's tragedy is none of these important questions will be ever asked to Jeb Bush on hustings by a Democratic Nominee. How can be that when that nominee is all but Hillary Clinton and she participated in the original sin of backing W.'s Iraq War?
We are a deeply flawed democracy. When minimum criteria for a serious presidential bid involves raising multi-billion dollars, we are a sold out nation.
We are a deeply flawed democracy. When minimum criteria for a serious presidential bid involves raising multi-billion dollars, we are a sold out nation.
21
I will always continue to enjoy Maureen Dowd's comments after some25 years of reading. but this column possesses her honest raw historical reflection, which I especially enjoy. I've reflected on this column for 24 hours, and only have one brief thought. Since "I love the world more than just America," I will always be a citizen of America and enjoy criticizing its arrogance as a pompous world bully, mostly from corporate global overreach. Keep it coming Maureen. Maybe someday ALL Americans will "get it." At our peril, new blood is needed. Warren-Dowd in '16. Just a fantasy dream. Women need to humble pompous men around the globe, not just in America.
42
It is very hard not to think "conspiracy theory" when reading this article, not to see a cabal at work. I fear for my country.
19
Maybe all 200 million eligible voters will vote, rather than 100 million, while 100 million of us would rather stay home.
1
You couldn't be half as fearful as I am just thinking about another Bush in office!! This 72 year old has enough trouble sleeping without that nightmare to worry about!
1
How many times has a top Republican been discovered hiring undocumented immigrants as household or landscapers?
17
I could ask the same question about Democrats. The most famous episode was "Nanny- gate" involving two of Clinton's appointees.
But overall it is a stupid thread completely unrelated to the article being discussed.
But overall it is a stupid thread completely unrelated to the article being discussed.
2
So imagine the "smart" Bush gets elected...with a GOP House and GOP Senate. Hmmm... there goes Medicare, Medicaid, student loans, Social Security would be a giant 401(k) plan, public education, the corporate income tax, the Affordable Care Act, Dodd Frank, the minimum wage, any money that helps climate research, renewable energy research. Then there is the social side of things- abortion gets banned, prayer in public school returns, net neutrality get tossed out the window, voting right act is overturned, and the list goes on.
If in November 2016, enough Americans decide they are truly stupid enough to put into office Jeb, and the rest of GOP cult, I say that we should just detonate our entire nuclear arsenal, right here, at home. Yes, it will destroy the nation and kill tens of millions of people. Don't worry, GOP rule would do the exact same thing, but it take longer and be a lot more painful.
If in November 2016, enough Americans decide they are truly stupid enough to put into office Jeb, and the rest of GOP cult, I say that we should just detonate our entire nuclear arsenal, right here, at home. Yes, it will destroy the nation and kill tens of millions of people. Don't worry, GOP rule would do the exact same thing, but it take longer and be a lot more painful.
18
As a democrat I never liked the Bushes policies much but the elder Bush seemed like a pretty good guy. This family now seem like absolute moderates compared to the wack jobs the GOP is currently sending to congress. Romney couldn't figure out how to appease both the center, where most people are, and the extreme right, which seems bent on the distruction of government as we know it. Jeb may lack foreign policy experience, but his real problem is not being crazy enough for the Tea Party.
4
Dynasties in politics are dangerous for a number of reasons. First - they allow severely unfit individuals, like GW Bush, to be boosted to leadership positions that couldn't possibly have earned on their own merit. Second - they allow such individuals to bring with them the collection of advisers, hangers on and sycophants who were possibly disastrous in an earlier iteration of the dynasty and will probably be disastrous in the next iteration. Jeb Bush needs to fail for the good of the US and Hillary needs to put her support behind the younger leadership of the Democratic party, like Senators Warren and Gillibrand. That is the only way forward...
13
The fact of the matter is that this is the best the GOP can offer. The others are rabid tea-party types. These are all destructive narcissistic people with neither the skill nor the heart to serve this country. Capable, thoughtful and educated people need not apply.
8
I completely agree. And because this is the best the GOP can offer, the country grows weaker. Let's hope this is an election where the extremists in the GOP are finally marginalized.
1
I long for a third party candidate (or more) on the dais during moderated candidate debates who will answer questions that ought to have been asked, but weren't.
9
Columbia Savings and Loan money vanishing via Florida. Hanging Chads in Florida. A wife who didn't report six figures worth of luxury purchases in Europe. Painful extended deaths for every elderly person in the US. And that property in South America which I hope has to deal with the horrible international tax reporting (can we confiscate it?). I'm sure there is much much more.
If you went to Philips Andover, did you know the FBI under daddy Bush kept files on you? Yup, planning ahead. Many staff were ex military, not educators.
If you went to Philips Andover, did you know the FBI under daddy Bush kept files on you? Yup, planning ahead. Many staff were ex military, not educators.
16
@poslug: During the 2000 election, Jeb sent Florida State Highway Patrol officers to black neighborhoods, intimidating black people so they wouldn't vote. They went door to door giving out flyers with the wrong date for the election, stuff like that. I never understood why that story was dropped, never explored. I hope it will be now. That, to me, is one of the most despicable things I've ever heard and it was a Bush who did it. The Bush family is a crime family - I mean Prescott worked with Hitler - but somehow the money of the crime family keeps rolling along and he will try to be the third Bush president. Unbelievable.
7
There are no surprises here with respect to the advisors chosen, and the "deny everything" creed of the GOP will surely prevent any real analysis of the failings of W and his warmongering profiteers. That seems to leave trying to judge Jeb Bush by his record as governor in Florida. His handling of the education system there, as painted in a recent New Yorker story, seems to show a burgeoning desire to improve the public school system by replacing part of it with 300 charter schools, and putting a great deal of trust in charter school operators and developers. Beyond that, there doesn't seem to be much to go on.
The answer probably is "not much", so we can save ourselves the suspense in that regard, and watch as the scenario unfolds with probably the most expansive ad campaign in the history of the world, designed to coax people that he's OK. Icky stuff.
The answer probably is "not much", so we can save ourselves the suspense in that regard, and watch as the scenario unfolds with probably the most expansive ad campaign in the history of the world, designed to coax people that he's OK. Icky stuff.
6
Are not the advisors that Jeb Bush is courting for direction and advice in his possible attempt to run a presidential campaign, the same who concocted the idea of landing W on a aircraft carrier in a military jet fighter plane, stepping out to a sign of "Mission Accomplished". Then they continued to advise, more likely lead W, into many disastrous years in Iraq that we now suffer the consequences.
Can or would Jeb Bush disassociate or better yet denounce those policies that led to suffering, death and destruction of Iraq under false pretenses by those in W's administration. I doubt that very much. Would not those advisers continue the same in policy and lies, that they did with W.
Would the voters in this country make the same mistake again? Its very possible they would.
Can or would Jeb Bush disassociate or better yet denounce those policies that led to suffering, death and destruction of Iraq under false pretenses by those in W's administration. I doubt that very much. Would not those advisers continue the same in policy and lies, that they did with W.
Would the voters in this country make the same mistake again? Its very possible they would.
20
Wolfowitz again? Really?? There are some people whose continued influence in policy circles utterly defies rational explanation, and he's one of them. Political bent and policy preferences aside, this guy should be completely discredited by now.
52
Yes, when we elect someone to office, especially the presidency, we are putting our faith in the person's choice of advisers as much as the person.
That's why it sends chills up and down my spine to see David Dinkins, the worst mayor in recent memory, standing next to deBlasio at major speeches. It's why, when Obama first took office in '09, so many of his appointees were veterans of the Clinton administration, as if in reparations for the Gore loss of 2000.
Of course we should be cautious when we see Jeb Bush surrounded by the same cast of characters as his brother. But this is not something new, or limited to the Republicans.
That's why it sends chills up and down my spine to see David Dinkins, the worst mayor in recent memory, standing next to deBlasio at major speeches. It's why, when Obama first took office in '09, so many of his appointees were veterans of the Clinton administration, as if in reparations for the Gore loss of 2000.
Of course we should be cautious when we see Jeb Bush surrounded by the same cast of characters as his brother. But this is not something new, or limited to the Republicans.
6
Lets hope the press, via the debates, will help jog the Nations memory about the potential replays this advisory staff has to offer our future. Do we want to remember the disaster of the 'W' years or the relatively healthy economy the Clintons managed despite the 'Rights' 'Contract on America'.
18
Sorry, but the media abhors journalism and is terrified by the thought of it.
2
I remember with foreboding a plaintive question by a commentator on NPR shortly after the Florida chad fiasco and Supreme Court decision made George W. Bush the most powerful man in the world. He asked, "How did this happen?" One half of the country would elect a turnip President if the vegetable was a conservative Republican. Try to talk to someone who voted for W about the Iraq War or taking the American economy from surplus to the Great Recession during his 8 years in office and somehow, you will discover, it was the Democrats fault.
We have become so polarized in our tribal loyalties that all of the important points made in Ms. Dowd's column will be irrelevant to most GOP voters if Jeb gets the nomination. We no longer share the same historical facts, cultural interests or economic realities with members of the opposing Party. Paul Wolfowitz "loves America" which is all the GOP supporters need to know.
We have become so polarized in our tribal loyalties that all of the important points made in Ms. Dowd's column will be irrelevant to most GOP voters if Jeb gets the nomination. We no longer share the same historical facts, cultural interests or economic realities with members of the opposing Party. Paul Wolfowitz "loves America" which is all the GOP supporters need to know.
75
Absolutely on the money. Every time a Republican gets elected, they pursue policies that implode the economy, devastate the stock market, spur wholesale job losses nationally and, oh yeah, start a war or two resulting in the deaths of American men and women, somehow it's the fault of ... Democrats?
Bottom line: Far too many Americans are clueless. When people are voting for the leader of the free world, and they have no clue that there are 50 states, that Paris is in France, that global warming is a scientific fact, or when a legislature is so utterly inane as to pass a law forbidding Sharia Law being imposed in its state, you really have to wonder: when did America become one big Comedy Channel!
Bottom line: Far too many Americans are clueless. When people are voting for the leader of the free world, and they have no clue that there are 50 states, that Paris is in France, that global warming is a scientific fact, or when a legislature is so utterly inane as to pass a law forbidding Sharia Law being imposed in its state, you really have to wonder: when did America become one big Comedy Channel!
4
Maureen Dowd compares the convoluted family 'dynamic' of the Clintons with the one of the Bushes, which is in and by itself a vastly exaggerated and flawed analogy. By writing the name Clinton in the plural, she once again shows that she is utterly obsessed with Hillary.
I take a 'convoluted' family dynamic caused by Bill Clinton's 'straying' any time over the one caused by the Bushes.
The first one didn't cause tens of thousands and thousands of dead, didn't leave us with thousands of amputated soldiers one can still see being rehabilitated at Walter Reed, didn't bring the country close to another Great Depression, and didn't impose a president on us by a brother who was as well the governor of a swing state - with a little help from the Supremes.
And last but not least, the first was not responsible for the end of democracy as we know it by letting government go to the highest bidder through Citizen's United.
I take a 'convoluted' family dynamic caused by Bill Clinton's 'straying' any time over the one caused by the Bushes.
The first one didn't cause tens of thousands and thousands of dead, didn't leave us with thousands of amputated soldiers one can still see being rehabilitated at Walter Reed, didn't bring the country close to another Great Depression, and didn't impose a president on us by a brother who was as well the governor of a swing state - with a little help from the Supremes.
And last but not least, the first was not responsible for the end of democracy as we know it by letting government go to the highest bidder through Citizen's United.
89
Talk about being dangerous, here. Yikes.
1
Despite the fact that she often makes the Times and many of its readership uncomfortable, she has become a treasure. She is prepared to criticize her own side as well as the other, an ability sorely lacking in national politics today.
Her invective is devastating and usually right on the money. Today she gets to hold the national puppy's nose right on the poop in the middle of the living room. I continue to be astounded by the inability or refusal of so many to forget or not recognize the damage that W's administration did to this country. We are an amnesiac nation: When we see Jeb Bush parade many of the slime balls out again that led us into the first disasters, I can't believe we could be getting ready for the sequel. The stage is being set by the Netanyahu/Republican Axis -- war with Iran.
Her invective is devastating and usually right on the money. Today she gets to hold the national puppy's nose right on the poop in the middle of the living room. I continue to be astounded by the inability or refusal of so many to forget or not recognize the damage that W's administration did to this country. We are an amnesiac nation: When we see Jeb Bush parade many of the slime balls out again that led us into the first disasters, I can't believe we could be getting ready for the sequel. The stage is being set by the Netanyahu/Republican Axis -- war with Iran.
86
Maureen you left out Immigration and and Taxes.
Who starts a war and cuts taxes?
Christ if we start forcing all 12 million illegal immigtans and their families out of America, (if the rich that used them are done) at the point of a gun there will be some Urban warfare all over America.
Who starts a war and cuts taxes?
Christ if we start forcing all 12 million illegal immigtans and their families out of America, (if the rich that used them are done) at the point of a gun there will be some Urban warfare all over America.
20
Jeb says he disagrees with Obama's "disastrous" policies. I would ask him to look at the state of the nation and the economy in January 2009 when Obama was sworn in and the state of the nation and the economy today. Whose policies were "disastrous"?
712
People who are abusive refuse to take personal responsibility and typically blame others for their own worst faults and failings.
4
The family dynamic seems to be the gossip and objective of politics and pundits, and personality moves us away from policies and hard, clear looks at the future. It's still the economy; another billion people will come of age by 2025, resources like water and food will grow scarce and become sources of international unrest and social upheavals, and we are not developing global systems or rules to address their impact.
The great goods of all national economies are now commodities; volume producers that produce wealth and flatline jobs and wages. Apple, Monsanto (80% of world corn seed), American Water Supply (the largest water utility), Pepsico, Google are diverse examples of commodity enterprises operating in global markets that increase capital wealth with little increase in jobs and wages; yet they are vital to global economic growth.
Bush nor Clinton’s advisers seem to get this paradox: the modern economy is built on essential or desired commodities that transfer wealth without the traditional means of adding value through labor and rarely expand workforces. In fact, work itself is becoming a commodity, priced by industry and region, in the same way as goods and services.
Time for both sides to reflect on the key economic questions, reviewed here for Hillary, but the same for Jeb: “Hillary Clinton: Will Her Economic Policy Follow Global Best Practices?” [bit.ly/1FMJTJM].
The great goods of all national economies are now commodities; volume producers that produce wealth and flatline jobs and wages. Apple, Monsanto (80% of world corn seed), American Water Supply (the largest water utility), Pepsico, Google are diverse examples of commodity enterprises operating in global markets that increase capital wealth with little increase in jobs and wages; yet they are vital to global economic growth.
Bush nor Clinton’s advisers seem to get this paradox: the modern economy is built on essential or desired commodities that transfer wealth without the traditional means of adding value through labor and rarely expand workforces. In fact, work itself is becoming a commodity, priced by industry and region, in the same way as goods and services.
Time for both sides to reflect on the key economic questions, reviewed here for Hillary, but the same for Jeb: “Hillary Clinton: Will Her Economic Policy Follow Global Best Practices?” [bit.ly/1FMJTJM].
29
It's an insult to America that the Bushes feel the " other brother... Jeb " , should be President of our country, we're still healing our war torn hearts. We have been abused by Bush's and their neocons who profited off of the Iraq war. Shame on the arrogance and audacity of Jeb Bush to disregard America's families to surround himself with the very same people that took us to war and caused untold deaths and pain to the families left behind. Jeb Bush...ISIS is because of your brother's Iraq war...period ! Just because you feel entitled to the presidency doesn't mean America can stomach another priviledged and disastrous Bush . American families deserve better.
69
Great column, Mo. All I have to add is fool me once, shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.
50
J. Murphy: I believe that Dubya said that. Ironic, isn't it?
1
Fool me thrice - holy schnikes!
2
The words "Jeb" and "Brainless" fit perfectly into your headline. "Trust" does not. It is not even on the stage, even if it could be found somewhere......
41
Mmmmmm....what war will the new Bush and his posse want to start in order to outdo the former Bush? Invade Syria? Libya is playing up and needs a firm line? Yemen is in anarchy and could use a slap?
Watch out if you elect this guy.
Watch out if you elect this guy.
75
Bush family history shows they are long time war profiteers!
1
Good ole Jeb, one of the architects of the Savings and Loan fiasco of the Reagan years, and then, oh yeah, wasn't he sort of pardoned for that?
Another President from the family that brought you Saddam Hussein, the Enron debacle, 9/11, two still ongoing failed fake wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet another financial meltdown in 2008, which of course, didn't punish any of the criminal bankers, sort of like the S&lL fiasco. Then there was that families attacks. on the constitution and Bill of Rights.
Maybe Jeb will give us World War III.
Another President from the family that brought you Saddam Hussein, the Enron debacle, 9/11, two still ongoing failed fake wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet another financial meltdown in 2008, which of course, didn't punish any of the criminal bankers, sort of like the S&lL fiasco. Then there was that families attacks. on the constitution and Bill of Rights.
Maybe Jeb will give us World War III.
94
You are such a pessimist. Why, the Silverado fiasco put about 13,000 homes in Denver alone in foreclosure and fire sale prices for solvent homebuyers. Look on the bright side. There are still two Bush boys in the wings.
The Bush family has been making money from wars since at least the time that Prescott Bush added to the family's fortune by doing business with the Nazis and protecting Nazi banking assets in an earlier savings scandal.
3
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush said late Friday in a statement distributed by aides: “Governor Bush doesn’t question President Obama’s motives. He does question President Obama’s disastrous policies.”
I would be extremely interested to hear what Jeb thinks about his brother's policies if he believes Obama's have been "disastrous". I think a new word for awful would need to be invited.
I would be extremely interested to hear what Jeb thinks about his brother's policies if he believes Obama's have been "disastrous". I think a new word for awful would need to be invited.
116
When presented with the choice between the usual suspects of Clinton and the usual suspects of Bush, I choose "neither of the above".
Possesed of a desparation to retain the White House and elect America's first woman President, how many Democrats and Liberals will be able to say "neither of the above"?
And Obama gives us ample evidence of why you do not thrust an unproven person, of any interesting and new interest, racial, or gender group (and I am now thinking of Elizabeth Warren) into such an important job.
Perhaps in 2016, we can elect a center-hewing and wise person with executive (not Congressional) experience. We can calm down about electing someone just because they are not White and male, and we can think deeply about the skills, character, and background of our selection.
We will elect that person with 55% of the popular vote, a reasonable majority in the Electoral College, and we will not dissect their approval ratings with Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, and Environmentalists. We will assess them with a willful blindness to their label and a focus on their ability to unite a country that is being torn to shreds by partisan, racial, and gender-driven fights which set aside the fact--in the end--that we need to do this together.
I think I was dreaming when I wrote that last paragraph, and every journalist and moneyed interest in the nation will be seeking to prove me wrong and turn this into another dog fight.
Possesed of a desparation to retain the White House and elect America's first woman President, how many Democrats and Liberals will be able to say "neither of the above"?
And Obama gives us ample evidence of why you do not thrust an unproven person, of any interesting and new interest, racial, or gender group (and I am now thinking of Elizabeth Warren) into such an important job.
Perhaps in 2016, we can elect a center-hewing and wise person with executive (not Congressional) experience. We can calm down about electing someone just because they are not White and male, and we can think deeply about the skills, character, and background of our selection.
We will elect that person with 55% of the popular vote, a reasonable majority in the Electoral College, and we will not dissect their approval ratings with Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Gays, and Environmentalists. We will assess them with a willful blindness to their label and a focus on their ability to unite a country that is being torn to shreds by partisan, racial, and gender-driven fights which set aside the fact--in the end--that we need to do this together.
