With revisionists, Dubya was the anti-terrorist hero

Now that all of the celebrated dignitaries  were on their best behavior at the feel-good dedication of the George W. Bush library (somehow I don't associate libraries with Dubya), it was left to the revisionist gallery to slam President Obama for security breakdowns that his predecessor would never have experienced.

For example, Rep. Tom Cotton, a right-wing Arkansas Republican, screeched that "in the seven years after 9/11 how many terrorists reached the United States? NONE!"  Trouble is, on that deadly day 2,977 persons died at the hands of terrorists  and when I went back to check record, turns out that it happened on Bush's watch. Oh, I probably should mention that the young terrorists who staged the Marathon attacks were said to have been living in the U.S. for more than 10 years.  That would mean they arrived on our soil during the Bush years.

Then we encountered  columnist Charles Krauthammer's spin, in which he crowed about his man Bush.  "He did not just keep us safe, he created the entire antiterror infrastructure that continues to keep us safe."  Still, he couldn't resist blaming Obama fore letting it all "fall apart".

Folks, this is textbook revisionism.  You can find post 9/11 reports that said warnings of a possible attack from the air were largely ignored. You can access videos in which Bush later said he didn't know the whereabouts of bin Laden and didn't think it was all that important anyway.

But as it's often been said, Why let the details ruin a good story  - or in this case, awfully distorted history.

Dubya returns - still much like The Shadow

The Cayman Islands are a rich man's offshore piggy bank nestled just south of Cuba. They are easily accessible by private jets that are met by limos at the airports.   They are  an escape by oppressed  folks who have so much money that   there's not much more they can do with it so they hide it from the tax collectors until something better comes along - which it won't.

For these miillion-billion-zillionaires, since it is not possible to get to heaven while they are still breathing, the Caymans are their  luxurious tax-free destination of choice. Smart money-guys like Mitt Romney would have it no other way.

The true Republican brand of the  party's moneyed achievers  was again disclosed a few days ago when reports filtered out of the Caymans that George W. Bush was on hand to be the keynote speaker at a global investment conferfence.  In the perfect fit of the Ritz-Carlton. On Grand Cayman Island.

But then  we lost the narrative of Dubya's sudden reappearance like Jacob Marley's ghost. Until then we had given up on seeing the former president again inasmuch as his party declared him to be a non-person in the current campaign.   We could be heard shouting, "George W. Bush LIVES!"

But no sooner  than we wanted to eavesdrop on his return, the entire trip was blacked out.  Reporters were banned from covering the speech and the participants who paid $4,000 to hear it were  told not to say a word about it. Conference spokesman Dan Kneipp said the restrictions were  imposed by Bush's staff.

As long as the topic is investment savvy, do you think that somebody might have asked Dubya about why he approved the trade of Sammy Sosa when he was a managing partner of the Texas Rangers?  Or how Texas oilmen rushed to his aid  to buy his cash-poor oil company?  "I'm all name and no money," he once said.  But now as his party is concerned, it's the other way around.







   

Mr. Romney, she said impeach the president!

ONCE AGAIN, Mitt Romney let a McCain Moment pass without a response at a campaign stop in Euclid Monday.  You may recall that candidate  John McCain rebuffed a woman in the audience who asserted that Obama was an Arab terrorist.  But Romney ignored a charge  from a woman in his audience who declared Obama should be impeached.  (Pressed by reporters afterward, Romney said of course he didn't think the president should be impeached. But only afterward. Some things, he once said, should only be discussed in a quiet room.

There also was this line from Ohio Auditor Dave Yost, a Romney Ohio team leader, who warmed up the audience by  describing Obama as a Ronald McDonald  for claiming credit in ridding the world of Osama bin Laden.   (Like, Don't  credit Ronald McDonald for the Big Mac you ate for lunch.   Is Yost trying out for a spot on Saturday Night Live?   Or is he simply enjoying a standup gig as another Buckeye  hack politician?

For the life of me, it doesn't seem to make much sense to go after Obama on this matter since it only serves to remind the public that this president was successful  on his watch - Mission Accomplished  - as contrasted to George Bush, who claimed he had no interest at all in the whereabouts of  Osama bin Laden.

Romney/Dubya: Can 't duck the duck

AS I WATCH MCMITT ROMNEY on his presumed victory lap in the Republican primaries, I have a nagging feeling that I've seen this fellow before. For 8 years. George W. Bush, who is now living in seclusion from his party.

