Bush Was Right When It Mattered Most

[Justforfun000]

Don't take my word for it, Karl Rove said so.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123258532378704477.html

Bush Was Right When It Mattered Most


By KARL ROVE

Its call sign has always been Air Force One. But on Tuesday, it was Special Air Mission 28000, as former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura returned home to Texas on a plane full of family, friends, former staff and memories of eight years in the White House.
[Commentary] AP

The former president and his wife thanked each passenger, showing the thoughtfulness and grace so characteristic of this wonderful American family.

A video tribute produced warm laughter and inevitable tears. There was no bitterness, but rather a sense of gratitude -- gratitude for the opportunity to serve, for able and loyal colleagues, and above all for our country and its people.

Yet, as Mr. Bush left Washington, in a last angry frenzy his critics again distorted his record, maligned his character and repeated untruths about his years in the Oval Office. Nothing they wrote or said changes the essential facts.

To start with, Mr. Bush was right about Iraq. The world is safer without Saddam Hussein in power. And the former president was right to change strategy and surge more U.S. troops.
About Karl Rove

Karl Rove served as Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush from 2000–2007 and Deputy Chief of Staff from 2004–2007. At the White House he oversaw the Offices of Strategic Initiatives, Political Affairs, Public Liaison, and Intergovernmental Affairs and was Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, coordinating the White House policy making process.

Before Karl became known as "The Architect" of President Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns, he was president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for Republican candidates, nonpartisan causes, and nonprofit groups. His clients included over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states, as well as the Moderate Party of Sweden.

Karl writes a weekly op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, is a Newsweek columnist and is now writing a book to be published by Simon & Schuster. Email the author at Karl@Rove.com or visit him on the web at Rove.com.

A legion of critics (including President Barack Obama) claimed it couldn't work. They were wrong. Iraq is now on the mend, the war is on the path to victory, al Qaeda has been dealt a humiliating defeat, and a democracy in the heart of the Arab world is emerging. The success of Mr. Bush's surge made it possible for President Obama to warn terrorists on Tuesday "you cannot outlast us."

Mr. Bush was right to establish a doctrine that holds those who harbor, train and support terrorists as responsible as the terrorists themselves. He was right to take the war on terror abroad instead of waiting until dangers fully materialize here at home. He was right to strengthen the military and intelligence and to create the new tools to monitor the communications of terrorists, freeze their assets, foil their plots, and kill and capture their operators.

These tough decisions -- which became unpopular in certain quarters only when memories of 9/11 began to fade -- kept America safe for seven years and made it possible for Mr. Obama to tell the terrorists on Tuesday "we will defeat you."

Mr. Bush was right to be a unilateralist when it came to combating AIDS in Africa. While world leaders dithered, his President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief initiative brought lifesaving antiretroviral drugs to millions of Africans.

At home, Mr. Bush cut income taxes for every American who pays taxes. He also cut taxes on capital, investment and savings. The result was 52 months of growth and the strongest economy of any developed country.
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Mr. Bush was right to match tax cuts with spending restraint. This is a source of dispute, especially among conservatives, but the record is there to see. Bill Clinton's last budget increased domestic nonsecurity discretionary spending by 16%. Mr. Bush cut that to 6.2% growth in his first budget, 5.5% in his second, 4.3% in his third, 2.2% in his fourth, and then below inflation, on average, since. That isn't the sum total of the fiscal record, of course -- but it's a key part of it.

He was right to have modernized Medicare with prescription drug benefits provided through competition, not delivered by government. The program is costing 40% less than projected because market forces dominate and people -- not government -- are making the decisions.

Mr. Bush was right to pass No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requiring states to set up tough accountability systems that measure every child's progress at school. As a result, reading and math scores have risen more in the last five years since NCLB than in the prior 28 years.

He was right to stand for a culture of life. And he was right to appoint conservative judges who strictly interpret the Constitution.
In Today's Opinion Journal

And Mr. Bush, a man of core decency and integrity, was right not to reply in kind when Democratic leaders called him a liar and a loser. The price of trying to change the tone in Washington was to be often pummeled by lesser men.

Few presidents had as many challenges arise during their eight years, had as many tough calls to make in such a partisan-charged environment, or had to act in the face of such hostile media and elite opinion.