I think I was dreaming when I wrote that last paragraph, and every journalist and moneyed interest in the nation will be seeking to prove me wrong and turn this into another dog fight.
22
Uh, Stuart, your dismissal of women, blacks, hispanics, gays and environmentalists and their opinions means that only about 16% of the population (white, straight, protestant males) should have the votes that count. All the rest should be dismissed because they MIGHT not agree with you? How does that approach demonstrate democracy?
3
...and who might that be?
Using your criteria George W. Bush was the perfect president. Male, White, "Christian", and a business person. I don't think we need another W.
2
Ms. Dowd refers to: " ...two decade-long botched wars that cost tens of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars. The nation will be dealing for a long time with struggling veterans and the loss of American prestige."
Most Americans were swayed by arguments saying simply that Iraq possessed WMD or at least the means effectively to produce those feared kinds of weapons. And forgot to remind us how in the 80s, poison gas and other such WMD were shipped to Iraq and Saddam Hussein was helped in many such ways in the Iraq-Iran War.
The idea was that this was unacceptable because it placed any adjoining countries, and then the Weat and the U.S., not to speak of Israel, in 'imminent' danger. Even today, the neoconservatives and other patriots defending these far-flung wars point to these matters as facts.
And it is absolutely true that Iraq did possess the means to produce WMD within a short time frame if it had wanted to. Yet this was never reason enough to launch a preemptive war. And never was it reason to completely destroy the government there, and the army, so completely, and so obviously vindictively.
The warmongers conducted barbarity, and this despite having a United Nations that didn't endorse that war. They have been lying about so much, and continue to do so now, about Libya, and today, about Syria.
When can we get a party for peace?
Most Americans were swayed by arguments saying simply that Iraq possessed WMD or at least the means effectively to produce those feared kinds of weapons. And forgot to remind us how in the 80s, poison gas and other such WMD were shipped to Iraq and Saddam Hussein was helped in many such ways in the Iraq-Iran War.
The idea was that this was unacceptable because it placed any adjoining countries, and then the Weat and the U.S., not to speak of Israel, in 'imminent' danger. Even today, the neoconservatives and other patriots defending these far-flung wars point to these matters as facts.
And it is absolutely true that Iraq did possess the means to produce WMD within a short time frame if it had wanted to. Yet this was never reason enough to launch a preemptive war. And never was it reason to completely destroy the government there, and the army, so completely, and so obviously vindictively.
The warmongers conducted barbarity, and this despite having a United Nations that didn't endorse that war. They have been lying about so much, and continue to do so now, about Libya, and today, about Syria.
When can we get a party for peace?
24
Excellent words, and well worth remembering when we decide who will be the next leader of the free world come January 2017.
1
Dowd: "And that led to two decade-long botched wars that cost tens of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars. The nation will be dealing for a long time with struggling veterans and the loss of American prestige. Not to mention that W. let Wall Street gamble away the economy..."
Maureen, thanks for the memories, the bad memories.
If Jeb Bush is relying on the same "brainless trust" that gave us folly during the years with W in the White House, why should any of us have confidence that Jeb has the potential of providing leadership that would take us in a different direction?
Maureen, thanks for the memories, the bad memories.
If Jeb Bush is relying on the same "brainless trust" that gave us folly during the years with W in the White House, why should any of us have confidence that Jeb has the potential of providing leadership that would take us in a different direction?
68
Maureen, Republicans don't understand shame. They are shame-less. If any of the Bushes understood what their family has done to America and to the people of the Middle East, they would humbly ask for forgiveness and work for the poor and unfortunate instead of running another Bush for the presidency.
And how is it possible that Jeb says he's his own man and then have Paul Wolfowitz on board as advisor? Does he think America is that stupid, that we have such short memories? Maybe he's right. That Bush could even think of running is ridiculous, but that the press has already anointed him is tragic for America. We don't need nor want another Bush. That family has done enough damage. Enough of this Shakespearean farce/tragedy of trying to right the family name from W's disastrous presidency. Or perhaps it is all about giving W a pardon, a pardon for waging pre-emptive war and torturing, truly criminal acts by America's worst president? Maybe that's why Jeb feels he must (or has been told he must by H.W.) run for the presidency. Whatever - I hope he does not succeed. America cannot withstand it.
And how is it possible that Jeb says he's his own man and then have Paul Wolfowitz on board as advisor? Does he think America is that stupid, that we have such short memories? Maybe he's right. That Bush could even think of running is ridiculous, but that the press has already anointed him is tragic for America. We don't need nor want another Bush. That family has done enough damage. Enough of this Shakespearean farce/tragedy of trying to right the family name from W's disastrous presidency. Or perhaps it is all about giving W a pardon, a pardon for waging pre-emptive war and torturing, truly criminal acts by America's worst president? Maybe that's why Jeb feels he must (or has been told he must by H.W.) run for the presidency. Whatever - I hope he does not succeed. America cannot withstand it.
46
I have often wondered if George W. Bush regrets going into Iraq in 2003. He's not a stupid person. Surely he understands he is directly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi. Of the near dissolution of a country that had been an ally. I have also wondered if he could fashion a redo of his 2 terms in the White House, would George W. allow Dick Cheney near full run of his foreign policy a second time. I have wondered what Laura Bush thought of her husband's circle of advisers. I suppose both of their absence from the current Republican Party apparatus speaks volumes.
How well at night do those in positions of leadership (in this case George W. Bush) sleep after having creating such a shambles of America's Mid-East relations. Just wondering.
How well at night do those in positions of leadership (in this case George W. Bush) sleep after having creating such a shambles of America's Mid-East relations. Just wondering.
27
That "W" has professed no regret whatsoever on his 8 years of total failure, pretty much makes your second sentence totally without validity.
1
" He's not a stupid person."
I beg to differ.
Can't we as a nation do better than going to the same gene pools? I wonder.
I beg to differ.
Can't we as a nation do better than going to the same gene pools? I wonder.
2
I think it's quite possible that George W. was every bit as simple as he looked, sounded, and acted. What more proof do you need?
3
Spot on. Granted I haven't seen the whole list, but whatever credibility Jeb gained with the inclusion of James Baker, whose role in helping install GW turned out to be his worst foreign policy decision ever -- ditto Bush, Sr's recommendation of Cheney to head a VP search, was lost with the inclusion of the disgraced neo con brigade. And, if anyone imagines that any of the other gop hopefuls have better ideas or consultants, they should imagine that list minus James Baker.
10
No one I know is eager for another Bush as POTUS. No one I know is eager for another Clinton, either. If it's a given that the two-party structure will result in Bush and Clinton as candidates, then this might well be the time for the two-party structure to give way to something with more promise.
20
If there was someone out there that wasn't a tea party person or someone in the Democratic party I think they could or would run as an independent.... a true one. However I have no idea... I want ELizabeth Warren to run but I really think she believes she is more effective in Congress. So who??
Obama should pardon Cheney et al. Because that's the closest thing to accountability we will ever get on those men and it will forever brand them, at long last, as having been in need of such.
9
Pardon for what? What has he been convicted of? Or even indicted for? Just because you don't like his policies - even if the implementation of such were largely unsuccessful - doesn't make him a criminal. If we started trying trying public officials for policies that some portion of the electorate didn't like, we would have a hard time finding people willing to run for office. Or worse yet, we'd be living in Venezuela. Per your logic, the next president should pardon Obama for drastically ineffective foreign policies, and lying about about red lines and being able to keep your doctor.
1
Except they have already said they would not accept a pardon. They accept no blame either.
The whole sick bunch should be in jail.
The whole sick bunch should be in jail.
5
So on point, Maureen. Raise and sound the alarm! "They Were Right And They Knew It" by Jacob Heilbrunn should be required reading for all those who believe that Wolfowotiz, et al., do not pose a continuing threat to U.S foreign policy in the Mid-East. That Jeb has even mentioned their names, let alone the possibility that if elected, they could be Jeb's advisors, either publicly or behind the scenes, is to guarantee forever wars in the Mid-East and around the globe, in the name of their misguided aims. To put it mildly. How many of those you have named, Wolfowitz, et al., have sent their own children or grandchildren into harm's way? What's the old saying - they have no skin in the game (except their own financial emolument)?
28
He basically just included everybody who would be included. The interesting absentee is Richard Haass, chairman of the Council of Foreign Relations, and a Bush I official.
This just seems to confirm that Haass is Christie's man. Christie is odds on to be the next President. If Haass is his top foreign policy adviser, it is a good reason to vote for Christie
It doesn't matter who Bush picks. I cannot imagine that the Republicans would agree to a Clinton-Bush match that would give Clinton a chance to win if the revolution at the choice doesn't occur first.
This just seems to confirm that Haass is Christie's man. Christie is odds on to be the next President. If Haass is his top foreign policy adviser, it is a good reason to vote for Christie
It doesn't matter who Bush picks. I cannot imagine that the Republicans would agree to a Clinton-Bush match that would give Clinton a chance to win if the revolution at the choice doesn't occur first.
Christie won't be president if he keeps having weeks like the last few he's had.
1
Not sure the infatuation with HC, hasn't she done enough already? For whatever the reason, she got shafted. Not sure why HC is even a consideration. Its evident that she has a track record of flip flopping and will say anything to get elected. I cant imagine I'm the only one who thinks highly of Senator Warren. She's smart as whip. The dream ticket for Democratic Party would be Warren-Rand Paul. Rand Paul needs to get his act together and become independent. He should be able to maintain every conservative principles he deems fit and assist the bright woman from Oklahoma. He too will get a shot at presidency but it'll be difficult for him and he should't compromise his own principles to get elected. As for the Republicans, Paul Ryan's your guy. Stay from Christie or Jeb Bush and believe in Paul Ryan. That's my boy Paul Ryan.
1
Quite fitting that Jeb Bush was governor of Florida, a state whose idea of culture is revivals of revivals of revivals, tailored toward a population loaded with people who are either automatic suckers for anything that keeps saying 'God and Country' or who proudly place their old home team logos on everything from their cars to their clothes. And the sad part is that not all of them are actually retired, at least from the neck down. If they let parrots run for president, one of those who says the right words would be a shoo-in to carry this state. Then again, it looks like that's just what they're about to do, anyway.
As the late humourist Harry Golden like to say, "My friends on Mars will never believe this."
As the late humourist Harry Golden like to say, "My friends on Mars will never believe this."
6
" ...two decade-long botched wars that cost tens of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars. The nation will be dealing for a long time with struggling veterans and the loss of American prestige."
Most Americans were swayed by arguments saying simply that Iraq possessed WMD or at least the means effectively to produce those feared kinds of weapons. The media forgot to remind us, while presenting the government's arguments for the war, how in the 80s, poison gas and other weaponry, were shipped to Iraq and Saddam Hussein was helped in many such ways with the Iraq-Iran War.
The idea was that this was unacceptable because it placed any adjoining countries, and then the West and the U.S., not to speak of Israel, in 'imminent' danger. Even today, the neoconservatives and other such true Americans defending these far-flung wars point to these matters, like of the WMD, as facts.
And it is absolutely true that Iraq did possess the means to produce WMD within a short time frame if it had wanted to. Yet this was never reason enough to launch a preemptive war. And never was it reason to completely destroy the government there, and the army, so completely, and so obviously vindictively.
The warmongers conducted barbarity, and this despite having a United Nations that didn't endorse that war. They have been lying about so much, and kept lying, like about Libya and its 'tyrant' Col. al-Qaddafi, and today, about Syria and its 'dictator'.
When can we get a party for peace?
Most Americans were swayed by arguments saying simply that Iraq possessed WMD or at least the means effectively to produce those feared kinds of weapons. The media forgot to remind us, while presenting the government's arguments for the war, how in the 80s, poison gas and other weaponry, were shipped to Iraq and Saddam Hussein was helped in many such ways with the Iraq-Iran War.
The idea was that this was unacceptable because it placed any adjoining countries, and then the West and the U.S., not to speak of Israel, in 'imminent' danger. Even today, the neoconservatives and other such true Americans defending these far-flung wars point to these matters, like of the WMD, as facts.
And it is absolutely true that Iraq did possess the means to produce WMD within a short time frame if it had wanted to. Yet this was never reason enough to launch a preemptive war. And never was it reason to completely destroy the government there, and the army, so completely, and so obviously vindictively.
The warmongers conducted barbarity, and this despite having a United Nations that didn't endorse that war. They have been lying about so much, and kept lying, like about Libya and its 'tyrant' Col. al-Qaddafi, and today, about Syria and its 'dictator'.
When can we get a party for peace?
5
Brainless - absolutely, but even that is not the worst sin. These are vile venal people who care only about their own power. I'm eager to ask each in the Bush brain trust how many have sons, daughters, nieces or nephews who fought or are still fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan... How many of them lost their homes or their pensions, their jobs or their savings as the great economic collapse simmered under GWB before fully exploding while he and his buddies exhausted themselves only from self-congratulation. Shameful indeed - every last one of them. If only Chaney and Rumsfeld were in jail where they belong...
Please voters - save us from another Republican mistake of enduring consequence...
Please voters - save us from another Republican mistake of enduring consequence...
26
Why are you/we giving Bush I a pass? Doesn't anyone remember his attitude towards Geraldine Ferraro during the V.P. debate way back when? His ridiculous, bumbling answers to the moderator's questions? I'm sure someone still has the video tapes somewhere...
His Presidency wasn't an exemplary one either. Look at the crowd he surrounded himself with. You can tell a lot about a person by the companions (and advisers) that person chooses.
As to Bush II, we all know how well that turned out.
The thought of a possible Bush III makes me want to give up my U.S. citizenship and move somewhere else, anywhere else.
What's happened in NC with a Republican Governor and Republican controlled State legislature should be fair and adequate warning to the rest of the country; it will not be remotely pretty at the national level.
God help us all. We've been giving the country away while we've all been asleep at the wheel.
For the life of me, I can't figure out why there haven't been millions marching on Washington already. Maybe we aren't asleep at the wheel after all; maybe we're all dead...
His Presidency wasn't an exemplary one either. Look at the crowd he surrounded himself with. You can tell a lot about a person by the companions (and advisers) that person chooses.
As to Bush II, we all know how well that turned out.
The thought of a possible Bush III makes me want to give up my U.S. citizenship and move somewhere else, anywhere else.
What's happened in NC with a Republican Governor and Republican controlled State legislature should be fair and adequate warning to the rest of the country; it will not be remotely pretty at the national level.
God help us all. We've been giving the country away while we've all been asleep at the wheel.
For the life of me, I can't figure out why there haven't been millions marching on Washington already. Maybe we aren't asleep at the wheel after all; maybe we're all dead...
40
If I were a Bush, I wouldn't want to focus on the past either, as that is where all of the family crimes lay. The best thing we could possibly do to put America back on the path to ethical and political recovery would be to peel back all of the faux-classified barriers and expose the actions of this family (since Prescott) to the light of day. Let's hope we don't give the next witless offspring the chance to create more crimes in the future.
11
Harsh though deserved criticism for the Bush Dinasty, with so much harm inflicted on the U.S., not only in blood and treasure, but also in loss of respect by trying to bully other countries into submission and join in the invasion of a country that had nothing to do with 9/11. Strange wordings appeared, 'old Europe', no more 'french fries', 'liberty' fries instead, and other nonsense innuendos. Jeb's myopic interest in bringing back advisers that new no decent behavior with W., so they can have an encore now, seems preposterous. No shame and poor memory make a bad mix of a drink.
19
Jeb mouths the words that he is his own man, but acts and alliances show, without question, that the Bushes are not so much a family nor a dynasty as a ruthless corporation unto itself that seeks absolute power and fortune. As Jeb now, they have all turned to the same warmongers and war-profiteers from one Bush generation. Their singular goal is to engage the U.S. in false interventions abroad, to deploy our military in behalf of themselves and their corporate allies, and they will do this, no matter the devastating cost to the American people. A foreign cabal could do no greater harm to our nation than the Bush Corporation.
Jeb will make his modest motions that he is not like his impetuous, bumbling, incompetent brother, and he will surely promise to re-energize America with more of "that vision thing" than Poppy did, but we can never allow Jeb's smoother demeanor to crack the door open for another Bush. For American voters ever to seat Jeb Bush in the White House is to invite in the same swarm of locusts to eat at our core, and it would ensure the economic and moral collapse of our nation. We have barely survived the Bush incompetency, greed, and corruption twice, and we can never allow ourselves to be fooled by them a third time. Chained to Jeb are the Bush Company men, and their secretive, self-serving policies will ensure that our ship of state will be smashed upon the shoals. This is where we must draw the line: no more Bushes in the White House ever again.
Jeb will make his modest motions that he is not like his impetuous, bumbling, incompetent brother, and he will surely promise to re-energize America with more of "that vision thing" than Poppy did, but we can never allow Jeb's smoother demeanor to crack the door open for another Bush. For American voters ever to seat Jeb Bush in the White House is to invite in the same swarm of locusts to eat at our core, and it would ensure the economic and moral collapse of our nation. We have barely survived the Bush incompetency, greed, and corruption twice, and we can never allow ourselves to be fooled by them a third time. Chained to Jeb are the Bush Company men, and their secretive, self-serving policies will ensure that our ship of state will be smashed upon the shoals. This is where we must draw the line: no more Bushes in the White House ever again.
33
I have to admit that I am so totally disgusted by the Democratic love of war-monger Hillary that I was actually willing to give Jeb some consideration. Maybe he would actually be a lot like his father and could do some good things.
But his speech and his coterie of close advisers destroyed any illusions I had. Simply keeping Wolfowitz around is enough for me to dismiss him as brainless. All those other leftover neocons anxious to throw the US into more wars is just extremely distasteful icing on the cake.
Yikes, isn't this sad country capable of providing better leaders than Hillary and Jeb? It's depressing and further strengthens my belief that this country has absolutely lost its way. I guess I will not be voting in 2016. Then again things could turn around. C'mon Ralph Nader. Give me somebody to vote for.
But his speech and his coterie of close advisers destroyed any illusions I had. Simply keeping Wolfowitz around is enough for me to dismiss him as brainless. All those other leftover neocons anxious to throw the US into more wars is just extremely distasteful icing on the cake.
Yikes, isn't this sad country capable of providing better leaders than Hillary and Jeb? It's depressing and further strengthens my belief that this country has absolutely lost its way. I guess I will not be voting in 2016. Then again things could turn around. C'mon Ralph Nader. Give me somebody to vote for.
11
So you think the Clinton presidency and the Bush presidency were equally bad?
2
Votes for Ralph Nader helped put the brother in the White House. Some third party "clean" candidate will do the same for Bush III.
2
Yeah, because Ralph Nader's candidacy was so helpful in Florida in 2000.
2
A very impassioned piece!
Whoever wins will need a lot of money from a lot of people who would harm our financial system and environment. And there is obvious quid pro quo regardless of what the Supreme Court imagines. Will Hilary continue her husband's penchant for trade deals and financial deregulation.
Wolfowitz, Perle, Rice, Rumsfield, Addington, Tenet, Cheney should stand permanently disgraced for their ineptitude in taking us to an unnecessary war in Iraq and unleashing forces they were unable to see. What a cast of characters this bunch. Our founding fathers must be rolling in their graves!
Whoever wins will need a lot of money from a lot of people who would harm our financial system and environment. And there is obvious quid pro quo regardless of what the Supreme Court imagines. Will Hilary continue her husband's penchant for trade deals and financial deregulation.
