For the record, explanation of the law and policy, fact basis for Operation Iraqi Freedom:
http://learning-curve.blogspot.com/2014/05/operation-iraqi-freedom-faq.html
http://learning-curve.blogspot.com/2014/05/operation-iraqi-freedom-faq.html
2
I don't want another Clinton.
I don't want another Bush.
I don't want another Obama.
I would prefer to have someone from outside the Beltway, someone not entrenched in the party machine. I am tired of both parties, but I am especially tired of the Democrats agenda which seems intent on bring everyone down to the same level. I don't know anyone working who isn't being stuck paying more in taxes. I don't know any middle aged, middle class couples who are not seriously impacted by unemployment for one or both. I don't know of young couples who can rationally afford to buy a house. I don't know of anyone who thinks Obamacare is a success.
We need LEADERS and STATESMEN instead of people voting for the status quo in order to maintain their own cushy lifestyles. Look at the earmarks put into bills that benefited long time members of Congress personally or through lobbyists and groups. What we don't need is a legacy of the same old, same old.
Cruz in this regard is refreshing. So is Fiorina. So is Walker. They are the young guns, the new blood. Frankly the old ideas aren't working and God knows Reid has tabled everything that doesn't fit into the narrow and vindictive Obama agenda. How about we vote for real change this time around?
I don't want another Bush.
I don't want another Obama.
I would prefer to have someone from outside the Beltway, someone not entrenched in the party machine. I am tired of both parties, but I am especially tired of the Democrats agenda which seems intent on bring everyone down to the same level. I don't know anyone working who isn't being stuck paying more in taxes. I don't know any middle aged, middle class couples who are not seriously impacted by unemployment for one or both. I don't know of young couples who can rationally afford to buy a house. I don't know of anyone who thinks Obamacare is a success.
We need LEADERS and STATESMEN instead of people voting for the status quo in order to maintain their own cushy lifestyles. Look at the earmarks put into bills that benefited long time members of Congress personally or through lobbyists and groups. What we don't need is a legacy of the same old, same old.
Cruz in this regard is refreshing. So is Fiorina. So is Walker. They are the young guns, the new blood. Frankly the old ideas aren't working and God knows Reid has tabled everything that doesn't fit into the narrow and vindictive Obama agenda. How about we vote for real change this time around?
8
Speaker Boehner and Mr Netanayhu in their quest to diminish current president's status has instead lessen powers of his office.
I suspect we have allowed Israel too much familiarity in our form of government. That has recently been due to GOP's quest to hit at Presudent Obama, but his tenure is coming to an end. However, the tail has clesrly learned how to wag the dog.
And like many divorces from presumptive one way marriages; the ending comes so viciously, that it is hard pressed to know there was ever love.
I suspect we have allowed Israel too much familiarity in our form of government. That has recently been due to GOP's quest to hit at Presudent Obama, but his tenure is coming to an end. However, the tail has clesrly learned how to wag the dog.
And like many divorces from presumptive one way marriages; the ending comes so viciously, that it is hard pressed to know there was ever love.
11
James Baker is a thoughtful diplomat not a politician .
He offers a rational perspective which America should take into account.
As for Jeb Bush if he wants to serve all Americans as President he should also read the NYT and not be duped into being a puppet of the war mongers , like Bolton
He offers a rational perspective which America should take into account.
As for Jeb Bush if he wants to serve all Americans as President he should also read the NYT and not be duped into being a puppet of the war mongers , like Bolton
21
We cannot expect objectivity out of Ms. Dowd. [The Times Editorial Board would likely frown upon her using the objective facts to inform her thinking.]
She is apparently suffering from a form of amnesia. The Civil War in Iraq between the Sunnis and Shiites had largely been tamped down by Gen. Petraeus' surge strategy. By the time President Obama had taken the oath of office, maintaining the policy that Bush-43 had instituted was the prudent (pun on Bush-41 language is deliberate) course.
Had this actually happened, we would not have had the magnitude of the metastatic condition known as the Islamic State extant (as it presently is) in much of the Arab World/Middle East.
Incidentally, the Sunnis and the Shiites have been fighting with each other for Islamic supremacy for more than 13 centuries. While our actions in Iraq have been provocative to some (primarily on The Left), the reality is that these sects didn't need the US (the Great Satan) to stir up trouble. We are (simply stated) the convenient excuse.
She is apparently suffering from a form of amnesia. The Civil War in Iraq between the Sunnis and Shiites had largely been tamped down by Gen. Petraeus' surge strategy. By the time President Obama had taken the oath of office, maintaining the policy that Bush-43 had instituted was the prudent (pun on Bush-41 language is deliberate) course.
Had this actually happened, we would not have had the magnitude of the metastatic condition known as the Islamic State extant (as it presently is) in much of the Arab World/Middle East.
Incidentally, the Sunnis and the Shiites have been fighting with each other for Islamic supremacy for more than 13 centuries. While our actions in Iraq have been provocative to some (primarily on The Left), the reality is that these sects didn't need the US (the Great Satan) to stir up trouble. We are (simply stated) the convenient excuse.
8
The answer to this question is NO! and NO!...I'm NOT ready for Jeb "45", and NO! he will NEVER be his own man -- NOT with that name. NOT with that baggage. And certainly NOT with Karl Rove and Dick Cheney lurking around in the background.
Another thing, any foreign policy that he might have ever hoped to forge or achieve has taken a hit with his actions toward James Baker, who like him or not, at least knows the rules of the game beyond his own front yard and doesn't hesitate to call it as he sees it.
Another thing, any foreign policy that he might have ever hoped to forge or achieve has taken a hit with his actions toward James Baker, who like him or not, at least knows the rules of the game beyond his own front yard and doesn't hesitate to call it as he sees it.
28
Always an amusing excursion, a trip into Bush-world, but I am not entirely sure of one of the standard plot points, namely, that there is/was a schism between the pragmatic Bush Sr. and Bush the younger in matters of war-making.
If there is one thing we should remember about the Bushes, it is that they do politics very well, and I always felt that father-son schism was a show for the press, but the Bush "establishment," as it were, is and always has been about ensuring a heavy military presence and beachhead in the Middle East. Which is what Bush Sr. certainly did, even if not yet toppling the nominal government in Bagdad, what Bush Jr. certainly did, peeling off massive amounts of our blood and treasure like Johnny Manziel peeling off hundred dollar bills in Vegas, and I feel sure, His Own Man intends nothing at all different.
This drama, in other words, is quite likely all fake. We should stop falling for it, and certainly stop writing about it as if it were established fact.
If there is one thing we should remember about the Bushes, it is that they do politics very well, and I always felt that father-son schism was a show for the press, but the Bush "establishment," as it were, is and always has been about ensuring a heavy military presence and beachhead in the Middle East. Which is what Bush Sr. certainly did, even if not yet toppling the nominal government in Bagdad, what Bush Jr. certainly did, peeling off massive amounts of our blood and treasure like Johnny Manziel peeling off hundred dollar bills in Vegas, and I feel sure, His Own Man intends nothing at all different.
This drama, in other words, is quite likely all fake. We should stop falling for it, and certainly stop writing about it as if it were established fact.
22
George H.W. Bush and James Baker were the best American foreign policy team this country has witnessed in the last 40 years. They are too often overlooked because we've been preoccupied with the failures of their predecessors. Clinton and W were a nightmare for the two-state solution. Clinton's complicity in the settlement surge is also often overlooked because of his otherwise rock-star status.
I'm glad Baker is back in the news. It is causing the media to take an accounting of his actions and demonstrate why Bush/Bakers positions vis-a-vis Israel-Palestine were the correct positions, by far. If Bush/Baker had a J-Street in the 90's, we could already have a two-state solution today. But, the American Jewish lobby in the 90's was monolithic and not moderate. They accused Baker of being an "Arabist" and that was that.
Baker, now in his 80's, deserves to back in vogue. Call it "Baker's Revenge" against the right wing Israeli Lobby that called for his head. Baker will get the last laugh.
I'm glad Baker is back in the news. It is causing the media to take an accounting of his actions and demonstrate why Bush/Bakers positions vis-a-vis Israel-Palestine were the correct positions, by far. If Bush/Baker had a J-Street in the 90's, we could already have a two-state solution today. But, the American Jewish lobby in the 90's was monolithic and not moderate. They accused Baker of being an "Arabist" and that was that.
Baker, now in his 80's, deserves to back in vogue. Call it "Baker's Revenge" against the right wing Israeli Lobby that called for his head. Baker will get the last laugh.
53
Way too early to predict anything in this field, except maybe who is likely to give it a try, and even that is hard. I have nothing against Bush right now except his handling of the Schiavo matter, which did trouble me (he acted as a government bully, in my opinion). If he wants Brady as an advisor, he probably couldn't do better. But, at age 85 or so, isn't Brady entitled to his own opinions?
Not saying I would, but, despite the naysayers, I think the country, and certainly the media, would love Clinton versus Bush. Compared to G.W. Bush and Obama, they both have much more experience and their name recognition gives them the celebrity status that is, regrettably, so important now. Whether it plays out that way, we aren't going to know for quite a while.
Not saying I would, but, despite the naysayers, I think the country, and certainly the media, would love Clinton versus Bush. Compared to G.W. Bush and Obama, they both have much more experience and their name recognition gives them the celebrity status that is, regrettably, so important now. Whether it plays out that way, we aren't going to know for quite a while.
1
W totally messed up in the Middle East, but Poppy was not as wise as Maureen seems to think. 41 was tolerant of Saddam until Hussein invaded Kuwait, which was historically part of Iraq before the French and English carved up the region post WWI. Then Bush One invaded Iraq, stationing some of our troops in Saudi Arabia, thus inspiring Bin Laden to create Al Qaeda. We really can't afford another Bush to touch foreign policy. It hasn't historically been anything other than a disaster.
13
The Mideast thanks in large part to the Bushes and their neocon friends reminds me of Humpty Dumpty. Couldn't be put back together again, remember?! I will hold my nose and vote for Clinton.
11
Will age matter in a 2016 Jeb-Hillary match-up?
In another Times article today, the author observes that Bill Clinton looks older than his 68 years. Hillary is nearly as old as Bill. Even so, contrary to what some have written, she would NOT be the oldest US president: Reagan would still have her beat by several months.
In another Times article today, the author observes that Bill Clinton looks older than his 68 years. Hillary is nearly as old as Bill. Even so, contrary to what some have written, she would NOT be the oldest US president: Reagan would still have her beat by several months.
4
The ONLY thing I liked about Jeb Bush's campaign was James Baker. Now, that's gone, replaced by the Likudnik hyperventilations of Bill Kristol.
17
Whoever faults anyone for disagreeing with James Baker's views on Israel – please: just tell us which candidate you DO support. I'll be sure to steer clear of that candidate.
6
I voted for Barack Obama, twice. I might have taken a quick look at Jeb Bush over Hillary 12 months ago. I would never consider him now. He's an empty suit; a right-wing panderer. He may be the "smart-Bush", when compared to his brother, but that is a back-handed compliment, a "jumbo-shrimp" at best. A large part of my attraction was that fact that his wife and children are Mexican, and how that would grate on the anti-immigrant, Tea Party faction. But I think, just as Jeb threw James Baker under the bus, when push comes to shove from the right, he will do the same to his wife and children. He knows he can't win, otherwise.
22
How can Jeb distance himself from his brother George's disastrous Iraq policies? If he didn't speak out then he was tacitly supporting him. Bush 2's policies led to disastrous foreign policy mistakes and to an economic disaster at home from which the economy is just recovering. Ask all the people whose retirement funds nose-dived during Bush 2, and all the poor people who lost their jobs. Jeb like most Republican rich scions only benefitted from the endless GWOT w/o any sacrifice of sending children off to fight the wars on the ground in AFPAK or Iraq, the war still being fought on the backs of the poor and the middle-class. where is the sacrifice except for a dynastic entitlement?
15
"Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, a Pentagon official under 43, warned: “It is hard to imagine Baker giving such full-throated support to Jeb Bush unless he sees in Bush a kindred spirit.”"
Rubin is right to be suspicious. I hope his suspicions are correct.
Rubin is right to be suspicious. I hope his suspicions are correct.
3
I think it would be helpful for Maureen to know what she's writing about before she writes her columns. Calling J-Street anti-Israel is actually not in any way related to opposing Netanyahu. Rather, if you were at all familiar with the views J-Street has has over the years, they are anti-Israel because they take the position that Israel is wrong to retaliate in any way against Hamas when Hamas is shooting hundreds of missiles into Israel, as they did last Summer. J-Street has time and again taken the position that Israel should not retaliate when attacked. They also push Israel to sign a peace treaty with the Palestinians even when Hamas calls for Israel's destruction and Fatah won't recognize Israel as a Jewish State. So, yes, J-Street is anti-Israel, which is why they have such a relatively small following among Jews.
7
Is the sharp analytic Maureen really back or is it just that I am in agreement with her for the first time in a long time? If she is willing to once again use her substantial intellect to make a point instead of making cutesy cuts, welcome back, Maureen. You are so much better when you are not simply being snarky.
26
Is the Democratic Party boxing itself into a corner here?
All this anti-Netanyahu talk, this effort to tar Jeb Bush with the same brush as Sheldon Adelson, and so on – doesn't it inevitably paint the Democratic Party as a reasoning evaluator of US policy on Israel? Presumably that's exactly the point, but is that realistic? Has Hillary Clinton, or Harry Reid, or Charles Schumer, or Dick Durbin, or Nancy Pelosi – or any other prominent Democrat – ever provided anything but "full-throated" support for Israel? Has any of them ever actually voted to reduce the amount of US support for Israel, or to delay that support?
Not that I've ever noticed. I hear grumbling now and then, but Democrats vote just the same as Republicans when it comes to Israel.
All this anti-Netanyahu talk, this effort to tar Jeb Bush with the same brush as Sheldon Adelson, and so on – doesn't it inevitably paint the Democratic Party as a reasoning evaluator of US policy on Israel? Presumably that's exactly the point, but is that realistic? Has Hillary Clinton, or Harry Reid, or Charles Schumer, or Dick Durbin, or Nancy Pelosi – or any other prominent Democrat – ever provided anything but "full-throated" support for Israel? Has any of them ever actually voted to reduce the amount of US support for Israel, or to delay that support?
Not that I've ever noticed. I hear grumbling now and then, but Democrats vote just the same as Republicans when it comes to Israel.
4
Can't we do better than simply recycling 2 families? Give me an Obama-type intellect with a geopolitical mind. Or is that seeking the impossible.
But anyone but 45, please.
But anyone but 45, please.
11
Ms. Dowd, thank you for the best op-ed piece I have ever read that you authored. You are directly on point. I think it is so dangerous to elect someone like Jeb who wants to play all sides of the game until he's President, then I am afraid we are just going to get another George W. in another form. As you so clearly indicate by pointing out the facts, we are still living with the disaster caused by George W, and lest anyone forget, Jeb supported everything his brother did when George W was President.
Personally, when I think of the overall fantastic job Hillary did as Secretary of State reinforcing our ties with the world (even if the GOP is still DESPERATELY trying to create a Bengazi scandal), I would feel so secure with her as Commander in Chief and as the head of our national diplomacy.
Personally, when I think of the overall fantastic job Hillary did as Secretary of State reinforcing our ties with the world (even if the GOP is still DESPERATELY trying to create a Bengazi scandal), I would feel so secure with her as Commander in Chief and as the head of our national diplomacy.
12
"His Own Man" (HOM) is a good Dowdism for Jeb-- manhood being the holy grail of the Bush men, something that always eludes them. Shrub took the US into 2 wars to prove that he was a real bad HOMbre, a "war president." And now his bland brother wants to be HOM, while collecting all the wrong ideas from the aging gang of Bush hacks and flacks (I'm sounding like Dowd now) who are hoping for another chance to get into the Bush Family HumVee and drive it into the desert. But recall, even George H.W. Bush had the HOM problem: he put his manhood in a lock box or was it a trust when he got the Veep spot with Reagan. He knew the whole Reaganomic deal was "voodoo economics", but he buttoned it, 'cause he wanted that Oval so durn bad...So Jeb, even less HOM than bro and Dad, that's one dangerous dude. We can't let him get them keys...
16
" He had better pray that he doesn’t end up in a presidential vote recount as his brother did here in 2000, because then Jeb would really need Jim Baker." Shucks, he would still have Neil and Marvin.
5
A commenter writes, about Condoleeza Rice:
"She also states every administration since 1948 has considered Israeli prime ministers the most difficult allies."
Now I get it. All you have to do is insist that the Israeli prime minister is "difficult," and maybe critics will be more tolerant as you write larger and larger and larger checks, year after year after year, to those prime ministers.
That might work on some. But I pay attention only to the checks that get written -- not to whether the payee is "difficult" or not.
"She also states every administration since 1948 has considered Israeli prime ministers the most difficult allies."
Now I get it. All you have to do is insist that the Israeli prime minister is "difficult," and maybe critics will be more tolerant as you write larger and larger and larger checks, year after year after year, to those prime ministers.
That might work on some. But I pay attention only to the checks that get written -- not to whether the payee is "difficult" or not.
8
At least Maureen admits that Bush's invasion of Iraq directly resulted in the empowerment of Iran and the origins of ISIS. If more of our national opinion makers would admit these basic facts, we would have a better chance of succeeding.
17
This is the most distressing thing I have heard about Jeb Bush: that he relies on Fox news instead of reading the NYT or other major newspapers.
So he is basically the thinking man's Louis Gohmert. If elected, we can expect the same woefully uninformed policies as his brother's.
So he is basically the thinking man's Louis Gohmert. If elected, we can expect the same woefully uninformed policies as his brother's.
25
If by some disaster, JEB is elected (or appointed) to the presidency, it will mean that we will have had three men from the same family elected POTUS within 30 years. Is that really what American is all about?
15
Any American calling for a loyalty oath to a foreign country is disloyal to the United States.
If Democrats were willing to be more aggressive on messaging, they could score huge points with an electorate already puzzled by the Israel obsession. Sadly, Democrats are not willing to be more aggressive because the DNC fears a fundraising backlash. The Republicans will be allowed to pass. A huge missed opportunity.
If Democrats were willing to be more aggressive on messaging, they could score huge points with an electorate already puzzled by the Israel obsession. Sadly, Democrats are not willing to be more aggressive because the DNC fears a fundraising backlash. The Republicans will be allowed to pass. A huge missed opportunity.
21
Can Hillary ever be her own woman?
7
I hope America does not plant another Bush in the White house - two is one too many - three will mean America enters the realm of a presidential dynasty - kinda like North Korea and their Kim Jongs. Unhealthy if you ask me.
But I want to take issue with M O'D's Torquemada/Neanderthal reference. Neanderthal's are being maligned when used as a metaphor for the Neoconservative - ultra-right-wing risings in the American electorate. We all have Neanderthals genes in our DNA - some more than others...mine, for example might be above average. And so I would like Ms. O'Dowd in her future writings to make a distinction between cave dwellling Neanderthals (such as myself) and cave dwelling Troglodytes such as those of the Tea Party/Ted Cruz/Rush Limbaugh orientation. Torquemada's Troglodytes even sounds better.
But I want to take issue with M O'D's Torquemada/Neanderthal reference. Neanderthal's are being maligned when used as a metaphor for the Neoconservative - ultra-right-wing risings in the American electorate. We all have Neanderthals genes in our DNA - some more than others...mine, for example might be above average. And so I would like Ms. O'Dowd in her future writings to make a distinction between cave dwellling Neanderthals (such as myself) and cave dwelling Troglodytes such as those of the Tea Party/Ted Cruz/Rush Limbaugh orientation. Torquemada's Troglodytes even sounds better.
14
In the third volume of "The Bush Years" we are beginning to see repeat chapters from volumes 1-2. Former Sec. State Al Haig "I'm in control here" when Regan was shot, leaving Bush on the outside looking in and 43 declaring "I'm the Decider". This long running reality show is on the down slope, the dialogue stale and repetitious. Even the Dowager has given up her best lines.
8
The notion of another Bush in the White House is too awful to contemplate. Just the thought that any of the Bush Old Guard might have some influence on another President is a disaster in the making.
Go away Jeb, and take Hillary with you.
It's time for real change, and neither offers any.
Elizabeth Warren for President.
Go away Jeb, and take Hillary with you.
It's time for real change, and neither offers any.
Elizabeth Warren for President.
21
Jeb Bush is not going to be president. In the same way that Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul are not going to be president.
23
I think that American voters, when they'll go to the polls to choose the next President, must keep in their minds - especially if Jeb Bush will be the candidate for the Republican party- that "Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum."
6
Its a good thing Maureen wrote about Bush again-- her fan base was almost gone with her recent stuff about Obama...
Thank goodness for someone who will tell it like she sees it, against both the left and the right.
Thank goodness for someone who will tell it like she sees it, against both the left and the right.
10
You want another war? Anywhere? Vote BUSH.
Bigger deficits; cuts to infrastructure & vital services; mote tax breaks to the top 1% and privatize the rest? vote BUSH
Bigger deficits; cuts to infrastructure & vital services; mote tax breaks to the top 1% and privatize the rest? vote BUSH
36
George H. W. Bush was a war hero, a successful businessman, head of the CIA, UN Ambassador, Congressman, and Vice President. He deserved to be the President. His children do not.
36
You forgot George H. W. Bush's successful business career was funded by family money the resulted from a long history of war profiteering. 41 just continued the family business.
8
Bibi cleverly brands his policies toward and rhetoric against Palestinians allegedly controlled by Hamas as actions directed to thwart an existential threat. Framed in that manner, his actions and tactics are immune to criticism. The thinking that any criticism of Israel is an anti-Semitic stance is just as silly as the mindset that any criticism of the first half-black president is a racist position.
To win the nomination, Jeb has to win over the pro-Jewish lobby for which Kristol acts as an advocate. His critique of Baker must be viewed in this light and not as an anti-Baker statement.
To win the nomination, Jeb has to win over the pro-Jewish lobby for which Kristol acts as an advocate. His critique of Baker must be viewed in this light and not as an anti-Baker statement.
6
it's especially galling since israel created hamas as a weapon against the plo. and last summer, six israelis were killed - that is sad, but not an existential threat.
4
Has anyone else noticed?
Here we are, a mere 21 months from the 2016 election, and only one candidate has officially announced? For the 2008 election, the campaign was in full swing by this point in 2007. Can't say I'm complaining, but it's odd that neither party's "sure thing" candidate is even an official candidate yet.
Here we are, a mere 21 months from the 2016 election, and only one candidate has officially announced? For the 2008 election, the campaign was in full swing by this point in 2007. Can't say I'm complaining, but it's odd that neither party's "sure thing" candidate is even an official candidate yet.
4
once they announce, they have to be more careful about coordinating with Super-PACS - follow the money.
5
6 years into the Obama presidency, Dowd still blames Bush for Obama's failures. The "Frankenstein of ISIS" resulted from his feckless Syria policy and failure to achieve an Iraq Status of Forces agreement, throwing away all the gains of the "surge" and Sunni Awakening, and dishonoring the sacrifices of thousands of Iraqis and Americans who bet their lives on it.
3
WRONG! The mess in the ME is ALL on w....for destabilizing the entire region with his illegal and immoral invasion of Iraq.
Obama inherited a goatscrew of enormous proportions....abroad and at home.
FACT: American troops are not dying; we are not spending millions and billions and trillions of dollars on un-winnable , destructive, inhumane military adventures which accomplish NOTHING.
Obama inherited a goatscrew of enormous proportions....abroad and at home.
FACT: American troops are not dying; we are not spending millions and billions and trillions of dollars on un-winnable , destructive, inhumane military adventures which accomplish NOTHING.
10
It seems to be very hard being a Republican politician. There are so many self-appointed king-makers who demand ideological purity on so many issues, the politician must be a combination tight-rope walker and contortionist. Say the wrong thing or say something that is even slightly nuanced and your campaign is doomed! But since they fawn all over those king-makers and donors in order to get their support, they are unable to show leadership, thoughtfulness, imagination, or true character--if they have any.
22
It's too bad the secular Democrats do not believe in miracles. Because it's going to take a miracle for them to keep Jeb Bush out of the White House in 2016. The longer the Democrats keep all their eggs in one basket, and that basket solely controlled by Clinton, Inc., the larger the miracle must be.
4
I sure hope all of can agree with this commenter:
"Speaking of serious, John Bolton seriously scares me."
The moment I hear any candidate is even in the same state as John Bolton -- much less considering hiring that nut-case if he should be elected -- will be the moment I scratch that candidate off my list. It's frightening that Bolton has ever been taken seriously.
"Speaking of serious, John Bolton seriously scares me."
The moment I hear any candidate is even in the same state as John Bolton -- much less considering hiring that nut-case if he should be elected -- will be the moment I scratch that candidate off my list. It's frightening that Bolton has ever been taken seriously.
34
I have no doubt that history will repeat itself if Bush 45 becomes a reality. I'm not sure we'd survive it.
17
Why do so many commenters presume that two other countries will go to war with each other if the US doesn't intervene?
"... we can now bow out and let the main players duke it out among themselves or through proxies (Saudi Arabia and Iran go to war?"
The danger posed by this presumption is that it casts the US as a "peace keeper" whose intervention is to be encouraged so that other countries don't attack one another. Is that a sound presumption? Saudi Arabia and Iran aren't great friends, but that doesn't mean they'll go to war with one another if we start minding our own business. And even if they do, that won't mean that war could have been avoided had we intervened.
Other countries can handle their own affairs without our interference -- excuse me: intervention.
"... we can now bow out and let the main players duke it out among themselves or through proxies (Saudi Arabia and Iran go to war?"
The danger posed by this presumption is that it casts the US as a "peace keeper" whose intervention is to be encouraged so that other countries don't attack one another. Is that a sound presumption? Saudi Arabia and Iran aren't great friends, but that doesn't mean they'll go to war with one another if we start minding our own business. And even if they do, that won't mean that war could have been avoided had we intervened.
Other countries can handle their own affairs without our interference -- excuse me: intervention.
18
Jeb Bush unformed on foreign policy; how can that be with all those Miami Cubans advising him?
9
It baffles me that the neocons remain influential. Their mistakes regarding Iraq were so disastrous and long-lasting. And don't forget that Kristol was very instrumental in bringing Palin to center stage. In current discussions of Isis strategy there is never a reference to how we have arrived at this point. Hawks then are hawks now. There should be a procedure for sending those who have advised so poorly to be banished to the hinterlands, never to be heard from again.
22
Sorry but the US has still not recovered from Bush 43, please do not inflict Bush 45 upon us. It would be like another plague.
34
I agree - but - sad to say - compared to the other Republican front runners Jeb Bush seems to be reasonable.
Which is scant comfort - still - can you imagine President Cruz? Or Huckabee? Or worse?
Which is scant comfort - still - can you imagine President Cruz? Or Huckabee? Or worse?
5
What is most remarkable to me about the choice of candidates that we often have for national office is their lack of education and understanding about the world outside of our borders. How many entering members of Congress could identify LIberia or Costa Rica on a blank map of the world? How many can distinguish Buddhism from Confucianism? Campaigns (and often televised debates) focus on the most inane and irrelevant issues that the candidates, lacking prior education on international affairs, hardly have time to improve their knowledge base during the campaign period. We have seen the results of pitiful attempts using cram sessions in the past 2 elections. I think that a former Secretary of State (and former first lady) would be much better prepared to lead us deeper into the complexities of the 21st century than the governor of a state with foreign policy concerns obsessively focused for 50 years on a now historical 20th century conflict over an island in the Caribbean Sea.
