"Bush Was Right! La la la! I can't hear you!"

[Sionnach Glic]

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.
The Opinion Journal Widget

Download Opinion Journal's widget and link to the most important editorials and op-eds of the day from your blog or Web page.

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.

Will someone slap this guy in the face with a dose of reality?

[Mikey]

Oh, good - we all know that Karl Rove is the most unbiased reporter on the Bush administration. That's like getting a lesson on the history of the Third Reich from Heinrich Himmler.

[Tsukiyumi]

What a bunch of BS.

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.

I guess the fact that said economy is now in the toilet because of those policies doesn't count because a lot of rich people got a lot richer during the boom.

The bolded part is the crux of the BS: why in hell would you cut taxes for people who buy shoes worth more than my car?

[Sionnach Glic]

Because they're self-serving fuckers who care about nothing other than setting them and their friends up for an even easier ride through life.
It's times like this I wish karma was real. That way, they would all be reincarnated as the poorest of the poor in the USA. Let them try to survive in the world they've created. The ultimate justice.

[Deepcrush]

This is why I believe in killing people. It helps clear out the gene pool a bit.

[colmquinn]

This is why I believe in killing people. It helps clear out the gene pool a bit.

See I have this plan, some people find it distasteful while many others heartily agree - first we build a great big wall, stimulating the building sector, then line up lots of bankers and some politicians against it (can you see where this is going), shoot the b*stards, bury their bodies in a mass grave (giving some guys with shovels a job).
While not a long term recovery plan it would certainly bring mass approval and as mentioned it would send some wage packets to people who need em.

[Captain Picard's Hair]

Mr. Bush was right to match tax cuts with spending restraint.

Say what? I'd hate to see the deficits an unrestrained Bush would rack up!

[Sionnach Glic]

See I have this plan, some people find it distasteful while many others heartily agree - first we build a great big wall, stimulating the building sector, then line up lots of bankers and some politicians against it (can you see where this is going), shoot the b*stards, bury their bodies in a mass grave (giving some guys with shovels a job).

Hell, I already have a whole freaking mental list of people I'd like to see up against the wall.

[colmquinn]

Hell, I already have a whole freaking mental list of people I'd like to see up against the wall.

You too huh,

[Sionnach Glic]

Hell yes. Bring on the Revolution! Those Greens and Fianna Faíl morons are first against the wall.

[colmquinn]

Can we burn down a bank headquarters or two while we're at it?

[Sionnach Glic]

Sure, why not?

[Lt. Staplic]

this has to be a joke...

[Tsukiyumi]

this has to be a joke...

Well, Karl Rove is a joke, but no, I think he actually believes this crap. As do a few million other morons.

[Sionnach Glic]

Don't twenty-odd percent of the US population still think King Bush the Lesser did a good job?
He may have the lowest % of public support in US presidential history, but the fact that he has any support really says a lot.