You Got Your Parting Shots -- Now Leave Bush Alone

The political postscript to all the hugs, kisses, personal Oval Office desk drawer notes and backslaps between POTUS 43 and POTUS 44 isn't exactly a warm, Pete Seeger, sing-along scene.

I went to high school with Pete's Daughter, Mika; he was a great icon and true believer in harmony back then and still is, at a spry 90, leading a million-plus citizens in song last Sunday in DC.

But partisans from former and current administrations are striking a very different tone. The smell of fresh upholstery hasn't even worn off the new, improved White House website yet and already there's been ugly griping, whining, dissing, and rancor that almost makes the Caroline Kennedy whack-a-mole rumor fiasco seem tame.

On the not-Air Force One plane ride back to Texas Jan. 20th, some loyal George W. Bush aides cut loose over the clear smack Mr. Obama took at his predecessor throughout the inaugural speech.

"There were a few sharp elbows that really rankled and...(the incoming Prez was) not as magnanimous as the occasion called for," said whip smart down-home Texas W gal Karen Hughes, throwing her own elbow.

President Obama "really missed an opportunity to be as big as the occasion." But she was just winding up. Some parts of the speech, she went on to say, were "fundamentally unfair and dishonest."

Mr. Bush's chief White House speechwriter said, "It was an ungracious inaugural."

It was, as the political writers say when they dip into their cliche drawer, a bare-knuckle inaugural address, no doubt about it. Mr. Obama's Doberman, Rahm Emanuel, no stranger to unpadded fists himself, responded that his boss was just "turning the page." Then he threw this hard left: "If they (the Bush folks) didn't know that was the judgment of people, then their subscription to the newspapers was canceled over the last three years."

Ouch. That shot landed squarely on Hughes et al and also kinda glanced off those of us at newspapers, where canceled subscriptions is a sore subject these days. Couldn't he have said "their Blackberrys were turned off"? They surely had them.

On this one, I'm standing, booted and bow-legged, with the Crawford cabal. They're out, gone. They get to complain at their leisure -- and without serious consequence -- because leisure is where the departed president is now living. Their beefing about Mr. Obama doesn't cost anyone, really. Criticism of the inaugural speech isn't going to bring back Dick Cheney or Don Rumsfeld, no matter how hard they pick that nit.

So Mr. Obama's supporters, both paid and unpaid, should leave it alone.

At the same time, kicking Mr. Bush now won't have any real effect, either. Unlike Richard Nixon, who it turned out we DID have to kick around after his failed gubernatorial bid in 1962, the former President isn't likely to come back into the public spotlight; he never looked like he craved it the way some of his predecessors have and he doesn't seem like he wants to try for a senior statesman-style comeback or the million dollar speaking tours. Even his hey!-I-was-the-smart-one/ supposed-to-succeed-dad brother, Jeb, decided not to run for the Florida Senate.

And the senior Mr. Bush looked a little frail at the ceremonies this week.

The Bush dynasty is probably done. Let it go. And, by the way, G.W. himself really was nothing but gracious to the new president in his last weeks in office; his glowing comments about the historical moment or Mr. Obama's daughters, seemed genuine and heartfelt.

Brawling over speeches, like the infamous but still unclear vandalism scandal that blew up when Mr. Bush took over from Bill Clinton (remember the alleged "missing w's" on White House keyboards?) isn't worth the trouble. Obama officials have more important things to do.

The bone of Mr. Bush's legacy will be gnawed over by the dogs of history and eventually there'll be a judgment.

But until then, people in their new positions of responsibility should just let the contrails of the plane ride to Texas dissipate.

Comments

[2008CaliforniaFan]

Oh.. poor Phil....
Have you volunteered to help Bush write His Book and His Legacy?
To quote someone else... "methinks you doth protest to much"

Your Quote..: ."And, by the way, G.W. himself really was nothing but gracious to the new president in his last weeks in office"
Do you read other papers as well..? Maybe the one story where Bush made up the 'fictional' previously scheduled guest to stay at Blair House for O N E night to cover His A zz. (120 Rooms for only 1 guest) So gracious for Laura to go along with the Scam as well.
I guess You are right... He ' graciously ' told them... S O R R Y...move along.
Is that His form of Texas Hospitality..?

[jashu51]

Oh, Phil, I find it hard to take you seriously. I still can't get that picture out of my mind---you wanting to see a Komodo dragon at the zoo, upclose and personal. So you got special permission and the zookeeper let you into the restricted area. Unfortunately, you took your shoes off and the Komodo mistook your white-socked feet for RATS! Oh, the horror, and your then-wife Sharon Stone screaming up a storm. So Hollywood B-movie. But really, Phil---white socks???

[OttoF]

When the pain brought on by Bush dissipates, I'll be happy to forget him. But that won't be for a very long time. Until then I'll be raking him over the coals along with everyone else.

[eastview]

Let him go...Like he did for innocent unsuspecting people in the U.S. of their livelihoods, privacy and dignity...for political corruption, and for nearly million deaths in Iraq...THIS IS JUST THE BEGINING..

[FrankinSac]

Phil... What you want us to do is say George W. Bush is ABOVE the law. Can't do that Phil.

[BillMelater]

Bush destroyed this country. Every aspect of it. So no I won't leave him alone. You got your nice cushy job there, Phil. Me and millions of others do not and we aren't going to just forgive and forget.

[Leftylew]

I was 20 when Nixon resigned. At the time I thought his impeachment should be completed anyway, in order to establish the unacceptable and illegal nature of his actions. My friends persuaded me that I was being too vindictive, though I still deny that revenge was my motive.