17
Doc in Chicago
In an exchange now with a friend who is somewhat 'apolitical', I mentioned to her Ms. Dowd's "Ready for 45" which I am sending her. We need you, I told her, and I agree that you could work for Jeb Bush but he has just taken James Baker to task over the Middle East, and shows poor judgement on his part. James Baker, she replied? Why there's a serious and distinguished statesman, one who is worthy of consideration, and has been advising his father all along. True, I answered, but we seem to want Jeb Bush as a 'second-hand' President in the White House under the offices of the Republican party.
Changing the subject, I asked how her humanitarian friend is managing as representative in Liberia, where efforts to contain Ebola are ongoing. She sounds like another bright spark like you, and you have some formidable friends in your midst. I'll send you this update on Jeb Bush and apparently he had his spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, intervene with Mr. Baker's bipartisanship efforts with the President, when it comes to dressing down the controversial Prime Minister of Israel.
Be as it may, we are going to have Mr. Jeb Bush at the White House, while the winds of war are near, and it does not take a visionary to know that the President is the only one who is going to be able to keep us better informed and prepared when it comes to establishing a rational understanding of what is happening in the Middle East and its ramifications on America.
In an exchange now with a friend who is somewhat 'apolitical', I mentioned to her Ms. Dowd's "Ready for 45" which I am sending her. We need you, I told her, and I agree that you could work for Jeb Bush but he has just taken James Baker to task over the Middle East, and shows poor judgement on his part. James Baker, she replied? Why there's a serious and distinguished statesman, one who is worthy of consideration, and has been advising his father all along. True, I answered, but we seem to want Jeb Bush as a 'second-hand' President in the White House under the offices of the Republican party.
Changing the subject, I asked how her humanitarian friend is managing as representative in Liberia, where efforts to contain Ebola are ongoing. She sounds like another bright spark like you, and you have some formidable friends in your midst. I'll send you this update on Jeb Bush and apparently he had his spokeswoman, Kristy Campbell, intervene with Mr. Baker's bipartisanship efforts with the President, when it comes to dressing down the controversial Prime Minister of Israel.
Be as it may, we are going to have Mr. Jeb Bush at the White House, while the winds of war are near, and it does not take a visionary to know that the President is the only one who is going to be able to keep us better informed and prepared when it comes to establishing a rational understanding of what is happening in the Middle East and its ramifications on America.
97% of our congress are embarrassing and useless.
6
The prospect of a(nother) Bush nomination, never mind actual election, is proof to the world that we have become a third-world banana republic, where office goes to the highest bidder.
34
As does the prospect of another Clinton nomination or election. As I heard recently, we do not have an inherited head of state here. The Bush's and Clinton's take turns.
1
Another Bush in White House ? Forget it. The whole world is in trouble. Humanity is in trouble. Another war in Middle East? Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bill Kristol, Bolton and all the neocon warmonger leaders are active again in his campaign. I am really scared. Our economy was so depressed when Bush sr was president and Bill Clinton recovered it. Again during W. Bush, the economy broke down and Obama recovered it. Now the economy is getting better and unemployment is going down everyday. Another Bush, we have to be scared.
39
Being anti Netanyahu is not being anti Israel, it is pro Israel. It is clear that Netanyahu has no credibility here, except with right wing Republicans.
Yes, I am ready for 45. She is a person who has real foreign policy experience and considerable knowledge and will not have to rely on “advisors” who would effectively design a 3rd term for 43 who was sold a bill of goods by the same of neocon war mongers who owe the American people a deep apology. These are the people who lied us into a disastrous war in Iraq which was a goldmine big corporate contributors.
James Baker is different from the neocons who advised that an American invasion of Iraq would be welcomed and the war would pay for itself and be over in 6 weeks. He is not an ultra right winger. Baker is actually very intelligent, a billionaire, and no doubt will have 45's ear when she calls on him for advice.
No matter what Republican is nominated the nominee will be the product of a “team” of advisers which offers only 2 options: (1) corporatism with less liberty for ordinary people and destruction of the safety net; or (2) militarized corporatism, a perpetual state of war, with higher taxes lower wages and very much less liberty for ordinary people and destruction of the safety net.
In 2016 those of us who can still vote can choose between a middle of the road Democrat, smeared by phony “scandals” and depending on who a group of billionaires green light, between bad or worse.
Yes, I am ready for 45. She is a person who has real foreign policy experience and considerable knowledge and will not have to rely on “advisors” who would effectively design a 3rd term for 43 who was sold a bill of goods by the same of neocon war mongers who owe the American people a deep apology. These are the people who lied us into a disastrous war in Iraq which was a goldmine big corporate contributors.
James Baker is different from the neocons who advised that an American invasion of Iraq would be welcomed and the war would pay for itself and be over in 6 weeks. He is not an ultra right winger. Baker is actually very intelligent, a billionaire, and no doubt will have 45's ear when she calls on him for advice.
No matter what Republican is nominated the nominee will be the product of a “team” of advisers which offers only 2 options: (1) corporatism with less liberty for ordinary people and destruction of the safety net; or (2) militarized corporatism, a perpetual state of war, with higher taxes lower wages and very much less liberty for ordinary people and destruction of the safety net.
In 2016 those of us who can still vote can choose between a middle of the road Democrat, smeared by phony “scandals” and depending on who a group of billionaires green light, between bad or worse.
20
If Jeb's list of foreign policy advisors is a list divided against itself, so too is the Republican Party. It's no longer the party of his father-- Northeast bred and educated, and Episcopalian. It's still more the party of his brother: raised in Texas, Methodist, though he still has that Ivy League education. Yet the Tea Party has planted itself firmly, shifting the center further right with its radical populist views.
Jeb is thoroughly Texan and educated at the University of; yet he abandoned the Episcopal church for Roman Catholicism, speaks Spanish, and feels at ease in the Hispanic community. He seemed right for the polyglot state of Florida. But this may be too much of a stretch for the GOP as a whole at the moment. He won't "fire up the base" in the same manner as did his brother with appeal to that winning mix of grassroots conservatism and religious fundamentalism.
His foreign policy advisor's list attempts to reconcile the new directions of the GOP toward Israel. Yet it also shows that Jeb is more complex than his father or brother in ways that make his attractiveness to the party less clear cut. In a way he's probably more the candidate for 2024 than 2016, but we aren't there yet.
Jeb is thoroughly Texan and educated at the University of; yet he abandoned the Episcopal church for Roman Catholicism, speaks Spanish, and feels at ease in the Hispanic community. He seemed right for the polyglot state of Florida. But this may be too much of a stretch for the GOP as a whole at the moment. He won't "fire up the base" in the same manner as did his brother with appeal to that winning mix of grassroots conservatism and religious fundamentalism.
His foreign policy advisor's list attempts to reconcile the new directions of the GOP toward Israel. Yet it also shows that Jeb is more complex than his father or brother in ways that make his attractiveness to the party less clear cut. In a way he's probably more the candidate for 2024 than 2016, but we aren't there yet.
10
Sometimes I just get so tired . . . reading about all the people I don't want to vote for, all the policies, all the op-eds that offer little symbolic reform band-aids, show props . . . you know, the latest script for improving the schools, the taxes and tasers, the drones and bankers, the medicare and docs, big Ag, big Pharm, big Holly, the church and neocons, the dems and the stink-think, them tanks . . .
Let's de-Fatify with a sugar-free . . .
Hey, look over there. Here comes the extinction plow, already decimating 150-200 species a Day when the background rate is 10?, 20? a Year; it's exponential slaughter, a murder-suicide relationship with other species, like a dad killing his whole family, then himself.
There's the 7,000 square mile dead zone where our main geo artery, the Miss, kisses the gulf . . . and the melt-rivers under the Antarctic and Greenland, the methane poised to breach its permafrost home bringing Abrupt climate change . . . and starvation, genocide, rape. DNA apps on file for times like this . . .
Jeb will invoke God; and Hillary, Bill.
And there's history too . . .
In a WWII firebombing raid, as the heat radiated through the concrete of the bomb shelter, and the gasses replacing the stolen oxygen began causing people to nod off, a toddler asked her mommy: “Are we getting dead?”
I think we are Sweetheart, and I’m so sorry; I love you, and promise never to tell you . . . No Sweetie, my tears are about something else; I’m just tired . . .
Let's de-Fatify with a sugar-free . . .
Hey, look over there. Here comes the extinction plow, already decimating 150-200 species a Day when the background rate is 10?, 20? a Year; it's exponential slaughter, a murder-suicide relationship with other species, like a dad killing his whole family, then himself.
There's the 7,000 square mile dead zone where our main geo artery, the Miss, kisses the gulf . . . and the melt-rivers under the Antarctic and Greenland, the methane poised to breach its permafrost home bringing Abrupt climate change . . . and starvation, genocide, rape. DNA apps on file for times like this . . .
Jeb will invoke God; and Hillary, Bill.
And there's history too . . .
In a WWII firebombing raid, as the heat radiated through the concrete of the bomb shelter, and the gasses replacing the stolen oxygen began causing people to nod off, a toddler asked her mommy: “Are we getting dead?”
I think we are Sweetheart, and I’m so sorry; I love you, and promise never to tell you . . . No Sweetie, my tears are about something else; I’m just tired . . .
9
Our economy is just now coming out of the worst recession in living memory. The Iraq War is over; yet, the terrible repercussions remain. Most of our troops are out of that hell hole in Afghanistan. Our country is about where is was before Bush 2 took over, and here we are talking about Bush 3. If Jeb were elected, the neonut, Bolton, who wrote that muddled piece on why we should start WWIII and bomb Iran, would be appointed to high office. Imagine that. Another war in The Middle East with a country 3 times as big as Iraq and with 3 times the population. I bet old Dick would be put in charge of finding a Vice President. Who better than himself? The first compassionate conservatives Dick will rehabilitate are his pals Rummy and Scooter. Jeb would have to give Scooter a nice quiet Presidential Pardon, so he can have his security clearance back of course. Rummy did such a good job over at the Pentagon, he deserves to be appointed at Treasury, so he can have a second shot at destroying our economy. Who better to be Attorney General than Mr. Ted Cruz. Perfect choice to farther erode America into a pitiful collection of states instead of a powerful nation. I bet Jeb would want some real world experience over at the EPA. Charles and/or David Koch would be perfect. After all, they have given us all that money! What is the definition of insanity folks? Doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.
22
So much ink spilled here and elsewhere on the presidential race so early. It's as though the Times staff is too obsessed, or too lazy, to look into much else.
5
Gee, is it possible the presidential race has begun and serious issues are at stake for our nation? Just a guess. Lazy? Obsessed? Just does not ring true.
5
It is inconceivable that Jeb Bush is not too embarrassed to run for President, after the mess his brother left.
20
Jeb terrorized the husband of Terry Schiavo. He's an unctuous hypocrite who is clearly unqualified to be President unless America wants a theocracy. Better a Clinton than a Bush. Bill gave us a surplus and peace. Bush? Mayhem and oligarchy.
41
How embarrassing that the Republicans can only come up with incoherent and uninformed presidential candidates like Bush and his ilk. Lazy and entitled, they seem to believe the "details" of foreign and yes, domestic policy should be best left to others. This is leadership??
19
Two bushes left the white house with the economy in the ditch. Jebby is extreme right wing on abortion and his attitude is: "I deserve it" my question to him is: What was the name of your firs polo pony and where would you be if your name wasn't Jebby Bush?
24
Jeb is a neocon. Signatory with Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, Kristol, et al of PNAC mission statement.
9
from reading certain posts nobody wants another Bush. Ok that's fine. Are we ready for another Clinton? In a country with over 300 million people nobody else qualifies for the office of president?
8
Bush, Cruz, Paul, Walker--all of these and more on the Republican/Tea Party team stand no chance of entering the Oval Office other than as unlikely visitors. The next president of the United States will be Hillary Clinton. Republicans need to accept that now.
13
What the hell would I do without the prospective your paper (the last real paper) provides. Hang in there. In my 70 years I feel we have never needed you more
13
Jeb is no different than his "Mission-Accomplished" brother and would resurrect the same corrupt, greedy faces to populate the White House, in pursuit of new ways to manufacture crony-enriching conflicts. Look at the messes they've engineered, which continue to this day. A horrifying, destructive worldwide toll.
Say no to Jeb and the Grand Old Neocons.
Say no to Jeb and the Grand Old Neocons.
24
"...can he ever be his 'own man'?"
I can't for the life of me see why he'd *want* to be. He, his brother, and their daddy have *all* been someone else's bought-and paid men all their lives.
I can't for the life of me see why he'd *want* to be. He, his brother, and their daddy have *all* been someone else's bought-and paid men all their lives.
19
An excellent column. However, I do take exception to describing Dick Cheney
as naive. Grandiose yes, naive no.
as naive. Grandiose yes, naive no.
13
Susan - I think you are too kind in describing Cheney as "grandiose." This description does not reflect many far less appealing qualities, including possible war profiteering and war crimes. Dowd's suggestion that Cheney is naive is probably as far from the truth as one can get in characterizing him.
5
Jeb Bush is surrounding himself with the same toxic bunch of Neo Cons as his brother. It doesn't matter who we imagine him to be- whoever he is, he is comfortable with this nest of scorpions in his inner circle. Fool us twice as GWB said.
27
In the case of both Jeb and W, the apples did fall far from the father tree.
10
Maureen, Jeb Bush is pandering to the Jewish/Evangelical vote because he disagrees with James Baker. Please! Three months ago I would not have given Jeb a 10% chance of becoming 45 but today, with the middle east on fire as a direct result of President Obama's policy decision to withdraw from the region and Hillary on fire because she wiped her private email server after the data was requested by Congress his odds have gone up to better than 50/50 and we're over 18 months out. I remember well the feeling of chaos and pessimism that pervaded America's mood during the final two years of Carter's presidency. I don't know if things are really worse now or if they only feel that way because so much more is going on. In those days we only had the Soviets and Iran to worry about. Obama's aids once called him th ebear and said he was loose. This time it seems "The Bear" has stuck his maw in every hornets nest available. Yup, the bear is loose.
1
"Opposing Netanyahu’s policies toward the Palestinians does not disqualify it as a pro-Israeli organization. On the contrary, many polls show that its views reflect the majority of American Jewish opinion."
Thank you Ms. Dowd. Someone has finally expressed a non-mutally exclusive understanding of how people think and feel. It is not only discouraging but also enflaming for the print and video media - along with the politicians - to consistently take an either/or position. Where are the experts who truly understand conflict management, human dynamics and better ways of communicating and listening? Actually, I want to ask: where are the grownups?
Thank you Ms. Dowd. Someone has finally expressed a non-mutally exclusive understanding of how people think and feel. It is not only discouraging but also enflaming for the print and video media - along with the politicians - to consistently take an either/or position. Where are the experts who truly understand conflict management, human dynamics and better ways of communicating and listening? Actually, I want to ask: where are the grownups?
25
Bill Kristol? Really? The same guy who slobbered over Sarah Palin? He rears his empty head and pronounces ... stuff that anybody listens to?
I didn't think it was genetic at first, before we were all exposed to the Jeb, formerly confined to Florida and maybe Texas. But I think it is genetic; the Jeb is just as clueless as the W and the H. W. and the Barbara, who famously referred to Europeans as "those people over there", but had the minimal smarts to perceive that the Jeb maybe shouldn't run. For anything.
I guess in the contemporary republican party, fervently dumb passes for sanity, especially when lined up next to stunted crazies like Cruz and Paul, Jindal and Christie. I am just thankful that there are no more Bush siblings though. The republicans will find another complete fool for their nominee, like Romney, and pretend he is a human being. Just don't let's have to see the smirking W ever ever again.
I didn't think it was genetic at first, before we were all exposed to the Jeb, formerly confined to Florida and maybe Texas. But I think it is genetic; the Jeb is just as clueless as the W and the H. W. and the Barbara, who famously referred to Europeans as "those people over there", but had the minimal smarts to perceive that the Jeb maybe shouldn't run. For anything.
I guess in the contemporary republican party, fervently dumb passes for sanity, especially when lined up next to stunted crazies like Cruz and Paul, Jindal and Christie. I am just thankful that there are no more Bush siblings though. The republicans will find another complete fool for their nominee, like Romney, and pretend he is a human being. Just don't let's have to see the smirking W ever ever again.
34
But there is another generation. George Prescott Bush, son of Jeb, has been described as interested in politics......
1
Thank goodness there are no more Bush siblings, but there is already a next-generation Bush in politics in Texas.
First, Bill Kristol wakes up every day with the crushing recognition that he is no Bill Buckley. Second, 'his own man" may be an inevitability, but with that heritage, power, wealth, opportunity and connections, shouldn't he be better?
11
"Though Jeb is more apt to do his homework, he’s unformed on foreign policy, like his brother — except that his brother was elected before 9/11. Now the neocons who treated W. like a host body for their own agenda are swirling around Jeb, ready to inhabit another President Bush."
Let's remember that "43" was NOT freely and fairly elected President; he was appointed by a GOP-dominated Supreme Court, in a questionable legal maneuver orchestrated by Baker. Think what the US could have avoided had Gore been determined the winning President; how different a country we could have been without the Iraq war; how much better economic footing we'd be on; how different the world would feel about us.
Either we take this country back by electing a leader with vision, or we persist in failed neocon policies that will inevitably lead to the demise of our country
Let's remember that "43" was NOT freely and fairly elected President; he was appointed by a GOP-dominated Supreme Court, in a questionable legal maneuver orchestrated by Baker. Think what the US could have avoided had Gore been determined the winning President; how different a country we could have been without the Iraq war; how much better economic footing we'd be on; how different the world would feel about us.
Either we take this country back by electing a leader with vision, or we persist in failed neocon policies that will inevitably lead to the demise of our country
199
Wow! Its hard to believe that Ms Dowd wrote an excellent article and only mentioned Obama once, and that was just in passing. We (US) will be held responsible by history and the ghosts of hundred of thousands of dead for pulling the pin on the MidEast (ME) grenade.
It is too late for us to meaningfully impact the outcome of the current conflagration in the ME and increasingly Africa. Tens of thousands more will die because of us. God, please have mercy on us.
It is too late for us to meaningfully impact the outcome of the current conflagration in the ME and increasingly Africa. Tens of thousands more will die because of us. God, please have mercy on us.
21
Bolton is a lunatic.
Kristol is a fraud always ready to send another man's son to die who never in his life actually risked his own for anything or anyone -- in sort the very worst kind of man there can be.
Baker is a wise man and there are few left, especially in the Republican Party.
Netanyahu has done far more damage to Israel than anyone ever has by destroying the support of more than half the people of the United States because without the U.S. there is no Israel and so one day there may be no Israel.
Jeb Bush is a weak, vacillating man on things he knows little about and a rigid theocrat on things he thinks he knows about and one Bush too many.
Kristol is a fraud always ready to send another man's son to die who never in his life actually risked his own for anything or anyone -- in sort the very worst kind of man there can be.
Baker is a wise man and there are few left, especially in the Republican Party.
Netanyahu has done far more damage to Israel than anyone ever has by destroying the support of more than half the people of the United States because without the U.S. there is no Israel and so one day there may be no Israel.
Jeb Bush is a weak, vacillating man on things he knows little about and a rigid theocrat on things he thinks he knows about and one Bush too many.
57
James Baker is probably one of the most talented men to serve his country as Secretary of State - and I am not a Republican.
4
Notafan your last sentence seems a more apt description of Obama than Bush.
No room in the Republican Party to criticize Ronald Reagan and apparently not Bibi Netanyahu or Israel. Of course the sainted Reagan was not totally held hostage by the evangelicals and AIPAC and the likes of Sheldon Adelson, but that was well before Citizen's United. Every leader must be carefully evaluated and criticized. Except Bibi. He has spit in the face of many Presidents but none more profoundly or openly than President Obama. Freeze settlement construction? Why throw a bone to the President who makes certain you continue to get 3 billion in aid each year plus a pass at the virulently anti Israel UN. After all, why pretend to the world we are an " honest broker " for peace! Campaign for Romney and the Republicans? Just desserts for not unilaterally supporting everything Bibi demands. I wonder if anyone realizes the long lasting damage being done, in particular to Israel and American Jewry?
26
Why are Paul Wolfowitz and Josh Bolton consulted on anything? Jeb Bush seems incapable of making his own decisions, let alone making good decisions for our country in 2015. Any why on earth would any politician not read the New York Times? The reader comments alone are worth the price of any subscription. Why would you want to run for office and not know what Americans who are deep thinkers are thinking?
46
Because its not the deep thinkers who decide elections, unfortunately.
7
Is there anyone in public life who has been more consistently and catastrophically wrong than Wolfowitz? Consulting him on anything should disqualify a candidate from the Presidential race.
Why would Jeb and GWB reject deep thinking? The Bush family arose from the culture of the Northeast, but the sons were affected by the move to Texas. The Jeb and George W generation have chosen to identify with Southern and Western anti-Eastern prejudices, which appear to include disparaging education, science, and empirical research in general (although themselves had every elite educational opportunity). The anti-egghead theme was used successfully by Richard Nixon, who early in his career deeply resented being rejected by Duke and NY law firms. Championing the silent majority ("real Americans") vs the pointy headed Easterners was a successful approach for Nixon and later, Reagan, and it has continued to be used by Republican candidates ever since. Sarah Palin has shown that the know-nothing approach can be quite popular. As a result, nearly all Republican candidates now adopt or pretend to adopt a disdain for learning or intellectual activity, and emphasize religious, faith-based decision making (which apparently does not have much to do with objective facts). Many people seem to find this attitude attractive. The only problem is that actual reality may be out there, and possibly very different from what one imagines.
Why would Jeb and GWB reject deep thinking? The Bush family arose from the culture of the Northeast, but the sons were affected by the move to Texas. The Jeb and George W generation have chosen to identify with Southern and Western anti-Eastern prejudices, which appear to include disparaging education, science, and empirical research in general (although themselves had every elite educational opportunity). The anti-egghead theme was used successfully by Richard Nixon, who early in his career deeply resented being rejected by Duke and NY law firms. Championing the silent majority ("real Americans") vs the pointy headed Easterners was a successful approach for Nixon and later, Reagan, and it has continued to be used by Republican candidates ever since. Sarah Palin has shown that the know-nothing approach can be quite popular. As a result, nearly all Republican candidates now adopt or pretend to adopt a disdain for learning or intellectual activity, and emphasize religious, faith-based decision making (which apparently does not have much to do with objective facts). Many people seem to find this attitude attractive. The only problem is that actual reality may be out there, and possibly very different from what one imagines.
4
I like Jeb's chances to be the nominee now that Maureen's on the attack. Of all the other GOP potentials I like Jeb best. Assuming the democrats nominate Clinton I still like Jeb best. That's how politics works, you get to vote for whoever makes it to the ballot, not who you'd really like to see on the ballot. Jeb has his faults, I just think he has less faults than Clinton and more strengths than she has. Many readers will probably disagree, I just hope the voters won't.
2
"I like Jeb's chances to be the nominee now that Maureen's on the attack."
And well you might think that. After all, Maureen's previous bete noire, George W. Bush, served two terms as President of the United States.
And well you might think that. After all, Maureen's previous bete noire, George W. Bush, served two terms as President of the United States.
1
However, Jeb is unquestionably not what this country needs. The defining issue of our time is income inequality and the GOP will only make that worse. Hillary is somewhat better and once she gets to make her own mark maybe a whole lot better. There are others that would be much better than Hillary but they won't get the nomination.
5
Jeb Bush was a signatory to the mission statement of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). He was for invading Iraq. He is a neocon.
9
Bush I - war for oil and contractor cronies.
Bush 2 - war for oil and contractor cronies.
Bush 3 - No.
Bush 2 - war for oil and contractor cronies.
Bush 3 - No.
32
The one takeaway I gather from this summation (Thanks Maureen) is that we are way, way past the time when we need fresh ideas and fresh face. Are we really fated as a nation to have three Presidents walk a nearly identical path in the Middle East -- a path that has already proven beyond doubt to fail? For our Country's sake, let's hope not.
Sure the GOP (and the Democrats!) can do better than serve up re-heated politicians
Sure the GOP (and the Democrats!) can do better than serve up re-heated politicians
7
Dear Ms. Dowd,
You already wrote "Bushworld"; are you dusting off the cowboy hat and gun belt for Part Two?
We get the message. Jeb Bush would recruit all of the old Neo-Cons and THEN invade the other I country, Iran. Or, if Mr. Bolton has his way, we'll just haul off and nuke Tehran before Mr. Netanyahu does it.
In reality, "whoever got us into this mess, Ollie" matters not a hill of beans. It's nice to know that the Iraq invasion was a screw up, the rebuilding of same a gigantic money pit while arming both Shia and Sunnis and Afghanistan is,well, still the same old tribal area that confounded Alexander the Great.
In the here and now, as humans never study their history, we still seem to have a Mid east in turmoil with one big exception; we can now bow out and let the main players duke it out among themselves or through proxies (Saudi Arabia and Iran go to war? A win/win solution for America's problems over there if we can just manage to keep our bat and ball at home).
But as satisfying as this is geo-politically (War really is "diplomacy by other means"), I assume all of our leaders feel we have to stick our nose back into this sectarian conflict. It begins with airstrikes and advisers and seems to end up with helicopters evacuating the last of American personnel to aircraft carriers.
Really, is the oil STILL that important?
And I look forward to your next book.
You already wrote "Bushworld"; are you dusting off the cowboy hat and gun belt for Part Two?
We get the message. Jeb Bush would recruit all of the old Neo-Cons and THEN invade the other I country, Iran. Or, if Mr. Bolton has his way, we'll just haul off and nuke Tehran before Mr. Netanyahu does it.
In reality, "whoever got us into this mess, Ollie" matters not a hill of beans. It's nice to know that the Iraq invasion was a screw up, the rebuilding of same a gigantic money pit while arming both Shia and Sunnis and Afghanistan is,well, still the same old tribal area that confounded Alexander the Great.
In the here and now, as humans never study their history, we still seem to have a Mid east in turmoil with one big exception; we can now bow out and let the main players duke it out among themselves or through proxies (Saudi Arabia and Iran go to war? A win/win solution for America's problems over there if we can just manage to keep our bat and ball at home).
But as satisfying as this is geo-politically (War really is "diplomacy by other means"), I assume all of our leaders feel we have to stick our nose back into this sectarian conflict. It begins with airstrikes and advisers and seems to end up with helicopters evacuating the last of American personnel to aircraft carriers.
Really, is the oil STILL that important?
And I look forward to your next book.
11
Fine writing, Maureen, very fine writing. Yes, we'll all be paying for 43's mistakes in the Middle East for a long time. Jeb only inflames the wound. And there are only troglodytic Republican alternatives to him. We'll have a foreign policy dictated by John Hagee.
15
Since there is currently only one Jewish Republican in the U.S. Congress in contrast to the number of Jewish Democrats and Israel is a foreign country the American people have voted their primary interest in states beginning with the letter I. And that begins with Idaho goes through Illinois to Indiana and ends with Iowa.
Bush. How I dislike that name. And the thought of enduring another election with Jeb at the top of the ballot, makes me mentally ill. What is with a national party that they only have Bushes and Romneys? For that matter Clinton too?
We need to break out of this bad habit. Perhaps Baker can use his skills to implore Bush to retire and go live life. He's be doing us all a big favor.