The similarities are...well, see for yourself:

Both, propped up by the GOP establishment. Both, wealthy scions of wealthy daddies. Both, troubled by incoherence. Both, robotic. Both, hawkish. Both, white- collar-and- tie stiffs (except when they want to be regular guys in jeans, either down on the ranch or before a crowd of regular people).

No? I demur, preferring the principle that if you walk like the other duck, talk like the other duck...Well, you know how that goes.

Bush's "formula'' for Greece's economic woes

FOR ALL of the worldly concern over the economic meltdown of Greece, it is comforting to turn to the wise counsel of former president George W. Bush to get us through the mess.

Said GW more than a decade ago:

"Keep good relations with the Grecians."

Portman works well with Democrats?

Do you have as much trouble trying to understand today's political reports as I do? For example, I stumbled on this in the New York Times' report on the new members of the destined-to-be- deadlocked (@$#&#) super committee - a feel-good initiative with the impossible mission of a bipartisan attack on the Federal deficit.

In reference to Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman's appointment, the Times reported: "Mr. Portman, a House member from 1993 to 2005 , was White House budget director under President George W. Bush. Throughout his time in Congress, he has worked well with Democrats even as he voted consistently with the other Republicans." (emphasis added.)

Now I humbly ask the deep thinkers: How can you work well with the other party by consistently voting against it? Is that the same as offering the other side a mop after you've spilled the milk all over the kitchen floor. But maybe there will be a revealing side of his presence on the panel.. Would it be rude to again note that one reason we have this economic mess is that he was Bush's budget director when the deficit climbed to over $10 trillion?

Right! Bush indeed shaped it

WHO SAID:

"Americans should not fear our economic future, because we intend to shape it."

Or how about this one:

"Our economy is healthy and vigorous, and growing faster than other industrialized nations...Even in the face of higher energy prices and natural disasters, the American people have turned in an economic performance that is the envy of the world."

No fair. You peeked. The good news came from President George W. Bush in his State of the Union speech, Jan 31, 2006.

Unfortunately, the Republican congress went gently into the good night and, by golly, Bush did shape it. With tax cuts. You know the rest of the story.

The Washington Spectator, which carried segments of the speech in its Feb. 15, 2006, edition, had another take on Bush's euphoria, warning:

"Don't believe the hype. Our 'Healthy' Economy is heading for trouble.'"

But really, folks. How could anyone take a liberal publication seriously?

Another GOP win in gamesmanship

Admit it, Democrats, those Republicans have found the perfect solution to having their own unapologetic way to game any issue with which they disagree. They file their grievance with a judge who is guaranteed to rule in their favor. That seems to be the case with Federal Judge Henry E. Hudson of Virginia, shown at left, who has decided that the new health care law is (I'll whisper it) unconstitutional. The challenge was entered by Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli, and although it won't change anything for the moment, it will satisfy all of the Ken Cuccinellis of the world, including Ohio attorney general-elect Mike DeWine, who has promised to file his own suit against Obamacare.

Meantime, Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee, is reported to have been a contributor to Campaign Solutions, a tank which has been a staunch opponent of health care reform and has a number of Republican clients. Is that a problem for Hudson? Not at all. His office said the judge has no idea what Campaign Solutions does for a living because he is a "passive investor." But apparently the thrill is already spreading around GOP circles. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Idaho couldn't contain himself. "It's a great day for liberty," he exclaimed. If this involved Democrats, they would find dozens of ways to apologize for the negative image projected to the public. What did I tell you?

Karl Rove: Self-styled protocol chief in exile

KARL ROVE, who treats political history as opaque tales on prehistoric cave walls, was at it again over the week end from his pulpit on Fox News. Karl was quite troubled that President Obama had engaged in a courteous bow before the Japanese emperor. Accusing Obama of being on a world-wide "apology tour," Rove sniffed that Obama "simply can't get it right" adding: I think it's best if American presidents do what they have always done - which is to stand for our small 'r' republican values and do not bow to monarchies."

Karl, care to join me in a brief review of what your "small r" presidents have done? Pay attention:

Ronald Reagan: Seen dozing during a meeting with Pope John Paul II in Rome. Reagan's assistant, Jim Kuhn, explained. sort of: "For some reason, the pope's voice has a hypnotic effect on the president."

George H.W. Bush: Threw up on the Japanese prime minister in 1992.

George W. Bush: Approached German Chancellor Angela Merkel from behind at an official meeting in 2008 and clawed both of her shoulders as she responded with pained surprise. Ha! Ha! (At least he didn't towel-snap her.)

(Just for the hell of it, Karl, you might try "getting it right" yourself in your Sunday sermons. The "r's" in your name just got smaller. )