Wolfowitz, Perle, Rice, Rumsfield, Addington, Tenet, Cheney should stand permanently disgraced for their ineptitude in taking us to an unnecessary war in Iraq and unleashing forces they were unable to see. What a cast of characters this bunch. Our founding fathers must be rolling in their graves!
20
That Republican candidates, including Jeb Bush, are so outrageously bad, plays into Hillary Clinton's hands in the primaries too. If Republicans could be expected to field a halfway respectable candidate, Democrats would be more free to experiment, with candidates such as Elisabeth Warren. But the fallout from Republicans winning in 2016 would be so great, that Democrats will show us what it means to go conservative.
5
It would seem that if the last two Republican efforts to put one of their own in the White House is any indication, Jeb Bush et al. are in for more than just a rough ride. The number of "front runners" in those races were a long list of decidedly flawed candidates who were, coincidentally, selling a newly published book. It was like the clown car at the circus, just when you thought there would be no more emerging from the compact car. a whole other bunch would pop out.
Jeb is cut from the same cloth, creating his own reality with no reality. Facts are fictions and fiction is fact. There are times I think the Republicans really do not want to win this one.
Jeb is cut from the same cloth, creating his own reality with no reality. Facts are fictions and fiction is fact. There are times I think the Republicans really do not want to win this one.
9
Libertarian columnist of the Chicago Tribune Steve Chapman agrees with you, using the same logic and words even. Mr. Chapman's views on foreign policy over the past 15 years or so has been remarkably prescient and accurate. I have admired his writings even though I am far from being a libertarian, namely a liberal Democrat.
1
Yes! Clown Show! With murderous drive.
I declare the following:
1. W Bush was the single worst president in the history of this nation.
2. W Bush and his war lords created a disaster for us and for the world in forcing our nation to invade Iraq. The invasion was futile, costing thousands of lives and trillions of dollars to accomplish nothing besides the formation of ISIS.
3. The whole world mourned with us and supported us after the 9-11 attacks. That global goodwill and support was squandered by the W. Bush administration in what must be seen as the worst foreign policy failure in our national history.
4. I absolutely refuse to turn over the conduct of this nation's foreign policy to those war mongering, militarist war lords (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Bremer, Rumsfeld et al) that created this national disaster.
1. W Bush was the single worst president in the history of this nation.
2. W Bush and his war lords created a disaster for us and for the world in forcing our nation to invade Iraq. The invasion was futile, costing thousands of lives and trillions of dollars to accomplish nothing besides the formation of ISIS.
3. The whole world mourned with us and supported us after the 9-11 attacks. That global goodwill and support was squandered by the W. Bush administration in what must be seen as the worst foreign policy failure in our national history.
4. I absolutely refuse to turn over the conduct of this nation's foreign policy to those war mongering, militarist war lords (Cheney, Wolfowitz, Bremer, Rumsfeld et al) that created this national disaster.
109
Fascinating and scary. The damage done by Bush 43 to the Republican brand was one of the key reasons the Democrats won the 2008 election. I can't imagine that our memories of the 2 disastrous wars and the Great Recession are so faint as to consider a rerun.
348
Can I really stand another Presidential Election in this country.....with Jeb and Hillary, and the history and reflex attitudes each drag along behind?
No, I cannot. And yet, I will religiously regard the polls, the ups and downs, and I will work for Hillary. Yes, I will. Will I enjoy it? Will I feel any sense of excitement, of commitment, of hope? NOPE. It isn't her fault, of course. But still, I wish it were a completely different race in a completely different world.
And, of course, it has always been thus. Reality is so tiresome, and yet, we carry on.
No, I cannot. And yet, I will religiously regard the polls, the ups and downs, and I will work for Hillary. Yes, I will. Will I enjoy it? Will I feel any sense of excitement, of commitment, of hope? NOPE. It isn't her fault, of course. But still, I wish it were a completely different race in a completely different world.
And, of course, it has always been thus. Reality is so tiresome, and yet, we carry on.
6
What a frightening list of advisers, scarier than Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz and Scott Walker and that's saying something.
There's only one piece left, the Presidency, the neocons need to set us back decades. Their money, their lies and their fear mongering alone were enough to put us in a state of paralysis. They know the formula and it works.
There's always the hope that this group of miscreants will implode during their own debates. I'm not sure that any group of advisors, no matter how smart or devious, can keep them from stepping on their own tongues. We can always hope for another 47% remark or another lane closing scandal. Or we can hope that the Democrats find another voice that captures the best side of the voters. Until the day after the election we should be very afraid.
There's only one piece left, the Presidency, the neocons need to set us back decades. Their money, their lies and their fear mongering alone were enough to put us in a state of paralysis. They know the formula and it works.
There's always the hope that this group of miscreants will implode during their own debates. I'm not sure that any group of advisors, no matter how smart or devious, can keep them from stepping on their own tongues. We can always hope for another 47% remark or another lane closing scandal. Or we can hope that the Democrats find another voice that captures the best side of the voters. Until the day after the election we should be very afraid.
5
No, no, no--not Jeb! Jeb is clever and veils his actions with boring wonktitude. Many Floridians still don't get how he messed with us during his 8 years as governor, because the effects are still unfolding. He "reformed" our higher educational system and now one of his political cronies with no academic credentials is president of one of the flagship state universities. His "accountability" for K-12 has turned our schools into testing factories. He started the demise of a very well-functioning state pension system. And, it was he who was pulling Katherine Harris's strings when she helped anoint W. It scares me to think he might become President.
8
Ms. Dowd's op-ed saddens me to reflect upon the slim pickings of 2016 presidential candidates and their laundry list of shortcomings. I'm reminded of the 1970 film, "Suppose They Gave A War and Nobody Came (a.k.a. War Games, Old Soldiers Never.) For the political shenanigan weary 99% who have lived through the post Reagan era, we could adopt the hippie counterculture political position of simply "turning on, tuning in, and dropping out." In other words, the 99% of disenfranchised American voters could stage a massive sit-in and just refuse to vote as conscientious objectors to the post Citizens United political process. This would take tremendous courage similar to Sitting Bull during his years of resistance to United States government's policies. Even though the great Sioux chief faced tremendous odds, he was temporarily able to defend his tribe against the enemy. At the very least, the rest of the world would be aware of the all so real fact that Americans no longer live in a true Democracy as our political system is a complete sham and 1% farce on how to pull the wool over the 99% majority.
5
Enthroning John Ellis Bush as Princeling Two: the continued unravelling of representative democracy, enabled by Scotus rulings, where King money rules and voters are faceless serfs.
Have we learned nothing from the Bush Dynasty ? We have been schooled in compassionate conservatism, a cruel oxymoron masking corporate greed and plutocratic power.
Could this Nation survive another Bush presidency ? A parade of 'advisors' resurrected from HWB and GWB leave little doubt as to a Bush III agenda driven by incompetent leadership: right-wing policies leaving us stuck in the mire of economic meltdown and foreign adventurism.
After six years of our capable President's tutelage, failures of the GWB years are ameliorating. President Obama's tenacity, patience and steady stewardship have reestablished the United States as a bastion of responsible world leadership. This President looks to a future where reciprocal international relationships provide political and economic stability.
Reversals of fortune in another Bush presidency would be intolerable to an awakened, increasingly diverse Nation.
We have had the rare privilege of an Obama Presidency: integrity and inclusion.
Have we learned nothing from the Bush Dynasty ? We have been schooled in compassionate conservatism, a cruel oxymoron masking corporate greed and plutocratic power.
Could this Nation survive another Bush presidency ? A parade of 'advisors' resurrected from HWB and GWB leave little doubt as to a Bush III agenda driven by incompetent leadership: right-wing policies leaving us stuck in the mire of economic meltdown and foreign adventurism.
After six years of our capable President's tutelage, failures of the GWB years are ameliorating. President Obama's tenacity, patience and steady stewardship have reestablished the United States as a bastion of responsible world leadership. This President looks to a future where reciprocal international relationships provide political and economic stability.
Reversals of fortune in another Bush presidency would be intolerable to an awakened, increasingly diverse Nation.
We have had the rare privilege of an Obama Presidency: integrity and inclusion.
12
Dear "Not Fox Media",
As Gemli so ably points out, John Ellis Bush is not a moderate. Any minor investigation into his governance in Florida, his support and signature in 1997 of the always wrong Bill Krystal's (check the facts) New American Century Foundation manifesto makes that clear. Just because Jeb doesn't write books about grits and God or rave about no go zones in England or question if Pres. Obama loves the United States, does not mean he is a moderate. The conventional wisdom approach of the "not Fox media" insults American voters more than it informs us. We live in a world with many challenges that require leaders that are smart, informed, trust science, make decisions based on reason and study, not the bible. I personally don't believe any of the many GOP candidates pass muster because I'm aware of their records, most voters aren't, and with no in depth reporting and millions or billions spent to distort their true plans, they won't be.
As Gemli so ably points out, John Ellis Bush is not a moderate. Any minor investigation into his governance in Florida, his support and signature in 1997 of the always wrong Bill Krystal's (check the facts) New American Century Foundation manifesto makes that clear. Just because Jeb doesn't write books about grits and God or rave about no go zones in England or question if Pres. Obama loves the United States, does not mean he is a moderate. The conventional wisdom approach of the "not Fox media" insults American voters more than it informs us. We live in a world with many challenges that require leaders that are smart, informed, trust science, make decisions based on reason and study, not the bible. I personally don't believe any of the many GOP candidates pass muster because I'm aware of their records, most voters aren't, and with no in depth reporting and millions or billions spent to distort their true plans, they won't be.
7
We have not had a meaningful foreign policy for as long as I can remember.
Why should America stand for nothing less than the values that our country was founded upon, freedom and justice for all?
Our President, our leader in the eyes of the world, should convey this to all.
We do have issues to address at home, but those countries that look to us as leaders should be addressing the same issues,
All men are created equal and deserve to be treated as equals.
Do unto others as others would do unto you.
We need peace not war,
Is there anyone out there that is capable of being this leader?
Why should America stand for nothing less than the values that our country was founded upon, freedom and justice for all?
Our President, our leader in the eyes of the world, should convey this to all.
We do have issues to address at home, but those countries that look to us as leaders should be addressing the same issues,
All men are created equal and deserve to be treated as equals.
Do unto others as others would do unto you.
We need peace not war,
Is there anyone out there that is capable of being this leader?
3
Omg, how boring--J and H.
Our Dynasties are gathering their resources, arranging for the orderly passing of power to the heirs . Colluding with the big money donors, working out how they will present their ‘programs’ to the public. But these platforms are basically already decided. To deviate from elite interests would be the kiss of death.
Dowd will report scathingly blow by blow, as we go through the years of campaign charade. The media rakes in huge political ad fees financed by big donors, and will update us daily on our star candidates, stirring up faux controversy and drama, where it’s all pre ordained anyway.
The Princeton studies by Gilens and by Bartels took records over decades of whose interests are served by our laws. They are mostly passed to serve elite interests, and ignore the majority preferences, despite what polls show. This contradiction to democracy gets more entrenched with our ever soaring campaign costs with each election.
Meanwhile the contrasting election systems in many other democracies with cheaper, shorter and less corrupted campaigns do not seem to interest our columnists or news media to even mention by contrast, for human interest.
So US voters are kept conveniently in the dark of how a better system could work in an actual democracy. While the media rakes in ever soaring ad fees for the commercials swamping that box in our living rooms.
Our Dynasties are gathering their resources, arranging for the orderly passing of power to the heirs . Colluding with the big money donors, working out how they will present their ‘programs’ to the public. But these platforms are basically already decided. To deviate from elite interests would be the kiss of death.
Dowd will report scathingly blow by blow, as we go through the years of campaign charade. The media rakes in huge political ad fees financed by big donors, and will update us daily on our star candidates, stirring up faux controversy and drama, where it’s all pre ordained anyway.
The Princeton studies by Gilens and by Bartels took records over decades of whose interests are served by our laws. They are mostly passed to serve elite interests, and ignore the majority preferences, despite what polls show. This contradiction to democracy gets more entrenched with our ever soaring campaign costs with each election.
Meanwhile the contrasting election systems in many other democracies with cheaper, shorter and less corrupted campaigns do not seem to interest our columnists or news media to even mention by contrast, for human interest.
So US voters are kept conveniently in the dark of how a better system could work in an actual democracy. While the media rakes in ever soaring ad fees for the commercials swamping that box in our living rooms.
5
It looks like the Presidential election in 2016 is shaping up to be nothing but warmed up leftovers and reruns. I guess it will be a choice between the lesser of two evils, if it is Clinton vs Bush. I will vote for any Democrat over Jeb Bush.
I will never forget watching the 2000 Presidential election results on television and seeing the Bush family leave the table where they were dining, when Florida was called for Gore. A short while later it magically fell to Bush. I will never forget the Terry Schiavo case where Bush inserted himself into a very private family matter, and made it into a political fiasco. It caused Mr. Schiavo untold anguish. The decision to remove life support from his wife was his and his alone to make, and his decision was based on his wife's wishes.
So now Jeb Bush wants to show us he is his "own man" by rounding up the same players who are the architects of the tragedy that is now The Middle East to advise him on foreign policy? Why would anyone in his or her right mind vote for this man? Have we not had enough wars? Have we not expended enough lives? Have we not spent enough money on lost causes?
I will never forget watching the 2000 Presidential election results on television and seeing the Bush family leave the table where they were dining, when Florida was called for Gore. A short while later it magically fell to Bush. I will never forget the Terry Schiavo case where Bush inserted himself into a very private family matter, and made it into a political fiasco. It caused Mr. Schiavo untold anguish. The decision to remove life support from his wife was his and his alone to make, and his decision was based on his wife's wishes.
So now Jeb Bush wants to show us he is his "own man" by rounding up the same players who are the architects of the tragedy that is now The Middle East to advise him on foreign policy? Why would anyone in his or her right mind vote for this man? Have we not had enough wars? Have we not expended enough lives? Have we not spent enough money on lost causes?
10
Maybe the listing of 19 legacy advisers, a majority of them fools, knaves, and/or rogues, was an act of filial and fraternal fealty. If this putative candidacy is intent on winning office, the "fools ..." contingent will have no further role.
Or, maybe the whole Jeb candidacy should be seen as balm for Dad. "H.W. and Bar never thought W., unprepared, unruly and with a chip on his shoulder, would be president." There was much to respect about 41's presidency. The family name wouldn't need nearly so much redemption if, in 1999, GHWB had told GWB "I've been president, and I've been your father for 53 years. You're not up to being President of the United States. You'll end your candidacy within 30 days, or I'll announce my opposition." Instead during the Republican convention in 2000 we had Bush 41 on network television saying "Give George a chance." Dynasty 1, Country 0.
Now we're faced with another unprepared Bush, maybe ruly, maybe no chip on his shoulder. Dad's enthused: Dynasty 2, Country 0. Would-be 45 should heed his mother: "We've had enough Bushes."
Or, maybe the whole Jeb candidacy should be seen as balm for Dad. "H.W. and Bar never thought W., unprepared, unruly and with a chip on his shoulder, would be president." There was much to respect about 41's presidency. The family name wouldn't need nearly so much redemption if, in 1999, GHWB had told GWB "I've been president, and I've been your father for 53 years. You're not up to being President of the United States. You'll end your candidacy within 30 days, or I'll announce my opposition." Instead during the Republican convention in 2000 we had Bush 41 on network television saying "Give George a chance." Dynasty 1, Country 0.
Now we're faced with another unprepared Bush, maybe ruly, maybe no chip on his shoulder. Dad's enthused: Dynasty 2, Country 0. Would-be 45 should heed his mother: "We've had enough Bushes."
1
I sincerely hope that neither Bush nor Clinton become president. It would make us look like a Central American dictatorship with family dynasties and fake elections. On the other hand it's probably too late. We already have a sham democracy where billionaires buy elections and corporate money lords pull the strings. I wonder if people will ever get mad at the real villains in this melodrama.
8
This winter has been bad enough all by itself. The idea that another presidential election cycle is gearing up is just plain disheartening. Soon my mailbox will fill up with requests for urgently needed donations and my signature on another petition. Of course, we will have debates. Debates are good, I guess, while we weed out all but two candidates in the primaries.
Once the candidates have been decided, however, what I really want is a two hours long interview with each candidate by a panel of three people that includes Bill Moyers. That way serious questions can be asked and must be taken seriously by the candidate. Evasive answers can be pinned down in the back and forth of this format. A Jeb Bush would have to defend his choices, if they included bringing back the failed policy makers of his brother's administration. The voters would have more information. Then after the interviews, okay, a final debate.
It's up to me and every other voter to evaluate a candidate in terms of fitness for office. What motivates them to run? What's their vision? What's their world view? What's their background and how does it prepare them for office? What do they hope to accomplish? How will they choose their advisors? Do they have a deep respect for the democracy and the law? Why should I trust them? We have all this responsibility, and yet it is so hard to get good information through the noise of the money and the ads. We deserve straight, truthful information. And an early spring.
Once the candidates have been decided, however, what I really want is a two hours long interview with each candidate by a panel of three people that includes Bill Moyers. That way serious questions can be asked and must be taken seriously by the candidate. Evasive answers can be pinned down in the back and forth of this format. A Jeb Bush would have to defend his choices, if they included bringing back the failed policy makers of his brother's administration. The voters would have more information. Then after the interviews, okay, a final debate.
It's up to me and every other voter to evaluate a candidate in terms of fitness for office. What motivates them to run? What's their vision? What's their world view? What's their background and how does it prepare them for office? What do they hope to accomplish? How will they choose their advisors? Do they have a deep respect for the democracy and the law? Why should I trust them? We have all this responsibility, and yet it is so hard to get good information through the noise of the money and the ads. We deserve straight, truthful information. And an early spring.
8
Excellent rundown of the foreign policy team but I don't really believe that Americans will vote for candidates based on foreign policy. The issue will be what the candidate will say about pocketbook issues. The economy for most Americans is still in a slump and incomes flat for most. I don't know who could advise him on a plan that would work. I don't believe the old saws of the right to bear arms, gay rights, school choice will work. illegal immigrant's, and welfare cheaters will work. This time will be different. Government investment must go toward broadly shared beneficial projects. Infrastructure, healthcare, education, etc. Fair tax policies and fair wage policies. The big fix must be killed by the candidate. I don't really think JEB is up to it. Maybe with the help of Mr. Rove, he might make it but I doubt it.
Like so many Republicans, Jeb Bush probably wants the presidency so he can run government like a business. And since we're talking about the Bush clan as a whole, let us reminisce of old Prescott Bush himself.
This man is condemned by liberals for his indiscriminate, some say even treasonous, business dealings with the Nazis in the last century. We now know that anything that strengthened the Fuhrer would inevitably lead to the downfall or certainly the weakening of Uncle Joe & the Rooskies through policies sanctioned by allied agreement, er, appeasement. After the glitch of the non-aggression pact folding, we witnessed the wisdom of the patriarch Bush. Lots of mutually assured destruction shared between evil & the lessor.
So let us not be hasty in judging Jeb. Any perceived monetary or contractual improprieties sanctioned or brokered by His Governance will surely be vindicated. It's a family tradition.
This man is condemned by liberals for his indiscriminate, some say even treasonous, business dealings with the Nazis in the last century. We now know that anything that strengthened the Fuhrer would inevitably lead to the downfall or certainly the weakening of Uncle Joe & the Rooskies through policies sanctioned by allied agreement, er, appeasement. After the glitch of the non-aggression pact folding, we witnessed the wisdom of the patriarch Bush. Lots of mutually assured destruction shared between evil & the lessor.
