Paul Harris
Sunday January 27, 2008
The Observer
Being ignored is bad enough for anyone. But when you are President of the United States it must be doubling humiliating. Yet Democrats are too busy fighting each other to mention him and Republicans fear to be associated with his record.
Now George W Bush - whose successor won't take office until January 2009 - is also suffering the indignity of having his historical legacy unfavourably examined while still having almost a year left of his second term. A slew of books and a planned major film are all starting to judge Bush's place in history even as he keeps the seat warm in the Oval Office.
And so far, the verdict does not look good.
The title of Jacob Weisberg's recent book says it all. The editor of online magazine Slate called his tome The Bush Tragedy. It is an exhaustive look at the Bush years that paints a portrait of disaster. A publicity blurb for the book, ignoring the fact that Bush has 11 months left in power, talks of the president's 'historic downfall'.
Weisberg is not alone in his brutal assessment of Bush's significance as America, and the rest of the world, waits for the Bush era to be over. A book coming out in March is entitled Reagan's Disciple: Bush's Troubled Quest for a Legacy. It has been penned by distinguished Washington reporters Lou Cannon and Carl Cannon and paints a picture of Bush as a man who failed to live up to the expectations of his own party, which had thought he would be a 'second Ronald Reagan'.
To cap it all, film director Oliver Stone has announced plans to rush out a biopic on Bush in time for the November election. Though Bush may take some solace in being played by acclaimed actor Josh Brolin, Stone's record of liberal sympathies mean he is unlikely to get a positive treatment on the big screen. He will join Richard Nixon and JFK as having been the subject of Stone's movies. But both those presidents were dead when Stone made his films. Not still in office.
Experts say the rush to judge Bush's legacy in print and celluloid is a sign of the modern media times and also of Bush's powerlessness. Having lost control of Congress, he is effectively unable to drive any policy forward. Thus his legacy is already in place. 'Bush fatigue has set in. Part of that is him. Part of that is the nature of the modern presidency,' said Carl Cannon.
Cannon points out that Bush's legacy means different things to different people. Liberals will see the war in Iraq, high oil prices, Hurricane Katrina and a lax attitude to the environment and conclude that history will judge Bush as an unmitigated disaster.
However, conservatives will point to deeply conservative judges appointed to the Supreme Court as being of huge and positive historic significance. 'If you are a conservative, Bush's moves on taxes and judges were what you wanted. He walked the walk,' said Cannon. But he added: 'In the long term, Bush's legacy is unknowable. In the short term, he's been great for Democrats.'
Political experts agree that any initial historical judgment on Bush may be premature. The reputations of major figures go through a phase of historical revisionism long after they have left office, with even Nixon having been rescued from the disgrace of his exit from office.
'In 10 years' time, someone will write a book about how brilliant and foresighted Bush was, even though that might be hard to imagine now,' said Professor Shawn Bowler, a political scientist at the University of California at Riverside.
this article is from
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2247533,00.html
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Bush skips Kenya in Africa tour as US backs peace talks
Sat, January 26, 2008
By KEVIN J KELLEY
Last updated: 58 minutes ago
President George W Bush will once again skip Kenya in his planned visit to Africa next month.
But this time around, the likely reason for the side-step is the raging violence triggered by results of last month’s presidential election.
The White House announced on Friday that the American leader will travel to Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Liberia and Benin between February 15 and 21.
Prior to Kenya’s December 27 election, there had been hope that Mr Bush might become the first sitting US president to visit Kenya.
A successful round of voting and a peaceful aftermath might well have led the Bush administration to showcase Kenya as a beacon of African democracy.
Democratic reform
But the chaos convulsing the county instead destroyed any chance of Mr Bush stopping in Kenya on a tour intended, in part, to demonstrate US support for what the White House terms “continued democratic reform” in Africa.
Mr Bush also sidestepped Kenya during a five-nation tour of Africa in 2003 that included a stop in Uganda.
President Bill Clinton likewise paid a visit to Uganda but not to Kenya during a six-country visit in 1998. Three former US presidents have visited Kenya, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt nearly a century ago.
The United States meanwhile called for renewed peace efforts by President Kibaki and opposition leader Mr Raila Odinga.
By KEVIN J KELLEY
Last updated: 58 minutes ago
President George W Bush will once again skip Kenya in his planned visit to Africa next month.