On board Special Air Mission 28000, I remembered the picture I carried in my pocket on my first Air Force One flight eight years ago. It was an old black-and-white snapshot with scalloped edges. It showed Lyndon Johnson in the Cabinet Room, head in hand, weeping over a Vietnam casualty report. George Christian, LBJ's press secretary, gave it to me as a reminder that the job could break anyone, no matter how big and tough.

But despite facing challenges and crises few others have, the job did not break George W. Bush. Though older and grayer, his brows more furrowed, he is the same man he was, a person of integrity who did what he believed was right. And he exits knowing he summoned all of his energy and talents to defend America and advance its ideals at home and abroad. He didn't get everything right -- no president does -- but he got the most important things right. And that is enough.

Mr. Rove is the former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.

[Pablo Sanchez]

Don't take my word for it, Karl Rove said so.

The byline was roughly when I stopped reading. If there were any justice, or even logic, in the world, Karl Rove would be persona non grata everywhere, a true man without a country. Not only has he done only bad things for humanity as a whole, he can't even defend himself with the suggestion that he achieved good results for his employers; the outcome of his eight-year political project was the reduction of the party he tried to make a permanent majority to a rump minority.

But since there ain't no justice, Rove will continue to get work as a lobbyist, pundit, and advisor.

[Kanastrous]

Since there ain't no justice, Rove will continue breathing.

[Patrick Degan]

Yeah right. Keep telling yourself all that, Karl. It'll help keep your conscience at bay —if you have one, that is.

[Aratech]

Yeah right. Keep telling yourself all that, Karl. It'll help keep your conscience at bay —if you have one, that is.

About to say, hell of an assumption. The man strikes me as grade A sociopath material.

[Patrick Degan]

Yeah right. Keep telling yourself all that, Karl. It'll help keep your conscience at bay —if you have one, that is.

About to say, hell of an assumption. The man strikes me as grade A sociopath material.

It was purely rhetorical. We know all these fucks were outright sociopaths —especially Karl the Enforcer and Count Dick.

[Knife]

Don't take my word for it, Karl Rove said so.

The byline was roughly when I stopped reading. If there were any justice, or even logic, in the world, Karl Rove would be persona non grata everywhere, a true man without a country. Not only has he done only bad things for humanity as a whole, he can't even defend himself with the suggestion that he achieved good results for his employers; the outcome of his eight-year political project was the reduction of the party he tried to make a permanent majority to a rump minority.

But since there ain't no justice, Rove will continue to get work as a lobbyist, pundit, and advisor.

True morality aside, the fucker was right, if you sell the right bullshit to the right people, you'll get great numbers. Barnum and Bailey would be envious of Rove.

[Rogue 9]

Is it too much to ask to pay attention when you're getting your copypasta? I don't need Karl Rove's biography breaking up the op-ed.

[Coyote]

Well, lemonade from lemons... as long as Karl Rove's advice is still valued by the Republican Party, we can surmise that they will remain a backwater rump party for awhile longer.

[Pablo Sanchez]

True morality aside, the fucker was right, if you sell the right bullshit to the right people, you'll get great numbers. Barnum and Bailey would be envious of Rove.

Rove was right? Take a look at the House, the Senate, and the White House, and say that again. His political philosophy failed, utterly, because it was based entirely on using wedge issues to win elections and made no provision for actually governing. It turns out that you kind of need to do that, or the public actually will throw the bums out. Rove and Bush took what I think was a very real opportunity after 9/11 to make Republicans once more the natural party of government, and achieved exactly the opposite--and this in the face of an opposition party that never actually did anything apart from standing by and allowing Rovian politics to crash and burn.

He was a complete fuckup, and a couple of narrow wins aside, his methods are going to end up in the dustbin of history.

[Knife]

True morality aside, the fucker was right, if you sell the right bullshit to the right people, you'll get great numbers. Barnum and Bailey would be envious of Rove.

Rove was right? Take a look at the House, the Senate, and the White House, and say that again. His political philosophy failed, utterly, because it was based entirely on using wedge issues to win elections and made no provision for actually governing. It turns out that you kind of need to do that, or the public actually will throw the bums out. Rove and Bush took what I think was a very real opportunity after 9/11 to make Republicans once more the natural party of government, and achieved exactly the opposite--and this in the face of an opposition party that never actually did anything apart from standing by and allowing Rovian politics to crash and burn.

He was a complete fuckup, and a couple of narrow wins aside, his methods are going to end up in the dustbin of history.

er.. you might have missed that last eight years, two presidential elections, four congressional elections. Bush was a fuck up and still made it twice, the Repubs failed epically over those years and stayed in power for that time. Sure, they are out, but after how long? Even four years ago it was evident that Bush and co were fuckups and Kerry even ran on 'I'm not Bush' to demonstrate it and still lost.