So let us not be hasty in judging Jeb. Any perceived monetary or contractual improprieties sanctioned or brokered by His Governance will surely be vindicated. It's a family tradition.
2
Why is it that the American Presidency is beginning to resemble a British war of succession? Are both parties so bereft of talented and honest leaders that all we voters can get is another Clinton and Bush? Unfortunately a third party candidate is not the answer because those people turn out to be loopy and/or unable to understand the complexity of the importance of the United States on the world's economy and as a stabilizing force. Hopefully another candidate will step up with the political skills and without the doe-eyed optimism that President Obama thought would entice the recalcitrant opposition to lay down and roll over.
2
There is always going to be those dumbest guys in the class. But for America to elect those dumbest guys in the class to a public office says more about America than it does about the Bush's. (And mostly about Americans in the mid-US and the South.) This may be a sad statement, but it is true.
Nations grow through pain and experience. America is still a young country, but hopefully at least 2% of the population have joined the ranks and learned what happens when they do not take elections seriously.
The Bush's are notable because of their inexplicable gift at "appearing" presidential, once getting through a prolonged puberty. Thanks Judith for reminding all to look deeper.
Nations grow through pain and experience. America is still a young country, but hopefully at least 2% of the population have joined the ranks and learned what happens when they do not take elections seriously.
The Bush's are notable because of their inexplicable gift at "appearing" presidential, once getting through a prolonged puberty. Thanks Judith for reminding all to look deeper.
8
"Americans in the mid US"? You mean states like Iowa that went for Gore and Obama twice? Please don't generalize.
1
By declaring himself to be "his own man" while simultaneously informing us that his closest advisors include men who have manipulated and lied to the American people, and to world leaders, for the sake of vengeance, war, and riches...Jeb Bush also informs us that he acknowledges what these men did in the past, validates their actions as having been warranted, and simultaneously forgives them of any wrong-doing.
Should the American people elect Jeb Bush to be president, with full knowledge that these men will continue on as his foreign policy advisors, we become complicit in the acknowledgment and forgiveness of their conduct, and by proxy, that of George W Bush and Dick Cheney.
Beyond that, those who vote for him acknowledge that should they determine it is for our own good, in the "best interests" of the nation, they may manipulate or lie to the American people, elected officials, and world leaders, again, only this time it would be with the complicit/explicit permission of the American people.
Why would we want a President with that disposition in the Oval Office? And how could we make ourselves complicit in any future misdeeds that might commit? There should currently be pressure coming to bear on Jeb to change his slate of advisors, to purge himself and us of those nefarious characters, before he receives a moments more consideration to become the 3rd consecutive Bush to become President. Failure to do so should be a disqualification from that office.
Should the American people elect Jeb Bush to be president, with full knowledge that these men will continue on as his foreign policy advisors, we become complicit in the acknowledgment and forgiveness of their conduct, and by proxy, that of George W Bush and Dick Cheney.
Beyond that, those who vote for him acknowledge that should they determine it is for our own good, in the "best interests" of the nation, they may manipulate or lie to the American people, elected officials, and world leaders, again, only this time it would be with the complicit/explicit permission of the American people.
Why would we want a President with that disposition in the Oval Office? And how could we make ourselves complicit in any future misdeeds that might commit? There should currently be pressure coming to bear on Jeb to change his slate of advisors, to purge himself and us of those nefarious characters, before he receives a moments more consideration to become the 3rd consecutive Bush to become President. Failure to do so should be a disqualification from that office.
407
That Jeb selected these men from all of the others qualified to advise him is sufficient disqualification and any support of Jeb makes that and those supporters complicit in past and future misdeeds that he and they and their henchmen and toadies commit. That these men still have power within the Republican party blackens the party's reputation and seriously puts into question the possibility of eventual redemption. He is unfit to govern.
1
You are too hopeful about Jeb. His pattern of behavior to date disqualifies him. Whether he disowns his dirty legacy makes no positive difference. Do you remember "compassionate conservatism?"
"Should the American people elect Jeb Bush to be president, with full knowledge that these men will continue on as his foreign policy advisors, we become complicit in the acknowledgment and forgiveness of their conduct, and by proxy, that of George W Bush and Dick Cheney."
This is exactly the problem. A huge portion of the American public doesn't vote on the basis of policy; 99% of voters will probably never know, let alone care, who advises the candidates (and, at least in the case of one Bush, who really ran the country).
If Jeb gets the nomination, many people will vote for him because he will be cast as 'a nice guy, someone you feel like you could go have a beer with.' If it winds up being Bush v. Clinton, you can be sure the Republican spin doctors will do an admirable job of convincing the American public that Bill's peccadilloes, not W's war crimes, were a greater threat to the republic.
This is exactly the problem. A huge portion of the American public doesn't vote on the basis of policy; 99% of voters will probably never know, let alone care, who advises the candidates (and, at least in the case of one Bush, who really ran the country).
If Jeb gets the nomination, many people will vote for him because he will be cast as 'a nice guy, someone you feel like you could go have a beer with.' If it winds up being Bush v. Clinton, you can be sure the Republican spin doctors will do an admirable job of convincing the American public that Bill's peccadilloes, not W's war crimes, were a greater threat to the republic.
4
Jeb needs the money. He's been playing catchup with W. and his father ever since he was govenor of Florida. So what's the best way to make a lot of money fast? Start another war of course. Maybe that's why he's hanging out with the Neocon gang.
5
Pretty accurate assessment --although a little tough on H W--who in retrospect looks fairly competent compared to the last 2 presidents. Many Republicans Initially warmed to the idea of a moderate, seemingly reasonable guy like Jeb--Keeping an open mind --like Ms Dowd, especially considering the current GOP field ( and for that matter the DEM field, which after Hillary looks pretty weak) But if the current Bush thinks he can get elected surrounding himself with this crowd of fools, i think he is badly mistaken. Independents and Moderate GOP voters won't by it. He and Hillary both are trading on name recognition. Once the campaigns begin they are going to get ripped badly-- Bush for his "gang of fools", Hillary for her "less" than philanthropic "charitable" Clinton Foundation ( those revelations just starting to surface) Surely we can do better than either of these characters.
BUT if Mr Obama continues his poor performance on foreign policy--the GOP may win by default....Where are the leaders???
BUT if Mr Obama continues his poor performance on foreign policy--the GOP may win by default....Where are the leaders???
2
The dogs of war are barking again. Isn't Condi Rice still married to W.?
32
It's unthinkable that the American voters would bring another member of this insufferable Bush family in to the White House along with the bunch of war criminal leftovers from the last Bush administration. How much pain are we willing to endure at the hands of these entitled and oh so connected one percenters who brought the country to its knees?
43
This Jeb Bush stole the election for his brother in 2000, and this led to bringing my Country/USA to its knees. His brother, Dubya Bush, then proceeded to start a war of convenience with lies, and this killed thousands of American Soldiers and maybe up to am million Iraqi people. This also cost us Trillions. They tortured people. No thanks. This is another warmonger evil person, who needs to be kept away from the white house.
Give me Hillary Clinton with Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren as our 1-2 punch. Or these three in any order.
Give me Hillary Clinton with Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren as our 1-2 punch. Or these three in any order.
24
The electorate knows by now just what you get with a GOP administration. You get an expanded executive branch, increased national debt, upward income transfer, financial crash, and war. A violently sociopathic Keynesian program, which is all the U.S. is really capable of today. But that is what many people want. What else can we imagine? The world is not what we want it to be, so someone is to blame, so someone must be punished, even if it costs trillions. What else can we do?
4
Jeb Bush: a man so inept they named a league after him.
19
Dear Ms. Dowd: Thank you for the memory (Wolfowitz?! Bremer???!!!), the moral clarity, and the crisp prose style.
18
Lest we forget!
Thanks for the reminders, Ms. Dowd. I seldom agree with anything you say, but you are right on point re the Bush legacy.
Thanks for the reminders, Ms. Dowd. I seldom agree with anything you say, but you are right on point re the Bush legacy.
12
Hillary hate? Check. False equivalence? Check. Snotty reference to "The One"? Check.
13
Maureen, please don't keep taking the lazy and uninformed way out by automatically comparing Hillary and Jeb. All they have in common is that they had a close relative in the White House. Other than that, there is no commonality whatsoever. Their values differ; their goals for this country differ, and Hillary's knowledge of government and foreign affairs dwarf Jeb's -- and anyone else's in the country today. In this age, the job of the Secretary of State is second only to the President's in its complexity and demands; Hillary (and I must admit, I had never been a HRC supporter until lately) worked brilliantly as Secretary of State. I can't imagine Jeb (or any other Republican POTUS-wanna-be doing even a fraction of what she did for us internationally.
38
Sometimes I wonder if empowering the chicken-hawk war mongers so beloved by the Bush royal family might not be the "better" alternative. After all, then we'd squander what little is left of our treasure, power, dignity and respect in this world quickly rather than suffering the slow, painful drain we're almost certain to experience no matter who comes to power.
Americans want safety. Above all. And, as any politician will solemnly intone, the cost of providing that safety doesn't matter. And with a media pandering for ratings and politicians pandering for votes prepared to characterize any threat as an existential threat (see., e.g., Ebola, ISIS, Guatemalan children, Obamacare ... Obama), we're destined to go broke. And I don't just mean broke financially. But broke psychically, spiritually and, frankly, in the way which demands that SOME risk is essential to keep us human.
Instead, we torture, incarcerate, drone, invade, label, hate, divide, judge, arm and, ultimately, destroy in the belief that it will achieve the opposite.
Americans want safety. Above all. And, as any politician will solemnly intone, the cost of providing that safety doesn't matter. And with a media pandering for ratings and politicians pandering for votes prepared to characterize any threat as an existential threat (see., e.g., Ebola, ISIS, Guatemalan children, Obamacare ... Obama), we're destined to go broke. And I don't just mean broke financially. But broke psychically, spiritually and, frankly, in the way which demands that SOME risk is essential to keep us human.
Instead, we torture, incarcerate, drone, invade, label, hate, divide, judge, arm and, ultimately, destroy in the belief that it will achieve the opposite.
13
Excellent Maureen. Just excellent. Cheney and Rumy on board or on staff are enough to make any observer feel queasy. Paul Davis, Bessemer, AL
5
It's just terrifying what will happen to our poor nation and the world - probably another massive war - where can we hide?
8
Jeb has the right stuff to be President, Money
6
I just love it when folks add a dig or two about Hillary even while they complain justifiably about the GOP candidate de jour. All Jeb has to do is make no stupid comments and he'll take the GOP by storm, just as Romney did at the last clown standing. But Hillary has EXPERIENCE, in the WH, in foreign affairs, in health care reform, etc. Why oh why can't this country at least once elect a pre-qualified candidate? BO has had 6 years of on the job training - enough! We can't wait while EW gets her presidential act together, even though we all love her drive. BO was popular, even historic, but far from effectual. Get behind Hillary now and let's get something done.
11
Maureen, you've redeemed yourself, momentarily. Now, please, no more stuff about the solitary Obama -- as if that personality characteristic could affect foreign policy in the same way that the back-slapping Bushes, who created chaos for millions of people, did. It's unworthy of you.
17
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes."
Oscar Wilde
"Our whole problem then is to make mistakes as fast as possible ..."
John Archibald Wheeler
Karl Popper placed these two quotes at the beginning of his masterpiece of philosophy of science, "Conjectures and Refutations".
Popper of course thought that by realizing our mistakes and building a fund of experience we could move forward with knowledge. Unfortunately Jeb does not want to look back to understand what lessons can be learned from past mistakes. Barack refused to look back and see which mistakes were prosecutable criminal negligence or fraud. So the presidency moves forward without empirically based knowledge or justice.
Oscar Wilde
"Our whole problem then is to make mistakes as fast as possible ..."
John Archibald Wheeler
Karl Popper placed these two quotes at the beginning of his masterpiece of philosophy of science, "Conjectures and Refutations".
Popper of course thought that by realizing our mistakes and building a fund of experience we could move forward with knowledge. Unfortunately Jeb does not want to look back to understand what lessons can be learned from past mistakes. Barack refused to look back and see which mistakes were prosecutable criminal negligence or fraud. So the presidency moves forward without empirically based knowledge or justice.
8
The shameless one will never have a desk in the oval office! He is just another empty suit propped up by the Carlyle Group, just like his brother and father. You now the silver spoon crew with more money than brains....
12
Brains, Brains and more Brains is what John Edward Bush aka Jeb and his friends and team personify and reflect.
The Bush family and Jeb are the embodiment of Brains and Success. One can readily understand why the media is jealous and envious of Jeb, his Brains and the excellent Brainiac Team he has around him.
The effort to denigrate Jeb and his Brainiac Team is predictable and unfortunate but nothing new.
Jeb Bush has the finest Brain of all the candidates and hopefuls. Jeb Bush has an I.Q. that is at least 40 points higher than Hillary or her boy wonder Bill and Jeb is far smarter than the Native American candidate to be, Ms. Warren.
Jeb Bush will be our next president and his Brain will be the reason hie is elected.
The Bush family and Jeb are the embodiment of Brains and Success. One can readily understand why the media is jealous and envious of Jeb, his Brains and the excellent Brainiac Team he has around him.
The effort to denigrate Jeb and his Brainiac Team is predictable and unfortunate but nothing new.
Jeb Bush has the finest Brain of all the candidates and hopefuls. Jeb Bush has an I.Q. that is at least 40 points higher than Hillary or her boy wonder Bill and Jeb is far smarter than the Native American candidate to be, Ms. Warren.
Jeb Bush will be our next president and his Brain will be the reason hie is elected.
3
This is satire, right?
1
Jeb is where he is by trading on family connections, not brains, going as far back as prep school. Where would he be if not born a Bush?
1
A depressing roster fielded by Jeb's team! We had more hope and trust that he would offer a fresher and less tainted squad; Paul Wolfowitz lacks the fundamental essential of a trustworthy advisor where life and death enter the equation. That essential on full display with men like Scowcroft, Powell, Baker and Brizinski is a deeply felt caution about the unpredictability of conflict and warfare. What an alarming message the Bush choices send when men lacking this essential are recruited as future policy commanders.
1
This is the Maureen Dowd that we need. Not reporting on fashion in Paris but eviscerating the neocons and neoliberals. I remember cringing in 1999 when a front-page NYT article on W and his foreign policy was accompanied by a photo of W flanked by Kissinger and George Schultz. Kissinger the war criminal and George the cowardly lion/ war contractor Schultz. So here we go again. Of course Hillary is also a hawk and God knows who she'll bring on board. Indeed, I am surprised Jeb Bush and Hillary haven't invited each other to be Vice President on their respective tickets. When will we wake up and understand that our political system is corrupt and does not work? When will we develop a system and candidates worthy of the word democracy? When?
12
The Republicans should forget about Jeb. The Bush name is toxic. If the party is looking for name recognition it should return to the gold standard and nominate Ron Reagan, son of the party icon. I'm a life-long Democrat and I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.
1
You can fool some of the people some of the time. That might be enough to swing the election. IF Jeb gets the GOP nomination, the merest pretense of reasonableness will give cover to the right wing -- and persuade many voters in the center.
157
The refusal to acknowledge the circumstances one is born into as a significant factor in one's fortunes is a hallmark of right-wing mythology. Of course Jeb claims to be a self-made man; all the wealthy Republicans claim that. The families they are born into have nothing to do with their power and wealth.
The whole conservative ideology is based on the image of the Protean, Ayn Randian man of independent power, who makes his own destiny, who never relies on anyone to do for him. According to this gospel, anyone in America can grow up to be President, provided she/he has the right set of self-willed attitudes. This narrative is what makes the neglect of the poor possible for conservatives. They needy are all perfectly capable of helping themselves. It is counter-productive to help them. This is America, where social class has no meaning.
No, Jeb has assiduously played the impressive hand he was dealt. The Apple has fallen right next to the tree, and will eventually bear the very same fruit.
The whole conservative ideology is based on the image of the Protean, Ayn Randian man of independent power, who makes his own destiny, who never relies on anyone to do for him. According to this gospel, anyone in America can grow up to be President, provided she/he has the right set of self-willed attitudes. This narrative is what makes the neglect of the poor possible for conservatives. They needy are all perfectly capable of helping themselves. It is counter-productive to help them. This is America, where social class has no meaning.
No, Jeb has assiduously played the impressive hand he was dealt. The Apple has fallen right next to the tree, and will eventually bear the very same fruit.
12
This crowd is such a re-run that for the sake of convenience Barb could get one of those holding tanks like in that Tom Cruise movie where all those bald-headed alien type ladies were marinating in some sort of hot tub dispensing prophecies. Kissinger, Wolfowitz, Condi, Hadley, Scooter & Cheney, John Yoo, the whole bunch would be floating around transmitting their collective brain power to some lightbulb in Jeb's brain. George could do oil paintings of all of them between wars.
6
It is the voters who will have to be "brainless" to "trust" another Bush with the Presidency. The litany of foreign policy advisers is, as Ms. Dowd points out, enough to terrorize any sane citizen who does not want an Iraq War II. This time it will be "bigger and better" than his dad's and brother's including Iran and Syria. Americans should not indulge sibling rivalry or political royalty as a viable rationale for leadership. And that goes for Hillary Clinton, too. It's time for new faces with new ideas.
4
Surely there is a foreign policy approach somewhere between the neo-con recklessness and unbridled exceptionalism of the W presidency and the paralysis and naive isolationism of the Obama presidency.
Neither worked. After 14 years of failed leadership, can we really afford any more?
Neither worked. After 14 years of failed leadership, can we really afford any more?
1
The bottom line is we are leaderless. The Bush clan and the Clintons are not going to fill the void. We, the people do not want these has beens.
http://michaelslevinson.com
http://michaelslevinson.com
4
From a Linda Bilmes Harvard University Faculty Research working paper, 3/13: “The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts…will be the most expensive wars in US history –totaling somewhere between $4 to $6 trillion.” “The largest portion of that bill is yet to be paid.”
This was written prior to the discovery of woeful VA understaffing. It does not include many costs borne by states, cities, and non-profit institutions.
In my wildest dreams someday, somehow, the current and future GOP-loving Senior Citizens and their kids and grandkids will see what caused their care deficiencies.
(I wonder the role of Sen. Clinton’s vote on war authorization in any liberal restraint from shouting these numbers from every megaphone they have?)
This was written prior to the discovery of woeful VA understaffing. It does not include many costs borne by states, cities, and non-profit institutions.
In my wildest dreams someday, somehow, the current and future GOP-loving Senior Citizens and their kids and grandkids will see what caused their care deficiencies.
(I wonder the role of Sen. Clinton’s vote on war authorization in any liberal restraint from shouting these numbers from every megaphone they have?)
6
Our only hope is that the Bush and Clinton candidates are eclipsed by 'sombody else'. Who? I don't know. The thought of enduring 4 or 8 years of insufferable people is too much to bear.
4
Jeb's Message: We have learned nothing and forgotten nothing.
2
Look, let's be perfectly honest, you and your ilk at the Times will always vote for and support the Democrat candidate. While I don't know if I would support Jeb Bush at this point i will have an open mind.
1
Wolfowitz, Hadley, and other lights of the W administration named to be his foreign policy crew, well, actions speak louder than words. Jeb, you can say you're a new kind of Bush all you want. We know better.
6
To see more about why we invaded Iraq, and who was responsible, to to YouTube and watch aoeGenesis7.
This 22 minute movie presents the story of the true Axis of Evil, which is Bush and Cheney and Rice. They and their allies bullied their way into the White House even though they lost the 2000 presidential election. Then they mis-used America's military to take over and loot Iraq.