But this time around, the likely reason for the side-step is the raging violence triggered by results of last month’s presidential election.
The White House announced on Friday that the American leader will travel to Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, Liberia and Benin between February 15 and 21.
Prior to Kenya’s December 27 election, there had been hope that Mr Bush might become the first sitting US president to visit Kenya.
A successful round of voting and a peaceful aftermath might well have led the Bush administration to showcase Kenya as a beacon of African democracy.
Democratic reform
But the chaos convulsing the county instead destroyed any chance of Mr Bush stopping in Kenya on a tour intended, in part, to demonstrate US support for what the White House terms “continued democratic reform” in Africa.
Mr Bush also sidestepped Kenya during a five-nation tour of Africa in 2003 that included a stop in Uganda.
President Bill Clinton likewise paid a visit to Uganda but not to Kenya during a six-country visit in 1998. Three former US presidents have visited Kenya, beginning with Theodore Roosevelt nearly a century ago.
The United States meanwhile called for renewed peace efforts by President Kibaki and opposition leader Mr Raila Odinga.
Romney praises Bush, bashes Washington
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Romney praises Bush, bashes Washington
Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:20pm EST
By Jason Szep
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney often casts himself as an agent of change who would fix a "broken Washington" but he spares an obvious target -- President George W. Bush.
"I salute the fact the president has kept us safe these past six years," he told a rally on Saturday in Florida, whose primary on Tuesday is the next test in the most wide open race for the Republican presidential nomination in 50 years.
A day earlier, speaking to reporters, he was even kinder to the unpopular president, saying that while he differed with Bush at times he still deeply respects him.
"Has the president done everything perfectly? Absolutely not," he said. "But is he a person I deeply respect for his conviction and his appreciation for the country and his desire to do what's right for it? I sure do."
While Bush's job approval rating languishes near record lows of around 30 percent, it is more than double that among core Republican primary voters who could make the difference in Florida's primary.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is aggressively courting that Republican Party base in his race with John McCain, a four-term Arizona senator who Florida polls show is neck-and-neck with Romney.
Florida is the next battle in the state-by-state contests to pick nominees for the November 4 presidential election to succeed Bush.
At campaign rallies, Romney presents himself as an outsider who would fix a "fundamentally broken" Washington. Both Democrats and Republicans, he often says, are to blame.
In Florida's conservative bastion of Pensacola on Friday, he derided "an arrogance that sets into Washington".
"These last few decades have not been kind to Washington and people are tired of it," he said.
MENTIONS THE ELDER BUSH
Like many speeches, he ended the rally with praise for Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, president from 1989 to 1993.
After winning Michigan's primary this month, Romney said he drew inspiration from the elder Bush and former president Ronald Reagan, staying clear of any mention of the current president in a state that continues to lose thousands of auto manufacturing jobs.
But as he campaigns in Florida, a more conservative state, references to the first president Bush are now accompanied with fulsome praise of the current president's handling of national security.
"It is easy and fashionable to point out the failures and conflict of management, particularly in Iraq, and that's going to be the case in any war. But let us not forget this president has kept us safe these last six years," Romney said on Wednesday in Boca Raton.
It's unclear how the multimillionaire former venture capitalist, who is often accused of shifting positions for political convenience on heated issues such as abortion, would handle the branding of being a Bush loyalist in the general election against Democrats, given the president's low popularity.
But he draws heavily on the political network of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother.
His senior policy adviser, Sally Bradshaw, was a chief of staff for Jeb Bush, for example, while his state director, Mandy Fletcher, was Florida political director of President Bush's 2004 campaign and executive director of a Jeb Bush advocacy group.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
Romney praises Bush, bashes Washington
Sat Jan 26, 2008 3:20pm EST
By Jason Szep
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney often casts himself as an agent of change who would fix a "broken Washington" but he spares an obvious target -- President George W. Bush.
"I salute the fact the president has kept us safe these past six years," he told a rally on Saturday in Florida, whose primary on Tuesday is the next test in the most wide open race for the Republican presidential nomination in 50 years.
A day earlier, speaking to reporters, he was even kinder to the unpopular president, saying that while he differed with Bush at times he still deeply respects him.
"Has the president done everything perfectly? Absolutely not," he said. "But is he a person I deeply respect for his conviction and his appreciation for the country and his desire to do what's right for it? I sure do."