We need to break out of this bad habit. Perhaps Baker can use his skills to implore Bush to retire and go live life. He's be doing us all a big favor.
38
Let's get things into perspective.
At this early juncture, 'Bush 45' sure looks better than the misguided Cruz missile who everyday looks and sounds more like a reincarnation of Joe McCarthy.
At this early juncture, 'Bush 45' sure looks better than the misguided Cruz missile who everyday looks and sounds more like a reincarnation of Joe McCarthy.
15
Ted Cruz is no Joe McCarthy. Joe McCarthy was the creation of William F Buckley Sr and the 1% and did not have Cruzs' intellect or performance abilities. Historically if you are looking for the Cruz model you must go back to the later half of the 18th century and the brilliant Whig scoundrel and member of the British Parliament representing the ownership class of Ireland Edmund Burke. History did not start yesterday McCarthy was a puppet Cruz pulls strings.
1
The Florida election of 2000 was the most blantant display of hyperindulged conflict of interest I have ever seen, with Bush's Florida campaign manager running the election as Secretary of State, inventing pitfalls like butterfly ballots.
34
That election wasn't decided on " hyper indulged conflict of interest ";
The ' butterfly ballots " were designed by the DNC and approved as such, but some senior citizens in Palm Beach County couldn't decipher who they were casting a vote for. Strangely enough, Gore never asked for a recount in Palm Beach County, but rather requested that the court change the voting rules after ' the fact '
It was only after that, that the Secretary Of State, " called the election. Gore still didn't have the Electoral College votes needed to win.
The only invention here is your version of history.
The ' butterfly ballots " were designed by the DNC and approved as such, but some senior citizens in Palm Beach County couldn't decipher who they were casting a vote for. Strangely enough, Gore never asked for a recount in Palm Beach County, but rather requested that the court change the voting rules after ' the fact '
It was only after that, that the Secretary Of State, " called the election. Gore still didn't have the Electoral College votes needed to win.
The only invention here is your version of history.
Modern politicians have improved their skills to where both parties are now able to tap into the largest money sources. The Republicans now receive big money from Israel supporters [ Sheldon Adelson alone is a huge source, eg $10 million for the tiny chances of Newt the Toad in 2012] and the Democrats are getting a major chunk of Wall Street money, led by people like Chuck Schumer, their future Senate leader. While there is much focus on the animosity and hostility between the parties [true enough], there's a lot less talk about the richly rewarding areas they agree and cooperate on: pro-Israel and pro-corporation.
Global corporations are so rich today that the money has made 'This Town' into a boom town, while ordinary Americans struggle. Even formerly nerdy economists can cash in, and corporate boards are filled with them, alongside out of work politicians. They tend to hold remarkably pro-corporation opinions, for 'free trade' deals [coming soon TPP!], deregulation, and more immigration.
Jeb and Hilary are the corporate choices, and would like to run against one another so they wouldn't criticize each other on their massive corporate connections.
BTW, former poster boy bro Neil Bush appears in a new Ken Silverstein book as 'the hustler,' gaining 'access' for Chinese investors to African oil controlled by corrupt dictators - you couldn't invent a more potentially corrupt occupation.
Global corporations are so rich today that the money has made 'This Town' into a boom town, while ordinary Americans struggle. Even formerly nerdy economists can cash in, and corporate boards are filled with them, alongside out of work politicians. They tend to hold remarkably pro-corporation opinions, for 'free trade' deals [coming soon TPP!], deregulation, and more immigration.
Jeb and Hilary are the corporate choices, and would like to run against one another so they wouldn't criticize each other on their massive corporate connections.
BTW, former poster boy bro Neil Bush appears in a new Ken Silverstein book as 'the hustler,' gaining 'access' for Chinese investors to African oil controlled by corrupt dictators - you couldn't invent a more potentially corrupt occupation.
21
No, I am not ready for another Bush.
With all due respect to GHWB, who gave good service to our country and discharged his responsibilities as president with some grace and tact; his son was the worst president in American history -- the worst because his repeated disasters were not forced; they amounted to "own goals" which were the product of crazy ideology and truculent stupidity.
No one wants to remember GWB, least of all the Republicans. But the problem is that since GWB the Republicans have run candidates who are trying to sell Shrubism without Shrub, and its not working.
Running JEB is a dumb idea; a demonstration that the Republican party is so bereft of candidates that the best it has is to run a man who reminds everybody of just exactly what they don't want -- indeed cannot stand up and say "that was really really dumb, and we are not going to do that."
But the more pressing problem is why do the Republicans have nothing better?
With all due respect to GHWB, who gave good service to our country and discharged his responsibilities as president with some grace and tact; his son was the worst president in American history -- the worst because his repeated disasters were not forced; they amounted to "own goals" which were the product of crazy ideology and truculent stupidity.
No one wants to remember GWB, least of all the Republicans. But the problem is that since GWB the Republicans have run candidates who are trying to sell Shrubism without Shrub, and its not working.
Running JEB is a dumb idea; a demonstration that the Republican party is so bereft of candidates that the best it has is to run a man who reminds everybody of just exactly what they don't want -- indeed cannot stand up and say "that was really really dumb, and we are not going to do that."
But the more pressing problem is why do the Republicans have nothing better?
212
Even more depressing is that the DEMOCRATS don't seem to have anyone either.
So we need to just face the facts. The best President ever currently holds the office. Let's say we leave him there, at least for another couple of years.
Barack Hussein Obama for President, 2016.
So we need to just face the facts. The best President ever currently holds the office. Let's say we leave him there, at least for another couple of years.
Barack Hussein Obama for President, 2016.
9
Alas, the Democrats have nothing new or much better to offer either. What a dismal state of affairs.
Wolfowitz? As an adviser?
It's not up there with selecting a know-nothing rookie governor as a VP candidate, but still...
How many ways was Wolfowitz wrong about Iraq? He famously said the war would pay for itself. He said it would be quick and easy. Most tragically, he downplayed the idea that it would ignite a Sunni-Shiite struggle. In addition, Wolfowitz had been wanting the US to attack Iraq since before W was president - he literally and demonstrably twisted intelligence information to suit his narrative.
And this guy, who was so monumentally wrong about the biggest US foreign policy blunder in a long time (ever?) is part of Jeb's inner circle/
What is it about the corrupt state of our politics that people such as Wolfowitz do not go away?
It's not up there with selecting a know-nothing rookie governor as a VP candidate, but still...
How many ways was Wolfowitz wrong about Iraq? He famously said the war would pay for itself. He said it would be quick and easy. Most tragically, he downplayed the idea that it would ignite a Sunni-Shiite struggle. In addition, Wolfowitz had been wanting the US to attack Iraq since before W was president - he literally and demonstrably twisted intelligence information to suit his narrative.
And this guy, who was so monumentally wrong about the biggest US foreign policy blunder in a long time (ever?) is part of Jeb's inner circle/
What is it about the corrupt state of our politics that people such as Wolfowitz do not go away?
52
He wasn't wrong,he wanted to get rid of Saddam,enemy of Israel.He did it with our Money,Army,Navy,Air Force and our dead.We've been used for so long by Israel it's tragic.
5
I once heard Aaron David Miller, one of the shrewdest students of, and key participants in, the "Peace Process," having worked in every State Department from Reagan's to Bush II's, say that the Secretary of State and foreign policy he respected most in all his years in public life was Jim Baker's. Baker was "tough" with Israel, but in the interest of achieving the two-state solution which would have been so much in the best interest of both America and Israel. Baker tried to save Israel from itself. Sadly, he was powerless to do that.
16
Just for the record, I find referrimg to Jeb Bush as 45 revolting and presumptuous. Unless Americans start voting in record numbers with clearer heads than usually displayed, the power brokers destruction of our so called Democracy will be complete. I suspect it may be nearly too late. With Supreme Court rulings elevating the already elevated corporate sector of special interest tycoons, viscious voter suppression in full swing, obscene amounts of dark money circulating, the hill is getting higher and the rock larger. It is my belief that these powers will do whatever it takes to see that an outsider like Barack Obama, with his keen mind and independence, never reaches the Oval Office again.
187
I say KEEP OBAMA in office. Never let the man leave. He is the Best President in my Lifetime, if not in the history of our great Country.
11
No way.
curious how gentle the criticism, nay chiding, of jeb bush is in today's dowdgram...absent the cutting quips and snide tones acidifying most comment on the president of the united states and his former secretary of state, the column makes a cogent and cautionary case for critical observation of the machinations of the newest bush push for power (at the expense of the people) replete with the personal lack of grasp that made his older brother so vulnerable to the neoconnery "swirling around ...ready to inhabit" jeb bush as they did with w, who they treated, parasitically, "like a host body."
especially well done and worth further attention are the two parargraphs on the middle east muddle (thanks to cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz) and, better still, the smart try by baker and h.w. to pass up occupation for conciliation and bring arab countries into some form of agreement at the madrid conference, a brave, good faith intention torpedoed by israel (with neocon blessing).
especially well done and worth further attention are the two parargraphs on the middle east muddle (thanks to cheney, rumsfeld, wolfowitz) and, better still, the smart try by baker and h.w. to pass up occupation for conciliation and bring arab countries into some form of agreement at the madrid conference, a brave, good faith intention torpedoed by israel (with neocon blessing).
15
When will the leaders of both parties realize that most of us in flyover country want nothing to do with either Jeb Bush or Mrs. Clinton?
The recent actions by the GOP-led legislature and Govermor of Indiana disgust me. Mrs. Clinton's laughable defense of her e-mails conjure up the soap operas of 1993-2001. Meanwhile, the New York Times seems to think it's all but decided for 2016: Bush vs Clinton.
Are there really no other choices?
The recent actions by the GOP-led legislature and Govermor of Indiana disgust me. Mrs. Clinton's laughable defense of her e-mails conjure up the soap operas of 1993-2001. Meanwhile, the New York Times seems to think it's all but decided for 2016: Bush vs Clinton.
Are there really no other choices?
16
Short answer? No, there aren't... and it's not about "choice".
3
At this point, it would be more accurate to refer to Jeb as "Bush III" and Hilary as "Clinton II", now that we've entered the dynastic period of our history. And let's not forget that Bush IV, currently Texas Land Commissioner is coming behind Bush III. He'll run for governor of Texas next and will be crowned Bush IV in 2028 or 2032.
7
I remember seeing Bush IV during W's first campaign. Handsome man and Hispanic. I said that he'll run for President one day and indeed he might.
So let's skip the Jeb talk and perhaps wait for Bush IV years from now. Enough BUSHES!
So let's skip the Jeb talk and perhaps wait for Bush IV years from now. Enough BUSHES!
Bush IV wasn't able to get into an Ivy League university even with legacy, the Bush name and being half Hispanic. That should tell you all you need to know about him.
I love gemli's comments almost more than the op-ed columns themselves. Today's comment is a classic!
25
I agree with you. I'm always happy that Gemli's comments are often the earliest to be posted.
4
If one were composing a list of organizations and individuals who are undermining the people of Israel today by failing to support Mr. Netanyahu's efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, J Street would be near the top of it.
Not satisfied with their slavish devotion to every aspect of President Obama's petulant assault on Mr. Netanyahu, J Street now ventures to.open its doors to the likes of Mr. Baker.
Here is an organization that in its heart of hearts wishes to be known as Obama Street and only hesitates to make the change for fear of finally revealing its true colors. Their fear is groundless. Who and what they are has been evident to all for a very long time.
Not satisfied with their slavish devotion to every aspect of President Obama's petulant assault on Mr. Netanyahu, J Street now ventures to.open its doors to the likes of Mr. Baker.
Here is an organization that in its heart of hearts wishes to be known as Obama Street and only hesitates to make the change for fear of finally revealing its true colors. Their fear is groundless. Who and what they are has been evident to all for a very long time.
2
This comment exposes the problems with today's Tea-Party right wing - they are nothing but name callers. Every comment is nothing litany of names or insinuation. Facts and reasoning are absent - just assertions.
13
With million dollar a plate fund raisers? No. He'll become someone's man. But not his own.
21
As it sounds now, that will be AIPAC's.
9
I'm glad I'm too old to be drafted this time.
13
I hope the 48% as republicans like to call them will also make a point of keeping their children home when we get another war like the one republicans want in Iran so badly.
6
The fact that anyone would even consider another
Bush presidency just shows how lost the country is.
Bush presidency just shows how lost the country is.
49
I love all the Monday morning quarterbacking on the Middle East! What was W supposed to have done? Obama hasn't come close to figuring it out and he was elected on a promise to do exactly that. At least W had Iran surrounded, instead of helping them develop nuclear weapons.
2
"What was W supposed to have done?"
TOO EASY; NOT lie us into Iraq over non-existent WMDs. ISIS is a direct result of firing the Iraqi Army with no consideration of what will they do with no 'jobs'.
I cannot believe anyone would ask a question like this even 3 days past Jan 1, 2004.
TOO EASY; NOT lie us into Iraq over non-existent WMDs. ISIS is a direct result of firing the Iraqi Army with no consideration of what will they do with no 'jobs'.
I cannot believe anyone would ask a question like this even 3 days past Jan 1, 2004.
14
Not invade the wrong country after 9/11 would have been something W could have done. Are you kidding? Your info about Iran is just flat out wrong as well. Maybe get a different news source- this is ridiculous!
3
Jeb Bush categorizes J Street as "anti-Israeli" because the organization does not unquestioningly support Mr. Netanyahu. Thus, I think it is fair to note that Mr. Bush, a Catholic, is, by his own definition, anti-Catholic as he publicly opposes positions taken by Pope Francis, the current leader of the Catholic Church.
21
Jeb Bush is certainly not the worst person in the world. But my fear is that, if elected, he would surround himself with some characters who would conceivably qualify for that title.
17
So far, all the machinations in the GOP over having control of Congress, over women's issues, over climate change, over war vs. diplomacy, over Obamacare, over immigration, over Iran and Israel, over the 2016 election--all have served two ends. They have made President Obama look like a genius, and they are ensuring that Hillary wins in a landslide.
14
J.E. Bush seems like a capable person but I'm afraid he might be unduly torqued by people who influenced his younger brother.
4
"Though Jeb is more apt to do his homework, he's unformed in foreign policy, like his brother..."
Really. And the sad part is, he's just one more candidate in a Republican field of other men with big egos and little experience.
The people of the United States should reconnect with their dreams for the democracy. There is no reason we shouldn't have a choice of candidates, each with a fantastic education, a depth of leadership experience, and a well articulated vision/dream for the country's people and future. Each one should bring those things: fantastic education, depth of relevant experience and vision.
Politics ain't tiddlywinks. It is big money; but it shouldn't be in a democracy. Bring us a real contest with candidates of wide experience and tested qualities. (Mr. Biden, are you listening?) Bring us candidates who read whole books and newspaper/magazine articles by well-informed authors of good judgment.
Just let's not take a candidate seriously who does not know where the U.S. fits in this world we live in. He'll most likely make a mess of things. Just like his brother did.
Really. And the sad part is, he's just one more candidate in a Republican field of other men with big egos and little experience.
The people of the United States should reconnect with their dreams for the democracy. There is no reason we shouldn't have a choice of candidates, each with a fantastic education, a depth of leadership experience, and a well articulated vision/dream for the country's people and future. Each one should bring those things: fantastic education, depth of relevant experience and vision.
Politics ain't tiddlywinks. It is big money; but it shouldn't be in a democracy. Bring us a real contest with candidates of wide experience and tested qualities. (Mr. Biden, are you listening?) Bring us candidates who read whole books and newspaper/magazine articles by well-informed authors of good judgment.
Just let's not take a candidate seriously who does not know where the U.S. fits in this world we live in. He'll most likely make a mess of things. Just like his brother did.
15
Actually, Maureen, I'm looking forward to 46, as I think the game has already been rigged for a Clinton-Bush contest in which one of them will win and the rest of us will lose. 45 seems destined to be more of the same, regardless of the outcome. By more of the same, I mean more inequality, more wage stagnation, more "free trade" agreements that ship jobs overseas, more military conflict, more social injustice and more corporate-friendly legislation with a good helping of surveillance to add insult to injury. This will all probably be good for my stock portfolio, but the nation will, as it has for the past 6 years, continue its drift toward oligarchy, militarism and a police state. Not a good tradeoff in my book.
Maybe, just maybe, another term of more of the same will finally cause people to rise up and say "I've had enough". That is, if we can get them away from their computer screens long enough to do so. I'm not hopeful on that score, but you have to cling to something when you're anticipating dark days ahead.
While the slide began with Reagan, something went really awry in this country after 9/11 and under the disastrous W administration. Why anyone would take a chance on another Bush is a complete mystery to me except for those who would profit by it.
Maybe, just maybe, another term of more of the same will finally cause people to rise up and say "I've had enough". That is, if we can get them away from their computer screens long enough to do so. I'm not hopeful on that score, but you have to cling to something when you're anticipating dark days ahead.
While the slide began with Reagan, something went really awry in this country after 9/11 and under the disastrous W administration. Why anyone would take a chance on another Bush is a complete mystery to me except for those who would profit by it.
23
The slide began with Nixon. Carter was nothing but a case of opening-season jitters.
Very good article. But they knew and were worried about destabilizing the region and from the sounds of James Jeffery's "goddamn free fall" comment, their worst nightmares are coming true. (I know mine are watching the news.)
3
This is the first column by Ms. Dowd that I have read and enjoyed in a very long time. Glad to have her back in top form.
14
I love the inhabited body quip! You never accuse President Obama of being susceptible to being taken over. In fact, you have trumpeted the "dictator" drivel so popular for a while. I am thinking that with enough criticism of our current President we can be sure never to have another like him - he is unarguably the worst...except for all the others.
2
Great column, Ms. Dowd, with one factual exception: His Own Man's brother, aka GWB, was NOT elected before 9/11. W was, in effect, handed the Presidency by His Own Man's own secretary of state, Kathleen Harris. It helps to have family in high places.
26
I've had it with the intrigue of the Bushes and Clintons. Time for forthrightness: Elizabeth Warren for President.
12
Even better? Barack Obama for President.
6
The dog that failed to bark in this op-ed is named Sheldon Adelson. If Jeb is currently in possession of a campaign contribution check signed by Mr. Adelson, I'd advise him to cash it soon lest it eventually bounces and comes back from the bank marked "insufficient funds.
7
People as linguistically challenged as the Bush family impress me as incapable of organizing their own thoughts.
16
America a democracy?
Since 1981 a Bush or Clinton has held the president, vp or Secretary of State positions. If a Clinton or Bush is elected in 2016 for the top spot , and they win a second term this would mean a 44 year old period.
If a foreign country has the same nepotism we would call it corrupt.
The US is corrupt, period.
Since 1981 a Bush or Clinton has held the president, vp or Secretary of State positions. If a Clinton or Bush is elected in 2016 for the top spot , and they win a second term this would mean a 44 year old period.
If a foreign country has the same nepotism we would call it corrupt.
The US is corrupt, period.
5
So many people with amnesia! If this country elects a Republican, we will certainly be back to scare tactics and war promotion. Aren't you tired of being treated like a child who must be afraid of the Big Bad Wolf??
19
I believe Republicans underestimate the weariness and resentment many American feel about our policies in the Middle East, including the relationship with Israel. If this country is sucked into a new war that is perceived as being waged on Israel's behalf, there will be a real backlash and division beyond anything we've seen since Vietnam. A Republican victory in 2016 (thankfully an unlikely outcome) will only bring us closer to waging another war in the Middle East, given that the party has adopted such a strong pro-Israel and anti-Iranian outlook.
17
No, no politician can "be their own man" not when the sole reason they are where they are is that big moneyed interests bought them. By definition any politician that accepts the money required to win an election.
Get real! Ask a better question.
Get real! Ask a better question.
5
It's the old Bohemian Grove guard circling the campfire. Do I hear Cap Weinberger and George Schulz exultations? 45 would extend the Repub country club neocons for another generation. Bechtel will have lots of projects. We will have more boots on the ground. Very troubling indeed.
15
Is the subtext of this op-ed saying that our government--the Executive Branch, that is--is the playpen of billionaires and their buds?
So if "big money" accurately describes how a candidate for the Oval Office is elected, then such an unfortunate situation should be countered by our congress and Court. However, maybe the Founders had foreseen such stuff; for this, if for nothing else, we can be thankful.
So if "big money" accurately describes how a candidate for the Oval Office is elected, then such an unfortunate situation should be countered by our congress and Court. However, maybe the Founders had foreseen such stuff; for this, if for nothing else, we can be thankful.
Bush definitely made mistakes in Iraq. But when he left office the country was secured. Who said this? Obama and Biden. They said the country was secure and stable. And they took the residual forces out. That is when all hell broke loose. That is when the Middle East began its free fall. That is when the countries that formerly trusted the US gave up all hope for us. Obama has been running this show for the last 6 1/2 years. Give him the credit he deserves.
4
"Bush definitely made mistakes in Iraq".
The rest is semantics.
The rest is semantics.
3
Iraq's so called security has always relied on great masses of American troops and American money. Iraq has always lacked the political will to be self governed. While not as dysfunctional as Afghanistan, it is s tribal country with no national loyalty. It had over ten years to put together a strong, professional military and government. Instead the so called leaders of Iraq spent the time becoming incredibly rich and corrupt.
4
Read my lips: no new Bushies!
13
It's Bush's fault.
That whole "sovereign, stable, peaceful Iraq" thing being Obama's "greatest foreign policy achievement" that Biden talked about was my imagination.
That whole "sovereign, stable, peaceful Iraq" thing being Obama's "greatest foreign policy achievement" that Biden talked about was my imagination.
4
"Even then [back in the Nineties], they were advocating military intervention in Iraq..."
Finding someone today who admits to having supported the 2003 Iraq war is as hard as finding someone who admits to having smoked marijuana during the Sixties or Seventies.
But out here in San Francisco, I can assure you that, in the months before the Iraq invasion -- late 2002, early 2003 -- there weren't a lot of good San Francisco liberals who were speaking out strongly against invading Iraq. I felt quite lonely in my opposition. The standard position -- indeed, almost universal, based on my extensive cocktail-party research back then -- was essentially this: "Don't get me wrong. George Bush is a jerk, and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and all those other clowns are even bigger jerks. But when it comes to Iraq, I gotta admit they're right. We should whack those Iraqis upside the head, immediately if not sooner."
When things started going bad in Iraq, of course, none of my cocktail-party conversation partners would admit to having had such thoughts -- much less to having expressed them. But as a lonely voice opposing the Iraq war back then, I remember well that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and all the others had very broad support. Remember: those were the days when John Kerry was "for the war before he was against it," the days when Hillary Clinton approved Bush's request to attack Iraq but insisted she'd thought he'd ask her again before going in.
Those were the days.
Finding someone today who admits to having supported the 2003 Iraq war is as hard as finding someone who admits to having smoked marijuana during the Sixties or Seventies.
But out here in San Francisco, I can assure you that, in the months before the Iraq invasion -- late 2002, early 2003 -- there weren't a lot of good San Francisco liberals who were speaking out strongly against invading Iraq. I felt quite lonely in my opposition. The standard position -- indeed, almost universal, based on my extensive cocktail-party research back then -- was essentially this: "Don't get me wrong. George Bush is a jerk, and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz and all those other clowns are even bigger jerks. But when it comes to Iraq, I gotta admit they're right. We should whack those Iraqis upside the head, immediately if not sooner."
When things started going bad in Iraq, of course, none of my cocktail-party conversation partners would admit to having had such thoughts -- much less to having expressed them. But as a lonely voice opposing the Iraq war back then, I remember well that Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and all the others had very broad support. Remember: those were the days when John Kerry was "for the war before he was against it," the days when Hillary Clinton approved Bush's request to attack Iraq but insisted she'd thought he'd ask her again before going in.
Those were the days.
6
You were not actually alone in your thinking. A lot of people were just too intimidated to state opposition because of the prevailing notion of what patriotism is. Kind of pathetic in my opinion- and it does still exist. This "shaming" for not being behind war and our servicemen and women (actually two separate issues that get conflated) is akin to bullying and begins to approach fascism.
7
Silly, snarky commentary does not make foreign policy. As an American Jew, I doubt any polls showing a majority of Americans have sympathies leaning towards J Street. This is a myth promoted by the progressive Left. Most Jews want to see a protected Israel and understand as Bibi pointed out so eloquently that Hamas and Fatah are branches of the same poisonous root. The settlements are but a minor issue when compared to the Hamas Charter not to ever recognize Israel and to be sure to kill every Jew. Somehow the Blame Israel Crowd dismisses these basic facts. It is also interesting that Bush is being blamed for what the CIC claimed as his major victories, peace in Iraq and the success of Yemen. Now it is back to Blame Bush. Har de har har. Touche.
1
Gee...hasn't BHO been President over the last 6 years. "Not", says MD.
Come to think of it, she's right!
Come to think of it, she's right!
Who are the members of this "Blame Israel Crowd"?
Name two.
I hate straw men.
Name two.
I hate straw men.
8
I distinctly remember Paul Wolfowitz saying that the Iraq war would cost only $8 billion dollars . How do I get a job as an adviser like that, Jeb?
16
"Bush 45" sounds like a brand of malt liquor for the right wing.
19
Now THAT'S funny!
2
The most important difference between Jeb Bush and George Bush is intellect. Jeb has it and George doesn't. There will not be another pupiteer like Cheney in our future if Jeb becomes the president.
1
As long as the media is relentless in recalling the horrors inflicted by Bush 43, there will be no Bush 45. Keep up the good work!
14
When Republicans have more respect for any foreign leader, even a strong ally as the Prime Minister of Israel, they have inconceivably managed to further diminish the little respect I had for them previously.
James Baker and Bush 41 got it correct. As time passes we have gained more respect for their foreign policy endeavors, far greater than any of the current crop of potential GOP chicken hawks, whose boasts strike one as naive strident saber-rattling.
JEB's chances depend on his ability to center a Republican Party which of late has gone dangerously off the rails. Getting the nomination will be the real obstacle. Finding enough sane Republicans willing to calculate that nominating a viable crossover candidate versus a radical right-wing firebrand going against a formidable Hillary/Bill Clinton machine will be a long hard slog.
Salivating Tea P. Republicans, armed with an unceasing FOX "News" bombardment, are hellbent on going all out, fighting a futile radical right wing kamikaze assault rather than allowing more cooler, calm and collected heads prevail.
But if JEB does survive a take-no-prisoners hard right flank battle, he will then have to engage in a full-blown war with the Clintons, and make no mistake, it will be Hill and Bill.
Will it be Bush 45 or Clinton II, Clinton 45 if you wish?
The opportunity for this nation to finally elect its first woman president is not a gamble I'd be willing to bet against.
D.D.
Manhattan
James Baker and Bush 41 got it correct. As time passes we have gained more respect for their foreign policy endeavors, far greater than any of the current crop of potential GOP chicken hawks, whose boasts strike one as naive strident saber-rattling.
JEB's chances depend on his ability to center a Republican Party which of late has gone dangerously off the rails. Getting the nomination will be the real obstacle. Finding enough sane Republicans willing to calculate that nominating a viable crossover candidate versus a radical right-wing firebrand going against a formidable Hillary/Bill Clinton machine will be a long hard slog.
Salivating Tea P. Republicans, armed with an unceasing FOX "News" bombardment, are hellbent on going all out, fighting a futile radical right wing kamikaze assault rather than allowing more cooler, calm and collected heads prevail.