Cheney alone, president of the world's largest oil field operations firm, personally profited by about a billion dollars. The trio would have taken control of all the oil in Iraq except for their incompetence, as exemplified by the Bremer administration they installed in Iraq when the US military refused to steal for them.
Bremer retrieved pallets or Iraqi cash from New York banks and kept them in his office, available to all republican visitors. (All of this was reported in the NY Times as it happened.)
To see ideas for restoring the real America, watch Comedy Party Platform (2 min 9 sec). Then invite me to speak to your group. You will be glad you did.
This 22 minute movie presents the story of the true Axis of Evil, which is Bush and Cheney and Rice. They and their allies bullied their way into the White House even though they lost the 2000 presidential election. Then they mis-used America's military to take over and loot Iraq.
Cheney alone, president of the world's largest oil field operations firm, personally profited by about a billion dollars. The trio would have taken control of all the oil in Iraq except for their incompetence, as exemplified by the Bremer administration they installed in Iraq when the US military refused to steal for them.
Bremer retrieved pallets or Iraqi cash from New York banks and kept them in his office, available to all republican visitors. (All of this was reported in the NY Times as it happened.)
To see ideas for restoring the real America, watch Comedy Party Platform (2 min 9 sec). Then invite me to speak to your group. You will be glad you did.
2
When your hatred of someone impels you to hurl contradictory accusations at them, it proves that you've left reason behind and will marshal any argument to denigrate the object of your derision. Case in point: Jeb asserts that we are no longer respected on the world stage because of the Obama foreign policy. He and the right wing love to speak of Obama's 'feckless' ways - they love that word. But without skipping a beat, they insist that our president, not loving America, has sold us out to every one, especially to Muslims. (Actually, I don't remember GWB taking out bin Laden, but never mind). So, Jeb and his ilk want it both ways: a president who has befriended our enemies and rivals over his fellow Americans, yet who is not held in any regard by those enemies and rivals. I say to Jeb: You can't have it both ways! I know you can't stand our president, but don't keep hitting him with both sides of the same stick. And by the way, DO look back at the recent past. Do you really believe that the world had any respect for America under the disastrous stewardship of your brother? Your father and our current president both were able to marshal international coalitions for carrying out some effective policies. But your brother George was only able to conjure up a Coalition of the Willing, that, if you want to be honest, which apparently has no appeal for you, was a shameful and pitiful sham.
5
"Where’s the shame?
For some reason, Jeb doesn’t see it."
I live in the benighted state of NC. Right after Obama got elected bumper stickers started appearing in the Raleigh-Durham area stating "W-Thank You"
Everything said in this piece about the idiots and war criminals who advised Dubya on foreign and domestic policy is true-and guess what-it doesn't matter to roughly half the Amercan electorate. This is largely due to the deliberate and cynical disinformation campaign foisted on our country by right wing mandarins since the time of Regan. Now, thanks to the shameless political activists on the not so Supreme Court, gasoline has been poured on the disinformation fire via Citizens United.
Shame? Jeb will wear W's folks like badges of honor and incredibly and tragically may well end up being our next President.
For some reason, Jeb doesn’t see it."
I live in the benighted state of NC. Right after Obama got elected bumper stickers started appearing in the Raleigh-Durham area stating "W-Thank You"
Everything said in this piece about the idiots and war criminals who advised Dubya on foreign and domestic policy is true-and guess what-it doesn't matter to roughly half the Amercan electorate. This is largely due to the deliberate and cynical disinformation campaign foisted on our country by right wing mandarins since the time of Regan. Now, thanks to the shameless political activists on the not so Supreme Court, gasoline has been poured on the disinformation fire via Citizens United.
Shame? Jeb will wear W's folks like badges of honor and incredibly and tragically may well end up being our next President.
9
It's the Plantagenets, it's the Habsburgs, it's a bird it's a plane it's another dynasty, it's another Bush!
The world is far too, complex for Jeb. As you point out, his choice of throwback advisors is quite revealing. Unfortunately many of the most qualified potential candidates, don't have name recognition and or money to make a successful bid. So the possibility exists that we continue without a superman or superwoman. The dynasty just might live on.
The world is far too, complex for Jeb. As you point out, his choice of throwback advisors is quite revealing. Unfortunately many of the most qualified potential candidates, don't have name recognition and or money to make a successful bid. So the possibility exists that we continue without a superman or superwoman. The dynasty just might live on.
134
You missed one -- the Borgias!
2
"the world is too complex for Jeb" I think you just nailed it. Not just for Jeb but for all the Bushes and most of the Republicans. The complexity of reality is an issue for them.
3
This kind of display by Bush is what comes from simply believing he's entitled to be president by virtue of his name and 2 terms as a governor.
He obviously did not pay attention to anything that went on during his brother's debacle...all he cared about was that he got the job...by hook or crook.
He obviously did not pay attention to anything that went on during his brother's debacle...all he cared about was that he got the job...by hook or crook.
3
Welcome BACK, Maureen. It's good to have you going after the wrong people for the right reasons again.
4
Since when is foreign policy "cred" a prerequisite for the presidency? It certainly wasn't in the election of the current administration, as we are unfortunately and dangerously reminded every day.
Frankly, what happened or didn't happen during W's presidency is not relevant to Jeb's qualifications.
Frankly, what happened or didn't happen during W's presidency is not relevant to Jeb's qualifications.
1
19 advisors isn't relevant? And what is more dangerous--a chicken hawk saying bring it on, or a guy who actually thinks things through before saying something?
4
The real problem is that when it comes to the Presidency we have absolutely no political choice: Only a warmongering neocon can ever be elected.
When even Obama (deviously) turned out to be one, who can doubt that Jeb and Hillary fully qualify?
Which is why I detest Democrats, and thoroughly despise Republicans.
When even Obama (deviously) turned out to be one, who can doubt that Jeb and Hillary fully qualify?
Which is why I detest Democrats, and thoroughly despise Republicans.
5
after thousands of columns calling for obama to man up and be more of a blow hard, it's encouraging to see dowd remembering the apocalyptic damage such people wrought upon our nation. thanks, maureen, for turning off hbo and puttiing down the chardonay - today's column was a worthy effort.
6
I think that if in 2016 Americans feel unsafe and tense and that the ground is shifting uncomfortably beneath our feet, then the Republican will be elected President. And if that tension is somewhat relieved by a good economy, some progress in Ukraine and the Eurozone, and the housing market shows improvement, then Hillary will be elected.
The rest of it between now and then is a lot of noise and cheap entertainment.
The rest of it between now and then is a lot of noise and cheap entertainment.
2
And where oh where has that snarling dog, Cheeney gone? Bet Jeb doesn't recruit him, but then you brought up Scooter, and it would be interesting to see those two on the same team again, Scooter with imder the bus dust all over him. Condi and Wolfi and the whole nightmare sideshow, like something from a very bad trip.
Please, Americans, no matter how little you want to educate yourselves before you vote, please don't shove another Bush or any other republican retread on us again.
Please, Americans, no matter how little you want to educate yourselves before you vote, please don't shove another Bush or any other republican retread on us again.
7
Ms. Dowd:
Do you honestly believe this?
"Like the Clintons, the Bushes drag the country through national traumas that spring from their convoluted family dynamic and then disingenuously wonder why we concern ourselves with their family dynamic."
Exactly what "national trauma" did President Clinton begat? If I recall correctly, he was accused, but not convicted of lying about fornication. Horrors! William Jefferson Clinton was elected to be president of this great nation, and he did quite a nice job. He was not elected to perform as a stand in for Roman Catholic bishop Fulton John Sheen. Honestly.
Ms. Dowd, if President Clinton's impeachment for that transgression has equal standing with G. W. Bush's push into Iraq under false pretenses - resulting in the slaughter and maiming of hundreds of thousands American soldiers and Iraqi citizens alike - please have your moral compass re-calibrated.
Do you honestly believe this?
"Like the Clintons, the Bushes drag the country through national traumas that spring from their convoluted family dynamic and then disingenuously wonder why we concern ourselves with their family dynamic."
Exactly what "national trauma" did President Clinton begat? If I recall correctly, he was accused, but not convicted of lying about fornication. Horrors! William Jefferson Clinton was elected to be president of this great nation, and he did quite a nice job. He was not elected to perform as a stand in for Roman Catholic bishop Fulton John Sheen. Honestly.
Ms. Dowd, if President Clinton's impeachment for that transgression has equal standing with G. W. Bush's push into Iraq under false pretenses - resulting in the slaughter and maiming of hundreds of thousands American soldiers and Iraqi citizens alike - please have your moral compass re-calibrated.
34
Jeb has a horrible record as Governor of Florida. When is someone ( maybe you Maureen ) going to dig deep and analyize it? He wants it forgotten. Himts: vigorously pushed common core in Florida that has become so hated the ultra right state lawmakers are in the process of reducing it because parents across the state are up inarms about how onerous and stressful it is on children. Local school boards are opposing some of the mandatory tests.
2) Jeb and Rubio gutted Florida government and outsourced qhatever was left
3) Jeb and Rubio gutted taxes to the extreme such that serives are minimal and locla governing bodies Institute hidden taxes wherever they can to try to make up for shorrfalls.
4) Stuck his nose into the Terry Schiavo horror.
5) do some research lots more to learn about a track record he will not be able to defend.
2) Jeb and Rubio gutted Florida government and outsourced qhatever was left
3) Jeb and Rubio gutted taxes to the extreme such that serives are minimal and locla governing bodies Institute hidden taxes wherever they can to try to make up for shorrfalls.
4) Stuck his nose into the Terry Schiavo horror.
5) do some research lots more to learn about a track record he will not be able to defend.
7
He surrounds himself with war criminals. Why should we expect anything but a repeat of W's bozo moves?
11
You think this "mild-manner reporter" is suddenly going to turn into a political radical and go against his family who put him where he is? Who do you think he is? Obama? He who really was spawned by a couple of radicals, although one had the grace of Mother Teresa, and who consequently, in the words of Rudy Giuliani, "learned communism from an early age," lived in Asia, saw the world, and doesn't think America's perfect [ translated into the tea party mantra -- he "doesn't love America." You expect him to act like a half black man? Oops, I mean half white man?
1
A politician who would recruit frauds like Hannah and Hayden and class-A war criminals like Wolfowitz and Rice as advisors is cluless, dangerous. or both.
It is hard to escape the impression that Jeb is as clueless, and as dangerous, as his brother.
It is hard to escape the impression that Jeb is as clueless, and as dangerous, as his brother.
8
Ms. Dowd you have so much courage to write this column because no one else in the media did or will. When I heard Jeb Bush mention Paul Wolfowitz in his speech in Chicago I was shocked he would be so callous and clueless to mention this Neocon warmonger as an advisor. Jeb Bush must be tone deaf. Wolfowitz wanted to go into Iran after Iraq. No way would I vote for Jeb Bush so that he can take advice from people who are itching for war, yet chicken hawks themselves. Surprised Jeb did not mention Josh Bolton. America is sick of people who want non stop war. I despise Hillary but I would vote for her over anyone who is taking advice from Wolfowitz and dumb enough to admit it.
11
The picture was all I needed to be reminded of the disgusting, moronic men (and woman) who ran us all into the ground for eight years. Sneaky-pie Jeb is cut from the same family coat of many colors. Watch out -- if we fall for another burning bush, we have only ourselves to blame.
5
I know it's a bit indelicate, but when is someone going to bring up the subject of Iraq war crimes by higher-ups to him? Maureen, isn't it time to get to the heart of the matter? (I'm sure you've been reading Professor Cole in the New York Review, and now in The Times.)
2
Constitutional amendment against Jeb, Hillary, Chelsea, Caroline Kennedy, Amy Carter, Michelle Obama, Billy Carter, Julie and David Eisenhower's children and Ron Reagan, Jr!
4
You are making sense but how are we going to get Hillary in as POTUS without having a list of buffoons to warn us about her.
1
Non, Ms. Dowd, it was President Clinton's signature on repealing Glass-Steagall which got the Wall Street casino up and running, and Mrs. Clinton is collecting hundreds of thousands per speech from these banksters.
Not a fan of yet another Bush - or Clinton - in the White House. We have suffered enough from both families. Elizabeth Warren, please!
Not a fan of yet another Bush - or Clinton - in the White House. We have suffered enough from both families. Elizabeth Warren, please!
3
Bush is bush is Bush.
2
"The Neocons Shall Rise Again!" is a great campaign slogan for Jeb Bush, given the list of 'advisors'. Bah.
Jeb Bush will never be president because of two people: his brother, and Terry Schiavo.
Jeb Bush will never be president because of two people: his brother, and Terry Schiavo.
6
I don't think a genuinely smart person running for President would publicly associate himself with Paul Wolfowitz, who was wrong about everything to do with Iraq. Maybe those who deem Jeb to be so smart are comparing him to his inarticulate sibling?
4
That Americans could elect Jeb, brother of George W., who is considered a war criminal by many in this country and abroad, is astounding. No more Bushes!
11
Well, I must say it's a welcome change from Obama bashing.
11
Tell me what you really think, Maureen!
So much great stuff here, I don't know where to begin. But, I'm first going to thank you profusely for putting your finger on and giving a name to, what I find so instinctively obnoxious about Jeb: his "dismissiveness" and his "mocking" condescension. I had been trying to find words that matched my own reaction whenever he opens his mouth or grins front of a room of donors: Entitled? Condescending? Arrogant? Self-satisfied Cocky?
Those words work too, but not quite like dismissive and mocking.
I don't trust dismissive people. Dismissiveness reveals a lack of imagination, smallness of mind, and bravado that in Jeb's case, gives a hint that he might not be totally sure of his own superiority.
As for his brainless trust, the thing I find really scary about these retreads is that Jeb is so tone deaf he doesn't even seem to grasp how crazy it sounds to yell "I'm my own man" and then call in the family cavalry.
It's that cluelessness--not his dismissiveness--which is the worst aspect of Jeb's great declaration of independence. The last thing we need for our next leader is someone who can't measure the mismatch between what he's saying and what he's doing.
!
So much great stuff here, I don't know where to begin. But, I'm first going to thank you profusely for putting your finger on and giving a name to, what I find so instinctively obnoxious about Jeb: his "dismissiveness" and his "mocking" condescension. I had been trying to find words that matched my own reaction whenever he opens his mouth or grins front of a room of donors: Entitled? Condescending? Arrogant? Self-satisfied Cocky?
Those words work too, but not quite like dismissive and mocking.
I don't trust dismissive people. Dismissiveness reveals a lack of imagination, smallness of mind, and bravado that in Jeb's case, gives a hint that he might not be totally sure of his own superiority.
As for his brainless trust, the thing I find really scary about these retreads is that Jeb is so tone deaf he doesn't even seem to grasp how crazy it sounds to yell "I'm my own man" and then call in the family cavalry.
It's that cluelessness--not his dismissiveness--which is the worst aspect of Jeb's great declaration of independence. The last thing we need for our next leader is someone who can't measure the mismatch between what he's saying and what he's doing.
!
846
Thank you, Ms. McMorrow, for this powerfully profound comment. "So much good stuff" in it" as well.
Maybe another word to add is brazenness.
Here is a guy, who knows the corrupting role he played in his brother's presidency, who knows the financial, physical and moral destructiveness his brother inflicted on this country by, under false pretenses, plunging it into one of the most cruel, most costly and most senseless wars in its history against a helpless country that did us no harm, who knows all the evil crowd who surrounded his brother and aided and abetted him in inflicting all this on this country. Yet the guy has the gall, unembarrassed, unashamed, to appear before the American people, surrounding himself with the same evil crowd, brazenly asking them to elect him president.
The American people need to contemplate and wonder what drives this brazenness. I hope they do.
Maybe another word to add is brazenness.
Here is a guy, who knows the corrupting role he played in his brother's presidency, who knows the financial, physical and moral destructiveness his brother inflicted on this country by, under false pretenses, plunging it into one of the most cruel, most costly and most senseless wars in its history against a helpless country that did us no harm, who knows all the evil crowd who surrounded his brother and aided and abetted him in inflicting all this on this country. Yet the guy has the gall, unembarrassed, unashamed, to appear before the American people, surrounding himself with the same evil crowd, brazenly asking them to elect him president.
The American people need to contemplate and wonder what drives this brazenness. I hope they do.
20
How to redeem the Bush name? Carefully list all of Dubya's. . .um . . .accomplishments. Don't leave any out. Have them laminated and displayed in the Oval Office. Better yet, memorize them. Then do the opposite.
3
For some reason? C'mon, a Bush is a Bush is a Bush. Blood is thicker than water. Sure, Bush 41 was a fighter pilot, a war hero, whereas W was a draft avoider, and Jeb I guess was young enough that he never had to serve. But in the end they're all members of America's pseudo-aristocracy, and feel a sense of entitlement to lead. Jeb will say the minimum necessary to differentiate himself from the failed president W, but the idea that he's cut from a different cloth is absurd. If elected, he'll be his own version of disaster, because at bottom he lives in the same world as his father and his brother.
The Clintons are even more nouveau than the Bushes, but their track record in public policy, though dismal, is better than that of the Bushes. The real question for America is: Why are we almost certainly stuck with a couple of retreads like Jeb and Hillary? I would much rather see Rand Paul versus Corey Booker or even Elizabeth Warren. Such a race would be far less depressing than a Bush-Clinton contest.
The Clintons are even more nouveau than the Bushes, but their track record in public policy, though dismal, is better than that of the Bushes. The real question for America is: Why are we almost certainly stuck with a couple of retreads like Jeb and Hillary? I would much rather see Rand Paul versus Corey Booker or even Elizabeth Warren. Such a race would be far less depressing than a Bush-Clinton contest.
330
Not so sure about that. According to Wikipedia he registered for the draft in 1971 but was not selected. It also notes that he refrained from either supporting or criticizing the Vietnam War. You have to wonder about any 18 year old who is afraid to express himself honestly, but instead is behaving 'politically.' It's just not natural.
3
A Bush-Clinton 2016 match-up would be in a word, "BORING"!! And, more frighteningly important, it will lead to a low-turnout reprise of the 2014 mid-terms as the core Obama voters--the young and people of color--are put off or put to sleep by two old, out of touch politicos uttering vague promises amidst an avalanche of media mudslinging.
1
The Clintons are even more nouveau than the Bushes, but their track record in public policy, though dismal,
Don't ask don't tell was a horror that least tried to improve things. I wish you could give examples of dismal Clinton public policy. Something, perhaps that was not a compromise with an intransigent republican congress.
Don't ask don't tell was a horror that least tried to improve things. I wish you could give examples of dismal Clinton public policy. Something, perhaps that was not a compromise with an intransigent republican congress.
1
There are days when Maureen's snarkiness get on my nerves, but today is not one of them. And yet, Jeb may be among the "least worst" that the GOP has to offer. I'm proud to be one of the few that voted against Ted Cruz three times: primary, runoff, and general election. Just when John Kasich was starting to sound like a rational adult, he comes up with a balanced budget amendment. But perhaps we should be grateful for small favors: at least "Helluva Job" Brownie is not on Jeb's advisor list.
3
I'm surprised that David Addington and John Yoo aren't on the list of advisors.
2
In his Chicago speech, Jeb Bush said, "We can project power and enforce peaceful stability in far-off areas of the globe."
Jeb Bush in 14 words gets the world wrong. The US gets in trouble by trying to project power around the world. Individuals like Bush who preach this are people of modest understanding caught in the grip of the arrogance of power.