In hindsight, Reagan used Nixon's precedent of an imperial presidency to conduct illegal (or at least extra-cons­titutional­) operations in Nicaragua despite Congressional prohibitions upon them. Dick Cheney learned all the wrong lessons from Watergate--i.e., it's not a mistake to create an imperial presidency and ignore the Constitution, you just have to do it with more stealth and more force.

So I ask you--what other than prosecutions and/or impeachments after leaving office do you folks who want no further "shots" at Bush suggest we do to make sure that no future President declares that we can ignore the Geneva conventions and commit torture at will? that no future President makes dozens of signing statements alleging that the law of the land is not the law of the land when the President feels like saying it isn't? that all future Presidents understand that they cannot get away with ignoring the law but will face penalties of some sort because nobody is above the law in a real democracy? Or do you folks just want to leave us wide open in the future to another President who will treat the Constitution like a floormat or worse?

[iktomi]

Americans forget and forgive too easily. This weakness is what allows the travesties to continue. Politicians realize this weakness and use it............Lay low and it will go away.....Larry Craig. He lied and misused power, yet.......­..........­.........

We cant let it rest...........Lest we forget. I will continue to stay on the Palin scam as an underhanded ploy to get votes at the possible peril of us all. It was a disgrace and on the verge of a treasonous act. Imagine the possible outcome...­.........f­or the sake of votes

We should all be accountable for our actions

[pipetoe]

The Bush family is a great American family. Doesn't matter what people on this blog say.

[badinfluence]

wrong and wrong.

Tell me - is ignorance bliss? Wake up and do your research.

[Collielady]

There's no reason to be gracious, after all W did to this country. Some of the commentators didn't like the crowd booing W, but that's just what he earned. I won't pretend otherwise. Look around at the state of this nation and tell me why niceties should trump TRUTH.

[signalphil]

DOGGYLADY, you should be gracious given that your party is responsible for at least 75% of the economic troubles this country is in. Booing an outgoing pres. is classless. Will you blame The One for any of his missteps in this new era of responsibility? I doubt it.

[sleepingcobra]

"The Bush family is a great American family. Doesn't matter what people on this blog say."

What does that even mean? How many times do we have to sit through this "he's a great American" pablum before we start asking actual questions that require actual answers?

[offred]

I read your profile, pipetoe. "Classy" people don't call themselves classy; it's tacky.

[BillMelater]

People that call themselves "classy" never see anything past the end of their nose and wouldn't even know "classy" if it bit them on the arse.

[pipetoe]

LOL..How rude of me!!!
You are so right Classy is in the eye of the beholder.

[bigmaddy]

After what Bush and company did to the country and the world he shouldn't get a break ,this man and his croneys should all be locked up

[alainv]

As the staggering scope of the Bush crimes continue to come to light escaping criticism is out of the question . They should concentrate on copping a plea for life in prison to escape the firing squad witch would be the appropriate punishment for traito rs who have done more damage then any foreign terrorist could ever hope to accomplish . The American people demand justice and we shall have it and this is a pitiful attempt to try and distract us from that goal . It won't work .

[badinfluence]

the ONLY reason 'ole Jeb boy decided not to run now is because the Bush name is political poison right now but no one thinks for a minute that they aren't hoping America will forget, or make us to imagine Jeb would be any different down the road.

I just went to see FROST/NIXON and it is amazing the similarities between Nixon & Bush. At least Bush wasn't pardoned, hopefully we CAN prosecute him and his cronies so this kind of thing doesn't keep happening - since we were kept from learning from THAT mistake we repeated it. NO ONE is above the law!

[RepugsOut08]

History does just keep repeating itself. I was a teenager during the Viet Nam War, and I never imagined in my wildest dreams that the US would stumble into another quagmire like that in my lifetime.
You're right. Pardoning Nixon led directly to Bush, resulting in the Iraq debacle and economic meltdown. If Bush and company are not held accountable, some new generation not far down the road will suffer for our negligence. They're already going to suffer enough from having to pay the Bush deficits, including the ones Obama's forced to run trying to clean up Bush's mess.
Let the trials begin.

[ForObamaInDallas]

What I always find interesting about articles, blogs, or even conversations about "let's move on" regarding a disgraced individual, that disgraced individual either: 1) white 2) rich, 3) a republican, or 4) all of the above.

Sorry, no.

While I do feel that we do need to continue to move *forward,* we do need to take time to remind ourselves what a disgrace president #43 was and is. As everyone else said, he disgraced our country, shred our most sacred document after having sworn to protect it, and literally robbed our national purse.

No, we don't need to be sore winners. No, we don't need to make snide remarks. While I would hope that we forgive, we don't need to forget. There is this thing called justice. And this old addage, you reap what you sow. That man sowed a lot of bad seeds, and now those vines are reaching up and strangling him.

We need to remember so we don't repeat.

[TAC]

I will never forget, and I cannot fathom I would ever forgive...

[TAC]

"LET HISTORY SAY that President Bush was ushered out of office in a walk of shame, with catcalls and jeers and obscenities and shoes tossed his way."

The ONLY reason boos did not reach a crescendo was out of respect for President Obama on our day. No one deserves longer and louder than the ex pResident...

[blindjester]

BO is an incredibly polite person.

He also can be direct when the occasion calls for it.

I admire both qualities.

[offred]

Didn't one of Bush's inaugural speeches say that he was going to bring honor and decency back to the White House? Whom do you suppose he was directing that to? Maybe the silver-haired guy sitting next to Hillary?

[LibKitty]

Too bad, that was just another one of Bush's lies.