But if JEB does survive a take-no-prisoners hard right flank battle, he will then have to engage in a full-blown war with the Clintons, and make no mistake, it will be Hill and Bill.
Will it be Bush 45 or Clinton II, Clinton 45 if you wish?
The opportunity for this nation to finally elect its first woman president is not a gamble I'd be willing to bet against.
D.D.
Manhattan
7
Ready for 45? Never.
11
Recently saw the PBS Special on James Baker. Don't agree with everything he did, most notably the 2000 Florida vote fiasco, but I applaud him for his efforts in the Arab-Israeli peace negotiations. I don't think we'll ever get that close to an agreement again.
As for "45," I would quote Gertrude Stein: "There's no there there."
As for "45," I would quote Gertrude Stein: "There's no there there."
14
So J Street is really considered anti-Israel by the brother of the born-again former 'compassionate' president who singlehandedly almost brought this country to the cliff of another Great Depression.
Any member of J Street, myself included, have found the shameless warmongering of Bibi disgusting, as well as his meddling not only in US foreign policies but in the election of 2012.
Jews, both in Israel and the Diaspora, know quite well the real reason why our dear non-Jewish representatives and their voter base loves us almost to death.
Any member of J Street, myself included, have found the shameless warmongering of Bibi disgusting, as well as his meddling not only in US foreign policies but in the election of 2012.
Jews, both in Israel and the Diaspora, know quite well the real reason why our dear non-Jewish representatives and their voter base loves us almost to death.
16
We already know that Mr. Jeb Bush is an affable, pleasant and amicable man who might be considered by a large margin as a qualified candidate to run for the presidential elections. He gets to the point on all issues, doesn't go on a ramble, and takes an appropriate pause to listen before summing up everything in a nutshell.
All to the good, because many of us don't have time to pay attention to long-winded speeches and he is not one to pontificate. He has the finest and team of advisers, a strong financial backing and is fast to do his homework.
Perhaps he might think of distancing himself from the Middle East, in order not to remind us that we might not be experiencing such a catastrophe, if it weren't for the ill-advised acts of his brother's.
It might make us consider him in a winning light if he were to concentrate on domestic issues that need to be addressed at home, and offer in the spirit of bipartisanship, some assistance to the present Administration in rebuilding our Nation, and as an act of good faith.
He may be headstrong, but this is not the same as having a mind of one's own, and he should stay out of such sensitive and complex matters that President Obama is far better able to address.
To sum it up, he should be speaking to the voters of what he proposes to do to make our Country stronger on a national-basis, and more of us may take him seriously. At the moment, he is simply trying to grow closer apart from his brother and it's not working.
All to the good, because many of us don't have time to pay attention to long-winded speeches and he is not one to pontificate. He has the finest and team of advisers, a strong financial backing and is fast to do his homework.
Perhaps he might think of distancing himself from the Middle East, in order not to remind us that we might not be experiencing such a catastrophe, if it weren't for the ill-advised acts of his brother's.
It might make us consider him in a winning light if he were to concentrate on domestic issues that need to be addressed at home, and offer in the spirit of bipartisanship, some assistance to the present Administration in rebuilding our Nation, and as an act of good faith.
He may be headstrong, but this is not the same as having a mind of one's own, and he should stay out of such sensitive and complex matters that President Obama is far better able to address.
To sum it up, he should be speaking to the voters of what he proposes to do to make our Country stronger on a national-basis, and more of us may take him seriously. At the moment, he is simply trying to grow closer apart from his brother and it's not working.
I think there's some perspective missing here. James Baker has a very hostile relationship with Israel going back to the 1990s. It's not like somebody coming out of nowhere and saying, "Netanyahu's a bum." It's much deeper than that.
4
The parasite-host imagery is quite apt and most enjoyable.
Please, America, no more host shrubs!!
Please, America, no more host shrubs!!
9
Bush? Bush? Another Bush? That's crazy. "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Quote often attributed to Albert Einstein.
9
This country blundered into a terrible mess under W et al. Why is the brother even considered as a possibility for the Presidency?
5
How about a real story? Investigate the web of connections the Bush family and their sponsors use to make money on war.
11
A darned fine column that I was cheered to read. The best Dowd in many months.
Then I read Gemli's brilliant spoof.
Ms. Dowd and Gemli caught the reality behind the smoke and mirrors of Campaing 2016. More, please.
Then I read Gemli's brilliant spoof.
Ms. Dowd and Gemli caught the reality behind the smoke and mirrors of Campaing 2016. More, please.
3
Jeb jumps the shark at "I get my news from Fox and Friends"
8
It's amazing that in a big, diverse country like this we can't find a presidential candidate not named Bush or Clinton. There must be a problem with our method of choosing candidates. As to the Bushes, Barbara was right. As to the Clintons, Hillary has probably peaked.
15
We truly need a fresh kind of non Bush non Clinton politicians who are so 20th century. Those views have failed, we need a fresh new way of thinking and solutions that are more in line with the 21st century.
2
Or one that doesn't have to announce their "religious" preference. Please, no more--it doesn't matter!
4
There is a huge problem with the way we choose candidates for president. It is done entirely informally with the media leading the way and very rich donors providing the rocket fuel for blast off. Big name newspaper columnists, and political beat reporters, used to have the major role in deciding who was, or could be, a serious candidate, now it is a weird mash up, but the media anoint by providing coverage to those deemed worthy. Bush is "leading" because the other candidates are so weak in various ways. Clinton is all but assured of the nomination, face it, because she is a woman, we've never had a female president and, having been denied last time round, she's more than paid her dues. How can you turn down a reasonably qualified woman twice? Yet, I have little faith that she has a vision for the country worthy of the office.
The Bush family should be disqualified from 2016 and about ten presidential races beyond that. If they want the White House again, they should bring someone who has truly accomplished something meaningful for the nation.
We are cursed with a plague of professional office holders, those who have little to recommend them other than the ability to string together positions to please their tribes and who are highly skilled at avoiding commitments that might be damaging or fatal to future candidacies. No one is on the horizon who has a real, undeniable claim to offering leadership to the nation by virtue of their accomplishments and life.
The Bush family should be disqualified from 2016 and about ten presidential races beyond that. If they want the White House again, they should bring someone who has truly accomplished something meaningful for the nation.
We are cursed with a plague of professional office holders, those who have little to recommend them other than the ability to string together positions to please their tribes and who are highly skilled at avoiding commitments that might be damaging or fatal to future candidacies. No one is on the horizon who has a real, undeniable claim to offering leadership to the nation by virtue of their accomplishments and life.
2
No U.S. President or presidential candidate can ever be his or her own person. By the time Big Oil, the NRA, the Pharma Lobby and the Israel Lobby have finished indoctrinating that person within the the narrow confines of entitlements and Realpolitik the "potential leader" becomes the "pitifully led".
35
The Mideast cannot survive anoher Bush presidency. And the American economy with our huge deficit due to W's unfunded wars and the current ongoing military situation with Russia, terrorism and Iraq cannot survive another Bush military campaign.
The day Saint Ronald took offrice, our entire Mideast debacle began. So Mr. Baker is not entirely free of blame.
We have this muddled love -hate relationship with the Iranians and Israelis that started when Saint Ronald was in office. The same could be said for Iraq. Sadaam was coddled bt special envoy Rumsfeld and given wmd to combat Iran. Israel was condemned for blowing up Iraq's nuclear reactor. And then there was Iran-contra.
Daddy Bush chased the Sunni led Iraqi army out of Kuwait and torched them alive on the road back to Baghdad leading to condemnation in the Arab world. Now ISIL is the "Frankenstein" both father and son Bush helped create of a Sunni leadership forced out of power and controlled and oppressed by Iranian backed Shiites.
No, please no more Baker/Bush/Neocon heroics in the Mideast led by the US.
The day Saint Ronald took offrice, our entire Mideast debacle began. So Mr. Baker is not entirely free of blame.
We have this muddled love -hate relationship with the Iranians and Israelis that started when Saint Ronald was in office. The same could be said for Iraq. Sadaam was coddled bt special envoy Rumsfeld and given wmd to combat Iran. Israel was condemned for blowing up Iraq's nuclear reactor. And then there was Iran-contra.
Daddy Bush chased the Sunni led Iraqi army out of Kuwait and torched them alive on the road back to Baghdad leading to condemnation in the Arab world. Now ISIL is the "Frankenstein" both father and son Bush helped create of a Sunni leadership forced out of power and controlled and oppressed by Iranian backed Shiites.
No, please no more Baker/Bush/Neocon heroics in the Mideast led by the US.
22
We have a long way to go and things are going to get much, much worst before election time, but even given that, either Hillary or Jeb will be terrible choices for President.
Both are just venial, corrupt politicians: Can anyone think of ether of them as Leaders?
Both are just venial, corrupt politicians: Can anyone think of ether of them as Leaders?
8
I can't think of ANY of the supposed candidates as leaders of the United States of America.
Jeb Bush has the respect of many on both sides of the aisle in Congress and
though he may have some conservative views, he is a confident leader not
influenced by the PAC backers of the other prospective Republican backers.
Just consider what the Plutocratic PAC masters have done so far in influencing
the votes in Congress as well as the direction which any Congressional or
POTUS candidate follows....Jeb Bush sails his own course.
though he may have some conservative views, he is a confident leader not
influenced by the PAC backers of the other prospective Republican backers.
Just consider what the Plutocratic PAC masters have done so far in influencing
the votes in Congress as well as the direction which any Congressional or
POTUS candidate follows....Jeb Bush sails his own course.
1
Jeb Bush, born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He isn´t one of us. Barack Obama is just like one of us, the 99%. He made it on his own, raised in a large part by his grandmother.
8
...not influenced by PAC backers. ?:-0
5
No....not influenced...i.e. bought and sold by PAC backers...
1
Excellent column, Maureen. PLEASE no Bush and no Clinton in 2016. Both families, with all of their negative baggage, are way beyond tiresome. ENOUGH!
24
"In a silly pander to the right-wing Torquemadas who insist on Neanderthals in primaries..." That simple yet profound statement sums up the GOP! Gosh, I wish I could make such summations in so few words. Ms. Dowd has always had that talent!
21
I have always liked Rummy's comment on Vietnam. Was the war worth it? Time will tell ...
Best non-answer I have ever heard. I expect 45 will have the same types of advisers and go full Hawk about 15 minutes into his presidency. (The first 14 minutes will be spent getting an office tour and setting the wheels in motion to undo everything Obama did.)
Of course, he would have to beat Hillary. The first woman to break the glass roof. Good luck with that, 45.
Best non-answer I have ever heard. I expect 45 will have the same types of advisers and go full Hawk about 15 minutes into his presidency. (The first 14 minutes will be spent getting an office tour and setting the wheels in motion to undo everything Obama did.)
Of course, he would have to beat Hillary. The first woman to break the glass roof. Good luck with that, 45.
24
As long as the pundits keep fanning the flames behind the 2016 presidential hopeful hype machine, we'll have to endure the possibility of the dim dynasty's return to the throne. Don't hear many of the registered Republicans getting behind Jeb? That's because they perceive him as too wishy-washy and not harsh enough in his stand on their cherished Issues. One perceived that his chances, like his intellect, are quite dim...
16
The record of this totally unworthy candidate is public knowledge. While he was governor, the state's budget increased 300%. He interfered in the Schaivo case, and got his dimwitted brother involved. He wanted to give all functions of the state to religious groups. He instituted charter schools which pander mainly to the upper classes, These schools take funding meant for the public schools which our current non-indicted governor approves. Owners of these private schools receive tax money and then portions of that money are converted into campaign donations to Republicans only. His involvement in the Columbia Savings scandal left Mr. Keating holding the bag, and enduring a prison sentence while John Henry walked away a wealthy man. A phony, through and through.
5
Nice work sorting through the mounting Jeb stumbles, Maureen.
One can see a big signpost: DO NOT ENTER 'BUSHWORLD' AGAIN!
But the big GOP bucks are being thrown at yet another pathetic panderer,
not a capable, potential world leader.
One can see a big signpost: DO NOT ENTER 'BUSHWORLD' AGAIN!
But the big GOP bucks are being thrown at yet another pathetic panderer,
not a capable, potential world leader.
24
Speaking for myself and most of the other Jewish and pro-Israel Americans I have afternoon tea with at the polo-club we love Benjamin Netanyahu. We are more than delighted to have an independent, smart and tough-minded leader of the world's only Jewish state who is not kow-towing or pandering to anyone outside the sphere of concern and quite sensibly not willing to hand the heart of ancient Israel over to a hostile population of Arabs who make no secret of their keenest desire to "wipe out the Zionist entity". He is our answer to Nasrallah, Meshal and Khamenei and any one else who shares that ambition by making it clear that it wont happen on his watch. Handing land over to our enemies to appease them and to please our American or European critics - even well-intentioned has brought us not peace but further calamity, Hezbollah rockets in the north and Hamas rockets n the south. Even us Jews who are supposed to be so smart are not dumb enough to make that same mistake a third time, third strike being the one that puts you out so what we want in that regard is an American president, Democrat or Republican who will stand beside and support us, the Israeli electorate has spoken. Now we need friends who are allies and allies that are friends. Bush, Baker or candle-stick maker, please be advised.
4
It is one hundred years since my grandfather started getting his children and his neighbour's children out of Europe. We can now trust the same people that we could trust one hundred years ago. The USA was not on the list then and it is not on the list now.
I am sorry Bibi and friends just don't fill me with confidence at least the Democrats are willing to tell us the truth. Let us deal with the fact we are Jews and when it comes times for others to step up to the plate some things never change.
I am sorry Bibi and friends just don't fill me with confidence at least the Democrats are willing to tell us the truth. Let us deal with the fact we are Jews and when it comes times for others to step up to the plate some things never change.
4
At the risk of being accused of holding antisemitic views, I must say that the attitude reflected by this comment is disturbing, to say the least. Not once does he evidence even the slightest concern for America's interests in the Middle East or world at large. But what is most disturbing, at least to me, is his implicit assertion that to be a true friend and ally of Israel, an American president must support Israel's policies and treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories and in Gaza regardless of whether they be right or wrong, morally, legally and otherwise.
Journalists and filmmakers have documented the daily oppression, mistreatment, discrimination and humiliations inflicted on the Palestinian populace by Israel's formidable armed forces and intelligence service. But no person hoping to occupy the White House as president could ever utter a critical word of Israel's underlying policy and goal of ensuring that Palestinians remain weak, divided and compelled to resort to beggary from both the international community and Israel in order to survive.
Although Netanyahu was able to cobble together enough support from right-wing and religious parties with his Likudites to retain his job as PM, that hardly counts as a ringing endorsement by the Israeli electorate of the man, his actions or policies. One day, hopefully sooner than later, US politicians will finally understand that guys like Bibi are the biggest threat not only to peace in the ME, but also to Israel.
Journalists and filmmakers have documented the daily oppression, mistreatment, discrimination and humiliations inflicted on the Palestinian populace by Israel's formidable armed forces and intelligence service. But no person hoping to occupy the White House as president could ever utter a critical word of Israel's underlying policy and goal of ensuring that Palestinians remain weak, divided and compelled to resort to beggary from both the international community and Israel in order to survive.
Although Netanyahu was able to cobble together enough support from right-wing and religious parties with his Likudites to retain his job as PM, that hardly counts as a ringing endorsement by the Israeli electorate of the man, his actions or policies. One day, hopefully sooner than later, US politicians will finally understand that guys like Bibi are the biggest threat not only to peace in the ME, but also to Israel.
2
These Bush and Clinton stories practically write themselves. It's too bad most Americans are sick of Bush Clinton. Campaign donors and pundits love the old rivalries. If Jeb wins you can bet on dusting off the old War-in-the-middle-East / Recession story as well.
15
I don't see how anyone can compare the Bush dynasty with the possible election of Hillary Clinton. We've already seen the staggering amount of billions wasted, millions killed and unconstitutional behavior the Bushes have championed. Neither Bill nor Hillary Clinton have ever approached that level of waste, murder or self-delusion. Bottom line: Jeb the Unready cannot match Hillary Clinton's real-world experience, especially in foreign affairs, and neither can any other GOP candidate. That she would, if elected, be the first female President is just icing on the cake.
5
Jeb will be pulled in many directions over the next 19 months, and will probably have two personalities by the time it's all done. Catering to the existing GOP stalwarts and their extremist buddies, who count on the ignorance of the voters who watch Fox News is a critical ingredient to winning. Not thinking too much about something plausible that an ex-counselor of Reagan and Bush 1 will also help at the polls. But, as Dowd says, quietly, Jeb will retain his connection with Baker and try to move the GOP back towards reason. Good luck.
Too bad for the electorate. Jeb actually seems like a more reasonable person, but they'll have him performing contortions like Cirque de Soleil.
Too bad for the electorate. Jeb actually seems like a more reasonable person, but they'll have him performing contortions like Cirque de Soleil.
17
Take a look at his record, he's not reasonable.
4
Now I'm really depressed---Jeb watches Fox & Friends instead of reading the Times? Any claim he had to either moderation or intelligence just went out the window, fast on the heels of appointing W's warlords as advisors.
Between this and HRC's server sweep, I don't know how I'll be able to drag myself to the polls next year. Will the Democrats please, please, please muster a few plausible candidates?
Between this and HRC's server sweep, I don't know how I'll be able to drag myself to the polls next year. Will the Democrats please, please, please muster a few plausible candidates?
44
People who require excitement and perfection in their candidates deserve everything they get. All that is required for the triumph of evil is for Democrats to stay home in 2016.
3
Amen!
1
I wonder if Jeb is being completely truthful about watching Fox & Friends. Each weekday morning I am forced to watch an hour of Fox & Friends. I workout with a bunch of Texas conservatives who will not miss that show. I think they also secretly enjoy my discomfort with some aspect of the show.
I served 28 years in the military and am considered very conservative by my wife. I frequently tell her that I am a flaming liberal compared to some of my workout buddys.
I served 2
I served 28 years in the military and am considered very conservative by my wife. I frequently tell her that I am a flaming liberal compared to some of my workout buddys.
I served 2
5
Cruz, Carson, Walker, Clinton, Christie, and Bush, on jobs and beyond! See http://worksnewage.blogspot.com/2015/03/jobs-and-our-next-president-what....
What is often forgotten or left out, John Bush and the SCOTUS gave us easily the best President in modern history, G W Bush 43. It was Florida and his non-partisan highly qualified Sec of State Harris. It is why I for one am looking forward to the chance to thank him at the ballot box in Nov 2016. What a wonderful gift he gave to the nation, such a successful Presidency. He deserves a reward for all the good he did for us by working so diligently to put his brother into the White House.
I hope everyone who agrees with me that W was the best President in the modern era will join me in supporting John. If your think W was less than the greatest, you might keep in mind John's contribution to arranging for brother George to spend 8 years do so much good for the country and the world economy.
One question though comes to mind, if John gets us into a middle east war, will it be Bush War 3 or Bush War 4, does Daddy's War that actually came to an end count?
I hope everyone who agrees with me that W was the best President in the modern era will join me in supporting John. If your think W was less than the greatest, you might keep in mind John's contribution to arranging for brother George to spend 8 years do so much good for the country and the world economy.
One question though comes to mind, if John gets us into a middle east war, will it be Bush War 3 or Bush War 4, does Daddy's War that actually came to an end count?
14
Nice. A sense of irony and comedy worthy of Catch-22 (whether your joke is intentional or not).
4
I am not quite caffeinated yet but working on the assumption the above should be read as dripping sarcasm?????
2
Wonderful sarcasm!
2
Yonkers, New York
29 March 2015
Does not these United States of America have its fill of the "Bushes?" Is the country that bereft of good and capable potential leaders that it should feel it has no choice but to consider a third Bush, this time a Bush named "Jeb," as another possible candidate for President?
What's happening to America's vaunted "Democracy," Lincoln's " a government of the people, by the people, and for the people," if it supinely yields to the rise of political dynasties, in the process instead allowing America to morph into a society "of the plutocrats, by the plutocrats, and for the plutocrats?"
Mariano Patalinjug
[email protected]
29 March 2015
Does not these United States of America have its fill of the "Bushes?" Is the country that bereft of good and capable potential leaders that it should feel it has no choice but to consider a third Bush, this time a Bush named "Jeb," as another possible candidate for President?
What's happening to America's vaunted "Democracy," Lincoln's " a government of the people, by the people, and for the people," if it supinely yields to the rise of political dynasties, in the process instead allowing America to morph into a society "of the plutocrats, by the plutocrats, and for the plutocrats?"
Mariano Patalinjug
[email protected]
23
We clearly have not had enough candidates whose claim to fame is kidnapping a brain-dead woman from her family simply because the candidate did not believe the woman was actually brain-dead. And Jeb even enlisted his brother, the president, in this ghoulish, ignorant and illegal escapade. May the memory of Terri Schiavo stalk Jeb wherever he goes.
4
I feel the same can be said for the Clintons & here in Nevada, the Reids gave it (are giving?) it a try. Among the reasons it happens: Too few vote.
1
We are getting all these people for the simple reason that most of America's voters get their knowledge from television instead of reading, books or online. That is just the way it is and that is why the golden rule is in effect. Them who gots the gold rules.
3
The question is can you love Israel and not love Bibi? Should be interesting for the right has made it so you have to take the whole package or else. I think this is gonna bite them in the foot. Only time will tell. Nobody is right all of time and that includes Bibi. With Bibi new mantra using the old book playbook of You or either with us or you are against us. This coming year should be very interesting very interesting indeed. With Bibi emboldened by the right he has little checks and balances. So he can flip flop with impunity.
7
These event surrounding Jeb Bush makes me think "Peter Principle." However, that theory goes that a person rises from a position of competency to a position they are not qualified to fulfill. In this case, however, we find it rather difficult to find the aforementioned competency but do find a long list of distressing facts and details. If this one is the smartest of the Bush bunch, we might be surprised at the savagery showered on this Bush by his own party. Time will tell.
7
The final paragraph of this column really nails it.
Also, openly having Wolfowitz as one of your foreign policy advisers should disqualify J. Bush among thinking people.
Also, openly having Wolfowitz as one of your foreign policy advisers should disqualify J. Bush among thinking people.
42
"Thinking people"? I guess he'll have an easy time with the non thinkers of the GOP.
2
True. A half-thinking person would at least do it in secret.
1
Although I disagree with all things "Bush", no matter which one, I do believe that Jeb is the least dangerous and offensive of all the Neanderthals in the GOP lineup. We see the GOP groveling to the extremist and radical right, and tea party types, but remember we had a similar cast of loonies in the Romney/Obama race, and Romney, the least offensive and dangerous was ultimately chosen to carry the mail for the GOP "deciders", whomever they may be. Whether Jeb can overcome his brotherhood to W, and the worldwide disaster he wrought is another matter.
7
What I'm most looking forward to in the forthcoming presidential election is listening to the Republican candidates give their views on how they will 'manage' the Middle East situation if they are elected. It's going to be highly entertaining.
18
Especially if one of them has to go on to debate a former Secretary of State who actually knows and understands the Middle East.
3
Bush, Bush ,,and Bush...ok it may be to much Landscaping in the White House.
But really folks, take a breath , stand back ,,and look at the problems around the world today. Geopolitical, financial, racial.
Its all worse than ever before. Now Hillary being Obama 2.0 do we really want that for our future?
But really folks, take a breath , stand back ,,and look at the problems around the world today. Geopolitical, financial, racial.
Its all worse than ever before. Now Hillary being Obama 2.0 do we really want that for our future?
2
Hillary for sure
4
The world is worse than ever before? Gee, 2008 wasn't that long ago.
1
not likely that Hillary will be Obama 2.0, but even if she were, it would be better than another war enthusiast. And don't forget, his mistakes not withstanding, Obama has spent most of his administration trying to fix the messes he was left with.
4
Neocons using W like a host body for their own agenda? Dowd's nicest bit of writing in a long, long time.
70
Will someone, anyone, other than a Clinton or a Bush please step up and inspire America? I do not care whether they are Democrat, Republican, Progressive, Liberaterian, Whig, whatever, just someone who does not make it look like that America is out of ideas and out of clear-headed political leaders.
22
Thank you, I think many of us agree with your statement!
I take it you're not a fan of Obama, either.
My son, a Marine, fought on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded the Purple Heart, having been shot by enemy forces in Afghanistan. He continues to suffer from PTSD, eight years after discharge. As a mother, I continue to be a major support to him and I envision that this will be a lifelong thing, thanks to Mr. Bush and my son's decisions. Do I see that his sacrifice helped change in the Middle East? No, I see it as a total waste.
162
That is the reality of the situation, isn´t it? And doesn´t it seem like there are a lot of civilians sitting on the sidelines calling for more of same?
4
Most wars are continued so that the people who were already killed shall not have died in vain.
Thanks to heroic advances in medical intervention, half of the soldiers who would have been killed by their wounds in Vietnam now live on maimed for life. The reduced death rate makes the policticians who sent them to war look better.
Thanks to heroic advances in medical intervention, half of the soldiers who would have been killed by their wounds in Vietnam now live on maimed for life. The reduced death rate makes the policticians who sent them to war look better.
4
Let's REALLY support the troops! Stop deploying them to foreign wars ginned up by the draft dodging neocons.
4
There is a sad humor in Kristol's disparaging "the pre-Reaganite GOP". That GOP (the likes of Javits, Scranton, Romney, Rockefeller, Brooke, etc.) was not a party of narrow-minded, lock-step bloviators.
The Republican/neo-con coterie of foreign policy experts (the likes of Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, etc.) with its myopic view of the world through the distorted lens of Israel has ill-served this country since the 1980s. If this is the crew that Jeb is taking advice from then he's no smarter than his brother.
Bush v Clinton in'16? Iceland is looking better every day.
The Republican/neo-con coterie of foreign policy experts (the likes of Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, etc.) with its myopic view of the world through the distorted lens of Israel has ill-served this country since the 1980s. If this is the crew that Jeb is taking advice from then he's no smarter than his brother.
Bush v Clinton in'16? Iceland is looking better every day.
35
Historical note: Fred here refers to Romney the Elder, not Romney the Lesser ("Mitt"). But really Fred, the notion that Clinton would be as bad as Bush is the false-equivalency lie that They want us to believe and be paralyzed by so that Their boy will win.
4
We have the Bushes to thank for ISIS, and most of the rest of the mess in the Mid East. Nowadays I don't seem to be able to pick up a newspaper without reading what amounts to "our good friends the Iranians". We know how that is going to end I guess. Jeb hugging some Iranian Prez, and signing off on a deal with Exxon to get their oil exports moving again. I can smell it. Sulfurous fumes of non-sweet crude.
When is this Bush-Boy nonsense of my enemy's enemy is my friend going to end? So naive.
It's not even their fault. It's our stupidity for voting them in.
When is this Bush-Boy nonsense of my enemy's enemy is my friend going to end? So naive.
It's not even their fault. It's our stupidity for voting them in.
29
Ungraciousness is not a foreign concept to the Bush family, though W. probably cannot even spell the word. I must say that I was never a fan of James Baker, but I am somewhat impressed that he would support anything done by President Obama. But there are probably many covert reasons unknown to me for that support. As an additional observation, and speaking as a Florida resident familiar with Jeb's conduct, or lack thereof, I admire your description: "Jeb personally groveled to his skeptical base on Thursday in Texas, Meerkatting himself". Well put - it sounds like the Jeb we all knew as Governor. Thanks!