While Bush's job approval rating languishes near record lows of around 30 percent, it is more than double that among core Republican primary voters who could make the difference in Florida's primary.
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is aggressively courting that Republican Party base in his race with John McCain, a four-term Arizona senator who Florida polls show is neck-and-neck with Romney.
Florida is the next battle in the state-by-state contests to pick nominees for the November 4 presidential election to succeed Bush.
At campaign rallies, Romney presents himself as an outsider who would fix a "fundamentally broken" Washington. Both Democrats and Republicans, he often says, are to blame.
In Florida's conservative bastion of Pensacola on Friday, he derided "an arrogance that sets into Washington".
"These last few decades have not been kind to Washington and people are tired of it," he said.
MENTIONS THE ELDER BUSH
Like many speeches, he ended the rally with praise for Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, president from 1989 to 1993.
After winning Michigan's primary this month, Romney said he drew inspiration from the elder Bush and former president Ronald Reagan, staying clear of any mention of the current president in a state that continues to lose thousands of auto manufacturing jobs.
But as he campaigns in Florida, a more conservative state, references to the first president Bush are now accompanied with fulsome praise of the current president's handling of national security.
"It is easy and fashionable to point out the failures and conflict of management, particularly in Iraq, and that's going to be the case in any war. But let us not forget this president has kept us safe these last six years," Romney said on Wednesday in Boca Raton.
It's unclear how the multimillionaire former venture capitalist, who is often accused of shifting positions for political convenience on heated issues such as abortion, would handle the branding of being a Bush loyalist in the general election against Democrats, given the president's low popularity.
But he draws heavily on the political network of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother.
His senior policy adviser, Sally Bradshaw, was a chief of staff for Jeb Bush, for example, while his state director, Mandy Fletcher, was Florida political director of President Bush's 2004 campaign and executive director of a Jeb Bush advocacy group.
(Editing by Philip Barbara)
© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Reuters journalists are subject to the Reuters Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
Iraq war at the heart of Bush's legacy
Iraq war at the heart of Bush's legacy
By Tim Shipman in West Palm Beach, Florida
Last Updated: 1:46pm GMT 26/01/2008
George W.Bush will put Iraq back at the heart of the presidential election campaign when he makes the final State of the Union speech of his presidency.
# Home truths will set limit on Bush's final year
# Vicki Woods: What we need is an actor to vote for
# CIA: Hackers shut down power to entire cities
In a move that may help the candidacy of the Republican front-runner, John McCain, the sitting president will use his annual address to Congress to insist that America is now winning in Iraq - an argument that aides to Sen McCain believe will help him win conservative support in primary elections over the next 10 days.
George W Bush
Bush's legacy a statesman has been burnished by a recent trip to the Middle East
Mr Bush’s speech, designed in part to lay down a blueprint for his political legacy, will push his own record to the forefront of the race for the White House, a contest which has increasingly thrust him towards the margins of US politics.
Campaigning in West Palm Beach, Florida, ground zero in Mr Bush’s election victory in 2000, Mr McCain told The Sunday Telegraph that he had discussed the content of the speech with the president.
The former Vietnam war hero, who lost the Republican nomination to Mr Bush that year, has built himself into a frontrunner this time, partly through his espousal of the apparently successful surge strategy in Iraq, even before the Bush administration embraced troop increases.
If he wins his party’s nomination he seems likely to face Hillary Clinton as his Democrat opponent.
Mr McCain told The Sunday Telegraph: "I know what the president is going to say on Iraq. I have had many talks with him about it. We are succeeding. Al Qaeda is on the run. They are not defeated. We have a lot of work to do.
"For us to do what Senator Clinton wants to do, which is to declare surrender - if we do that, I can’t guarantee our security in the world.
"Listen to David Petraeus (the US commander in Iraq). He argues that Iraq is the central front in the battle with radical Islam. We have enormous challenges all around the world."
Mr McCain joked: "I’d like to see President Bush use the State of the Union address to embrace his unabashed support for my candidacy. I’d like him to lean towards that."
However, he added: "I don’t think the president is interested in a message that helps or hurts me."