So...Morality aside, the fucker was right.

[SAMAS]

More accurately, he achieved his initial goals, but completely flubbed the follow-through.

[CarsonPalmer]

True morality aside, the fucker was right, if you sell the right bullshit to the right people, you'll get great numbers. Barnum and Bailey would be envious of Rove.

Rove was right? Take a look at the House, the Senate, and the White House, and say that again. His political philosophy failed, utterly, because it was based entirely on using wedge issues to win elections and made no provision for actually governing. It turns out that you kind of need to do that, or the public actually will throw the bums out. Rove and Bush took what I think was a very real opportunity after 9/11 to make Republicans once more the natural party of government, and achieved exactly the opposite--and this in the face of an opposition party that never actually did anything apart from standing by and allowing Rovian politics to crash and burn.

He was a complete fuckup, and a couple of narrow wins aside, his methods are going to end up in the dustbin of history.

er.. you might have missed that last eight years, two presidential elections, four congressional elections. Bush was a fuck up and still made it twice, the Repubs failed epically over those years and stayed in power for that time. Sure, they are out, but after how long? Even four years ago it was evident that Bush and co were fuckups and Kerry even ran on 'I'm not Bush' to demonstrate it and still lost.

So...Morality aside, the fucker was right.

Rove was not right. His methods didn't work. They had an six year run where they won a few elections, but that's it.

Its like a football coach who runs a gimmick offense, takes a 14-0 lead into halftime, and winds up losing. The tricks worked for a while, but eventually, there was nothing behind it.

[Alyeska]

This ranks right up there with Rush Limbaugh. That Fatass recently was quoted saying that he hopes Obama fails in his effort to repair the country. In order to avoid economics and politics he doesn't like, Fatass wants this country to flounder and for people to suffer.

[Patrick Degan]

This ranks right up there with Rush Limbaugh. That Fatass recently was quoted saying that he hopes Obama fails in his effort to repair the country. In order to avoid economics and politics he doesn't like, Fatass wants this country to flounder and for people to suffer.

Yep. That's the Republikan Way in a nutshell.

[Shroom Man 777]

The world is safer with Barack Hussein Obama in power.

That's an ironic play on names, am i rite?

[Ender]

True morality aside, the fucker was right, if you sell the right bullshit to the right people, you'll get great numbers. Barnum and Bailey would be envious of Rove.

Rove was right? Take a look at the House, the Senate, and the White House, and say that again. His political philosophy failed, utterly, because it was based entirely on using wedge issues to win elections and made no provision for actually governing. It turns out that you kind of need to do that, or the public actually will throw the bums out. Rove and Bush took what I think was a very real opportunity after 9/11 to make Republicans once more the natural party of government, and achieved exactly the opposite--and this in the face of an opposition party that never actually did anything apart from standing by and allowing Rovian politics to crash and burn.

He was a complete fuckup, and a couple of narrow wins aside, his methods are going to end up in the dustbin of history.

er.. you might have missed that last eight years, two presidential elections, four congressional elections. Bush was a fuck up and still made it twice, the Repubs failed epically over those years and stayed in power for that time. Sure, they are out, but after how long? Even four years ago it was evident that Bush and co were fuckups and Kerry even ran on 'I'm not Bush' to demonstrate it and still lost.

So...Morality aside, the fucker was right.

I honestly think they are going to be out for quite a while. You aren't on a college campus, so I don't think you appreciate it. But there is a fundamental, deep seated, utter hatred for Bush and the Republicans here. And keep in mind I am at a school literally in the middle of miles of cornfields in a flyover state. The College Libertarians have more than 4x the membership that the College Republicans do.

The difference between now and 2000 or 2004 is that now the newest generation is nearly all of age. And this is a group who has known nearly nothing but Republican antics. Clinton as seen as a mediocre guy who was hounded for lying about getting a blowjob. Most of these kids were getting blown before they could drive. Their entire politically aware lives have been under Bush. All they've seen is this mess. And it really is a mess, which means that the usual generational fight of "fuck you and everything you stand for" has some teeth behind it. They are interconnected in a way beyond just having and using things, there is a whole new mentality to it, an openness to living that I can't understand, and that the cloak and dagger stuff of government is absolutely the antithesis of.