42
It is sad to see our last real President continue to be slammed. Bush did what was necessary and progressive lieberals came in and tossed it all in the gutter. Now as the world burns and our country continues into the toilet, progressive lieberals think they have been just so successful
Our only "real President" is still in office, and will be long remembered in the history books for his accomplishments, unlike W., who will be long remembered for his incompetence and failures. "Heckuva Job, Bushie!"
5
Has Maureen read "No Higher Honor" by Condi? If not, I recomend it. Ariel Sharon and Olmert were pains in the neck, (my words) to the G W Bush administration, which surprised me. Rice gives many examples of Sharon and Olmert wanting tri lateral talks instead of bi lateral regarding the Palestinians. She also states every administration since 1948 has considered Israeli prime ministers the most difficult allies.
2
Really??..giving credibility to the main puppet (exception to bush) of the neo-con vision of foreign invasion? Rice was complicit in the false rhetoric (read lies) conning the American public to sell kristol's, wolfowitz's, cheney's (darth vadar), and rumsfeld's history making excursion into the middle east. A ghost written book cannot and should not be read as a treatise or an apology. It is another misguided con job to regain her status as someone relevant. Go away condi and don't ever come back.
5
this is a very good summary -- and infuriating to describe J Street and anti-Israel - wonder what he thinks of Jewish Voice for Peace - are they anti- Israel!
7
When was the last time Bill Kristol was right about anything? There's a YouTube video available where he says that the Iraq War will last two months. He said before the Iraq War that "it's pop psychology that the Shia can't get along with the Sunni," and doubled down on it last year on Bill Maher's show. He said the U.S. would be "vindicated" when the weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. He said, "very few wars in American history were prepared better" than Iraq. He said, "Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now." Oops. The list is nearly endless. Yet, Fox regularly has him on commenting and making more predictions, and the right thinks he is a genius.
61
He was one of the Palin peddlers at the time too. This guy is out there.
5
Thanks for your spot-on comment
2
Eloquence does not delineate genius.
1
This country is still reeling from the other brother's I'll advised war with Iraq and putting the war costs on the Chinese credit card. The same advisors to George Bush would be used by Jeb Bush, he has yet to declare the Iraq war a mistake. We cannot afford another Bush deciding our country's fate, my children and your children deserve a better person leading our nation. No to the Bush dynasty...we've suffered enough !
23
James Baker will forever be the spin doctor trying to convince voters, in direct contradiction to reality, that we had long abandoned in 2000 hand counts for the "more accurate" machine counts of election ballots in Florida when state law in both Texas and Florida require hand counts when election are that close. What clever deception will he gyrate for 45? Talk about measuring the curtains. Looking forward to Gail Collins stating it all comes down to Texas, again.
9
Will Jeb be the GOP chosen one? According to Bill Kristol, it all depends on what Israeli/Palestinian choice he chooses. Next up, equivocation on immigration, pandering to the hardcore anti-immigration GOP elite and powerful while simultaneously spinning a more hopeful and compassionate yarn for Hispanic voters. How the two faces of Jeb Bush stage show will play around the country all depends on how much razzle dazzle he demonstrates in the overture, entr'acte and finale. Early reviews might lead some to conclude the 45 prize is as elusive as cloudy days in the sunshine state. Perhaps Bush dynasty matriarch, Barbara offered the sagest comment in 2013 when asked what she thought about a potential Jeb Bush 2016 run for the presidency by saying "We've had enough Bushes." Mama Bush has since reversed herself and has now thrown her full support toward a Jeb presidential run. I guess we now know the source of the equivocation gene in the Bush family. Or was it "read my lips, no new taxes" George senior? Mission Accomplished, GOP; we the American voters are already anticipating being both underwhelmed and dispirited, once again by your nominee. The number 47 wasn't very lucky for Mitt Romney. Will the number 45 prove to be as unfortunate for Jeb Bush, too?
7
Thank you, Maureen, for summing up all the relevant truths of this imbroglio so concisely. I would just like to add one more observation to your list. You say if Jeb is elected he would be the 3rd President Bush to "use the military in Iraq". What's even more worrisome is the possibility of Jeb becoming the first President Bush to use the military in Iran! After all, that's what Bibi and the foppish Bill Kristol want, and that is exactly what they will get if Jeb bends to the will of Sheldon Adelson.
Americans should be alarmed and outraged by Adelson's attempts to BUY the American presidency and then use it to further Israeli interests, as Mr. Adelson's primary allegience is to Israel and to Bibi Netanyahu. He even started a newspaper just to promote Bibi.
Americans need to remember that it was these manipulators and their bespectacled band of NEOCONS who pushed the US into invading Iraq in 2003, out of fear that Iraq would strike Israel with their non-existant nuclear arsenal! The only thing these people care about is how American foreign policy can help Israel, American lives be damned!
Americans should be alarmed and outraged by Adelson's attempts to BUY the American presidency and then use it to further Israeli interests, as Mr. Adelson's primary allegience is to Israel and to Bibi Netanyahu. He even started a newspaper just to promote Bibi.
Americans need to remember that it was these manipulators and their bespectacled band of NEOCONS who pushed the US into invading Iraq in 2003, out of fear that Iraq would strike Israel with their non-existant nuclear arsenal! The only thing these people care about is how American foreign policy can help Israel, American lives be damned!
22
"I don't think we need monolithic thinking here" sez Jeb Bush, but apparently all his thinking comes courtesy of "Fox & Friends". I suppose we should be reassured that he can, unlike Sarah Palin, name a newspaper (The New York Times), but then again it was only to say he doesn't read it. Another Republican, proud to be uninformed.
39
Forget 45. Jeb should be tagged 33 1/3. He's obsolete. He's long playing. And he has a devoted following claiming that he delivers superior sound. Yup, Jeb is just like a vinyl recording on a shelf waiting for his neo-con handlers to cue him up to parrot spoken word material supplied by people limited to travel in the Western Hemisphere.
14
I still think Jeb will be the candidate as the others are too crazy and don't have the Kochs or Adelson behind them.
Trying to split the Jewish/Democratic vote is right up Karl Rove's (and Frank Luntz/Ron Dermer) playbook & is despicable.
As much as I'd like the election to bring ethics back to our polity, the reality is a fight between two behemoths, billions spent. But with a red Congress I'm afraid to try an untested Democrat, however good.
I'd rather not neolib Hillary, but no one else has the machinery as well as logged the hours and miles being scrutinized and scandal-ized, plus the money behind her.
Domestically it won't be great under her but will be better than full-on neocon blitz of Jeb or any Koch-Adelson employee.
Trying to split the Jewish/Democratic vote is right up Karl Rove's (and Frank Luntz/Ron Dermer) playbook & is despicable.
As much as I'd like the election to bring ethics back to our polity, the reality is a fight between two behemoths, billions spent. But with a red Congress I'm afraid to try an untested Democrat, however good.
I'd rather not neolib Hillary, but no one else has the machinery as well as logged the hours and miles being scrutinized and scandal-ized, plus the money behind her.
Domestically it won't be great under her but will be better than full-on neocon blitz of Jeb or any Koch-Adelson employee.
11
Sadly, your comment makes a lot of sense.
3
Maureen, at least he did not apologize to Bill as Christie did to Adelson.
As long as we have people who would blindly support Israeli expansion policies and invite leaders of Israel to come and mock the Office of the President of the United States nothing would change and Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban would rule. They have the money to buy the airtime and all the members of US Congress to get whatever they want for the brat Israel. It is still not just a Republican problem, both parties are paid handsomely by the AIPAC, Sheldon Adelson, Haim Saban and others to ensure that Israel’s agenda is protected and projected. These so called representative do represent the ones who have paid them to be in the US Congress. They do not keep US interest in the forefront but of a foreign country, and now we have at least two (Israel and Saudi Arabia).
Poor J Street cannot compete with the big money people although they work hard and at times even surprise some of their supporters. As long as we have big money in politics, someone is looking for an edge to get elected would do what it takes to get elected.
American Jewish opinion is in line with the stand of JS but the loud mouth gets all the attention and results in the Congress. It is time we suspend all military aid to Israel along with letting them know that we would start abstaining in the UNSC.
Result may be peace in the Holy lands. Sometimes we need to let the brat know who is the boss.
As long as we have people who would blindly support Israeli expansion policies and invite leaders of Israel to come and mock the Office of the President of the United States nothing would change and Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban would rule. They have the money to buy the airtime and all the members of US Congress to get whatever they want for the brat Israel. It is still not just a Republican problem, both parties are paid handsomely by the AIPAC, Sheldon Adelson, Haim Saban and others to ensure that Israel’s agenda is protected and projected. These so called representative do represent the ones who have paid them to be in the US Congress. They do not keep US interest in the forefront but of a foreign country, and now we have at least two (Israel and Saudi Arabia).
Poor J Street cannot compete with the big money people although they work hard and at times even surprise some of their supporters. As long as we have big money in politics, someone is looking for an edge to get elected would do what it takes to get elected.
American Jewish opinion is in line with the stand of JS but the loud mouth gets all the attention and results in the Congress. It is time we suspend all military aid to Israel along with letting them know that we would start abstaining in the UNSC.
Result may be peace in the Holy lands. Sometimes we need to let the brat know who is the boss.
14
No more entitlement - on either side. We desperately need substantive, courageous, visionary leadership that supports a thoughtful, positive, consistent national agenda geared for progress. We have that with Obama, albeit a bit light on the courage.
15
"We have that from Obama"? Am I missing something?
I agree, except for the light on courage part. It takes a lot of courage to stand up for what is right the way President Obama has done.
4
First we had Grover Norquists Taxpayer Protection Pledge, signed by Republicans. Rather than deliberate and reach a compromise on any legislation before Congress, the Republicans have signed away such fundamental attributes of a Democracy and are now bound by their pledge to vote a certain way.
Now we have Kristol dictating that a loyalty oath to the State of Israel be "signed" by all Republicans and in particular Republican Presidential candidates.
Add in money, and what it buys and it would seem Republicans have very few options in governance other than what other people tell them to do and I do not mean the Citizens who elected them.
Now we have Kristol dictating that a loyalty oath to the State of Israel be "signed" by all Republicans and in particular Republican Presidential candidates.
Add in money, and what it buys and it would seem Republicans have very few options in governance other than what other people tell them to do and I do not mean the Citizens who elected them.
39
Ouch!! You are right!
2
Yes. Let's not forget that a Republican president and his inept cohorts got us into the Iraqi war.
28
Bush should be a new synonym for making campaign pledges purely for the purposes of 1. Ginning up the base and 2. Forming a wedge issue that separates the Democrats for their own base. When will America learn that this is merely cunning bush strategy for the purpose of slaking the family's insistent pressure to become president.
May God have mercy on America's soul. Haven't we suffered enough from this family's need to be president and its willingness to let the ends justify their means. Principle, George? You had no principles when u lied that the tax cuts were for all. You had no principles when u called for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Herbert, u had no principles when u pretended that Michael Dukakis furloughed dozens of mudered who killed lots of people. Jen u had no principles when u pandered to the base when Obama implied his support for an international resolution calling for a 2 state solution. I'm an American jew but I hate pandering to American jews. And u speak of leadership? You merely hide the former tongue and the hissing of the far right. America: don't permit yourself to be bushed again-- by which I mean cunningly thwarted from seeing Jen as the election pandering right wing conniver that he is.
May God have mercy on America's soul. Haven't we suffered enough from this family's need to be president and its willingness to let the ends justify their means. Principle, George? You had no principles when u lied that the tax cuts were for all. You had no principles when u called for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Herbert, u had no principles when u pretended that Michael Dukakis furloughed dozens of mudered who killed lots of people. Jen u had no principles when u pandered to the base when Obama implied his support for an international resolution calling for a 2 state solution. I'm an American jew but I hate pandering to American jews. And u speak of leadership? You merely hide the former tongue and the hissing of the far right. America: don't permit yourself to be bushed again-- by which I mean cunningly thwarted from seeing Jen as the election pandering right wing conniver that he is.
17
Our country needs another Bush as president like we need another war. His father fought a war and didn't have enough sense to finish off Sadaam. His brother finished off Sadaam but didn't have enough sense to realize whatever WMD the Iraqi dictator possessed [sic] were no threat to US because there were no delivery systems capable of reaching US.
http://napoleonlive.info/what-i-think/bushs-lasting-legacy/
http://napoleonlive.info/what-i-think/bushs-lasting-legacy/
8
Bush I, and his advisors, was/were the real deal. Adults who had extensive service to the United States in military service, diplomatic service, real politics and logic.
Bush II and III are kids with sycophants and controllers who have only two agendas, to make money on wars and to involve the US in all possible wars involving oil countries.
Bush II and III are kids with sycophants and controllers who have only two agendas, to make money on wars and to involve the US in all possible wars involving oil countries.
33
What? Bush I was awful. I remember seeing Bush I and Reagan shaking hands with Saddam Hussein. Then he was asked by the same if he could invade Kuwait, then when Saddam did, the Gulf War ensued. The guy had a tin ear. And apparently as brain dead as his sons. Oh but what a politician.
Read our Lips, No New Bushes.
Read our Lips, No New Bushes.
What did we ever do to deserve another Bush going for Presidency. Is Jeb trying to undo what George did or trying to finish George's unfinished business.
Please Mr Senior Bush, Stop your kid from further damaging this country
Please Mr Senior Bush, Stop your kid from further damaging this country
24
Any nomination of Jeb Bush will bring in a host of neo-cons who love war (as long as they don't serve in them), and a tea party crowd that hates taxes and doesn't want to pay for government, any government. Basically their goal is a banana republic with cold winters populated by a servile class and walled estates.
37
One of Dowd's best columns - and I can't say that about all her work at the N.Y.Times. The simple fact that all of the craziness happening at this moment in the Middle East is singularly connected to possibly the worst foreign policy decision ever made by the United States: the invasion of Iraq after 9/11. We blew the whole region up - under false pretenses - and the unholy mess will be with us for a long time. Not only is there no easy way out, but if the right wingers from Bush 43 getting even close to the White House there may never be a way out.
67
In the longer run, the invasion and destabilization of Iraq may rank among the great grand-strategic blunders of all time, right up there with Hitler's decisions to invade the USSR and to declare war on the US (both decisions, by the way, motivated by blind ideology).
8
"Now the neocons who treated W. like a host body for their own agenda are swirling around Jeb, ready to inhabit another President Bush."
This is the best metaphor I have heard regarding the relationship between President Bush and the neoconservatives.
This is the best metaphor I have heard regarding the relationship between President Bush and the neoconservatives.
69
Swirling, indeed. Jeb recently apppointed several of the old neocons to advise his campaign, and I gasped whenI read about it.
Please! No more of those really bad, misguided people in positions of power.
Last time they were able to completely avoid the government departments in place to deal with the military, foreign affairs, etc. 43 put hisfaborite neocons in place and that small cabal has nearly destroyed our country, certInly its reputation in the world.
Obama, though flawed like all of us, has steered as steady a course as possible, I believe, through the Middle East region his predecessor blew wide open.
Please! No more of those really bad, misguided people in positions of power.
Last time they were able to completely avoid the government departments in place to deal with the military, foreign affairs, etc. 43 put hisfaborite neocons in place and that small cabal has nearly destroyed our country, certInly its reputation in the world.
Obama, though flawed like all of us, has steered as steady a course as possible, I believe, through the Middle East region his predecessor blew wide open.
1
Cheney and Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz oh my! As scary a group as you can imagine being able to influence our foreign policy. So eager and willing to start wars in the Middle East with a "what could possibly go wrong" attitude.
If Jeb truly wants to be "his own man" he needs better than these retreads. The impulse to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran or anyone else just because we can, has brought us never-ending war. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting it not to be a disaster is just plain crazy.
If Jeb truly wants to be "his own man" he needs better than these retreads. The impulse to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran or anyone else just because we can, has brought us never-ending war. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting it not to be a disaster is just plain crazy.
28
What an ugly cast of characters that inhabits the Republican party's so- called "leadership". They legalized corruption, spread fear, encouraged ignorance and stuffed their wallets with taxpayer's money. The wars they start now last generations without an end in sight. None of those railing for war ever shows for the first battle.
We've suffered many fools in the political life of this country, but these guys are the worst and the most destructive ever. The Ted Cruz wackos are just a side show, the rest are our worst nightmares.
We've suffered many fools in the political life of this country, but these guys are the worst and the most destructive ever. The Ted Cruz wackos are just a side show, the rest are our worst nightmares.
51
Why are the people who have always been wrong before, still around? I never understood this about Republicans. Doesn't a previous track record of not getting it right so many times, ever have any consequences in Republican world?
I guess if they are on FOX "news", they must be important and taken seriously.
Speaking of serious, John Bolton seriously scares me. Why are he and Paul Wolfowitz still considered go to guys for the crazy party? Have they ever been right about anything?
I guess if they are on FOX "news", they must be important and taken seriously.
Speaking of serious, John Bolton seriously scares me. Why are he and Paul Wolfowitz still considered go to guys for the crazy party? Have they ever been right about anything?
75
Jeb Bush is from the same village as his brother, the village idiot, who was elected President of the US - to our great regret.
Pushing Jeb Bush is:
The media for the reasons of celebrity and for something to write about for dramatic effect for the election race.
Monied interests with agendas and for influence and control.
Family interests to see if it can be done ..... again, just for fun.
Former Bush operatives and administrative job holders from Bush I and Bush II for the sake of prominence and recognition once again.
Do we really want all that ilk back again - Cheney, Rove, Baker, Bolton, Wolfowitz and his pack of NeoCon predators, and last but not least "W" himself.
I am exhausted just thinking about it.
Spare us the turmoil..... for the sake of our collective sanity.
We can do better and most likely the world at large hopes so as well.
Pushing Jeb Bush is:
The media for the reasons of celebrity and for something to write about for dramatic effect for the election race.
Monied interests with agendas and for influence and control.
Family interests to see if it can be done ..... again, just for fun.
Former Bush operatives and administrative job holders from Bush I and Bush II for the sake of prominence and recognition once again.
Do we really want all that ilk back again - Cheney, Rove, Baker, Bolton, Wolfowitz and his pack of NeoCon predators, and last but not least "W" himself.
I am exhausted just thinking about it.
Spare us the turmoil..... for the sake of our collective sanity.
We can do better and most likely the world at large hopes so as well.
73
Ditto, its exhausting just thinking about the Clintons. Goodness, so tired of them.
1
To Petey Tonei.
Your remark is a change of subject, but anyway .....
In any case let me tell you about the really conservative member in my family.
(And I am assuming that you are one also - a lonely position in really Blue Massachusetts.)
In the distant past my family member said:
"What did we do wrong to deserve the Bush Family."
Recently when I asked, or more accurately begged, that he would promise NOT to vote for Jeb Bush, he replied:
"I do not plan to vote. They are all crazy."
And yes, he meant all the possible GOP clowns.
The Bush political family is extinct.
They just will be the last to know. It is called fatal hubris.
Your remark is a change of subject, but anyway .....
In any case let me tell you about the really conservative member in my family.
(And I am assuming that you are one also - a lonely position in really Blue Massachusetts.)
In the distant past my family member said:
"What did we do wrong to deserve the Bush Family."
Recently when I asked, or more accurately begged, that he would promise NOT to vote for Jeb Bush, he replied:
"I do not plan to vote. They are all crazy."
And yes, he meant all the possible GOP clowns.
The Bush political family is extinct.
They just will be the last to know. It is called fatal hubris.
5
John Bolton and Bill Kristol should be box-office poison and here they are, hoping for another delusional shot at another trillion dollar disaster.
Jeb Bush has no sense or he would have learned that these snakes have done irreparable damage to our country. They are like some horror film where the gruesome hand pops up from the grave to once again wreak havoc. I bet Cheney is on speed dial for these ghouls. Go Away. All of you.
Jeb Bush has no sense or he would have learned that these snakes have done irreparable damage to our country. They are like some horror film where the gruesome hand pops up from the grave to once again wreak havoc. I bet Cheney is on speed dial for these ghouls. Go Away. All of you.
79
Jeb Bush is in a conundrum, willing but unable to satisfy all supporters at the same time, without antagonizing the right wing while trying to remain electable if he survives the primary. Look what happened to another flip-flopper, Mitt Romney. And John Bolton, 'W' diplomatic choice for the UN, is the best example as to how to make enemies without even trying. Mr. Baker must be mighty happy not to be embroiled in continuing the Bush's dynastic saga.
15
"...In a silly pander to the right-wing Torquemadas who insist on Neanderthals in primaries..." - brilliant writing
21
Jim Baker would have been ten times the President as Reagan or any of the Bushes. Not that accomplishing that would be too difficult.
10
Great piece except for the idea that most American Jews agree with J Street. Not true. Many are liberal and support Obama, but J Street has gone off with harsh and destructive anti Israel rhetoric that is unappealing to most thinking Jews.
6
We should skip the primary season. The money has spoken, Bush v. Clinton.
With respect to Iran and Iraq, I am reminded of Ted Kennedy's major address ( at a University setting -- televised by C-Span explains his upcoming no vote To support the invasion.
He simply stated that the evidence wasn't there and most importantly, we had a "rat" (Saddam Hussein) that was contained. He talked about keeping this rat contained. He said if we let other rats in they may multiply and be more dangerous than the contained rat. He listened and understood those Generals whom he quoted in this speech. My God, he was right on. The Middle East is a mess and we contributed to the present day mess.
Once splintered, Joe Biden rightly suggested the three warring factions, The Kurds, Sunnis and the Shia should be geographically split up.
Both Ted and Joe were right. Who listens to the bankrupt policies of the far right anymore?
The Neocons have completely upended the Middle East. Why do we give them any credibility at all?
With respect to Iran and Iraq, I am reminded of Ted Kennedy's major address ( at a University setting -- televised by C-Span explains his upcoming no vote To support the invasion.
He simply stated that the evidence wasn't there and most importantly, we had a "rat" (Saddam Hussein) that was contained. He talked about keeping this rat contained. He said if we let other rats in they may multiply and be more dangerous than the contained rat. He listened and understood those Generals whom he quoted in this speech. My God, he was right on. The Middle East is a mess and we contributed to the present day mess.
Once splintered, Joe Biden rightly suggested the three warring factions, The Kurds, Sunnis and the Shia should be geographically split up.
Both Ted and Joe were right. Who listens to the bankrupt policies of the far right anymore?
The Neocons have completely upended the Middle East. Why do we give them any credibility at all?
51
That ideology can trump intellect is the greatest human tragedy.
4
Maureen hits it out of the park with her first sentence. I will never forget the spectacle of James Baker parading around in a bright blue suit, in front of a gigantic American flag, exhorting the American public on the topic of "Dimmycratic mi'chif!"
He all but wagged his finger. I knew we were toast and things have gone downhill from there.
It is hard for me in light of that alone to see James Baker as a hero. Bush v Gore was pretty close to being a coup played out on national TV.
He all but wagged his finger. I knew we were toast and things have gone downhill from there.
It is hard for me in light of that alone to see James Baker as a hero. Bush v Gore was pretty close to being a coup played out on national TV.
28
Susan Anderson wisely observes:
"As far as I can see, not one of them served in the military, they just like sending others to war, and exploiting fear and hatred."
Presidents who'd actually fought in wars -- for example, Eisenhower, Grant, Jackson, Washington -- tended to keep us out of wars. Presidents who'd never fought in wars tended to think they were pretty neat, and got us into a lot of them.
"As far as I can see, not one of them served in the military, they just like sending others to war, and exploiting fear and hatred."
Presidents who'd actually fought in wars -- for example, Eisenhower, Grant, Jackson, Washington -- tended to keep us out of wars. Presidents who'd never fought in wars tended to think they were pretty neat, and got us into a lot of them.
32
Jimmy Carter served honorably in the military and kept us out of war. Though Clinton did not serve (and W didn't really serve either), Clinton kept us out of war. Bush I Served most honorably, and with Colin Powell and James Baker knew when to STOP madness. Dessert Storm was necessary to have kept Saddam Hussain contained.
4
I would agree except you like many others forget Eisenhower sent the first troops into Viet Nam.
1
Linda,
It's fashionable to back-date US involvement in the Vietnam War until one reaches the desired war-starting President. But to assign any blame whatsoever to Eisenhower is quite a stretch. I suppose we had "troops" in dozens of countries at one time or another during his time in office, but it's quite a stretch to characterize that as the start of the Vietnam War.
It's fashionable to back-date US involvement in the Vietnam War until one reaches the desired war-starting President. But to assign any blame whatsoever to Eisenhower is quite a stretch. I suppose we had "troops" in dozens of countries at one time or another during his time in office, but it's quite a stretch to characterize that as the start of the Vietnam War.
1
This is muddled state of the bipolar Republican party. Swing far right to get the nomination, then back-peddle toward the center for the general election. Never mind that the general electorate also heard the same pandering you fed last year to the red-meat primary voters. The cynics will tell you the voters probably won't remember by election day.
Good luck with that strategy.
Good luck with that strategy.
15
Quite simply.........if you want the C.I.A. ruling America again outwardly, then elect J.E.Bush. He's a follower, not a leader. He is his fathers son whether he claims to be his own man or not.
14
All policy quibbles aside, Jame Baker has always been a class act.
11
Thank you for this coherent column on the Bush dynasty and for giving tacit support to the way Obama is handling the Bush mess.
One thing current Republicans do not do is Speak softly and carry a big stick. their big talk only reflects their small mindedness and that the only way to use your strength militarily is to hit someone, anyone on the head or give away your strength to Israel and let them do it for you.
9/11 was a terrible tragedy not only for the families who lost their loved ones, but in that it triggered our worst instincts to strike back at anyone and unleashing our deepest insecurities that led to millions dead, homeless and embroiled in horrid conflict. The causes of middle east conflict are long and deep and we are not alone to blame, but when wisdom was needed most we failed. The very idea that we could be whipped back into knee jerk decisions that mirror G Ws decisions in Iraq tells us much about our own insanity.
One thing current Republicans do not do is Speak softly and carry a big stick. their big talk only reflects their small mindedness and that the only way to use your strength militarily is to hit someone, anyone on the head or give away your strength to Israel and let them do it for you.
9/11 was a terrible tragedy not only for the families who lost their loved ones, but in that it triggered our worst instincts to strike back at anyone and unleashing our deepest insecurities that led to millions dead, homeless and embroiled in horrid conflict. The causes of middle east conflict are long and deep and we are not alone to blame, but when wisdom was needed most we failed. The very idea that we could be whipped back into knee jerk decisions that mirror G Ws decisions in Iraq tells us much about our own insanity.
26
No, actually, I'm not ready for 45. I want 44, Barack Hussein Obama, to remain our President.
And there is at least one mistake in your column. Bush was NOT elected before 9/11. He was elected in 2004, yes, but he was "selected" in 2000 by the Supreme Court vote. Perhaps you can say he was elected by the Supreme Court but not the American people.
And there is at least one mistake in your column. Bush was NOT elected before 9/11. He was elected in 2004, yes, but he was "selected" in 2000 by the Supreme Court vote. Perhaps you can say he was elected by the Supreme Court but not the American people.
80
J Street is anti-Israel? They are doing the heavy lifting of, among other things, trying to get the Israeli right to move away from policies that alienate American Jews; young Jews in particular but also this particular seventy-three-year old. There are more than a few Israelis who believe that support from the Jewish diaspora in the United States is essential for Israel's security.