A McCain adviser John Lehman, who was Ronald Reagan’s navy secretary and was a member of the 9/11 Commission, said a focus on Iraq would help Mr McCain draw distinctions between himself and Mrs Clinton, a central element in his case that he is the most electable Republican.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: "John wants to focus strictly ahead: what do we do now with the economy and Iraq? He wants to draw that stark contrast between his view of our role in Iraq and Hillary Clinton’s view."
advertisement
The most wide open primary election campaign in eight decades has almost entirely eclipsed Mr Bush’s position at the centre of American political life.
US media coverage of his economic stimulus package last week focused not on the plan, but on the reaction of the presidential candidates to it. Every Republican said it could have been better.
Mr Bush’s name is heard more regularly - but not complimentarily - at Democrat campaign rallies than at Republican ones.
The rival Republican candidates contest a primary election in Florida on Tuesday and a series of elections across the US a week later on Super Tuesday.
Mr McCain’s stump speech in West Palm Beach contained praise for President Bush’s work combatting terrorism.
"Don’t you think the President of the United States deserves a little credit for the fact that there has not been an attack on the US since 9/11?" he asked.
And the Arizona senator said he was "proud of the president’s efforts" on an Isreali-Palestinian peace deal.
But Mr McCain went on to dismiss the prospects of such a deal - and made a promise to "get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice" which highlighted one of the most embarrassing failures of the Bush years.
His complaint that "we’ve presided over the greatest increase in spending since" the 1960s, is an open repudiation of Mr Bush’s spending policies.
For his part, Mitt Romney - the other frontrunner in Florida - is campaigning as a Washington outsider.
When asked about the Bush administration’s economic record in a Republican debate on Thursday night, Mr Romney said: "I’m not going to run on that record, I’ll tell you that. I’ll run on my record; I’ll run away from the record of Washington."
Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who is still in the Republican race, famously condemned the current president’s foreign policy as the result of an "arrogant bunker mentality".
Mr Bush has spent recent weeks attempting to burnish his legacy as a statesman, with a long trip to the Middle East.
But accompanying reporters ridiculed his willingness to spend more than an hour talking to them while he was in Saudi Arabia.
Newsweek magazine’s Michael Hirsch, reported: "It occurred to me: George W.Bush literally had nothing else to do this afternoon."
In his speech, Mr Bush will attempt to reassure voters that the US economy is fundamentally sound.
And in a bid to stress the positive role of America in the world, he will draw attention to what the president believes is an underappreciated aspect of his tenure: his investment in Africa, including a £30billion programme to combat Aids.
He will reinforce the case with a visit to that continent next month.
But Mr Bush’s bid to leave a positive legacy is being contested by a campaign group called Americans United for Change, who announced last week that they will spend $8.5 million on adverts condemning his record to try to make sure the president’s approval ratings don’t rise during his final days in the White House.
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/26/wbush226.xml
By Tim Shipman in West Palm Beach, Florida
Last Updated: 1:46pm GMT 26/01/2008
George W.Bush will put Iraq back at the heart of the presidential election campaign when he makes the final State of the Union speech of his presidency.
# Home truths will set limit on Bush's final year
# Vicki Woods: What we need is an actor to vote for
# CIA: Hackers shut down power to entire cities
In a move that may help the candidacy of the Republican front-runner, John McCain, the sitting president will use his annual address to Congress to insist that America is now winning in Iraq - an argument that aides to Sen McCain believe will help him win conservative support in primary elections over the next 10 days.
George W Bush
Bush's legacy a statesman has been burnished by a recent trip to the Middle East
Mr Bush’s speech, designed in part to lay down a blueprint for his political legacy, will push his own record to the forefront of the race for the White House, a contest which has increasingly thrust him towards the margins of US politics.
Campaigning in West Palm Beach, Florida, ground zero in Mr Bush’s election victory in 2000, Mr McCain told The Sunday Telegraph that he had discussed the content of the speech with the president.
The former Vietnam war hero, who lost the Republican nomination to Mr Bush that year, has built himself into a frontrunner this time, partly through his espousal of the apparently successful surge strategy in Iraq, even before the Bush administration embraced troop increases.
If he wins his party’s nomination he seems likely to face Hillary Clinton as his Democrat opponent.
Mr McCain told The Sunday Telegraph: "I know what the president is going to say on Iraq. I have had many talks with him about it. We are succeeding. Al Qaeda is on the run. They are not defeated. We have a lot of work to do.
"For us to do what Senator Clinton wants to do, which is to declare surrender - if we do that, I can’t guarantee our security in the world.