As a generation they were raised on a propaganda stream that they would all grow up to be multimillionare rockstars or inventors who got cash for nothing, lived in giant "Cribs" style homes and threw parties that would show up on "My Sweet Sixteen". And now that they have come of age they have learned that it isn't true. And they are VERY pissed off about it. And Bush and the republicans have given them a symbol to rage against, by embracing damn near everything that they are against.

[Darth Wong]

To start with, Mr. Bush was right about Iraq. The world is safer without Saddam Hussein in power.

The world is safest when political stability is highest. Worldwide political instability has ratcheted up significantly since the invasion.

A legion of critics (including President Barack Obama) claimed it couldn't work. They were wrong. Iraq is now on the mend, the war is on the path to victory, al Qaeda has been dealt a humiliating defeat, and a democracy in the heart of the Arab world is emerging. The success of Mr. Bush's surge made it possible for President Obama to warn terrorists on Tuesday "you cannot outlast us."

I guess "Surge" sounds more impressive than "Bribe". Bush ended up salvaging some small measure of success out of the catastrophe of Iraq by allying with and paying off the very enemies that once bombed American troops with IEDs: the Sunni insurgent militias. I don't have a problem with that, but this is the same guy who said he would never negotiate with such people, and whose party attacked Obama for saying he would be willing to negotiate with enemies. The fact is that the Bribe is proof that a strategy other than Bush's advertised method of pure military bellicosity is more effective: rather than being vindication for Bush, its success proves that his approach was all wrong, and the no-compromise approach still championed by his party is all wrong as well.

Mr. Bush was right to establish a doctrine that holds those who harbor, train and support terrorists as responsible as the terrorists themselves. He was right to take the war on terror abroad instead of waiting until dangers fully materialize here at home. He was right to strengthen the military and intelligence and to create the new tools to monitor the communications of terrorists, freeze their assets, foil their plots, and kill and capture their operators.

We fight wars in order to ensure our own prosperity and the safety of our way of life. Bush's wars created an economic sinkhole which severely damaged American prosperity and drained the coffers of resources needed to get through the financial mess he helped create. Worse yet, while he claimed to be protecting the American way of life, he did so by changing that way of life: removing civil liberties and constitutional freedoms in the name of security. What he saved was not the American way of life; it was something else.

Mr. Bush was right to be a unilateralist when it came to combating AIDS in Africa. While world leaders dithered, his President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief initiative brought lifesaving antiretroviral drugs to millions of Africans.

Yes. The only thing Bush did that was unequivocally good was to spend taxpayer money to help send free medicine to the needy: in other words, socialist health care on the international stage. Which I support, but let's be realistic here: this is yet another indictment of Republican dogma, since their most unequivocal success actually runs against some of their core principles.

At home, Mr. Bush cut income taxes for every American who pays taxes. He also cut taxes on capital, investment and savings. The result was 52 months of growth and the strongest economy of any developed country.

The result was an overheated bubble which he encouraged in every way possible, and which was bound to burst with financially catastrophic results. Didn't your grandma ever tell you that in good times, you're supposed to save money for a rainy day, rather than spending like crazy?

Mr. Bush was right to match tax cuts with spending restraint. This is a source of dispute, especially among conservatives, but the record is there to see. Bill Clinton's last budget increased domestic nonsecurity discretionary spending by 16%. Mr. Bush cut that to 6.2% growth in his first budget, 5.5% in his second, 4.3% in his third, 2.2% in his fourth, and then below inflation, on average, since. That isn't the sum total of the fiscal record, of course -- but it's a key part of it.

I'll bet the guy bundled an awful lot of spending into "security" in order to come up with these figures, since even John McCain complained early on in Bush's term that his own party was "spending like drunken sailors".

He was right to have modernized Medicare with prescription drug benefits provided through competition, not delivered by government. The program is costing 40% less than projected because market forces dominate and people -- not government -- are making the decisions.

The program is leaving 50 million people out in the cold, and leaving America with the worst infant mortality rate among wealthy first-world nations.

Mr. Bush was right to pass No Child Left Behind (NCLB), requiring states to set up tough accountability systems that measure every child's progress at school. As a result, reading and math scores have risen more in the last five years since NCLB than in the prior 28 years.

Standardized test scores have risen, no doubt due to test-taking preparation. Is there any evidence that this is translating to actual skills improvement in more realistic conditions?