5
Conservatives, including many Congressional Republicans, just do not trust Jeb Bush to adhere to anti-immigration, pro-fundamentalist Christian orthodoxy. As a Democrat, I don't trust him, despite your view that he has a Janus-like view of Israel, to keep us out of a war with Iran. The fundamental issue here is that the Bush family is and has been very close to the Saudi monarchy. That is why President Obama chose to take so many of them with him on his recent visit there to meet the new king and ease tensions over his Syria policy. Jeb Bush has also surrounded himself with the same neocon cast that gave us the disastrous Iraq war that still haunts us; and I have little doubt that he'll not hesitate to reprise that with a Saudi-incited war with Iran.
11
Short and to the point: if America has learned nothing from failed first "Poppie" administration, or the disastrous 8 years of "W" for which this country--and the world--will be both literally and figuratively paying for for decades to come, and decides to install yet another Bush in the Oval Office, well, it deserves all that will surely befall it.
To paraphrase Santayanna--"he does not learn from their Bush histories are doomed to relive it."
And rest assured, doomed we shall indeed be if there is a '45'.
To paraphrase Santayanna--"he does not learn from their Bush histories are doomed to relive it."
And rest assured, doomed we shall indeed be if there is a '45'.
20
The fundamental problem is the same as with Hilary Clinton. In a democracy representing a population of three hundred twenty million people are we really to believe we have to go more than once to the same immediate family? It suggests we can elect whoever we want, as long as that person is satisfactory to a very narrow group of donors within the two parties. There is no American royalty, nor should there be.
13
There should not be a royalty.....but there is one: the monied oligachy. They own both toady parties and manipulate the truly exceptional gullible masses that our citizenry has becomed.
3
I will turn off my TV and stop reading the news if there's a "Bush-45". The tragedy that is my country will be too great to bear.
37
The whole Netanyahu-Gang of 47 thing proves republicans cannot be trusted with the presidency.
An entire political party so easily duped by a foreign head of state desperately trying to win his own re-election cannot produce a candidate whose loyalty to his own homeland can be trusted.
The patriotism of republican candidates needs to be called into question. We cannot have as CinC someone who would do the bidding of a foreign power to the detriment of his own nation merely to curry favor with major campaign donors and the religious extremists who make up a large part of his party's base.
An entire political party so easily duped by a foreign head of state desperately trying to win his own re-election cannot produce a candidate whose loyalty to his own homeland can be trusted.
The patriotism of republican candidates needs to be called into question. We cannot have as CinC someone who would do the bidding of a foreign power to the detriment of his own nation merely to curry favor with major campaign donors and the religious extremists who make up a large part of his party's base.
58
Ms. Dowd says "... Karl Rove and W. believed that winning a larger share of the Jewish vote would help secure the second term his father had failed to get...."
Someone please explain to me how a swing in a fraction of 1.4% of the U.S. population can make this voter math work.
Someone please explain to me how a swing in a fraction of 1.4% of the U.S. population can make this voter math work.
6
Sure, Bush won the first election by a few hundred votes in the right county, West Palm Beach, thereby winning Florida and all its Electoral Votes while losing the national overall vote. So, they were scared they´d lose the next election which they barely won by winning the State of Ohio and giving us another 4 years of George W. Bush and financial meltdown of 2007 and 2008.
2
In the swing state of Florida, capturing a larger percentage of the Jewish vote can be the difference in winning or losing the Electoral College.
2
Left, right and center
All Israeli positions
Belong to Jeb Bush
All Israeli positions
Belong to Jeb Bush
7
All Republican candidates will pander to the Israeli right wing and, with the possible exception of Rand Paul, do their best to out-warmonger each other in the primaries. The days of moderate Republicans like Bush I are long gone.
17
Poor politicians, the Cold War made the Arab–Israeli conflict an easy to understand proxy battle. Now the complex "Byzantine" nature of middle east politics can make anyone look like a fool!
However there are many salient issues that need to be addressed by the next president. I don't think 45% is good enough to handle them, though he may be a much higher score than the rest of the Republican field. Hillary may be a bit above 50%, but still not a great score.
However there are many salient issues that need to be addressed by the next president. I don't think 45% is good enough to handle them, though he may be a much higher score than the rest of the Republican field. Hillary may be a bit above 50%, but still not a great score.
6
There's still money to be made on wars in the Middle East. For that reason, it is convenient for many to keep them going. There's no mystery in this. There's also no mystery in how James Baker played a role in this, along with the rest of the Bush's, Carlyle Group, Halliburton, Kelloggs, Brown and Root, Raytheon, Booze Allen, Goldman Sachs, and other banks etc, etc. BP wants to keep selling its oil to the war efforts, and other major oil companies as well. And the banks will keep on funding, making their pile on the misery of the peoples of the world as well. Israel is a major arms dealer, which is why they like wars. Also the Saudi's like to keep things mixed up to raise the price of oil now and then. They'd also like to get control of the distribution of oil and gas through the Middle East to Europe, and other points, either with a pipeline or ports. Some of this has been accomplished. Iran has a lot of oil. And some would like to control that also. All of this, for an energy source, that could quickly become much cheaper because it is being replaced at a rapid rate. But meanwhile, the old gang is making hay while they still can. And making war is a sure fire way to do it. Some years ago, the easiest way to get Americans to go along with all of this is to blow up a couple of buildings in NYC. I hate to think about it, but I could never get over the look on George Bush's face when he was reading to the kindergarteners in Florida on 9/11. It never made sense.
85
Speaking as a pro-Israel (but anti-Bibi) American Jew, you'd better believe that J Street speaks for most of us right now.
51
Speaking as an anti-Bibi, pro-Israel Jew, J Street does NOT speak for most Jews right now! You can favor halting the settlements and other moves that Bibi opposes and still be very wary of J Street's tone. We all remember James Bakers' slur about what he'd like to do to Jews since they don't vote GOP - inviting him was just more evidence to question J-Street's standards. The organization has never said clearly what their bottom line expectations for the Palestinians would be in a peace agreement - just because they aren't BDS'ers doesn't make them good.
2
Surveys show that J Street does not speak for a majority of US Jews. In fact, one of the speakers at their recent conference was met with thunderous applause when she stated that Jews should be a minority in a one state solution. With friends like this, who needs enemies?
3
I pretty much expect Republicans to be crazed warhawks. What I want to know is, how much choice will voters have? Hillary has been called a neocon Democrat, a Middle East warhawk. She voted for the Iraq War amendment. Where does she stand on Iran?
16
THE 2016 MERITORIOUS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Maureen Dowd, Queen of the NYTimes hill, CONTEMPTUOUSLY vets Jeb and Hillary, all others on the radar are beneath her contempt.
Like Abe Lincoln, out of the backwoods of a countrified territory come TWO Presidential candidates who have the credentials AND the integrity that alpha leaders own as a natural right. Daniel L. Boren, Senator, Governor, and President of the University of Oklahoma my be the right man for President in 2016. I would like Maureen Dowd to weigh in on this homegrown nomination who was front page news in the NYTimes yesterday. Is he our next President by the merit standard? I ask you, Maureen.
Then, Maureen, there is the other genius in Oklahoma who will appear on the public radar by his choice, in his own good time. His name is Gene Thompson and his requirement is that both Republicans and Democrats vote for him because laying aside party politics is the only way this great nation can achieve its destiny, which has already been envisioned by this man, who may indeed be our next President of the United States.
Gene Thompson projects increasing every American Citizen's income through tax-free grants, like thes $100 Billion in grants used in 2008 to save the US and world economies, as an annual grant of $5200 for every US Citizen, and an annual 20% tax-free grant increase every year.
So, I ask you, Maureen, which one if either would you select as worthy of becoming the President in 2016?
Maureen Dowd, Queen of the NYTimes hill, CONTEMPTUOUSLY vets Jeb and Hillary, all others on the radar are beneath her contempt.
Like Abe Lincoln, out of the backwoods of a countrified territory come TWO Presidential candidates who have the credentials AND the integrity that alpha leaders own as a natural right. Daniel L. Boren, Senator, Governor, and President of the University of Oklahoma my be the right man for President in 2016. I would like Maureen Dowd to weigh in on this homegrown nomination who was front page news in the NYTimes yesterday. Is he our next President by the merit standard? I ask you, Maureen.
Then, Maureen, there is the other genius in Oklahoma who will appear on the public radar by his choice, in his own good time. His name is Gene Thompson and his requirement is that both Republicans and Democrats vote for him because laying aside party politics is the only way this great nation can achieve its destiny, which has already been envisioned by this man, who may indeed be our next President of the United States.
Gene Thompson projects increasing every American Citizen's income through tax-free grants, like thes $100 Billion in grants used in 2008 to save the US and world economies, as an annual grant of $5200 for every US Citizen, and an annual 20% tax-free grant increase every year.
So, I ask you, Maureen, which one if either would you select as worthy of becoming the President in 2016?
2
MD on fire with this one. Rock On!
10
I'd like to see more written about the Carlyle Group, Adelson, and the Koch brothers. My impression is that these entities determine Republican foreign policy, not Baker, Bolton, Bushes, and neocons. We're ignoring the very real and very scary elephants in the room. Follow the money, follow the testosterone, follow the lust for power. That's where we'll find the "deciders."
182
Jeb can and will say anything to get the GOP nomination and then win the election--just as Mitt tried. he will have the problem that modern media catch all of these contradictions. Remember Mitt at Boca Raton talking about the 47% of the US being "takers"? So the best way to judge the candidates is to look at who is advising them. It would seem that Jeb's advisors want another war in the ME, this time with Iran. For me, this is a good reason to vote against Jeb. The Bush appointees on the Supreme Court are 4 more reasons.
82
While bringing up legitimate points about the Bushes, I notice that Maureen doesn't mock Jeb Bush at all. No nasty nick names, no low blows. She seems to reserve her sarcasm and vitriol for Hillary Clinton and President Obama.
Reading between the lines, it seems like she's more supportive of Jeb Bush than of any recent presidential candidate or sitting president. She criticizes Jeb's base and advisors, but avoids skewering the man himself.
Pretty slick... But thank you for revealing thyself, Maureen.
Reading between the lines, it seems like she's more supportive of Jeb Bush than of any recent presidential candidate or sitting president. She criticizes Jeb's base and advisors, but avoids skewering the man himself.
Pretty slick... But thank you for revealing thyself, Maureen.
30
I am pleased to see the growing interest in James A. Baker III. He really is the brains of the Republican party and consigliere of of the Bush famiglia.
20
This insistence on Jeb being "his own man" is significant: we know about people who protest too much. It evidently responds to a need to separate himself from his predecessors. Now, why is this necessary? Because he is not going to start senseless wars like his brother or is it that he is not going to be more prudent like his father? Is there a middle there somewhere? He doesn't know what he is? And is the fact that he is known as "45" indicate that he has no real substance but just a mere cipher in a continuum. And what person in his right mind would have someone like Wolfowitz as his advisor? "Poor Jed (b) is dead"?
35
Our invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are 14 and 12 years in the past. They have both been expensive, unqualified foreign policy disasters. They have already cost U.S. taxpayers 2 trillion dollars and we aren't done tallying those costs.
The real questions now are:
a) what are we going to do about Iraq and Afghanistan going forward?,
and
b) with the Middle East spinning further out of control every month, is there much we can do about them?
No, there is not.
W should look at a Soviet-era-style containment policy, where we use proxy fighters, and attempt to limit the spread of Islamic extremism along with limiting our direct involvement in their countries.
The Muslim world, radicalized, or not, is never going to love us, or embrace us. We are infidels to them, and always will be. Whether Arabs, or Iranians, Sunnis, or Shiites, there is no love lost between us and them. Let these countries, groups, factions, tribes and sects fight it out among themselves, with us staying as much out of the fray, and out of harm's way as possible.
Of the Dinosaur Dynasty ® presidents, which one is more likely to do this, Hillary, or Jeb?
Hillary, but not by much. She is a bit more of a hawk than Obama, who I will miss when he is gone. He is a good, decent man, whose chilly pragmatism has served us well in hot, emotional, divisive times.
610
Thank you especially for your description of Obama with which I am in full agreement. He is sadly unappreciated now, but I believe in retrospect he will be more respected.
7
Your description of Pres. Obama is the most accurate I have ever read. The country will miss him before too many ever know his value.
Should a Republican gain the White House, be it Jeb Bush or any other, including Rand Paul, the march to war with Iran will be rapid and deadly. The propaganda is in full swing already. John Bolton not only called form bombing Iran, he also favors regime change. From their arm chairs the many evaders of Vietnam plot another disaster in the Middle East.
Should a Republican gain the White House, be it Jeb Bush or any other, including Rand Paul, the march to war with Iran will be rapid and deadly. The propaganda is in full swing already. John Bolton not only called form bombing Iran, he also favors regime change. From their arm chairs the many evaders of Vietnam plot another disaster in the Middle East.
6
Firstly, the Muslim world is only about 20 percent Arab, and the African American community constitutes about 20 to 40 percent of the Muslims in America , so there are many Muslims who don't hate America.Secondly, the Soviet policy of containment wasn't very successful. In fact, the fastest growing part of the Russian nation are Muslims. Thirdly, you sound like those people who thought that America could avid WW2 because of our two oceans separating the US from the conflict.Finally, Obama has brought us back to the Middle East conflict without clear goals. Exactly, what constitutes victory, since the radical Islamic world is no longer contained in the Mid East?One day a group like ISIS may get biological or nuclear weapons, do we have a policy to deal with that?
1
"Kristol and other neocon masters of monolith who egged W. into a war in Iraq that has been so long and bloody and awful"
--------------------------
Vice-President Cheney locked President Bush out the Oval Office and crashed our nation into the Middle East oil rigs - millions of casualties, millions of refugees, and trillions of waste. All from the safety of his bunker.
--------------------------
Vice-President Cheney locked President Bush out the Oval Office and crashed our nation into the Middle East oil rigs - millions of casualties, millions of refugees, and trillions of waste. All from the safety of his bunker.
54
45? Puh-leeze! There have been three generations of Bushes helping run Washington. Prescott Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator. His son George H.W. Bush was a V.P. and a one-term President. That man's son was President George W. Bush (third generation), who left Washington with (1) the economy collapsing. and (2) a needless, gigantically expensive war still raging. One would think the prior two generations of family experience would have helped here, but evidently it did not. Both of those massive Bush-delivered boondoggles remain the real sources of any economic woes we still have, even though President Obama has corrected much of the damage. Reminder: W had been handed a budget surplus in the first place by the previous Democratic President, President Clinton. With such a good hand from the previous dealer, it boggles the mind how badly Bush played the cards. Bill Clinton had no prior-generation family members in Washington. His wife became Secretary of State under President Obama, but we must consider her of the same generation, and a Clinton by marriage only; her last name by birth is Rodham. So there is no comparison between a second Bush son (Jeb) from a third generation of bankers, oil men,, baseball team owners, and politicians and a Clinton (Hillary) from the one and only generation of Clintons/Rodhams ever to have political jobs, and whose generational predecessors were employed as nurses, salesmen, and small business owners.
36
Right on, Mark. There is so much false equivalency from our gutless "press". A dynasty does indeed involve generations as opposed to a married couple. Whether one likes Hillary or not, she is head and shoulders more experienced than Jeb Bush, who was a horror as governor 10 years ago. ( Remember Terri Shiavo for one example?)
3
This. I have been saying the same thing. You can't compare the totally self-made Bill Clinton with the 3rd generation of Bushes in Washington DC.
2
That "45" freely admits to watching "Fox and Friends" in the morning should automatically disqualify him from running for the presidency.
241
Maureen, why don't we all just refer more simply -- and much more accurately -- to Jeb as "Bush 0." (For clarification, I typed a zero, not an Oh.)
10
Maureen blows harder at an Obama or a Clinton. When she directs her negativity at a Bush the leaves are barely ruffled. It's as if she's trying to determine where her nest should lie...
12
Oh, Maureen, if only you attacked these wackadoos with the same ferocity you reserve for the President. Why go easy on Jeb when he is yet another of a long line of neocons responsible for the mess the Middle East is in today.
After all, he and the harlequin Katheen Davis assured Shrubs ascension, and all the rest we know.
After all, he and the harlequin Katheen Davis assured Shrubs ascension, and all the rest we know.
45
Oh my goodness. I cannot stand the thought. Another Bush, more senseless wars. The old warmongers are standing in the wings just waiting for their chance. We are so doomed if we elect another one of those.
35
Good piece but misses a key point: Cheney and the neocon gang killed more Americans in Iraq than Bin Laden killed in New York.
114
Why only Americans? Countless Iraqis lost their lives. They are human beings after all, why should they be less special than American lives?
3
Remember how the great Mel Brooks in his "History of the World Part I" addressed the Inquisition and the Torquemada: "We tried to 'tork 'em outta of it!"
5
Bush 41 wasn't reelected despite having historic high approval ratings, 90+%, just a few years earlier based on the success of Operation Desert Storm. Why? Because GOP economic policies led to a prolonged recession.
Bush 43 broke just about everything he touched, including Iraq, the automotive and financial services industries and the Katrina response. Unemployment was near 10% with the NYSE down 22% and the NASDAQ down 38% after his eight years in office. NO solutions for problems related to immigration or healthcare either. And, of course, there was 9/11 on his watch.
Does the United States, or the world for that matter, need a Bush 45?
Bush 43 broke just about everything he touched, including Iraq, the automotive and financial services industries and the Katrina response. Unemployment was near 10% with the NYSE down 22% and the NASDAQ down 38% after his eight years in office. NO solutions for problems related to immigration or healthcare either. And, of course, there was 9/11 on his watch.
Does the United States, or the world for that matter, need a Bush 45?
554
Come now, blaming 43 for the long-brewing failure of Chrysler and GM carries it a bit too far. Mismanagement, poor design, mediocre quality and high costs (both ridiculous UAW wage and benefit packages and royal treatment for exectives) ultimately did these two staggering monoliths in. Bush 43 had very little, if anything, to do with any of those factors.
1
True, but some of Clinton's policies came to hurt the economy during Bush--the deregulation of some wall st. standards written after the depression, sub prime mortgages--{housing under A. Cuomo }. The 9/11 planning happened during Clinton's years, and Clinton never paid enough attention to the growing threat after the first World Trade center attack. I dont recall A. Gore even speaking to the growing terrorists threats during his Bush debates or his campaign.
Maureen, my compliments to you on a very well researched piece. We tend to forget our recent history in the Middle East as well as the Bush family legacy. It is important that we are reminded of both. If perchance Jeb Bush does win the Republican primary, one would hope that he would follow in his father's foot-steps. George W. Bush along with his presidential vice-president, Cheney, did wrong by invading Iraq. The Republican Party can spin it upside down and sideways, but the fact remains it was the worst decision of the new 21st Century. Our soldiers have paid a heavy price as has our nation.
The Middle East is a mess, and I for one thank our President's commitment to keep our military's boots out of there. Obama inherited a nightmare. I pray that if Jeb Bush is our next president, or for that matter any other Republican, he will have the wisdom and courage to keep our military safe and free from injury, death, or trauma.
The Middle East is a mess, and I for one thank our President's commitment to keep our military's boots out of there. Obama inherited a nightmare. I pray that if Jeb Bush is our next president, or for that matter any other Republican, he will have the wisdom and courage to keep our military safe and free from injury, death, or trauma.
189
I'm not sure we can keep our military safe and free, but it would be a great change if we kept them here, on our soil, defending America as it should be defended. Not "defending America" by engaging in political wars of choice overseas. Not defending the interests of transnational corporations and American politicians' campaign funds when those interests and those funds increasingly imperil our democracy, our security, our comity, and our self-respect.
116
To quote Robert Deniro from the movie theatre scene in Cape Fear, "hahahahahaha hahahahahaha !"
2
Now Jeb' supporters are trying to present him as a "moderate" although they leave the essential word "dinosaur" out of the description. Jeb lines up in lockstep support of all the misjudgments and errors of his brother and his pappy but still thinks he is "his own man" and deserves to have the opportunity to take the country into more of the same deceptions and fixations as his short-sighted relatives. If it were not for Obama's wimpy fear of pointing fingers, the Bush/Cheney/Powell/Rumsfeld cult of war criminals would be tried as such and Jeb could have the chance to testify on the wisdom of their misjudgments.
11
Ready for 45? No.
32
jeb is his own man, except for when it comes to neocons, powerful pacs, corporations and religious extremists.
30
Ms. Dowd why are you the only person in the media with the courage to speak the truth about these Neocons and their stranglehold on our political system? If they push James Baker aside not to worry Bush (45) is getting wise counsel from Paul Wolfowitz and Josh Bolton.
14
This is good stuff ms Dowd. The fact that Wolfowitz is advising Jeb on foreign policy says all I need to know about Jeb Count me out
50
Wolfowitz and Elliot Abrams, John Bolton and the rest of the neocons.
They and Jeb were fellow neocons in the PNAC organization as far back as 1997. (Project for a New American Century)
They and Jeb were fellow neocons in the PNAC organization as far back as 1997. (Project for a New American Century)
4
Republican/neocon foreign policy has been a catastrophe.
Are the American people dumb enough to put the neocons back in power?
Are the American people dumb enough to put the neocons back in power?
24
I would take, 41, 43 and even 42, over 44 any day. 45 would be most welcome after 44 exits our WH, and scrubs off the graffiti left by 44 on the walls of American history.
1
Unfortunately, should Jeb become 45, "RS," the short-term memory club of voters will rue the day that they forgot that history does indeed repeat itself when you elect closeted neo-con warmongers.
2
I am really not impressed with my presidential choices so far: Right Wing Nuts, Bush Part Trois, or the sleaze of Clinton Part Deux.
There has got to be an alternative.
There has got to be an alternative.
14
If ever the world was in a state of conflict, if ever Americans have been divided, it is now and not tomorrow. Let us ask the powers in authority to approach the President, and in an unprecedented move, ask that he run for a third term. To this person, he is our last hope for rebuilding our Country and inspiring our future generation.
4
If Jeb Bush was named Jeb Jones, would he be able to raise millions of dollars more than other candidates at this stage. Most likely not.
With respect to the Middle East and the policies there (of Bush and/or any other candidate), there are so many inherent contradictions to the situation there, that no candidate should be judged too severely on that front - except for one aspect.
Too often the issues related to the Middle East are framed in military terms - a little bit more, a little bit less, or just right.
Currently, ISIS is more or less infiltrating the USA (and other Western countries) to recruit new supporters. Right under the noses of the US military.
It is a war of ideas - as much as it is a war of arms.
The USA needs to develop a non-military strategy:
1) The Caliphate - each time it has been tried in history - has been a failure for the people - that history lesson needs to be communicated. Religion and politics are not a complimentary mix - ever.
2) political correctness on the issue of "culture" needs to described as a dumb idea - it is fine to welcome the cuisine or music of some countries - but not their culture of violence or corruption. Political correctness has inhibited the valid criticism the characteristics of some cultures, which characteristics are not a positive - they're a negative.
3) the USA has some of the finest marketing minds in the world - it's time to mobilize their talents and create a "swat team" for the battle of ideas.
With respect to the Middle East and the policies there (of Bush and/or any other candidate), there are so many inherent contradictions to the situation there, that no candidate should be judged too severely on that front - except for one aspect.
Too often the issues related to the Middle East are framed in military terms - a little bit more, a little bit less, or just right.
Currently, ISIS is more or less infiltrating the USA (and other Western countries) to recruit new supporters. Right under the noses of the US military.
It is a war of ideas - as much as it is a war of arms.
The USA needs to develop a non-military strategy:
1) The Caliphate - each time it has been tried in history - has been a failure for the people - that history lesson needs to be communicated. Religion and politics are not a complimentary mix - ever.
2) political correctness on the issue of "culture" needs to described as a dumb idea - it is fine to welcome the cuisine or music of some countries - but not their culture of violence or corruption. Political correctness has inhibited the valid criticism the characteristics of some cultures, which characteristics are not a positive - they're a negative.
3) the USA has some of the finest marketing minds in the world - it's time to mobilize their talents and create a "swat team" for the battle of ideas.
8
Alex, it may sound good to Western ears that religion and politics don't mix, and that the caliphate has "failed" each time it has been tried. However, there were several caliphates established after the death of the Prophet Muhammad which lasted hundreds of years : the Rashidun Caliphate,which was at its greatest extent the largest empire in history up until that point , the Abbasid Caliphate which lasted from 750 AD to 1570 AD, and Ottoman Caliphate (1362–1924). If your point is that these caliphates failed because they no longer exist, then a similar failure can be attributed to the Roman Empire, the British Empire , the French Empire and the Mongol Empire.
Your point about the violence and corruption in some national cultures is ironic , given the fact that both Canada and the United States are originally European settler colonies which took land by force from the original inhabitants.
While people can condemn ISIS for an incorrect interpretation of Islam, they must proceed from a basic knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah , and the great marketing minds of Americans can't do that. Muslims will have to defeat ISIS, not Americans or Canadians who view the world and other nations from an ethnocentric point of view. The majority of the violence in our world from 1914 to the present wasn't not done by Muslim extremists, a fact which most be in the West seem to forget.
Your point about the violence and corruption in some national cultures is ironic , given the fact that both Canada and the United States are originally European settler colonies which took land by force from the original inhabitants.
While people can condemn ISIS for an incorrect interpretation of Islam, they must proceed from a basic knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah , and the great marketing minds of Americans can't do that. Muslims will have to defeat ISIS, not Americans or Canadians who view the world and other nations from an ethnocentric point of view. The majority of the violence in our world from 1914 to the present wasn't not done by Muslim extremists, a fact which most be in the West seem to forget.
2
In the minds of the people of ISIS, there was in fact a glorious time when the caliphate was inmmesely successful: ca. 600 AD when Muhammad established the religion. This group seeks to take society back to that time, skipping all the intervening issues.
3
As an American by birth and an Israeli citizen by choice, I find the current mission of the Republican leadership to enforce a rigid pro-Israel loyalty oath among its membership to be cynical and potentially destructive to the US-Israeli relationship. But then, we are talking about politicians, not statesmen.
My support for Israel is deep and heart-felt. My feelings towards Netanyahu are the opposite. This Republican-Netanyahu courtship is a cartoonish, dangerous game that both sides are playing for their respective domestic political agendas. Let us view it for what it is -- narrow-minded individuals proclaiming grand things while really thinking more of themselves than those they are hired to represent.
My support for Israel is deep and heart-felt. My feelings towards Netanyahu are the opposite. This Republican-Netanyahu courtship is a cartoonish, dangerous game that both sides are playing for their respective domestic political agendas. Let us view it for what it is -- narrow-minded individuals proclaiming grand things while really thinking more of themselves than those they are hired to represent.
540
Thank you so much. Eloquent, heartfelt, and spot on.
9
"Narrow minded individuals ... thinking more of themselves than those they are hired to represent", unfortunately speaks to most of our Congress people. Shameful, with the GOP leading the way.
3
As a Jewish American, I don't cotton to Jeb Bush telling me that J Street, an organization of Jewish Americans who believe in things I do, is "anti-Israel." Bush has a lot of chutzpah to tell American Jews we are "anti-Israel." Azoy fil ritzinoyl zol er oystrinkn. ("He should drink too much castor oil.")
42
The GOP relies heavily on bad-faith arguments and mischaracterizations, as well as (if useful) outright lies. We've seen it over and over, so it's odd that Ms. Dowd has never noticed. And Bill Kristol?? The man is a buffoon in a nice suit, totally to be ignored since he's been consistently in the wrong on every major issue.