"Listen to David Petraeus (the US commander in Iraq). He argues that Iraq is the central front in the battle with radical Islam. We have enormous challenges all around the world."
Mr McCain joked: "I’d like to see President Bush use the State of the Union address to embrace his unabashed support for my candidacy. I’d like him to lean towards that."
However, he added: "I don’t think the president is interested in a message that helps or hurts me."
A McCain adviser John Lehman, who was Ronald Reagan’s navy secretary and was a member of the 9/11 Commission, said a focus on Iraq would help Mr McCain draw distinctions between himself and Mrs Clinton, a central element in his case that he is the most electable Republican.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: "John wants to focus strictly ahead: what do we do now with the economy and Iraq? He wants to draw that stark contrast between his view of our role in Iraq and Hillary Clinton’s view."
advertisement
The most wide open primary election campaign in eight decades has almost entirely eclipsed Mr Bush’s position at the centre of American political life.
US media coverage of his economic stimulus package last week focused not on the plan, but on the reaction of the presidential candidates to it. Every Republican said it could have been better.
Mr Bush’s name is heard more regularly - but not complimentarily - at Democrat campaign rallies than at Republican ones.
The rival Republican candidates contest a primary election in Florida on Tuesday and a series of elections across the US a week later on Super Tuesday.
Mr McCain’s stump speech in West Palm Beach contained praise for President Bush’s work combatting terrorism.
"Don’t you think the President of the United States deserves a little credit for the fact that there has not been an attack on the US since 9/11?" he asked.
And the Arizona senator said he was "proud of the president’s efforts" on an Isreali-Palestinian peace deal.
But Mr McCain went on to dismiss the prospects of such a deal - and made a promise to "get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice" which highlighted one of the most embarrassing failures of the Bush years.
His complaint that "we’ve presided over the greatest increase in spending since" the 1960s, is an open repudiation of Mr Bush’s spending policies.
For his part, Mitt Romney - the other frontrunner in Florida - is campaigning as a Washington outsider.
When asked about the Bush administration’s economic record in a Republican debate on Thursday night, Mr Romney said: "I’m not going to run on that record, I’ll tell you that. I’ll run on my record; I’ll run away from the record of Washington."
Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who is still in the Republican race, famously condemned the current president’s foreign policy as the result of an "arrogant bunker mentality".
Mr Bush has spent recent weeks attempting to burnish his legacy as a statesman, with a long trip to the Middle East.
But accompanying reporters ridiculed his willingness to spend more than an hour talking to them while he was in Saudi Arabia.
Newsweek magazine’s Michael Hirsch, reported: "It occurred to me: George W.Bush literally had nothing else to do this afternoon."
In his speech, Mr Bush will attempt to reassure voters that the US economy is fundamentally sound.
And in a bid to stress the positive role of America in the world, he will draw attention to what the president believes is an underappreciated aspect of his tenure: his investment in Africa, including a £30billion programme to combat Aids.
He will reinforce the case with a visit to that continent next month.
But Mr Bush’s bid to leave a positive legacy is being contested by a campaign group called Americans United for Change, who announced last week that they will spend $8.5 million on adverts condemning his record to try to make sure the president’s approval ratings don’t rise during his final days in the White House.
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/26/wbush226.xml
George Bush and False Statements? Na it Couldn't Be!
By Chris anon Some people in politics like to stretch the truth a little to gain propaganda but, how much is too much?
According to the False Pretenses article by By Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith, found at http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/, George W. Bush lied a grand total of 935 times.Four of these moments include when he claimed:1. That "Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them." It is very clear that they do not2. "Iraq had links to Al Qaeda" If they did who knows who they are or what we could do about it.3. President Bush declared: "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." But it had been reported that the factory was used to produce gas for weather balloons. not quite the biological warfare factory used to scare the public.4. Bush also said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production." But he had been sent an email by his research team that had claimed it a hoax.The fact is...well? Who could say what the facts are now? Sources all twist things the way they want them to appear to the public. I have no doubt in my mind that Bush has twisted a few truths, I would hope for the sake of his integrity that not all 935 comments were lies. For now though as Americans we must just wait out the war, even if who we are fighting is unclear. The most important thing is to support the troops while they make history and defend our country.