He was right to stand for a culture of life. And he was right to appoint conservative judges who strictly interpret the Constitution.

By "strictly", he must be referring to the such travesties as Gonzalez' logic that the Constitution technically never said people had the right to habeus corpus; it only said that this right cannot be taken away.

And Mr. Bush, a man of core decency and integrity, was right not to reply in kind when Democratic leaders called him a liar and a loser. The price of trying to change the tone in Washington was to be often pummeled by lesser men.

This is just pure unvarnished lies. Bush accused everyone who disagreed with him of being on the side of the terrorists.

Few presidents had as many challenges arise during their eight years, had as many tough calls to make in such a partisan-charged environment, or had to act in the face of such hostile media and elite opinion.

Wow, look at those conservative buzzwords: "partisan", "media", and of course, "elite". Gotta get 'em all, right?

[mr friendly guy]

Even here we have apologists for Bush. I saw in today's Australian some guy named Devine saying history will vindicate Bush. Skim reading through it I saw gems to the effect of "Bush got rid of those people (in Iraq) who weren't performing". Presumably he meant he got rid of those who told Bush his unrealistic plans weren't going to work. But I see that if you sprout lies enough times it becomes truth, at least for those too goddamn stupid to pay attention.

[Samuel]

You gotta Catch'em all!

Before Karl became known as "The Architect" of President Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns, he was president of Karl Rove + Company, an Austin-based public affairs firm that worked for Republican candidates, nonpartisan causes, and nonprofit groups. His clients included over 75 Republican U.S. Senate, Congressional and gubernatorial candidates in 24 states, as well as the Moderate Party of Sweden.

Any Swedes want to explain?

Karl writes a weekly op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, is a Newsweek columnist and is now writing a book to be published by Simon & Schuster. Email the author at Karl@Rove.com or visit him on the web at Rove.com.

There is no justice.

democracy in the heart of the Arab world is emerging.

Don't Egypt and Palestine count or are they too corrupt and rigged?

Mr. Bush was right to establish a doctrine that holds those who harbor, train and support terrorists as responsible as the terrorists themselves.

Four words- School of the Americas.

These tough decisions -- which became unpopular in certain quarters only when memories of 9/11 began to fade -- kept America safe for seven years

But not apparently from infrastructure problems. And, of course, none of the improvements are the result of increased vigilance by security- it all came from the top.

increased domestic nonsecurity discretionary spending by 16%. Mr. Bush cut

When you leave out the war, it looks alot smaller, doesn't it?

The price of trying to change the tone in Washington was to be often pummeled by lesser men.

You mean like the man who lost his limbs in Vietnam and was hounded out by you Rove as being "soft on terrorists" because he voted against the origional Homeland Security bill because you removed worker protection provisions?

And he exits knowing he summoned all of his energy and talents to defend America and advance its ideals at home and abroad.

This is a stunning victory for oligarchical collectivism.

[Edi]

Hostile media?

The Bush White House cultivated the most tame lapdog media imaginable, where nothing he did was ever subjected to any serious scrutiny and anyone who attempted to do so got immediately labeled a terrorist sympathizer.

Rove also conveniently forgets that what partisanship there was was largely coming from the Republican side or was caused by high-handed Republican approach to any ideas of cooperation that involved compromise.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

This ranks right up there with Rush Limbaugh. That Fatass recently was quoted saying that he hopes Obama fails in his effort to repair the country. In order to avoid economics and politics he doesn't like, Fatass wants this country to flounder and for people to suffer.

I, for one, think we all have it backward. Yes, the Cons want to avoid economics and politics that they don't like, but the ultimate and specific goal behind everything is for people to suffer. They want us all to come unhinged from the pain so they can retroactively justify the inevitable police-state crackdown and ratchet up the torture even more.

They want to waterboard us all, essentially.

[ray245]

Then there is another mentality used by Republicans to defend Bush. Bush is an alright president because he did not do enough to screw the US beyond recovery.

I really have to wonder, is it even possible for the US to have a sizable and useful opposition party against the Democrats? An opposition party that does not oppose the democrats based on anti-intellectualism?

It is funny to see the US, who viewed itself as a democratic nation which everyone should follow can't even have a sensible opposition party.

[Edi]

Put down the extra strength weed, Einy. If you have evidence for that hasty generalization, go right ahead and present it. Otherwise, if you have nothing else to contribute, stay quiet.

[JME2]

* Peruses article *

Fuck you, Rove. Fuck you to hell.