23
George H.W. Bush was lauded for having cerebral smarts; George W. Bush for having emotional intelligence; and Jeb shows neither. John Ellis Bush, as he takes a crack at foreign policy, is not asking himself what would be prudent, nor is he looking into Netanyahu's eyes for signs of a soul. Jeb is falling into the glib, easy sound bites typical of a House Member. If (Heaven help us all!) Jeb became President, and had to work with the disingenuous, cunning warmonger that is Bibi, he would see how dangerous the Prime Minister is. Jeb's dismissal of Jim Baker's assessments, and his start to feeding Netanyahu from hand, are a bad start for a prospective national leader.
11
An Iraqi friend who has lived here for more than four decades loves America and is despondent. She does not understand what is going on with these presidential elections, nor do I, as an American born. The name of Bush is not mentioned in her household, and she is not too sure about Mrs. Clinton either. Well, there is not too much we can do about it was my quiet reply.
As a matter of course, we would vote for President Obama again, but that is not an option. Watching for the first time Jeb Bush the other evening, confirming that he is 'smarter' than his brother is not enough for this American or anyone I know.
He is glib and appealing in a boyish way, every mother's dream of a fine son, and I expected him at any moment to utter the words "aw shucks". A powerful team of political experts behind him, a strong financial backing, some fine experience as a governor in one of our most important States, he lacks sophistication and diplomacy. He knows little about the Middle East, and his communication skills with other leaders on a global-basis are going to be wanting.
The only redeeming factor that comes to mind is that it is going to take a Republican to give the boot to the insidious and well-rooted 'Tea Party' that has been going on at our expense and is costly and dangerous entertainment.
What is the political forecast? I would not know. Other more finely tuned minds may have the answer. Should one hazard a guess? America may become an insular Super Power.
As a matter of course, we would vote for President Obama again, but that is not an option. Watching for the first time Jeb Bush the other evening, confirming that he is 'smarter' than his brother is not enough for this American or anyone I know.
He is glib and appealing in a boyish way, every mother's dream of a fine son, and I expected him at any moment to utter the words "aw shucks". A powerful team of political experts behind him, a strong financial backing, some fine experience as a governor in one of our most important States, he lacks sophistication and diplomacy. He knows little about the Middle East, and his communication skills with other leaders on a global-basis are going to be wanting.
The only redeeming factor that comes to mind is that it is going to take a Republican to give the boot to the insidious and well-rooted 'Tea Party' that has been going on at our expense and is costly and dangerous entertainment.
What is the political forecast? I would not know. Other more finely tuned minds may have the answer. Should one hazard a guess? America may become an insular Super Power.
2
It may have escaped some, but 44 is using the U.S. military in what passes these days for “Iraq”, just as 41 and 43 did. He just apparently has never heard the expression “in for a penny …” And, of course, the primary reason that he must and that the use may need to intensify, was 44’s insistence on manipulating matters to allow him to pull out our military too soon, allowing ISIS a toehold in the first place.
But that’s kinda unfair: while I never supported our turning tail and running, at this point I support the president’s cautious use of air power alone (mostly) – the expeditionary force that some advise mounting would be an immense mistake, forcing us to become regional policeman for a generation. Sometimes, it’s better if selfish to leave Humpty Dumpty in pieces.
As to John Bolton’s NYT’s op-ed, I warned him in a comment that he was going to scare the straights. But he represents a distinct point of view about Iran that has little to do with Israel and a lot to do with attending to matters before they become Shiastan, Sunnistan and Kurdistan.
The Jebster needs to build a coalition of the right, just as the Hillster is pulled ever-left against her better instincts by a need to build a coalition of THAT general mind-set. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t respect that paean of practicality, James Baker, but it also doesn’t mean that he can’t have it both ways – the birthright AND the independence.
Oh, and SOME of us on the right read the NYT BEFORE anything else.
But that’s kinda unfair: while I never supported our turning tail and running, at this point I support the president’s cautious use of air power alone (mostly) – the expeditionary force that some advise mounting would be an immense mistake, forcing us to become regional policeman for a generation. Sometimes, it’s better if selfish to leave Humpty Dumpty in pieces.
As to John Bolton’s NYT’s op-ed, I warned him in a comment that he was going to scare the straights. But he represents a distinct point of view about Iran that has little to do with Israel and a lot to do with attending to matters before they become Shiastan, Sunnistan and Kurdistan.
The Jebster needs to build a coalition of the right, just as the Hillster is pulled ever-left against her better instincts by a need to build a coalition of THAT general mind-set. It doesn’t mean that he doesn’t respect that paean of practicality, James Baker, but it also doesn’t mean that he can’t have it both ways – the birthright AND the independence.
Oh, and SOME of us on the right read the NYT BEFORE anything else.
2
It is ludicrous to hint that preemptive bombing of Iran would be a fortuitous way of "attending to matters before they become Shiastan, Sunnistan and Kurdistan. Talk about "in for a penny;" how about "stepping into it." Should we have bombed the USSR during the Cuban missile crisis to keep Havana fr becoming Soviet? As for the Mid-East, it seems neo-cons have acquired nothing of humility and only a more malignant hubris.
Obama did not "pull out our military too soon" fr Iraq. He cut our losses rather than perpetuate the disastrous Bush occupation. Staying in a British Empire-style way would not have disallowed ISIS. Think of what the Brits wound up facing throughout their empire. ISIS would still have formed and out troops would have to be policing them at great expense of life and treasure. Yes, if we had continued the Bush occupation we would have "become regional policeman for a generation," much as we would have if had continued militarily in Vietnam. We would have earned a legacy as a reviled overlord.
Yes, the Mid-East "Humpty Dumpty" is in pieces alright, having been cracking up for a very long time, but bombing the shards isn't going to result in one or several new eggs being formed.
Obama did not "pull out our military too soon" fr Iraq. He cut our losses rather than perpetuate the disastrous Bush occupation. Staying in a British Empire-style way would not have disallowed ISIS. Think of what the Brits wound up facing throughout their empire. ISIS would still have formed and out troops would have to be policing them at great expense of life and treasure. Yes, if we had continued the Bush occupation we would have "become regional policeman for a generation," much as we would have if had continued militarily in Vietnam. We would have earned a legacy as a reviled overlord.
Yes, the Mid-East "Humpty Dumpty" is in pieces alright, having been cracking up for a very long time, but bombing the shards isn't going to result in one or several new eggs being formed.
3
The conservative movement in the U.S. gets more monolithic every year. It bears some similarities to a cult: no divergence from the accepted dogmas and doctrines is tolerated; anyone not holding those views in textbook conformity is regarded as an enemy; an atmosphere of fear and suspicion pervades its own ranks; a few very wealthy people at the top determine those doctrines; the rest of the world is regarded as a mortal enemy, the only option against which is total annihilation, a zero-sum game; no compromise or diplomacy is possible with anyone outside of the cult; the use of violence and the threat of violence is the only possible means of securing its objectives; there is character assassination of anyone and everyone outside of the blessed circle, especially apostates or defectors....
No wonder poor Jeb is a bit toungue-tied. He is trying to project independence within a group which cannot tolerate independent thinking, even as it claims to champion individuality...
No wonder poor Jeb is a bit toungue-tied. He is trying to project independence within a group which cannot tolerate independent thinking, even as it claims to champion individuality...
25
Dear Jeb,
Our nation is very sorry that you weren't the Bush son elected to the White House in 2000. You might have been wiser, more mature, less apt to be bullied into two misbegotten wars by egotistical, ideological nuts. But now the country doesn't need a re-run of your little brother. For all your claims that you are your own man, your choice of advisers is telling the voters otherwise. Please love your nation enough to go away quietly. The Bush dynasty has come to an end.
Our nation is very sorry that you weren't the Bush son elected to the White House in 2000. You might have been wiser, more mature, less apt to be bullied into two misbegotten wars by egotistical, ideological nuts. But now the country doesn't need a re-run of your little brother. For all your claims that you are your own man, your choice of advisers is telling the voters otherwise. Please love your nation enough to go away quietly. The Bush dynasty has come to an end.
72
Jeb Bush would probably not have been wiser than his brother GW.
Jeb was a signatory to the mission statement of the neocon "Project for a New American Century" (PNAC) run out of the American Enterprise Institute.
PNAC published a manifesto (" Rebuilding America’s Defenses") in 2000 outlining the neocon policy of military buildup and preemptive invasions. PNAC sent a letter to President Clinton in 2000 arguing for invasion of Iraq at that time.
Jeb Bush was a neocon before his brother George.
A vote for Jeb is a vote for broader warfare.
Jeb was a signatory to the mission statement of the neocon "Project for a New American Century" (PNAC) run out of the American Enterprise Institute.
PNAC published a manifesto (" Rebuilding America’s Defenses") in 2000 outlining the neocon policy of military buildup and preemptive invasions. PNAC sent a letter to President Clinton in 2000 arguing for invasion of Iraq at that time.
Jeb Bush was a neocon before his brother George.
A vote for Jeb is a vote for broader warfare.
8
So, the past six years plus of Obama have had no impact on foreign developments?
Is there anyone less honest, less twisted on policy, potentially running in 2016 than Hillary Clinton?
(As for differing advisors, I thought Doris KG's admiration for Lincoln's cabinet of rivals was lauded by liberals.)
Is there anyone less honest, less twisted on policy, potentially running in 2016 than Hillary Clinton?
(As for differing advisors, I thought Doris KG's admiration for Lincoln's cabinet of rivals was lauded by liberals.)
1
James Baker was the leader of George H. W. Bush's successful foreign policy team who managed the post-soviet transition of Europe and building an alliance against Iraq after they invaded Kuwait. If Jeb Bush distances himself from Baker, he distances himself from the most important part of his father's policy. He might plan to do it only for the primary's duration, but how could he then invoke his father's foreign policy successes in the general election?
7
The Republican Party seems interested only in Netanyahu boosters, evangelical Christians who want to bring the End Times more quickly.
SO glad for 44.
SO glad for 44.
14
A candidate has to bring more to the Presidency than just wanting it and being willing to say anything to anyone to get it. This applies to Clinton too.
4
A Clinton, a Bush, and a Dowd? What is this, the 90's?
With Mo taking a break from bashing Hillary back to bashing a Bush, why do I feel like I'm having a vuja de of the last 20+ years? Different from deja vu, vuja de is something you're reliving, but absolutely never wanted to relive.
With Mo taking a break from bashing Hillary back to bashing a Bush, why do I feel like I'm having a vuja de of the last 20+ years? Different from deja vu, vuja de is something you're reliving, but absolutely never wanted to relive.
7
Let's face it - Jeb Bush is perhaps the sensible and pragmatic Republican. The rest are frankly a bunch of climate change denying, warmongering, Religiously bigoted, economy destroying, adelson loving but jobs. We need two strong political parties for the health of our democracy. I yearn for the days of George Bush -41 and Baker. They oversaw the peaceful transition of the Eastern bloc countries, beat back Saddan without unleashing hell in the Middle East and kept the crazies in their party in check. By casting Jeb Bush in the image of his brother risks the unintended effect of moving the Republican Party into the irrecoverable death spiral of extremism that will only be bad for our country. Imagine if someone with the thinking and politics of Jim Baker actually became the Republican Party nominee, America would have been better for it. Amazing that republicans lionize Reagan but denounce the core of who he was and what he did and the people who were leaders of his "revolution."
6
Wow, I didn't know Maureen Dowd was a foreign policy expert. I'm sure there is A LOT of disagreement about how we got where we are today. Surely Mr. Obama has had his hand in the "goddamn free fall." You remember, red lines and all that jazz?
2
I feel bad for the country and bad for Jeb. I actually think Jeb would have made a good president though I do not agree with him on much. No doubt, he would have been better than W (then again I seriously doubt we will have a worse president than W in the next 100 years). Jeb is a thoughtful and balanced politician and while that may make a good president, it makes a really horrible Republican candidate for the GOP nomination given the GOP of today.
See in the past, a candidate actually went out on the stump with his own opinions before they were focused grouped. While the candidate might have tailored his comments here and there, primary voters were patient enough to hear the man out. In the GOP of today, the fringe elements of the party, be they the neocons on foreign policy or the tea party on fiscal issues (Grover Norquist for example), hands the candidate his vetted and approved talking points for public release out on the stump. Stray from approved GOP orthodoxy (no tax cuts, no common core, no Obamacare, no military spending cuts, blind-unquestioning support of Israel, no immigration reform) and the candidate guarantees himself verbal assaults on FOX, Right Wing blogs and Right Wing talk radio.
Jeb is going to have a hard time meeting the standard. If by some chance he does satisfy them and gets the nomination, we won't be voting for Jeb. We'll be voting for some radicalized sell-out version of Jeb. And I didn't want him in the first place.
See in the past, a candidate actually went out on the stump with his own opinions before they were focused grouped. While the candidate might have tailored his comments here and there, primary voters were patient enough to hear the man out. In the GOP of today, the fringe elements of the party, be they the neocons on foreign policy or the tea party on fiscal issues (Grover Norquist for example), hands the candidate his vetted and approved talking points for public release out on the stump. Stray from approved GOP orthodoxy (no tax cuts, no common core, no Obamacare, no military spending cuts, blind-unquestioning support of Israel, no immigration reform) and the candidate guarantees himself verbal assaults on FOX, Right Wing blogs and Right Wing talk radio.
Jeb is going to have a hard time meeting the standard. If by some chance he does satisfy them and gets the nomination, we won't be voting for Jeb. We'll be voting for some radicalized sell-out version of Jeb. And I didn't want him in the first place.
11
There is nothing balanced about Jeb Bush except his verbal machinations to appeal to moderates.
6
The American voter needs to distance itself from the Bushes as well as the Clinton's. The willingness of Jeb Bush to pander to the neocons reminds one why both he and Hillary Clinton would likely be Bush 43 redux and the sequel to the Richard Nixon horror show respectively. Better to have a race featuring fresh blood like Elizabeth Warren vs. a Republican with conviction...there must be somebody out there?...then a replay of big oil and gas (Bush) and wall street (Clinton). To paraphrase a classic rock song; "we don't need no stinkin Bushes and Clintons anymore".
6
False equivalency. The Clintons are much better than the Bushes.
9
Makes you wonder if John "Bomb Iran" Bolton is an advisor to Jeb "I'm my own man" Bush.
11
Yes, he is. Yet another reason to avoid JEB.
8
Maureen certainly demonstrates that Jeb's ability to pull a pony out of the manure pile that is current Republican foreign policy thinking will be sorely tested.
But what also went unsaid by Maureen was that all three Bushes need advisers to tell them what to think with regard to foreign policy--at the most basic level. The first Bush at least had Brent Scowcroft and James Baker whispering in his ear. But the two sons are unguided missiles.
Now that I've seen the prospective Republican candidates I sort of wonder who the prospective cabinet candidates for Defense, State, and Treasury might be? That'll keep you up at nights!
But what also went unsaid by Maureen was that all three Bushes need advisers to tell them what to think with regard to foreign policy--at the most basic level. The first Bush at least had Brent Scowcroft and James Baker whispering in his ear. But the two sons are unguided missiles.
Now that I've seen the prospective Republican candidates I sort of wonder who the prospective cabinet candidates for Defense, State, and Treasury might be? That'll keep you up at nights!
31
With all the baggage Jeb has, he may still be the best the GOP h as to offer. Look around. Who else is there? The crazy Cuban who came through Canada? Rand Paul who has his own family baggage to deal with? The union busting Governor from Wisconsin with no foreign relations experience, let alone a college degree?
The best thing going for the Republicans is parts of the country is tired of Clinton Inc., Elizabeth Warren lacks much experience and no other Democrat has found any footing.
The best thing going for the Republicans is parts of the country is tired of Clinton Inc., Elizabeth Warren lacks much experience and no other Democrat has found any footing.
6
Ready for 45? NO!
We don't need a Bush dynasty, whether Jeb is smarter than W or not. Pandering to Fox News alone should disqualify him from being a presidential candidate.
As for Baker, you have to admire his toughness. He said in an CNN interview that when he saw Netanyahu, as Deputy Foreign Minister, say that American policy in the Middle East is based on lies and distortion, he (Baker) said, "now wait a minute, we wouldn't take that from the deputy foreign minister of Soviet Union. We're darned sure not going to take it from the deputy foreign minister of a country for whom we do so much, and I barred him from the state department."
Jeb wanting him to distance himself from Baker is another reason he shouldn't even be considered for the GOP nomination.
We don't need a Bush dynasty, whether Jeb is smarter than W or not. Pandering to Fox News alone should disqualify him from being a presidential candidate.
As for Baker, you have to admire his toughness. He said in an CNN interview that when he saw Netanyahu, as Deputy Foreign Minister, say that American policy in the Middle East is based on lies and distortion, he (Baker) said, "now wait a minute, we wouldn't take that from the deputy foreign minister of Soviet Union. We're darned sure not going to take it from the deputy foreign minister of a country for whom we do so much, and I barred him from the state department."
Jeb wanting him to distance himself from Baker is another reason he shouldn't even be considered for the GOP nomination.
17
I bet Jeb won't make the cut. He is just too bland. Trying to be on the right side of things all the time will only leave him on the wrong side of everyone in his scary Party. The fact that he is distancing himself from a True American, the wise former Secretary of State, James Baker III shows a distinct lack of judgement. As for the "monolithic thinking" from the likes of Kristol, the less said the better. It was the pack of monoliths of his Party which has resulted in the quagmire we find ourselves to-day. What we need are adults and sanity. James Baker is one such and in his infinite wisdom is trying to impart some sanity. Only if the nincompoops had the brain to recognize it.
11
Romney was bland as well but the big money donors will pick bland over crazy. Bland is easier to control.
3
What was especially unsettling about John Bolton's screed Thursday in The Times about the perceived need to pre-emptively bomb Iran is that he's precisely the kind of bellicose ideologue whom the Bushes bring to senior positions in government.
Serial inciters such as he, Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz -- alumni of both the Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations -- learn nothing from their tragic mistakes. If anything, their instinct is to double down.
Even scarier is the thought that they have schooled a younger generation of neocons on the joys of warmongering -- notably State Department alumna Liz Cheney -- who are always at the ready to grab the baton. Imagine the additional damage that can be done by giving this crowd access to the machinery of foreign policy for four or eight more years.
Because of their brand of misguided adventurism, our country has lost unconscionable amounts of blood and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan. And more than six years after he left, we're still nowhere near cleaning up the messes made by Bush 43.
What, then, could possibly motivate a rational American to seriously contemplate a Bush 45?
Serial inciters such as he, Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz -- alumni of both the Bush 41 and Bush 43 administrations -- learn nothing from their tragic mistakes. If anything, their instinct is to double down.
Even scarier is the thought that they have schooled a younger generation of neocons on the joys of warmongering -- notably State Department alumna Liz Cheney -- who are always at the ready to grab the baton. Imagine the additional damage that can be done by giving this crowd access to the machinery of foreign policy for four or eight more years.
Because of their brand of misguided adventurism, our country has lost unconscionable amounts of blood and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan. And more than six years after he left, we're still nowhere near cleaning up the messes made by Bush 43.
What, then, could possibly motivate a rational American to seriously contemplate a Bush 45?
64
Tom Cotton the Arkansas Senator who feels entitled to end run the President on Iran is a Bill Kristol devotee. We can't get rid of this bunch fast enough.
6
... We don't need monolithic thinking here? Does Mr. Bush understand the term, monolithic? He'd better, because he's about to embark on the groveling tour for just such a concept. I can't wait to see how it works out for this chameleon!
6
Jeb might be a little smarter than his brother, but what does he stand for? I cannot believe anybody of some intelligence admits to watching Fox news instead of reading a newspaper. Does he realize that according to fact checker Pundifact, Fox News was found to have only told the truth 18 percent (15 of 83) of the time for the statements they checked. And even of that 18 percent, only 8 percent of what they said was completely “True.” The other 10 percent was rated as “Mostly True.” A staggering 60 percent (50 of 83) comments were found to be either “Mostly False,” “False,” or “Pants on Fire.” The other 22 percent were rated “Half True.” Essentially well over half of what Punditfact has fact-checked on Fox News has been a lie and only 18 percent has been deemed factual.
They also found- as for MSNBC, they were found to have been honest about 31 percent of the time, while 48 percent of the comments they had fact-checked were deemed untrue. Actually CNN had the best record. So Jeb needs to realize he is getting fake news so better check his facts before going too far. But I guess if that is where most of the republicans get their news he shouldnt be surprised and will fit right in. I am a democrat so partisan, but I do feel Jeb is the least looney of the candidates in the clown car.
They also found- as for MSNBC, they were found to have been honest about 31 percent of the time, while 48 percent of the comments they had fact-checked were deemed untrue. Actually CNN had the best record. So Jeb needs to realize he is getting fake news so better check his facts before going too far. But I guess if that is where most of the republicans get their news he shouldnt be surprised and will fit right in. I am a democrat so partisan, but I do feel Jeb is the least looney of the candidates in the clown car.
18
Perhaps Jeb Bush is an astute fox to watch Fox News and not get drowned in a panel of political experts on CNN which probably few people take the time to watch. Any time this American wants to know the 'weather' and mood of our Country, I turn to this channel briefly to gauge the temperature. There is nothing 'looney' to my mind about Jeb Bush, and he fits the portrait of an American president like home-made apple pie. We are going to take to him like lame ducks, and he is going to make short shift of his detractors with a shrug. Even apples at times can be poisonous and hard to digest for some of us.
We're in trouble, but we won't notice this for awhile because a great majority of us are busy trying to make our daily bread and are living on a diet of blind hope, not noticing perhaps fortunately that the Middle Class is gone, and the President at this moment is trying his best to repair it.
We're in trouble, but we won't notice this for awhile because a great majority of us are busy trying to make our daily bread and are living on a diet of blind hope, not noticing perhaps fortunately that the Middle Class is gone, and the President at this moment is trying his best to repair it.
2
The question if Jeb Bush can ever be his own man has already been resoundingly and unequivocally answered supported by cold, hard facts. No.
19
" The best way to deal with another entity is to bomb it ? "
This race is getting curiouser and curiouser.
This race is getting curiouser and curiouser.
5
The Human race?
Yes... it is rather quaintly insane, isn't it?
Yes... it is rather quaintly insane, isn't it?
I'm beginning to wonder who carries the most baggage into the new election season: Bush, his neo-con tribe and entitled family, or Hillary, her lady macbeth persona and undisciplined husband. To the contrary, does America really want another 1st term Senator to fawn over?
Like so many of the bridges and roads in the country, it's becoming clearer with every news-cycle that America's political process desperately needs some renovation. Presidential Election, the Sequel. Take 45!
Like so many of the bridges and roads in the country, it's becoming clearer with every news-cycle that America's political process desperately needs some renovation. Presidential Election, the Sequel. Take 45!
1
Looks like we're gonna see the etch a sketch strategy again.
And perhaps another war while we're still fighting the first one.
I'm 63 years old and a New Hampshire native, he may win the NH primary but he will be destroyed in this swing state in a general election.
So there you go.......
And perhaps another war while we're still fighting the first one.
I'm 63 years old and a New Hampshire native, he may win the NH primary but he will be destroyed in this swing state in a general election.
So there you go.......
11
One other thing. When Lincoln had a 'team of rivals' telling him diametrically opposed things, he was a genius. Jeb has more than one opinion in his camp and he's hypocritical and weak and divided and not his own man.
And, I'd be more than happy if we moved on from Bushes, as long as we can also move on from Clintons.
And, I'd be more than happy if we moved on from Bushes, as long as we can also move on from Clintons.
5
...And move onto the world of Adelson and AIPAC.
5
I always wonder how people post comments an hour before the piece even shows up. I was refreshing the screen hoping Sunday Review would come up and it only came up at 6:05 pm or so, with comments already.
Anyway, it's always funny when people cite the 'majority' when it suits them; but challenge the minority when it doesn't.
Either way, Baker has a long history of anti-Israeli stances. Even when Israel was offering nearly everything Arafat wanted, he was still blaming Israel. Now Israel certainly was wrong about some things; but Baker never seemed to criticize the other side for their malfeasance. His focus was always on Israel's flaws. So frankly, I don't much value his take on the subject and think Jeb Bush is right to both listen to his counsel and take what he chooses (rightly or wrongly) from it. That's not a sign of weakness or 'incoherence.'
Anyway, it's always funny when people cite the 'majority' when it suits them; but challenge the minority when it doesn't.
Either way, Baker has a long history of anti-Israeli stances. Even when Israel was offering nearly everything Arafat wanted, he was still blaming Israel. Now Israel certainly was wrong about some things; but Baker never seemed to criticize the other side for their malfeasance. His focus was always on Israel's flaws. So frankly, I don't much value his take on the subject and think Jeb Bush is right to both listen to his counsel and take what he chooses (rightly or wrongly) from it. That's not a sign of weakness or 'incoherence.'
3
As Maureen says, the majority of Jewish Americans don't align themselves with Bill Kristol, Bibi Netnayahu and Sheldon Adelson who want to buy the US presidency so they can use it to further Israeli interests. And their top priority is to get the US to invade Iran, just as their first priority in 2003 was to get the US to invade Iraq, American lives be damned. So, no, Jeb should not listen to a word they say--unless he's running for office in Israel!
10
"Baker has a long history of anti-Israeli stances"
Those were pro-American stances, as they should be.
Those were pro-American stances, as they should be.
9
The sad thing is we know it won't be all that long before James Baker and his generation pass into history, leaving us no living memory of what responsible Republican foreign policy looks like. He gave a courageous speech at the J Street event, certainly knowing how it might squeeze Jeb. Good for him for going through with it. Baker has long known Netanyahu to be a demagogue and a dissembler.
It is too tiring (or depressing) to ask how or why Bill Kristol has any credibility left in Washington, or in elite Republican circles, given his past proposals and pronouncements. Ms. Dowd is right, his Twitter nonsense likely led Jeb to smear J Street, a strong friend of Israel, and to look both feckless and foolish in the process. He has no idea what showing leadership really means. Jeb is giving every indication that he would grovel before Bibi, at least in the primary season, if not long thereafter. I don't see any evidence Baker or others in the old gang would guide his foreign policy.
It is too tiring (or depressing) to ask how or why Bill Kristol has any credibility left in Washington, or in elite Republican circles, given his past proposals and pronouncements. Ms. Dowd is right, his Twitter nonsense likely led Jeb to smear J Street, a strong friend of Israel, and to look both feckless and foolish in the process. He has no idea what showing leadership really means. Jeb is giving every indication that he would grovel before Bibi, at least in the primary season, if not long thereafter. I don't see any evidence Baker or others in the old gang would guide his foreign policy.
14
Ms. Dowd: this is a splendid column. You lay bare for all to see that a Jeb Bush presidency would be an unqualified disaster for America. Secretary Baker's comments reveal--in the highest relief possible--the abyss into which the national dialog has fallen when the subject is the U. S.-Israeli "alliance." Gov. Bush is not only "unformed" about foreign policy (as you so diplomatically phrased it), the governor is also ungracious to a man to whom his father is indebted, but also naive to the dangerous point of being willing to accept unwise and perilous counsel from belligerents with an unhappy recent history, a history that destroyed his brother's presidency. Gov. Bush will never be "his own man" in foreign policy. He will be ever open to the persuasion of the predatory and the unscrupulous. John Bolton's de facto declaration of war against Iran--all for Israel's benefit--found favor with Gov. Bush; he lacked the decency to disavow it himself, instead hiding behind a subordinate's email. That a moderate Secretary Baker is a target of the wrathful Right is hardly a surprise, given the vitriol directed at President Obama by Congress. The 47 signatures to an astonishing letter to the Iranian government by Republican senators and the Netanyahu address to Congress are proof of that. Neocons like Mr. Bolton are pythons, lying in wait to swallow the careless, the unwary, the "unformed."