As to enforcing stability in far-off areas, that was exactly the hubris that put the U.S. in the middle of two protracted unwinnable wars in the Middle East and South Asia.
Bush also said, "The United States has an undiminished ability to shape events and build alliances of free people." This is a rather unlimited expression of American Exceptionalism, the kind that puts your country into unwinnable wars (also see "arrogance of power."). As to "free people," somehow I suspect he doesn't aspire to put very many in the "free" camp while supporting his authoritarian "friends" in the Middle East.
Ms Dowd was correct to shine a light on Bush's advisers. They embody the greatest body of failed thinking about American foreign policy since the Republicans of the 1920s and 30s.
Jeb Bush in 14 words gets the world wrong. The US gets in trouble by trying to project power around the world. Individuals like Bush who preach this are people of modest understanding caught in the grip of the arrogance of power.
As to enforcing stability in far-off areas, that was exactly the hubris that put the U.S. in the middle of two protracted unwinnable wars in the Middle East and South Asia.
Bush also said, "The United States has an undiminished ability to shape events and build alliances of free people." This is a rather unlimited expression of American Exceptionalism, the kind that puts your country into unwinnable wars (also see "arrogance of power."). As to "free people," somehow I suspect he doesn't aspire to put very many in the "free" camp while supporting his authoritarian "friends" in the Middle East.
Ms Dowd was correct to shine a light on Bush's advisers. They embody the greatest body of failed thinking about American foreign policy since the Republicans of the 1920s and 30s.
847
Jeb the redeemer? Brings to mind that statue on the mountaintop in Rio. And given his robotic gestures at the foreign policy speech in Chicago, it stands to reason that he should be able to manage outstretched arms, too, maybe even someday at Rushmore.
This idea of Bush 3.0, or Bush 45, whichever you prefer, is starting to get out of hand. What began as a punchline is actually morphing into something to be taken seriously, at least by people with gobs of money. Which, according to the Citizens United decision, is ultimately what's most important in America, anyway.
It's hard to decide what was scarier about Mr. Bush's in-over-his-head performance Wednesday, pronouncing "nuclear" as "nookeelur," like his big brother did so often, or blurting out "Holy schnikees!" as Chris Farley did in "Tommy Boy," only in this case when characterizing global crises as "like, serious stuff."
Then, of course, there's confusing Iran with Iraq (so many countries to invade, so little time) and surrounding himself with the neocon zealots who got us bogged down in the first place in what Jon Stewart so aptly labeled "Mess O'Potamia."
Dynasty and democracy are a contradiction in terms, and it's sickening to see the erstwhile Party of Lincoln now be the Party of J.R. Ewing. If, for the third time in less than three decades, a Bush gets the keys to the White House for Years XIII through XX of the family reign, there's one inescapable conclusion:
We've wrecked the system the Founders gave us.
This idea of Bush 3.0, or Bush 45, whichever you prefer, is starting to get out of hand. What began as a punchline is actually morphing into something to be taken seriously, at least by people with gobs of money. Which, according to the Citizens United decision, is ultimately what's most important in America, anyway.
It's hard to decide what was scarier about Mr. Bush's in-over-his-head performance Wednesday, pronouncing "nuclear" as "nookeelur," like his big brother did so often, or blurting out "Holy schnikees!" as Chris Farley did in "Tommy Boy," only in this case when characterizing global crises as "like, serious stuff."
Then, of course, there's confusing Iran with Iraq (so many countries to invade, so little time) and surrounding himself with the neocon zealots who got us bogged down in the first place in what Jon Stewart so aptly labeled "Mess O'Potamia."
Dynasty and democracy are a contradiction in terms, and it's sickening to see the erstwhile Party of Lincoln now be the Party of J.R. Ewing. If, for the third time in less than three decades, a Bush gets the keys to the White House for Years XIII through XX of the family reign, there's one inescapable conclusion:
We've wrecked the system the Founders gave us.
877
Do we really have to wait for more evidence to conclude that we've wrecked the system?
3
We are so far from what the founders had in mind. But it is likely that the founders saw the country run by monied interests - in the form of the day (no blacks, no women, no landless pions). They did leave open the idea that future generation might fix their short-sightedness. Sad to say, I think we failed - Clinton vs Bush? Give me a break. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of the .01%.
5
There is something deeply unAmerican and troubling about a dynastic rule…
Jeb see's no shame because his brother's administration did exactly what they wanted too. The fact that it did not turn out as they predicted is irrelevant in their minds, they just refuse to even acknowledge the possibility that they were wrong. They live in an alternate universe of reality along with their fellow travelers the average GOP voter.
The quote about history and doomed to repeat it comes to mind, but if you have not even accepted what that history is does that even apply.
The quote about history and doomed to repeat it comes to mind, but if you have not even accepted what that history is does that even apply.
7
I suspect that Ollie North and the "covert government" policy which has gotten hold of this country ever since Reagan is also one of Jeb's advisors.
2
>
Do not be fooled, the American people are just stupid enough to elect another Bush and their cronies.
Do not be fooled, the American people are just stupid enough to elect another Bush and their cronies.
13
I think readers of this column need to ask themselves one basic question.That is,how far has our once great nation plummeted when the two most discussed presidential candidates are Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush.IMHO,neither has what it takes to face/remedy/solve the key issues we will encounter from 2017-2021.The USA is now on the same decline as Rome faced around 450AD.
3
There is almost no need to comment on this article. It is all true and the exact way I have felt about the Bush family since they got the presidency the first time. Hard to believe that the republicans can even think about putting the country through yet another jaded to the rich candidate, not to mention another Bush.
6
If these are your advisers, one must assume that you will take their advice. And, pray, what advice are going to give these warmongers whose every act is fraught with disaster. I still can't get over the fact that this family whose talents are from the negligible (Bush I) to the inexistent (Bush II) should still cast a shadow on our future.
12
We need to know how Jeb understands the Middle East, and part of this understanding is understanding how we got where we are now. If he is unwilling to discuss this, we will not know how he sees the Middle East or how he might respond to it.
From the advisors he named, he understands it as well as dubya and his people did. and as well as his party does. All of them do not want to talk about our experiences in Iraq with anything more than platitudes, so they cannot learn from it or modify their understanding because of it. We have a long history of punching Tar Babies, and we need leadership that knows the danger and, like Obama, tries to avoid it.
From the advisors he named, he understands it as well as dubya and his people did. and as well as his party does. All of them do not want to talk about our experiences in Iraq with anything more than platitudes, so they cannot learn from it or modify their understanding because of it. We have a long history of punching Tar Babies, and we need leadership that knows the danger and, like Obama, tries to avoid it.
22
Gosh, no Katherine Harris? They've had to gerrymander the whole country to come close to the damage she managed in 2000.
39
Like she was in charge!
The most outrageous fact is that all the networks had called Florida for Gore that fateful night in November 2000--until a Fox News analyst called it for Bush and caused the other networks to reverse course. That Fox election analyst was none other than John Ellis--FIRST COUSIN to Florida Gov Jeb and W!!! Wonder how many times he spoke to Karl Rove that evening? More importantly, why did the major networks cave in so easily to pressure?
The most outrageous fact is that all the networks had called Florida for Gore that fateful night in November 2000--until a Fox News analyst called it for Bush and caused the other networks to reverse course. That Fox election analyst was none other than John Ellis--FIRST COUSIN to Florida Gov Jeb and W!!! Wonder how many times he spoke to Karl Rove that evening? More importantly, why did the major networks cave in so easily to pressure?
8
I can't see Jeb Bush being ready even by 2016 to meet Hillary Clinton in a debate on foreign affairs. It's ironic that when HW debated Bill Clinton in 1992, national security was targeted as the Achilles heel of Clinton as a former governor. But Clinton deftly held his ground.
But the former Florida governor never showed interest in foreign affairs while Mrs Clinton traveled the world and still knows just about every leader and foreign minister of each country.
This group of advisors will lead him into a morass even if he makes it through primary season. He will have to appear war-like but can't match some of his opponents. Then we he has to pivot to the center, it will be too late. Hillary will destroy him in the debates.
But the former Florida governor never showed interest in foreign affairs while Mrs Clinton traveled the world and still knows just about every leader and foreign minister of each country.
This group of advisors will lead him into a morass even if he makes it through primary season. He will have to appear war-like but can't match some of his opponents. Then we he has to pivot to the center, it will be too late. Hillary will destroy him in the debates.
18
Actually, it is conceivable that had the Supreme Court not "selected" George W. Bush, we could have had 24 years of consecutive Democratic Presidents and possibly 32 if Hillary wins in 2016.
22
Well we didn't, thanks to Jeb Bush. Not only will he have to answer for his family's sins in the desert, he'll have to answer for his own: throwing a presidential race.
3
How did they keep secret for all these years that Jeb suffers from the same disarticulation that his father and brother have? I have to admit that I bought into the "jeb's the smart one" meme and sort of dreaded the idea of Hillary and him debating with their mutual eliding around one another like syntactical KY. I needed not to have feared. Jeb's not the smart one. He's just at a more advanced level of dumb. It seems that no-one in the Bush side of the family understands the meaning of the word strategy. And every one of them carries a kit of silly Connecticut WASP-isms around with him in order to emulate their great-grand-poppie's way of coloring their sentences with a self-effacing humor which no-one even gets anymore. It must drive Barbara straight to distraction. I sat there with my mouth open whispering to myself, "Holy schnikes, this guy is never going to be president. He's outside himself."
43
The Bush family has been important in the USA since before the Revolutionary War. Don't say never. The 400 still run things, even if some of the time, it's behind the scenes. Hillary will have to work very hard to go up against all that Koch money and Jeb-boy won't have to do more than stand there and breathe.
4
"It seems that no-one in the Bush side of the family understands the meaning of the word strategy."
As SNL deftly pointed out in asking the "candidates" to define themselves in one word, W's word was not "strategy", but "strategery"....
As SNL deftly pointed out in asking the "candidates" to define themselves in one word, W's word was not "strategy", but "strategery"....
1
Maureen you state "Without their last names, Hillary and Jeb would not be front-runners" and ignore the fact that Hillary was a US Senator in her own right and a very good one, and then Secretary of State, and again, a very good one. Whether you like her or not, she has the credentials and experience to be considered presidential material, even without those previous 8 years in the White House as a supportive First Lady.
On the other hand, Jeb Bush has his time as governor of Florida and his interference in a federal election.
Which one of the two would you really want as President of the US, assuming that they both end up as their respective party's candidates?
On the other hand, Jeb Bush has his time as governor of Florida and his interference in a federal election.
Which one of the two would you really want as President of the US, assuming that they both end up as their respective party's candidates?
58
Just because she was a good senator doesn't mean she would be a good president and she doesn't seem to have a passion for the job, much less for an endlessly grueling campaign. At this point, it seems Hillary WANTS to WANT to be president but that she really isn't up for the endlessly grueling ordeal. The Dems should be VERY careful not to assume she will cakewalk her way to the finish line. When has that happened in recent history? Answer: Never.
1
To paraphrase George Santayana, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" seems apt here.
The late Molly Ivins gave W the nickname "Shrub" when he was governor of Texas. I wonder what she would call Jeb.
If Jed wants to redeem the Bush name it seems strange he would pick many of the same chickenhawk, neocon hacks for advisors that populated his brother's presidency. But, this is about the dynasty, entitlements and family honor.
The late Molly Ivins gave W the nickname "Shrub" when he was governor of Texas. I wonder what she would call Jeb.
If Jed wants to redeem the Bush name it seems strange he would pick many of the same chickenhawk, neocon hacks for advisors that populated his brother's presidency. But, this is about the dynasty, entitlements and family honor.
34
Thanks for referring to the redoubtable Molly Ivins. What a great commentator re political folly, all flavours.
My bet is that her Jeb-word would be Sprig.
'Nuff said.
My bet is that her Jeb-word would be Sprig.
'Nuff said.
6
Jeb Bush's foreign policy speech calls into doubt his ability to speak in complete sentences as well as his grasp of the issues. His mother was right: there have been enough Bushes.
To cap it off, the remaining plausible Republican shrubs are even more scary.
To cap it off, the remaining plausible Republican shrubs are even more scary.
30
Already Thurd* Bush is pimping more war. We need a muscular foreign policy he says.
Taking his advice from the chickenhawk warmongering cowards who clustered around his brother, a chickenhawk warmongering coward himself.
The entire cabal of cowards, to a pitiful one, dodged Viet Nam, Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libby, Wolfowitz, Kristol and Bolton.
But, sending other peoples children off to slaughter or to be slaughtered makes them feel manly. Like tough guys.
The best that can be said about Thurd Bush is that he was never a guy cheerleader like republicans Reagan, Bush the Least, Romney, Perry and Lott. Each and every one of whom dodged going to war.
*sic
Taking his advice from the chickenhawk warmongering cowards who clustered around his brother, a chickenhawk warmongering coward himself.
The entire cabal of cowards, to a pitiful one, dodged Viet Nam, Bush, Cheney, Rove, Libby, Wolfowitz, Kristol and Bolton.
But, sending other peoples children off to slaughter or to be slaughtered makes them feel manly. Like tough guys.
The best that can be said about Thurd Bush is that he was never a guy cheerleader like republicans Reagan, Bush the Least, Romney, Perry and Lott. Each and every one of whom dodged going to war.
*sic
79
Yes, RR, perhaps the country should seek to elect another community no name as was done in 2008, how did that work out for everyone? Not so well I would venture to say!
1
Fantastic column. It is gratifying to see the truth so effectively elucidated here, Maureen. But, I don't think we have to worry about Jeb winning the presidency. Not gonna happen. As for a name other than Bush, I think Twig would be apt -- a small, thin terminal branch.
15
A Bush vs. Clinton choice in 2016 would be like a Saturday stroll into a Baskin-Robbins ice cream store where the only flavors available are Tabasco pecan or castor oil chip. Uck!
18
The cold snap is starting to lift down here. I've had my coffee for the day, and am feeling pretty good about the comfort factor in having two of our most successful Presidential dynasties competing again in the 2016 contest for the Presidency. I couldn't be happier that two families I know as well as the brands of the toothpaste (Crest) and the laundry detergent (Tide) I grew up using are in the running, Bush and Clinton.
Between now and November of 2016, I will have to decide if I want more brain-dead, Terry-Schiavo-type political decisions being made on my behalf, or whether I want to watch the continual dance of the Clinton politics of sleaze being played out before my eyes, while Congress remains gridlocked by far-right partisan enmity.
It feels good to know that either way, my country and I will be well-taken care of by whomever I choose at the ballot box, because I know that our schools will be fully funded, and our roads and bridges will not only be well-maintained, but that we will be looking into newer, more modern transportation approaches such as high-speed trains and driver-less cars.
In the unlikely chance that Jeb Bush wins over Hillary Clinton, I hope "Heck of A Job, Brownie" Michael Brown can return to run the Dept of Homeland In-Security for Jeb. Mr. Brown did a great job helping New Orleans under Michael Chertoff's command after Katrina hit. At least, Mr. Brown did until he resigned less than half a month later under a hail of criticism.
10
"W let Wall Street gamble away the economy?"
W didn't appoint "frothiness" Greenspan to another Fed term; Clinton did.
W didn't approve sub-prime mortgage lending; Barney Frank did.
Presidents don't cause recessions, and they don't rescue us from them although voters believe in magical correlation: (ad hoc, prompter hoc.
The rooster crowed when the sun came up; therefore the rooster is master of the sunrise.)
The current improvement in the economy has raised Obama's approval rating by 10 points. But it is due to a 50% fall in oil prices, which Obama has NO credit for arranging. He has fought fracking, offshore drilling and the pipeline. He, like most successful presidents, is just lucky.
W didn't appoint "frothiness" Greenspan to another Fed term; Clinton did.
W didn't approve sub-prime mortgage lending; Barney Frank did.
Presidents don't cause recessions, and they don't rescue us from them although voters believe in magical correlation: (ad hoc, prompter hoc.
The rooster crowed when the sun came up; therefore the rooster is master of the sunrise.)
The current improvement in the economy has raised Obama's approval rating by 10 points. But it is due to a 50% fall in oil prices, which Obama has NO credit for arranging. He has fought fracking, offshore drilling and the pipeline. He, like most successful presidents, is just lucky.
2
The subprime comment shows the value of all your comments
The subprime program initiated under Clinton was a huge success. The loss ratios were excellent. They required down payments, a verifiable job and a credit history while flawed was repaired. Obama was repairing the economy well before the oil price reduction. Where were you the past 6 years?
for ed connor
The subprime program initiated under Clinton was a huge success. The loss ratios were excellent. They required down payments, a verifiable job and a credit history while flawed was repaired. Obama was repairing the economy well before the oil price reduction. Where were you the past 6 years?
for ed connor
11
Plesae. The economy has been improving for 5 years. the drop in oil prices just happened in the last 5 months. Go find another untruth to throw at the President.
11
Baloney! When W couldn't get away with privatizing Social Security after his 2004 re-election he found another way to enrich WS bankers--Championing the glories of an "Ownership Society" at Greenspan's behest.
Read this; I dare you:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-admin.4.1...
It doesn't get more Orwellian than this.
Read this; I dare you:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-admin.4.1...
It doesn't get more Orwellian than this.
5
Jeb Bush has always been more like his older brother than his allies have wished to admit. I think it is going to become increasingly difficult for him to conceal this as his nascent campaign-before-the-campaign moves forward. And not to worry, Democrats and liberals will be happy to point it out as well. It won't be a smear, either, because Mr. Bush has indeed surrounded himself with the very figures who put America's foreign policy on such a perilous path twelve years ago. He evidently does not think he has a choice, given his glaring lack of foreign policy experience and the reality that there has only been one GOP president since 1993. Most of the men and women who largely shrewdly and competently handled the immediate post-USSR world are no longer around to provide counsel or are in retirement. It is significant that on foreign policy Jeb Bush does not see a reason for change within his party, why not Scooter Libby indeed. The out-of-office-since-2007 ex-governor is going to try to use his support for the alleged great success of "the surge" in Iraq to thread the needle between saying his brother was wrong and dissembling in 2002-03 and terrifying nearly everyone else in America over the prospect of more Cincinnati speeches and wars in the Middle East. It won't work. It's Mr. Bush's prerogative to try to mock our legitimate questions about his family's history in the presidency; it's the political media's job not to allow him to get away with it. Bravo, Ms. Dowd.
27
Jeb Bush signed onto the Project For a New American Century. That shows us not only that the company he keeps is the same that contributed to his brother's disastrous leadership, but that his own visions are just as deluded. Giving him the respect for having independently chosen to participate in PNAC, that mentality will lead to devastation. He should be held accountable, autonomously, as he wishes.
17
Nothing says the future like Condi Rice, John Hannah and
Paul Wolfowitz architects of the disaster that was the Bush
Administration. Jeb Bush's speech was long on rhetorid
and short on substance. There is less to Jeb Bush than
meets the eye. For the real Jeb, look at the Schiavo fiasco,
where Jeb Bush ignored science, and medicine to impose his
own right wing views on Michael and Terri Schiavo
Why the cheap shot against Hillary Clinton? I guess Ms. Dowd
can't "hep herself."
Paul Wolfowitz architects of the disaster that was the Bush
Administration. Jeb Bush's speech was long on rhetorid
and short on substance. There is less to Jeb Bush than
meets the eye. For the real Jeb, look at the Schiavo fiasco,
where Jeb Bush ignored science, and medicine to impose his
own right wing views on Michael and Terri Schiavo
Why the cheap shot against Hillary Clinton? I guess Ms. Dowd
can't "hep herself."