18
"Many polls show that its (= J Street) views reflect the majority of American Jewish opinion".
Many polls conducted apparently by J Street and the issue revolves around Mr. Obama and support for or against his policies and not J Street's policies per se, such as supporting BDS. The veracity of the polls have been questioned and alas many Jews and non-Jews would agree with Jeb Bush that J Street "basically has anti-Israeli sentiments."
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/10/mystery-shrouds-j-street-claim-that...
US Middle Eastern policy, after 6 years of President Obama is muddled, actually it is in chaos, because of Mr. Obama. Time to stop blaming others. Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and the last 6 years in Iraq all are under the Obama administrations watch.
Many polls conducted apparently by J Street and the issue revolves around Mr. Obama and support for or against his policies and not J Street's policies per se, such as supporting BDS. The veracity of the polls have been questioned and alas many Jews and non-Jews would agree with Jeb Bush that J Street "basically has anti-Israeli sentiments."
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/02/10/mystery-shrouds-j-street-claim-that...
US Middle Eastern policy, after 6 years of President Obama is muddled, actually it is in chaos, because of Mr. Obama. Time to stop blaming others. Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and the last 6 years in Iraq all are under the Obama administrations watch.
2
Hey, Josh, it is still infinitely better than it was under Bush.
4
All due to GW Bush and his neocons opening the gates of hell by invading Iraq, unleashing sectarian violence throughout the region.
10
J street does NOT support BDS. Never has. Go look at its press files on line. This is a long-held position. And yes, J Street's positions are exactly where the overwhelming majority of American Jews are.
1
You have it partly right but tend to leave advisers of Bush 41 unscathed in describing foreign policy hacks of Bush 43 as 'Neanderthals'. The Jim Baker's of that administration cozied up to the Saudis and that became a big part in the mess that we're in now with sectarian violence in the region.
They are all Neanderthals: Baker, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowicz and Jeb Bush too. What's the old saying about, "Fool me once......."?
They are all Neanderthals: Baker, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowicz and Jeb Bush too. What's the old saying about, "Fool me once......."?
12
Bush 41, et al misled Saddam into invading Kuwait -- US Ambassador April Glaspie led Saddam to believe the US would look the other way if he invaded Kuwait.
3
It's a terribly sad state of affairs in the USA when all we hear about for the 2016 election are the names Bush and Clinton.True,the Repubs have other candidates but my God,not another Bush or Clinton in the Oval Office ever again.Both families have done enough damage already.The Bushes did it with their incessant wars and the billions made from the wars by the defense industrial complex corporations.The Clintons did it by their lust for money and power and their total disdain for the average citizen.There are two sets of rules in the Clinton psyche,the rules us mere peasants must follow and the special rules for the Clintons exempting them from following any rules.But we've had the supposed constitutional law expert occupying the WHouse for the last 6 years and he follows his own rules that defy the constitution.Are we in the 2015 USA or ancient Rome circa 470AD as it dissolved into chaos?
6
Kudos to Jim Baker, the only realist and pragmatist in Jeb's orbit. Baker's criticism of Netahyahu was spot-on, but the ever-salivating neocons will surely convince "45" of the error in Baker's ways and advice. Let us NOT invade the Middle East for yet a third time under a Bush. We (and Obama) have our hands full in dealing with the denouement of the first two failed attempts.
11
With two Bushes already in hand,
It should be clear across your land,
That you need another Bush,
Like you need another tush,
Unless you're looking to expand.
It should be clear across your land,
That you need another Bush,
Like you need another tush,
Unless you're looking to expand.
22
The final monetary cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will be between $4 and $6 trillion — and most of those costs have yet to be paid, according to a 2013 Harvard University study.
Harvard professor Linda Bilmes says the Iraq and Afghanistan wars together will be the most expensive in US history when long-term medical and disability costs are factored in.
“The legacy of decisions taken during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will dominate future federal budgets for decades to come” said Bilmes.
And then there's the 100,000-plus deaths from George W's Neo-Con-Artist Wild Adventure with other people's lives and money.
And then there's the completely destabilized Middle East, thanks to Neo-Con stupidity, arrogance and incompetence.
So much for Republican fiscal conservatism and foreign policy expertise.
What else has the worst generation of Bush's given us ?
Neil Bush was a member of the board of directors of Denver-based Silverado Savings and Loan during the 1980s' S&L crisis; Silverado's collapse cost taxpayers $1.3 billion --- the authors of "Inside Job", a book about the S&L scandal, found criminal activity at every S&L they investigated.
George W. Bush cut taxes while starting two wars - the singularly most spectacular act of fiscal recklessness in American history.
Jeb Bush helped rig the 2000 election, likes to interfere with family planning decisions and wants to privatize the public school systems.
This generation of Bushes are America's manmade catastrophes.
Harvard professor Linda Bilmes says the Iraq and Afghanistan wars together will be the most expensive in US history when long-term medical and disability costs are factored in.
“The legacy of decisions taken during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars will dominate future federal budgets for decades to come” said Bilmes.
And then there's the 100,000-plus deaths from George W's Neo-Con-Artist Wild Adventure with other people's lives and money.
And then there's the completely destabilized Middle East, thanks to Neo-Con stupidity, arrogance and incompetence.
So much for Republican fiscal conservatism and foreign policy expertise.
What else has the worst generation of Bush's given us ?
Neil Bush was a member of the board of directors of Denver-based Silverado Savings and Loan during the 1980s' S&L crisis; Silverado's collapse cost taxpayers $1.3 billion --- the authors of "Inside Job", a book about the S&L scandal, found criminal activity at every S&L they investigated.
George W. Bush cut taxes while starting two wars - the singularly most spectacular act of fiscal recklessness in American history.
Jeb Bush helped rig the 2000 election, likes to interfere with family planning decisions and wants to privatize the public school systems.
This generation of Bushes are America's manmade catastrophes.
374
And to think that the choices we'll have are the new Bush or the new Clinton. You couldn't make this stuff up!
3
Your byline MIAMI, Maureen - "Ready for 45" - is disturbing to all of us who watched two Bush presidents, 41 and 43, make sausage of the Middle East. Bill Kristol and his "monolithic thinkers" should be ashamed for their roles in fomenting GWBush's failed incursions into Iraq and Afghanistan. Jeb, disavowing James Baker (one of his Dad's eminence grises, and in large part to blame for the two-term and one-term failed Bush administrations), will not be an "oddly important moment" in the GOP race. Your clever use of the word "Meerkatting" - i.e.Jeb "groveling" to his big-monied Texas base - base Texans - is kewl. And calling the "masters of monolith" to task for creating the "Frankenstein of ISIS" is even neater! Jeb will never be "45". Winning a larger Jewish vote won't shoehorn a third Bush into the White House. Jeb isn't a tabula rasa - he's the same ol' same ol' Bush pushed by the same ol' Republican neo-cons, Rove, Cheney, W, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Kristol. And avowing that not reading the New York Times and disagreeing with people like Baker and the whole cabal shows Jeb's leadership as "his own man" is a dreadful canard. Followship is what Jeb is all about.
11
On this basis, I'd vote for James Baker for president. It IS possible to support both Israel and Palestine. They both have different narratives on their history; neither is totally correct, neither is totally wrong. This absurd notion that ANY criticism of Israel policy is anti-Semitic is ridiculous. And it is even more ridiculous to push the idea that some "god" out there is a real estate agent who decided that this land belongs to jews.
21
There is, however, history and tradition and also, the UN. Whether you like it or not there have been Jewish people in the Middle East and specifically in what used to be called "Judea" for thousands of years.
That's not "god," it's just fact.
That's not "god," it's just fact.
1
There is nothing in Gov. Bush's background to suggest that he's had a life-long (or even 20-year-long) interest in foreign policy. Everything suggests, rather, that life was a series of bland, grey days until he met his now-wife, who brought a foreign culture and Kodakchrome to Jeb's world. And Gov. Bush loved that. He loved the "bi-cultural" (rather than multi-cultural in his words) world of Miami. But found it a "chore" to travel to China for business. So Gov. Bush is dutifully now trying to appear interested in foreign policy, and has pulled out a grab bag of GOP advisers... that's not good enough for the Presidency today.
18
Say what you will, but Bush 41, James Baker, George Schultz and Brent Scowcroft were brilliantly prescient on Iraq, and offered nuanced and sophisticated views on foreign policy. Bush 43, by contrast, was heavy-handed, short-sighted and destructive.
My hope would be that Jeb Bush would hew closely to the realpolitik worldview espoused by his father, rather than to the neocon worldview that has proved so disastrous.
My hope would be that Jeb Bush would hew closely to the realpolitik worldview espoused by his father, rather than to the neocon worldview that has proved so disastrous.
8
Maureen, really good one today, thanks, and your catty detractors here can go, um, kiss themselves.
I cannot be the only one who feels an overwhelming sense of revulsion at having to endure yet another Bush. I even hated 41, who, as Hunter Thompson put it during Iran Contra (from memory)- "He would seek out and roll around in filth, like a wild hog gone to water, sticking his legs crazily in the air and making strange sounds".
As for W, he was and is the perfect confluence of stupidity, self righteousness, and rigidity. He was always going to fail, and the fact that Iraq was his theater is not relevant. Had 9-11 not happened, Cheney and Rumsfeld would have invaded someplace like Gabon or UAE, as long as it had oil.
Now, the press is trying to sell us Jeb. More personable than Dad or Bro, less extreme, possibly even approaching middling intelligence. Don't be fooled. He is stained with a long family history of blood, incompetence, and greed, like Louis XIV, destined to set the stage for rapid collapse and disintergration. If we elect this man, it's time to get a passport and move to Iceland or Uruguay.
I cannot be the only one who feels an overwhelming sense of revulsion at having to endure yet another Bush. I even hated 41, who, as Hunter Thompson put it during Iran Contra (from memory)- "He would seek out and roll around in filth, like a wild hog gone to water, sticking his legs crazily in the air and making strange sounds".
As for W, he was and is the perfect confluence of stupidity, self righteousness, and rigidity. He was always going to fail, and the fact that Iraq was his theater is not relevant. Had 9-11 not happened, Cheney and Rumsfeld would have invaded someplace like Gabon or UAE, as long as it had oil.
Now, the press is trying to sell us Jeb. More personable than Dad or Bro, less extreme, possibly even approaching middling intelligence. Don't be fooled. He is stained with a long family history of blood, incompetence, and greed, like Louis XIV, destined to set the stage for rapid collapse and disintergration. If we elect this man, it's time to get a passport and move to Iceland or Uruguay.
281
Yes, Mike, and let's not forget Bush the First's dad who was convicted of trading with the enemy.
You're right, if Bush is elected, and has a Republican Congress and Supreme Court, we can pretty much write off what's left of our American democracy.
You're right, if Bush is elected, and has a Republican Congress and Supreme Court, we can pretty much write off what's left of our American democracy.
130
In the end, I think Republicans will come together over Bush. Sadly, he's quite a plausible candidate opposite Clinton. Commenters so far look to me to be overthinking it, missing the monolithic whatever-it-takes-to-win policies of the right. We, on the other hand, prefer to shoot at each other.
It's worth being reminded, however, of how awful the cast of characters here were and are, and how ready they are to make things, which are already pretty bad, much much worse. As far as I can see, not one of them served in the military, they just like sending others to war, and exploiting fear and hatred.
It's worth being reminded, however, of how awful the cast of characters here were and are, and how ready they are to make things, which are already pretty bad, much much worse. As far as I can see, not one of them served in the military, they just like sending others to war, and exploiting fear and hatred.
219
Absolutely right about Republican whatever-it-takes-to-win strategy. And with the Koch Bros pledging to spend $1 billion (and probably more) to complete their takeover of the political system, Bush is the perfect front-man. Put the chicken hawks and oilmen back in control. Hillary-hating Democrats should keep this in mind as they keep themselves "pure" by either not voting or supporting another Ralph Nader in 2016.
7
What a menagerie of some of the most disgusting people to ever have served or advised a president in our history.
Bill Kristol, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, John Bolton. Even Benedict Arnold could not have done a better job of causing over 6800 American military personnel to die in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Do we see or hear Jeb repudiating them? It would appear not. James Baker is just a aid to them here. He now wants to appeal to the Jewish vote in the U.S. He might get the Lubavitches, but the great majority of American Jews are Conservative or Reform. They are educated, many are professors, scientists, lawyers, financiers, it is a professional class of people who can see through the Bush opprobrium. They want to see Israel survive, but will not support it unconditionally.
Starting in the 20th century Jews were treated with scorn and disdain. Harvard had quotas, they had to go to Jewish resorts in the Catskills for vacations. The GOP and the Dixicarats avoided them, now they are courting them. How things change when politicians need to get some support. The GOP has discovered Jews and Latinos, they might even discover Blacks some day. There is an infection among us, it is the GOP worm.
It causes critical thinking to hibernate, until it is to late.
Bill Kristol, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, John Bolton. Even Benedict Arnold could not have done a better job of causing over 6800 American military personnel to die in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Do we see or hear Jeb repudiating them? It would appear not. James Baker is just a aid to them here. He now wants to appeal to the Jewish vote in the U.S. He might get the Lubavitches, but the great majority of American Jews are Conservative or Reform. They are educated, many are professors, scientists, lawyers, financiers, it is a professional class of people who can see through the Bush opprobrium. They want to see Israel survive, but will not support it unconditionally.
Starting in the 20th century Jews were treated with scorn and disdain. Harvard had quotas, they had to go to Jewish resorts in the Catskills for vacations. The GOP and the Dixicarats avoided them, now they are courting them. How things change when politicians need to get some support. The GOP has discovered Jews and Latinos, they might even discover Blacks some day. There is an infection among us, it is the GOP worm.
It causes critical thinking to hibernate, until it is to late.
386
Great comment. It should often be pointed out, that Evangelicals are fair weather friends of the Jews.
13
You left out Condi Rice from your list of rouges and knaves.
5
So it's not just Republican infighting. There's infighting breaking out inside the Bush dynasty. We can only hope the self destruction continues all the way through the election of a non Republican 45.
146
This columns makes some very good points, about American Jews, who are neither one issue voters nor as monolithic as the Republican party. I know one Jewish American who thinks Netanyahu is right about Obama pursuing a bad deal with Iran, but he would still vote for Obama, if he were running today.
However, I am pleased to read something other than complaints about Hillary Clinton, Ms. Dowd's forte or stock in trade. Perhaps Ms. Dowd is being consistent in opposing both dynasties and their political baggage.
However, I am pleased to read something other than complaints about Hillary Clinton, Ms. Dowd's forte or stock in trade. Perhaps Ms. Dowd is being consistent in opposing both dynasties and their political baggage.
123
"I am pleased to read something other than complaints about Hillary Clinton, Ms. Dowd's forte or stock in trade."
Ms. Dowd has another "stock in trade," for those who've been reading the NY Times quite a while. As a punching bag for Ms. Dowd, Hillary Clinton pales by comparison to George W. Bush. GWB has been gone for quite a while, of course (thank goodness), but another Bush on the near horizon has appeared as a readership-resurrector: Jeb! I expect we'll see just a few more anti-Hillary pieces from Ms. Dowd, and a few check-the-box attacks against other prominent politicians (mostly Republican, with a few Democrats tossed in for balance), but after those obligatory obeisances to fairness and balance, it's likely to be pretty much "All Jeb, All the Time" for the next couple of years (and even longer, if he runs and wins).
Ms. Dowd has another "stock in trade," for those who've been reading the NY Times quite a while. As a punching bag for Ms. Dowd, Hillary Clinton pales by comparison to George W. Bush. GWB has been gone for quite a while, of course (thank goodness), but another Bush on the near horizon has appeared as a readership-resurrector: Jeb! I expect we'll see just a few more anti-Hillary pieces from Ms. Dowd, and a few check-the-box attacks against other prominent politicians (mostly Republican, with a few Democrats tossed in for balance), but after those obligatory obeisances to fairness and balance, it's likely to be pretty much "All Jeb, All the Time" for the next couple of years (and even longer, if he runs and wins).
"Perhaps Ms. Dowd is being consistent in opposing both dynasties.."
Ms Dowd, to her credit, has always been an equal-opportunity harasser of both Clintons and Bushes. Meanwhile, Lord deliver us from these twin plagues.
Ms Dowd, to her credit, has always been an equal-opportunity harasser of both Clintons and Bushes. Meanwhile, Lord deliver us from these twin plagues.
5
Ah, Maureen: two weeks of Hillary followed by a week "off" to attend a convention and now we're back to the Bushes. Well. at least you're on solid ground here though I would rather that you had made Bill Kristol the subject of this piece. Most of us are kind of Bushed out by now so a targeted attack on a fifth columnist in the service of Netanyahu's Israel might have proven especially edifying, and Bill Kristol- a jingoist whose mission in life seems to be persuading presidents without backbones to place American troops in harm's way in order to defend Israeli settlements- is about as disgraceful an example of humanity as one can find anywhere between the U.S. Supreme Court and an ISIS recruiting station.
703
Bill Kristol, mentor to Rafael Cruz.
I find it very funny that Cruz's politics are so off the charts here in Canada, he couldn't be elected dogcatcher. President of the USA...no problem.
I find it very funny that Cruz's politics are so off the charts here in Canada, he couldn't be elected dogcatcher. President of the USA...no problem.
17
I join stu freeman in encouraging Maureen to direct her sharp focus and pen on Bill Kristol, a "pundit" who has been dangerously wrong on everything (he was one of the earliest cheerleaders for W's Iraq war and later, Sarah Palin!), and whose repulsive politics are matched by an obtuse, self-satisfied smirk whenever he is opining on TV. one of the most disgraceful commentators and wheeler-dealers around!
18
Ah, "Bill" Kristol, isn't he the one who brought Sarah Palin to the lower 48? Now that was great entertainment!
10
"Now the neocons who treated W. like a host body for their own agenda are swirling around Jeb, ready to inhabit another President Bush."
Well done, as only Dowd can say things.
I'd note that, "anti-Israel pre-Reaganite GOP" is applied here to the Sec of State for Reagan's VP, right AFTER Reagan's time in the White House. If Reagan's VP following him into the White House is "pre-Reaganite" then we've entirely departed reality for spin in neocon-land.
Well done, as only Dowd can say things.
I'd note that, "anti-Israel pre-Reaganite GOP" is applied here to the Sec of State for Reagan's VP, right AFTER Reagan's time in the White House. If Reagan's VP following him into the White House is "pre-Reaganite" then we've entirely departed reality for spin in neocon-land.
102
What? No anti-Israel commentary today?
1
Jeb Bush signed up with the neo-cons long before his brother did. In 1997, he 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 much support for it. Then, came 9/11 and they latched onto that to provoke a completely unnecessary and unwarranted war. Cheney took care of getting W on board.
Bush "45" is a phony. The foreign policy team he assembled includes more moderate Republicans only to give him cover. He's a neo-con and a neophyte on foreign policy, a deadly combination. Jeb is one more foreign policy disaster waiting to happen, another novice Bush son, unsuitable for the oval office, who thinks you earn the presidency by buying it.
Bush "45" is a phony. The foreign policy team he assembled includes more moderate Republicans only to give him cover. He's a neo-con and a neophyte on foreign policy, a deadly combination. Jeb is one more foreign policy disaster waiting to happen, another novice Bush son, unsuitable for the oval office, who thinks you earn the presidency by buying it.
1032
Yes, and I suspect he's a domestic policy disaster in the making too.
78
So true. How this Nation could ever choose a former Governor of Florida who hasn't even been in office for 10 years or so over an experienced savvy former Secretary of State, namely Hillary Clinton, is beyond me and beyond tragic. Mary Scott is absolutely, unequivocally, correct.
12
Very astute, if only we had journalists researching the facts rather than lazily pandering to the PR teams, our nation would be actually informed.
10
Barbara Bush was succinct and correct in 2013 when she said " We've had enough Bushes ":
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/barbara-bush-on-son-jeb-in...
Not only is the White House an office that shouldn't be passed around from party to party because " it's our turn now ", but the GOP'ers as a party have not owned up to the miserable job they did economic and foreign affairs job they did in the first part of this century, when Jeb's brother was in charge.
GOP'ers can't skip the part of re-hab where they admit their mistakes and change their ways to be entrusted with the White House again, especially not by assuming the " it's our turn " posture.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/barbara-bush-on-son-jeb-in...
Not only is the White House an office that shouldn't be passed around from party to party because " it's our turn now ", but the GOP'ers as a party have not owned up to the miserable job they did economic and foreign affairs job they did in the first part of this century, when Jeb's brother was in charge.
GOP'ers can't skip the part of re-hab where they admit their mistakes and change their ways to be entrusted with the White House again, especially not by assuming the " it's our turn " posture.
407
She changed her mind just last month...
31
rima - We saw that, too, but think Barbara's first inclination was correct; like many other times in life when first hunches shouldn't be rethought :)
167
Aye. Aye, and aye again!
28
The missteps and miscues in the early days of the Bush drive reads almost like a sitcom. Not a smart, Big Bang Theory sort of sitcom, or a wry, dark sitcom like M*A*S*H. Maybe it would be more like…
-=-= The Capitol Hillbillies -=-=
Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jeb.
A poor Texas boy turned Florida celeb.
He heard one day he was featured in news:
He wasn't near as crazy as a Christie or a Cruz.
(Or a Huckabee. Or a Santorum. Certifiable.)
His mom and dad both gave the boy a push.
His kinfolk said "The country needs another Bush!"
Said, "The Oval Office is the place you oughta be,"
So they loaded up the staff and took aim at Hillary.
(Transparency. E-mails. Benghazi!)
(Rollicking banjo music as Hillary is pushed into the
cee-ment pond behind the White House, and the
voters elect Jeb Bush President of the You-Nited States.
The closing theme plays.)
Well now it's time to say goodbye to our economy.
We're turnin' back the social clock to 1923.
Here's hopin' voters get in line to claim their rightful share,
And have a heapin' helpin' of Republican despair.
(Compassionate conservatism, that is. Set a spell. Take your shoes off.
If you have 'em.)
-=-= The Capitol Hillbillies -=-=
Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jeb.
A poor Texas boy turned Florida celeb.
He heard one day he was featured in news:
He wasn't near as crazy as a Christie or a Cruz.
(Or a Huckabee. Or a Santorum. Certifiable.)
His mom and dad both gave the boy a push.
His kinfolk said "The country needs another Bush!"
Said, "The Oval Office is the place you oughta be,"
So they loaded up the staff and took aim at Hillary.
(Transparency. E-mails. Benghazi!)
(Rollicking banjo music as Hillary is pushed into the
cee-ment pond behind the White House, and the
voters elect Jeb Bush President of the You-Nited States.
The closing theme plays.)
Well now it's time to say goodbye to our economy.
We're turnin' back the social clock to 1923.
Here's hopin' voters get in line to claim their rightful share,
And have a heapin' helpin' of Republican despair.
(Compassionate conservatism, that is. Set a spell. Take your shoes off.
If you have 'em.)
1384
This, whatever the source, is INSPIRED.
Probably all too true, as well, but still, INSPIRED.
Probably all too true, as well, but still, INSPIRED.
18
They're not paying you enough. I'm doubling your salary.
27
@gemli
Thank-ee!
Thank-ee!
17
This is all moot. Jeb Bush isn't getting past the GOP primaries.
Now, that's not to say that it isn't interesting to watch the dynamics and wonder who, among the occupants of the GOP clown car, will make it to the nomination.
This was supposed to be the feminist election. Instead, we are being treated to the spectacle of the machinations of the entitled, on both sides of the political spectrum.
Here's to hoping that at least a couple of courageous and principled candidates step forward!
Now, that's not to say that it isn't interesting to watch the dynamics and wonder who, among the occupants of the GOP clown car, will make it to the nomination.
This was supposed to be the feminist election. Instead, we are being treated to the spectacle of the machinations of the entitled, on both sides of the political spectrum.
Here's to hoping that at least a couple of courageous and principled candidates step forward!
175
With very few exceptions, the press is providing a wall of protection and predicting inevitability when no such thing should be predicted so soon after 2007. But hey...
My take on the 2016 and the meaning of feminism.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/election-2016-a-new-era-for-feminism-an...
Harry Reid announces his intention not to run for reelection and...
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/dear-motherjones-patti-murray-is-not-a-...
My take on the 2016 and the meaning of feminism.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/election-2016-a-new-era-for-feminism-an...
Harry Reid announces his intention not to run for reelection and...
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/dear-motherjones-patti-murray-is-not-a-...
20
@Rima: "Jeb Bush isn't getting past the GOP primaries." I hope you're right but if he's the only "moderate" (!) in the race- Chris Krispiecreme is toast even before he declares- and he's running against an assortment of certifiable lunatics who end up cancelling each other out he may just end up getting the required number of delegates.
125
Stu,
How funny that you bring Christie up. No one else is! He's been toast for some time now.
I look at it this way: who wins the GOP primary is a function of how crazy Republican politics have become. If there are even any secret moderates left in the party, there are none left in the part of it that votes in primaries, which makes it moot when it comes to a general election. Anyone who passes muster in a GOP primary automatically loses in a presidential election. Anyone who thinks Ted Cruz is electable has another thing coming. Anyone who thinks Rand Paul can beat a top Democratic nominee, anyone that is and isn't Hillary, is mistaken.
I almost don't care which Republican makes the nomination. I am far more worried about which Democrat does. Our nation has such deep problems, all rooted in the most basic of ethics, that it will take the utmost of wisdom and rectitude to oversee their solution. Few are those out there who have the wisdom or personal ethics to be entrusted with the job.
I hope people read my piece on Hillary and feminism and think, really think.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/election-2016-a-new-era-for-feminism-an...
How funny that you bring Christie up. No one else is! He's been toast for some time now.
I look at it this way: who wins the GOP primary is a function of how crazy Republican politics have become. If there are even any secret moderates left in the party, there are none left in the part of it that votes in primaries, which makes it moot when it comes to a general election. Anyone who passes muster in a GOP primary automatically loses in a presidential election. Anyone who thinks Ted Cruz is electable has another thing coming. Anyone who thinks Rand Paul can beat a top Democratic nominee, anyone that is and isn't Hillary, is mistaken.
I almost don't care which Republican makes the nomination. I am far more worried about which Democrat does. Our nation has such deep problems, all rooted in the most basic of ethics, that it will take the utmost of wisdom and rectitude to oversee their solution. Few are those out there who have the wisdom or personal ethics to be entrusted with the job.
I hope people read my piece on Hillary and feminism and think, really think.
http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/03/election-2016-a-new-era-for-feminism-an...
26
A Dowd attack I do confess
On Jeb Bush provides happiness,
Her deft Dowdish skewer
Has never been truer
Her words I unblushingly bless!!
On Jeb Bush provides happiness,
Her deft Dowdish skewer
Has never been truer
Her words I unblushingly bless!!
343
2. This was a thoughtful and articulate piece that made me think about the issues in new ways... exactly what a good journalist should provide. If Ms. Dowd can write this well, and this seriously, she shpuld not so often waste her time and ours with snarky mean-girl routines