28
Americans will make a decision about Jeb: it becomes more important to seize an opportunity to make of him the convenient object of revenge for his brother that so many on the left have desired since late 2000; or ... America can realize that this is a good man who would make a superb president, REGARDLESS of who his brother was, with a better chance of uniting us than anyone else. And after the past six years, we so desperately need to be bound together as a people again.
Some of the same could be said for the Hillster, although, personally, I'm not so sure of her potential for greatness as a president OR as a uniting agent. But neither Hillary nor Jeb can help family associations and that the associations have elevated them beyond the mundane: at this stage they should be judged on the basis of who THEY are and what THEY offer America.
We're not being asked to consider re-electing the Billster OR Dubya.
I blame Barack Obama for the void that created ISIS -- Jeb is simply articulating a judgment MILLIONS of us have made; and ISIS is merely avatar for a world destabilizing at a frightening pace, caused largely by that same void. And the notion that Jeb has poor foreign policy credentials is entertaining when one considers Mr. Obama's six years ago, and the hash of Libya for which Hillary will be blamed in 2016.
Half the country disagrees with Maureen about Condi and all the others. Hillary and Jeb will make their own arguments, and Americans can judge them for themselves.
Some of the same could be said for the Hillster, although, personally, I'm not so sure of her potential for greatness as a president OR as a uniting agent. But neither Hillary nor Jeb can help family associations and that the associations have elevated them beyond the mundane: at this stage they should be judged on the basis of who THEY are and what THEY offer America.
We're not being asked to consider re-electing the Billster OR Dubya.
I blame Barack Obama for the void that created ISIS -- Jeb is simply articulating a judgment MILLIONS of us have made; and ISIS is merely avatar for a world destabilizing at a frightening pace, caused largely by that same void. And the notion that Jeb has poor foreign policy credentials is entertaining when one considers Mr. Obama's six years ago, and the hash of Libya for which Hillary will be blamed in 2016.
Half the country disagrees with Maureen about Condi and all the others. Hillary and Jeb will make their own arguments, and Americans can judge them for themselves.
2
"it becomes more important to seize an opportunity to make of him the convenient object of revenge for his brother that so many on the left have desired since late 2000"
I was fine with things when his mom said she wasn't interested in having another Bush run for the White House and he was pretending to listen. I'd rather see Rand Paul try and make a run for it. Now, that'd be entertaining. Jeb? Not so much.
I was fine with things when his mom said she wasn't interested in having another Bush run for the White House and he was pretending to listen. I'd rather see Rand Paul try and make a run for it. Now, that'd be entertaining. Jeb? Not so much.
29
@Richard: Blaming our current President for "the void that created ISIS" would suggest that the actions or inaction of any other world leader would not have made a bit of difference. As Ms. Dowd tells us ISIS is, in any case, an outgrowth of al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia, an organization that predates the Obama administration. I agree that ISIS gained a foothold in Syria when the civilized world declined to respond to Bashar Assad's disgraceful mistreatment of unarmed demonstrators in Hama and Dara. Even so, to suggest that Mr. Obama is entirely at fault here is to delude yourself into thinking that the U.S. remains (or should remain) the sole actor in the Middle East. The Saudis, Jordanians, Turks, Gulf State Emirs, etc. have all been bitterly opposed to Assad's regime; any or all of them could have come to the aid of Syria's defenseless Sunnis long before ISIS walked through the door. For that matter, they still can. It's their part of the world, and if they won't do anything about this why should we volunteer our sons and daughters to die on their behalf?
93
The void that created ISIS was largely the absence of Saddam and our failure to plan for what followed, plus the unrest in Syria. The U.S. Army cannot fill that void; we have to get some people in the Middle East to do it, and doing it ourselves will only get them to sit back and criticize.
26
Maureen Dowd points out, “Jeb, too, wanted to bolster his negligible foreign policy cred, so the day of his speech, his aide released a list of 21 advisers, 19 of whom had worked in the administrations of his father and his brother.”
Well, these former Bush advisors gave us “two decade-long botched wars that cost tens of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.” So unless at least some of them have changed their minds about what their advice wrought, we are going to be getting more of that same foreign policy from Jeb Bush.
Even if Jeb Bush claims to be his own man, he is surrounding himself with the same old Bush coterie. Even if he claims to be an agent of change, he will find it hard to disprove that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
These odd-numbered Bush presidencies, Bush 41 followed by Bush 43, have proven very odd for the country, so we might want to skip Bush 45 like Bar Bush had originally suggested? After all, Mom knows best.
Well, these former Bush advisors gave us “two decade-long botched wars that cost tens of thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.” So unless at least some of them have changed their minds about what their advice wrought, we are going to be getting more of that same foreign policy from Jeb Bush.
Even if Jeb Bush claims to be his own man, he is surrounding himself with the same old Bush coterie. Even if he claims to be an agent of change, he will find it hard to disprove that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
These odd-numbered Bush presidencies, Bush 41 followed by Bush 43, have proven very odd for the country, so we might want to skip Bush 45 like Bar Bush had originally suggested? After all, Mom knows best.
50
How does the Republican party manage to embody the spirit of the Tea Party and a royal dynasty at the same time?
83
I'd say it's right in line with how the supposed adversarial relationship has been all along between the two. It ain't what it seems!
10
They don't have a clinical name for it yet. Non-cognitive dissonance. Cognitive double dissonance. However it is eventually classified, suffice to say that currently, the mentality of the Republican Party as a whole, and of the Bush family in particular, is beyond the scope of current psychology.
8
The reason for Jeb's sense of entitlement is his belief that those who actually run this country can trust him. These people profited from the wars, and are comforted by seeing gargoyles like Wolfowitz return to haunt us again. They also believe that our supine media will barely take note.
Jeb now is lining up support from defense contractors, as well as the oil companies and banks. As for the people, we are just the suckers, trained to buy what they are selling.
It's the same with Hillary, who not only supports any war that's ever been proposed, she can count on money from Big Pharma and Monsanto, and will never upset them, either.
The odd thing is that I believe that a candidate such as Jay Inslee or Elizabeth Warren would win if nominated, but they are dutifully waiting in line. I don't believe that they respect big money, but apparently fear it.
The Republicans, meanwhile, are completely gone. You couldn't run for the City Council of Yucca Valley as a Republican without giving a nod to global warming denial, for example.
Apparently our leaders believe that we the people are idiots. Let's surprise them.
Jeb now is lining up support from defense contractors, as well as the oil companies and banks. As for the people, we are just the suckers, trained to buy what they are selling.
It's the same with Hillary, who not only supports any war that's ever been proposed, she can count on money from Big Pharma and Monsanto, and will never upset them, either.
The odd thing is that I believe that a candidate such as Jay Inslee or Elizabeth Warren would win if nominated, but they are dutifully waiting in line. I don't believe that they respect big money, but apparently fear it.
The Republicans, meanwhile, are completely gone. You couldn't run for the City Council of Yucca Valley as a Republican without giving a nod to global warming denial, for example.
Apparently our leaders believe that we the people are idiots. Let's surprise them.
172
"Our leaders" not only believe "we the people" are idiots, they actively work to make sure we stay idiots, by manipulating the truth through such means as Fox News and those scabrous crews scribbling nonsense onto the editorial pages of the Washington Post, and unnamed other major urban dailies.
5
There you go - another great Democrat, who a forward thinking Party might be pushing instead of "old news"
Hillary; and there are at least a dozen or so other bright,
Democrats, who don't back Wall Street, and can craft
answers other than another, bigger war.
Hillary; and there are at least a dozen or so other bright,
Democrats, who don't back Wall Street, and can craft
answers other than another, bigger war.
2
Your analysis is right on target. When donors are willing to spend $100,000 per plate to attend a fundraiser for your candidacy to be POTUS, before you have even declared your candidacy, you know that there is an implicit "trust"... an implicit understanding of how that $100,000 will be spent, how it will be put to use. And, there is an implicit understanding that should Jeb be elected President, they expect that he will serve in a manner that benefits them. Oh, that benefits them, and the United States of America, too. But just to be clear, serves them first, then the United States of America.
2
Maureen, how is it that Paul Wolfowitz wasn't brought up on perjury charges for the Congressional testimony that you cite in this column?
Either Wolfowitz was lying through his teeth before the United States Congress or is as incompetent as they come. Either way, he had no business being anywhere near that press conference - which suggests that the Qusay of the Bush clan isn't nearly as smart and savvy as he's alleged to be.
Either Wolfowitz was lying through his teeth before the United States Congress or is as incompetent as they come. Either way, he had no business being anywhere near that press conference - which suggests that the Qusay of the Bush clan isn't nearly as smart and savvy as he's alleged to be.
140
Has one family ever served to diminish the perceived value of an Ivy League degree more than the Bush clan? How can so many well educated people be so unintelligent (I'm being generous)?
10
This cadre never changes much. These are people who represent the real power in our nation and they hold onto it with a death grip. They actually set the agendas and pull the levers and we, as mere mortals, are unable to vote them out -- because we never voted for them in the first place.
As to the effect his list of "advisors" might have? Jeb knows full well that he could release a list with the names of 21 Hooters girls on it and it won't influence his constituency one wit.
As to the effect his list of "advisors" might have? Jeb knows full well that he could release a list with the names of 21 Hooters girls on it and it won't influence his constituency one wit.
125
That's an insult to Hooters girls!
4
He would sew up the Tea Party vote right away if he included more Hooters girls as advisors.
2
Seeing Cheney's name made me wonder why Guilliani didn't point out Cheney's and Romney's lack of love fo their country given their multiple draft deferments. Neither loved their country enough to fight for it. By the way did Guilliani ever wear a uniform?
277
If you check, you'd find great testimonials of Guilliani's love for America.
He dodged the Vietnam draft, I guess because he hoped one day he'd become president and so didn't want to deny America the prospect of a President Guilliani.
He has set such a fine example for America in marital fidelity. Yes, he is on his 3rd marriage, having cheated on his 2nd wife (whom he announced to the press that he was divorcing even before he had told her). But his lack of spousal fidelity is because he has given his heart and deepest love to America. No woman stands a chance with him, given how much he loves America.
Oh, don't forget his other great acts of patriotism, including as reported, "[billing New York] city agencies several tens of thousands of dollars of mayoral security expenses incurred while visiting [a woman] with whom he was having an extramarital affair," and also arranging for this mistress to get "city-provided chauffeur services from the police department."
Also he showed his great love for America by appointing or recommending for top positions a friend who "was indicted on 16 counts of tax fraud and other federal charges", according to public sources. And wasn't his law firm reported to have had clients with interests antagonistic to American foreign policy?
Greater love of country hath no one than this.
It's because of his unsurpassed love for America that he was resoundingly and ignominiously rejected even in the Republican presidential primary.
He dodged the Vietnam draft, I guess because he hoped one day he'd become president and so didn't want to deny America the prospect of a President Guilliani.
He has set such a fine example for America in marital fidelity. Yes, he is on his 3rd marriage, having cheated on his 2nd wife (whom he announced to the press that he was divorcing even before he had told her). But his lack of spousal fidelity is because he has given his heart and deepest love to America. No woman stands a chance with him, given how much he loves America.
Oh, don't forget his other great acts of patriotism, including as reported, "[billing New York] city agencies several tens of thousands of dollars of mayoral security expenses incurred while visiting [a woman] with whom he was having an extramarital affair," and also arranging for this mistress to get "city-provided chauffeur services from the police department."
Also he showed his great love for America by appointing or recommending for top positions a friend who "was indicted on 16 counts of tax fraud and other federal charges", according to public sources. And wasn't his law firm reported to have had clients with interests antagonistic to American foreign policy?
Greater love of country hath no one than this.
It's because of his unsurpassed love for America that he was resoundingly and ignominiously rejected even in the Republican presidential primary.
28
Rudy Giuliani received 6 deferments during the Vietnam War and also had a judge he was clerking for write him a "special exemption" from any military service. By Republican standards, Rudy is a true patriot.
23
It has been reported that Guilliani went above and beyond to avoid the draft. I will have to find the reference. Guilliani has always been a cruel, mean-spirited person in his public pronouncements.
7
Well, at least for a short period, there was one Bush who spoke the truth before she recently recanted when Mother Bush said:
“But no. I think it’s a great country. There are a lot of great families, and it’s not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified. We’ve had enough Bushes.”
Now, Jeb eyes the campaign march toward the Oval Office to finish the job begun by his father and continued by his brother with this 'brainless trust' including one of the worst of the war criminals, Richard Cheney,
Maureen Dowd, you nailed it "Where's the shame?"
“But no. I think it’s a great country. There are a lot of great families, and it’s not just four families or whatever. There are other people out there that are very qualified. We’ve had enough Bushes.”
Now, Jeb eyes the campaign march toward the Oval Office to finish the job begun by his father and continued by his brother with this 'brainless trust' including one of the worst of the war criminals, Richard Cheney,
Maureen Dowd, you nailed it "Where's the shame?"
264
When it comes to guilt by association, you are entitled to the benefit of the doubt if the association is with one unsavory character; with two, much skepticism is called for. But when you associate with enough discredited characters to form a baseball team or two, you're entitled to no slack at all. Jeb Bush has surrounded himself with a bunch of liars and warmongers and must be presumed to be one of the.
363
Given Chris Christie's recent example -- if he himself wasn't a nefarious character, unaware he surrounded himself with liars, manipulators, and generally nefarious characters, then he certainly lacked intuition, judgment, and intellectual curiosity about those he placed in seats of authority/power.
In his brother's case, if W wasn't a nefarious character, then he too lacked intuition, judgment and intellectual curiosity. And it cost us a lot, too much. The retroactive benefit of the doubt granted to W is not warranted for Jeb. He cannot claim he's unaware these men are liars, manipulators, and nefarious characters.
Jeb doesn't need intuition, judgment, or intellectual curiosity, only awareness of recent history, common knowledge, and/or common sense to understand the nature of these men. He, nor any American can, unknow what is now self-evident, known, and tainted beyond reparation.
Jeb's willful inclusion of these men; awareness of their deeds/misdeeds; his aloofness in declaring himself to be "his own man" while simultaneously thumbing his nose at the electorate and world leaders by putting for the list; is all testament to his nature and that of the presidency he would embody.
That testament: Jeb knows these men manipulated/lied to us, to the world. He believes it was for our own good. By choosing them as his closest advisors, he's signaling that they might, he might, manipulate or lie to us again, for our own good, only this time, we're giving him permission.
In his brother's case, if W wasn't a nefarious character, then he too lacked intuition, judgment and intellectual curiosity. And it cost us a lot, too much. The retroactive benefit of the doubt granted to W is not warranted for Jeb. He cannot claim he's unaware these men are liars, manipulators, and nefarious characters.
Jeb doesn't need intuition, judgment, or intellectual curiosity, only awareness of recent history, common knowledge, and/or common sense to understand the nature of these men. He, nor any American can, unknow what is now self-evident, known, and tainted beyond reparation.
Jeb's willful inclusion of these men; awareness of their deeds/misdeeds; his aloofness in declaring himself to be "his own man" while simultaneously thumbing his nose at the electorate and world leaders by putting for the list; is all testament to his nature and that of the presidency he would embody.
That testament: Jeb knows these men manipulated/lied to us, to the world. He believes it was for our own good. By choosing them as his closest advisors, he's signaling that they might, he might, manipulate or lie to us again, for our own good, only this time, we're giving him permission.
15
The return of the dismal Bush troupe is what a friend of mine likens to plotting for "a white-collar coup.”
The question is whether Americans who agree with this column and share the writer’s dismay will be able to mount an effective response. If not, it may be that the dream of a true American democracy has finally been broken by all the things that led to the first American Revolution, including a block-headed royal family.
The question is whether Americans who agree with this column and share the writer’s dismay will be able to mount an effective response. If not, it may be that the dream of a true American democracy has finally been broken by all the things that led to the first American Revolution, including a block-headed royal family.
208
I agree, but I wonder how many people know Jeb's foreign policy advisors include Wolfowitz and his ilk. Jeb seems like the reasonable one. He may well be, but his selection of advisors suggest the possibility of another Bush puppet whose strings will be pulled by 43 era neocons for whom mayhem in the Middle East is the drama and stage of choice.
3
Mark.......A white collar, slow motion coup has been going on. With the cooperation of about half the unaware voters, reported by a media under our 1st amendment, making it all legal and American.
Even the 'party in opposition' can't deviate too far out from the prevailing ruling culture. That comes from having only 2 parties, dependent on big money, with no public financing, and both identifying with and vetted by, the elite King makers.
Our Royal American Dynasties are gathering their resources, arranging for the orderly passing of power to the heirs. Colluding with the big money donors, working out how they will present their ‘programs’ to the public. WE await daily updates on the news.
Even the 'party in opposition' can't deviate too far out from the prevailing ruling culture. That comes from having only 2 parties, dependent on big money, with no public financing, and both identifying with and vetted by, the elite King makers.
Our Royal American Dynasties are gathering their resources, arranging for the orderly passing of power to the heirs. Colluding with the big money donors, working out how they will present their ‘programs’ to the public. WE await daily updates on the news.
1
It is hard to tell what he actually believes, but we have a few instances of his behavior that might give a clue or two.
First there is the Terri Schiavo case where he signed legislation that allowed him to intrude against the wishes of her husband. There is the pardon he got for Orlando Bosch, a convicted Cuban criminal.
He also managed to snare a position with Lehman Brothers, and the state had invested $millions with them , just before they failed.
Now we see him cozying up to the same neocons that gave us the invasion and occupation of Iraq. But he has managed to keep his profile low.
This sort of looks like a sneak attack on the presidency. He hasn't come out as aggressively wanting it, more like, I will take it if asked. He is the Repugnicans best hope, and is a dangerous adversary. considering his friends.
At the moment it looks like the GOP is doing everything it can to revert the country to its ideal of the 1800s where everyone was considered self sufficient and did not need social security, pensions, medical insurance, and corporations were free to rape and pillage, as the Rockefellers did.
We will see how astute the general public is, or just how self destructive they are.
First there is the Terri Schiavo case where he signed legislation that allowed him to intrude against the wishes of her husband. There is the pardon he got for Orlando Bosch, a convicted Cuban criminal.
He also managed to snare a position with Lehman Brothers, and the state had invested $millions with them , just before they failed.
Now we see him cozying up to the same neocons that gave us the invasion and occupation of Iraq. But he has managed to keep his profile low.
This sort of looks like a sneak attack on the presidency. He hasn't come out as aggressively wanting it, more like, I will take it if asked. He is the Repugnicans best hope, and is a dangerous adversary. considering his friends.
At the moment it looks like the GOP is doing everything it can to revert the country to its ideal of the 1800s where everyone was considered self sufficient and did not need social security, pensions, medical insurance, and corporations were free to rape and pillage, as the Rockefellers did.
We will see how astute the general public is, or just how self destructive they are.
363
Ah we have already seen, though multiple elections including the most recent mid-terms. And the answer is self-destructive. And increasingly so. Sadly.
7
Your thoughts on Bush are right-on with a profile of the Dem consideration - Hillary. She won't come out and aggressively say she wants it but is standing in the wings to be pulled on stage as the standing ovation begins. Sadly, she is the Dems best hope and is a dangerous adversary, considering her connections, money-grubbing and influence peddling.
We certainly will see how "astute or destructive the public is " ... Jeb Bush will certainly not be the GOP candidate and, with proper consideration neither will Hillary Clinton be the Dem's.
We certainly will see how "astute or destructive the public is " ... Jeb Bush will certainly not be the GOP candidate and, with proper consideration neither will Hillary Clinton be the Dem's.
1
The idea that a contemporary would-be candidate can extol Henry Kissinger, who would justify any means to advance his own goals and image, is simply scary. Kissinger belongs, along with Cheney in a special place in Hell, reserved for such criminals. Surely this electorate cannot want to continue to listen to lessons from shameful past actions. It is an indication of just how far the GOP have gone, when a Bush seems like a sane choice! It is disturbing that Jeb Bush is finding support from the off-stage drums of the war-mongers on the right.
385
Good ol' Doug Feith must be in shadow cabinet. A total idiot!
5
A nitpick to start, Ms Dowd. The Clintons didn't ask the American public to nose into their private affairs. On the other hand, the Bushes' businesses tend to impact others.
But back to Gov Jeb Bush. Speaking of Scooter Libby, adding John Bolton and you have a Team Bush reconstituted! I am just not sure if America has a strong enough constitution for the third Bush
But back to Gov Jeb Bush. Speaking of Scooter Libby, adding John Bolton and you have a Team Bush reconstituted! I am just not sure if America has a strong enough constitution for the third Bush
381
Are you saying this in the sense of intestinal fortitude, or are you speaking of the U.S. Constitution? I could take your comment either way.
14
That's not a nitpick but a salient point, a distinction that a prominent New York Times columnist should have been able to make.
14
Bos....er, a nitpick to your nitpick. Clinton didn't ask the American public to nose into their private affairs? Well, when the president has 'relations' with an intern in the White House itself, with the 1st family living there, and all his other escapades, he's asking for a sort of 'invasion of privacy. He could have gone somewhere else for his episodes, but didn't bother.
\Of course the rw fanatics pounced.
Of course Bush's policies impacted the whole nation.
\Of course the rw fanatics pounced.
Of course Bush's policies impacted the whole nation.
Clinton-Warren '16!
Better yet -- Obama '16!
BARACK FOR A THIRD TERM.
Better yet -- Obama '16!
BARACK FOR A THIRD TERM.
381
Uh, you do know that’s now unconstitutional, right?
3
And the perfect campaign slogan for your inspired pick,
Do you believe in miracles?
Do you believe in miracles?
3
Each president gets a max of ten years, usually eight. I was afraid that the Bush/Cheney people would find a way to circumvent the Constitution in 2008 by declaring some sort of national emergency and am very glad that George W. Bush was kind of fed up with being at best co-president and wanted to clear brush and paint permanently. I think Pres. Obama has done a good job, though he underestimated the opposition to him (thinking that two easy election wins, compared to his predecessor's squeakers, actually meant something). It's someone else's turn, as George Washington knew and our Constitution now demands. But I have to give you great credit for writing this response to a column by the pre-eminent Obama-basher in the country, Ms. Dowd. Cheers!
10
Why, after the disaster that was George W. Bush, would Jeb even want to be associated with the morons who got us into the never ending wars in the Middle East? If he was smart, he'd run as far from W's advisors has he can go.
589
This is true. He needs his own morons.
7
The key word in that last sentence is, "if"!
1
being a bush means never having to say you're sorry.
21
Have your fun, but Jeb worries me. We all already know who we're going to vote for. Hillary. Or whomever the democratic nominee turns out to be, which is going to be Hillary. On the other side there are a whole lot of people who already know who they're going to vote for, which is whomever the Republicans nominate. And then there are all those oft-mocked undecided voters who as they almost always do, will decide the election.
Jeb worries me because, unlike his brother, he can actually talk. And, much like his father, he comes across as a fairly nice guy and kind of likeable. And if you think that's ridiculous, I would direct you to the single most accurate and powerful campaign slogan in history: I like Ike.
And it's all going to come down to how smart he (or more accurately, his advisors) are going to be between now and election day, not what he said last week in Chicago. And keep in mind that the almost inevitable result at this point would be... a Republican house of representatives, a Republican senate and a Republican president.
So, have fun and laugh away, but be afraid. Be very afraid.
Jeb worries me because, unlike his brother, he can actually talk. And, much like his father, he comes across as a fairly nice guy and kind of likeable. And if you think that's ridiculous, I would direct you to the single most accurate and powerful campaign slogan in history: I like Ike.
And it's all going to come down to how smart he (or more accurately, his advisors) are going to be between now and election day, not what he said last week in Chicago. And keep in mind that the almost inevitable result at this point would be... a Republican house of representatives, a Republican senate and a Republican president.
So, have fun and laugh away, but be afraid. Be very afraid.
864
You're right; Jeb can talk. MSNBC showed him giving a speech in which he looked and seemed reasonable. People will consider voting for him.
Watch all of the gains made over the last 6 years disappear.
Watch all of the gains made over the last 6 years disappear.
310
Oh, how right you are. Then there is the Supreme Court....
18
If Mr. Bush runs against Ms. Clinton, the dynasty problem exists for both and that would be a net gain for Mr. Bush. If he is the only member of a "royal family" running in November, he will have a lot of answering to do and there will be people who will not vote for him simply because they don't want more Bushes than Adamses, Harrisons or Roosevelts. (Chelsea Clinton, please note.) If the choice is between two dynasties, well, that kind of negates the issue. As Ms. Dowd points out, it isn't so much that he comes from the same family, but the fact that he is not actually planning, apparently, to differentiate himself from his father and brother, his brother particularly. Another four or eight years of that is something to be afraid of. Then again, what other Republican candidate would be preferable? Those who might be, seem to be hesitant to run (Pence, Kasich come to mind), and we remember what happened to Jon Huntsman last time, leaving the field open to the Huckabees, Chiristies, Cruzes, Pauls, Perrys and Bushes of the world.
3
Jeb Bush doesn't worry that he's setting himself up to underperform in comparison with his brother? Doing the same thing over again (relying on this group of advisers) and expecting a different result might be another concern to consider, it seems to me.
197
D.M. : Per Einstein : "Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is called insanity ." Paraphrasing Heine: "Ordinarily they (The "Bushies") are insane but they have their lucid moments when they are merely stupid ." Unfortunately, the "Bushies" and their cabal of psychopaths underwrite Nietzsche's axiom: "Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it (insanity) is the rule". We, all of us, have lived this political/religious polluted orthodoxy for the past thirty years and are in dire need of change .
13
Why would anyone keep "an open mind" about Jeb Bush and his foreign policy convictions or his "severely conservative" inclinations? He'd signed up with the neo-cons long before Cheney dragged W into that crowd after 9/11.
In 1997, Jeb was an original signatory to Bill Krystal's "New American Century Foundation" along with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all the usual suspects who demanded regime change in Iraq by whatever means necessary. Even then, they were advocating military intervention in Iraq but they couldn't get public support for it. Then, came 9/11 and they latched onto that to provoke a completely unnecessary and unwarranted war, the cost of which in lives and treasure is proving to be both unending and unbearable. Jeb Bush was a member of that club.
Why the MSM has crowned him the more moderate brother is no surprise, since its major journalistic endeavor seems to promote whatever false equivalency narrative they can find, but really, this one takes the cake. Jeb Bush is no moderate, never has been and never will be.
In 2013, when asked about a Jeb Bush run, Barbara Bush said, "We’ve had enough Bushes.” She's since changed her mind but I find it impossible to get her initial response out of my mind. "We've had enough Bushes" was and remains the correct response to that question.
In 1997, Jeb was an original signatory to Bill Krystal's "New American Century Foundation" along with Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all the usual suspects who demanded regime change in Iraq by whatever means necessary. Even then, they were advocating military intervention in Iraq but they couldn't get public support for it. Then, came 9/11 and they latched onto that to provoke a completely unnecessary and unwarranted war, the cost of which in lives and treasure is proving to be both unending and unbearable. Jeb Bush was a member of that club.
Why the MSM has crowned him the more moderate brother is no surprise, since its major journalistic endeavor seems to promote whatever false equivalency narrative they can find, but really, this one takes the cake. Jeb Bush is no moderate, never has been and never will be.
In 2013, when asked about a Jeb Bush run, Barbara Bush said, "We’ve had enough Bushes.” She's since changed her mind but I find it impossible to get her initial response out of my mind. "We've had enough Bushes" was and remains the correct response to that question.
766
Where's Dowd's "open mind" when it comes to our current President?
149
She doesn't have one. Concerning both her and Jeb Bush, Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Politics makes strange bedfellows.
4
She brought them up, she entitled and cossetted them and got a lot of reflected 'glory' for her pains. I wonder if she cogitates on that in her quiet and alone time and what she really thinks of these monsters she spawned.
8
If only this information would be prominently covered in the news section where it belongs. It might jolt some nasty memories in voters' minds. No wonder Jeb doesn't want to get into talking about our last Republican president. Then again, these men should have been prosecuted years ago for their criminal actions in lying us into a war we just keep on having to fight. If they had been, we might not be dealing with GWB redux now.
437
With Cheney, Bush opened that Box,
Which years of Blood did not detox,
Created the Crisis
From which emerged ISIS,
One more Bush? Common sense mocks!
Which years of Blood did not detox,
Created the Crisis
From which emerged ISIS,
One more Bush? Common sense mocks!
480
I thought the pullout from Iraq created the vacuum into which ISiS emerged?
1
With Cheney, Bush opened that box,
Twelve bloody years failed to detox.
Created the crisis,
From which emerged ISIS.
Another Bush?Common sense mocks!
Twelve bloody years failed to detox.
Created the crisis,
From which emerged ISIS.
Another Bush?Common sense mocks!
1
Brilliant, Larry! You hit the ball out of the park, once again.
4
If we're foolish enough to give Republicans the House, the Senate and the Supreme Court, then we deserve the consequences. As troublesome as political dynasties can be, somehow electing another Clinton is not quite the same as electing another Bush. The Clintons seem to be warped along the lines of sex and money, failings which seem almost wholesome when you compare them to the dark forces that sustain the Bushes. To reanimate that cabal of liars, zealots and war mongers would mean that we would lose all right to complain as the country burned.
Somehow, Jeb Bush has acquired a moderate patina that is simply not justified. If one is to be judged by the company he keeps, then we should all be very afraid. If one is also to be judged by his record, then we should be terrified.
Jeb Bush, the gleeful executioner, the gun rights advocate, the Sodomy hater, the Darwin denier, and the man who kept the feeding tube in Terri Schiavo has given us a clear picture of the kind of president he would be. Once elected, Bush and a solidly Republican Congress can get about the business of dismantling nearly every progressive initiative made over the last half-century.
Hillary Clinton has her problems, and I would hope that some viable options materialize (Warren) as the election approaches. But we must never forget the political climate that W. bequeathed, and that made us vote for an unknown black man named Hussein over a Republican war hero.
Somehow, Jeb Bush has acquired a moderate patina that is simply not justified. If one is to be judged by the company he keeps, then we should all be very afraid. If one is also to be judged by his record, then we should be terrified.
Jeb Bush, the gleeful executioner, the gun rights advocate, the Sodomy hater, the Darwin denier, and the man who kept the feeding tube in Terri Schiavo has given us a clear picture of the kind of president he would be. Once elected, Bush and a solidly Republican Congress can get about the business of dismantling nearly every progressive initiative made over the last half-century.
Hillary Clinton has her problems, and I would hope that some viable options materialize (Warren) as the election approaches. But we must never forget the political climate that W. bequeathed, and that made us vote for an unknown black man named Hussein over a Republican war hero.
1200
Nah. I'm not so sure we (the American voters) gave the House, Senate and Supreme Court to the Republicans when they've disenfranchised voters (corrupted voting machines, gerrymandering, voter ID, etc. etc.). And used a well-funded, corporate and billionaire-backed apparatus to gain seats at the State level,of course, more judge-ships to follow. They remind me of the entitled bully boys I knew in high school. They don't play fair or honorably; they don't have too because the strategy is to amass power at any cost and by-pass democracy.
42
Right up to the end, I was agreeing. But that unknown guy turned out to be pretty good while the war hero was associating with Alaskan flakes, not of the snow variety.
36
I won't vote for the Republicans to have the White House or the Congress (I don't get a direct vote regarding the Supreme Court). Therefore I will not "deserve" what happens if the Republicans take over due to how others vote. I hate that stale old idea. I will get, instead, consequences I do not deserve.
Bill Clinton acted like a hound dog with his sexual escapades but I would vote for him again if I could. Some people will vote for Hillary Clinton because they think she will have Bill Clinton at her right hand advising her. Knowing the public part of their marital history, I would suspect she will simply arch an eyebrow and give him the fisheye if he attempts to advise her when she has not asked. I hope she wins and not just for the entertainment value of watching their dynamic when Bill becomes the "First Spouse." (I can't say "First Gentleman" with a straight face). Bill Clinton surrounded himself with smart people and is also highly intelligent and politically effective. If HRC becomes President I hope she has some of the same skills. She has already proven herself to be smart.
Bill Clinton acted like a hound dog with his sexual escapades but I would vote for him again if I could. Some people will vote for Hillary Clinton because they think she will have Bill Clinton at her right hand advising her. Knowing the public part of their marital history, I would suspect she will simply arch an eyebrow and give him the fisheye if he attempts to advise her when she has not asked. I hope she wins and not just for the entertainment value of watching their dynamic when Bill becomes the "First Spouse." (I can't say "First Gentleman" with a straight face). Bill Clinton surrounded himself with smart people and is also highly intelligent and politically effective. If HRC becomes President I hope she has some of the same skills. She has already proven herself to be smart.
39
The list of Jeb's policy advisers is enough to make you run straight into the arms of the grifting grandma to beg for mercy. She'll at least pause before starting a war. The neocons start wars because they are unabashed psychopaths, killing and plundering for the pure sport of it, and then bragging about it, secure in the knowledge that they will never, ever be prosecuted for their crimes.
Dick Cheney, though not on the official Jeb List for obvious reasons, is no doubt also lurking in the background, pulling Jeb's strings as deftly as he pulled George's. Ditto for Karl Rove and Roger Ailes. Triple-ditto for billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the de facto head of the Republican Party.
And how about that "estimable" James Baker? (I guess anybody would look vaguely human next to Wolfowitz and his tattered socks.)
Baker's law firm is currently defending the Saudis in a lawsuit brought by the 9/11 families on grounds that the royal family funded the terrorists. Then there's the shady Iraq war debt investment deal worth billions that he brokered between Kuwait and the Carlyle Group, at the same time he was an unpaid "special presidential envoy." Baker had also been lead attorney for the 2000 Bush/Cheney Florida election campaign.
Once the Supremes crowned George king, it was only a matter of time before the corruption became complete. Citizens United was the coup de grace to our democracy.
Let's get the 27 secret pages of the 9/11 Commission Report made public, pronto.
Dick Cheney, though not on the official Jeb List for obvious reasons, is no doubt also lurking in the background, pulling Jeb's strings as deftly as he pulled George's. Ditto for Karl Rove and Roger Ailes. Triple-ditto for billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the de facto head of the Republican Party.
And how about that "estimable" James Baker? (I guess anybody would look vaguely human next to Wolfowitz and his tattered socks.)
Baker's law firm is currently defending the Saudis in a lawsuit brought by the 9/11 families on grounds that the royal family funded the terrorists. Then there's the shady Iraq war debt investment deal worth billions that he brokered between Kuwait and the Carlyle Group, at the same time he was an unpaid "special presidential envoy." Baker had also been lead attorney for the 2000 Bush/Cheney Florida election campaign.
Once the Supremes crowned George king, it was only a matter of time before the corruption became complete. Citizens United was the coup de grace to our democracy.
Let's get the 27 secret pages of the 9/11 Commission Report made public, pronto.
1321
"The neocons start wars because they are unabashed psychopaths, killing and plundering for the pure sport of it, and then bragging about it, secure in the knowledge that they will never, ever be prosecuted for their crimes."
Not really. They do it fund the military industrial complex. They do it so their wealthy donors can suck from the government teat. They scream ideology but it's really money. And they've brought their money at any expense mentality home with the rise of Dick Cheney who was reviled as ruthless and self-serving even on the boards upon which he served.
Not really. They do it fund the military industrial complex. They do it so their wealthy donors can suck from the government teat. They scream ideology but it's really money. And they've brought their money at any expense mentality home with the rise of Dick Cheney who was reviled as ruthless and self-serving even on the boards upon which he served.
29
The warmongering Neocons are the American Isis.
39
Most unfortunately all blame Bush .Regardless the Democrats nearly a hundred percent strongly voted US into Iraq despite all the experts testimony to the contrary of the purported evidence ,which was proven to be false before even the vote. All the Dems voted US in many became vastly wealthy because in all reality Iraq was a multi trillion dollar deal for the connected to special interest crowd.
5
The list of advisors and the Chicago speech should remove doubt in anyone's mind that GOP'ers intend to do anything other than re-package their same ol' same ol' catsup, hoping to sell it to us voters with a new label - no other changes.
We should not be fooled that it makes a difference who is on the label; the same ol' adulterated ingredients will pour out.
We should not be fooled that it makes a difference who is on the label; the same ol' adulterated ingredients will pour out.
301
fool me once, um, ah, er, we won't get fooled again.
16
It is time for a new Amendment - one president per family period. And while we fixing things, put a cap on fundraising and election spending.
4
Its not catsup. Its the blood of our young men and women spilled in a bogus war that will never end.
37
It's safe to say that Jeb Bush's big foreign policy speech was a disaster. Sure, it's early days in the 2016 campaign. But the point of the speech was to present himself as a credible shaper of US policy post-Obama. Instead, he said "Iraq"when he meant "Iran," implied that he's been on the road too much to attend to "the details" of what's going on with respect to NATO and the Baltic states, and admitted he's not really up to speed on foreign policy.
He actually said, in reference to Iran, "Look, the more I get into this stuff, there are some things where you just go, you know, 'Holy schnikes.'"
Just what we need: another president named Bush who, unschooled in the basics of foreign policy, is manipulated by a group of discredited neocons, with disastrous consequences for the US and the world. Holy schnikes, indeed, Jebby Boy.
He actually said, in reference to Iran, "Look, the more I get into this stuff, there are some things where you just go, you know, 'Holy schnikes.'"
Just what we need: another president named Bush who, unschooled in the basics of foreign policy, is manipulated by a group of discredited neocons, with disastrous consequences for the US and the world. Holy schnikes, indeed, Jebby Boy.
1048
Indeed.
109
Yeah--how is it that the diplomatic and globe-trotting dad delivered to us such ethnocentric sons?
32
The Bush family ties to Saudi Arabia definitely need more exploration.
30
"But if you want to be your own person, you have to come up with your own people."
After Bush Senior, it was never about being one's own man. If Dubya had daddy issues, Jeb has brother issues. Subsequent Bushes will have entitlement issues.
Such is the nature of dynastic rule. We're a Democracy. Let's act like one! No more dynasties. In a nation of 300+ million people, surely, we can do far better.
After Bush Senior, it was never about being one's own man. If Dubya had daddy issues, Jeb has brother issues. Subsequent Bushes will have entitlement issues.
Such is the nature of dynastic rule. We're a Democracy. Let's act like one! No more dynasties. In a nation of 300+ million people, surely, we can do far better.
595
While I'm as liberal as they come, something really repels me about your comment. We are NOT a democracy, not even close. At best, we're a corporatocracy. Dynasties are not the problem. We are the problem in that we vote from our reptilian brains for the agenda of the rich and powerful. Why? Because of the Culture War. That's the ONLY thing we need to know: we are gladly giving away social democracy in the name of white skin and entitlement. Hillary is awful, it's true. But she won't appoint justices who gave us Citizens United. That's all you need to know. Forget the stuff about dynasties, which is merely the epiphenomena of a dysfunctional political system.
17