According to the False Pretenses article by By Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith, found at http://www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard/, George W. Bush lied a grand total of 935 times.Four of these moments include when he claimed:1. That "Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them." It is very clear that they do not2. "Iraq had links to Al Qaeda" If they did who knows who they are or what we could do about it.3. President Bush declared: "We found the weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories." But it had been reported that the factory was used to produce gas for weather balloons. not quite the biological warfare factory used to scare the public.4. Bush also said: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production." But he had been sent an email by his research team that had claimed it a hoax.The fact is...well? Who could say what the facts are now? Sources all twist things the way they want them to appear to the public. I have no doubt in my mind that Bush has twisted a few truths, I would hope for the sake of his integrity that not all 935 comments were lies. For now though as Americans we must just wait out the war, even if who we are fighting is unclear. The most important thing is to support the troops while they make history and defend our country.
President Bush, First Lady to Visit Africa Next Month
 |
| President Bush, First Lady to Visit Africa Next Month | |
| 25 January 2008 |
 |
| George W. Bush and wife Laura (File) |
The trip - from February 15-21 - will take them to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.
The White House says the president will meet with the leaders of those countries to discuss how the United States can support continued democratic reform, respect for human rights and economic opportunity across the continent.
Mr. Bush last visited Africa in 2003. The White House says that on this visit, he will review progress made in U.S.-assisted efforts to increase economic development and fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other treatable diseases.
Bush confident about economy, urges stimulus
By Jeremy Pelofsky
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W., Virginia (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Friday he was confident in the long-term strength of the U.S. economy, but urged lawmakers to act swiftly on a stimulus plan he and others hope will help stave off a possible recession.
"I strongly believe it would be a mistake to delay or derail this bill," Bush told his fellow Republicans from the House of Representatives who are attending an annual retreat.
He said the economy's underpinnings were solid but added it needed a temporary boost that would be provided by the election-year package of tax breaks for businesses and government rebates to individuals and families.
Bush and leaders in the Democratic-led House on Thursday unveiled a package of about $150 billion in tax rebates and business investment tax breaks aimed at stimulating consumer and business spending and giving a boost to the economy that has been suffering from high oil prices, a housing market slump and a subprime mortgage crisis.
"It's a sound package. It makes a lot of sense. It's needed and you need to pass it as quickly as possible to get money in the hands of the people who are going to help this economy stay strong," Bush said.
The package must first pass the House before it heads to the Senate, where it will be subject to changes. The House is expected to act quickly on the deal negotiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat; House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
SENATE MAY DO SOME TINKERING
Boehner told reporters that the House would act quickly on the plan, but expressed concern that momentum could slow in the Senate.
"The Senate is another body. They've got their own issues that they have to deal with. They're going to speak on this, I just hope they do it quickly so that we can get it to the president's desk," Boehner told reporters.
Senate Democrats have said they hope to add a temporary extension of unemployment insurance benefits beyond the 26 weeks normally offered by states and other spending that could help low-income people.
In Washington, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, discussed the stimulus plan at a meeting with Paulson. He told reporters afterward that the Treasury secretary would resist efforts to add on to the package.
"I don't think he's enthusiastic about that," Dodd said.
The package includes government tax rebates of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for married couples, plus $300 per child. The rebates phase out for individuals with taxable incomes above $75,000 and for couples with taxable incomes above $150,000. Checks could be sent out as early as May.
The package includes tax provisions allowing businesses to more quickly write off new investments in plant and equipment.
Although Democrats gave up on efforts to get unemployment insurance benefits and money for food stamps into the package, Pelosi told a National Press Club audience in Washington on Friday, that the stimulus package was aimed at helping middle- and low-income Americans.
"This package that we put forth yesterday was a drastic shift from tax cuts for the wealthiest people in our country to tax cuts for the middle class and tax cuts for the working Americans," she said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has said he does not see the package getting bogged down in the Senate and would push to land the legislation on Bush's desk by mid-February.
Home truths will set limit on Bush's final year
By Alex Spillius
Last Updated: 2:03am GMT 26/01/2008
George W Bush's State of the Union speech on Monday will abandon sweeping ambition and instead reflect the political realities of his final 12 months in office, say White House aides. With the nation's attention increasingly shifting to those who will compete to succeed him in November's election, the 43rd president's annual address will not include any bold proposals. "It's just not realistic," acknowledged Dana Perino, his press secretary. advertisement On foreign policy, the president will tout progress in Iraq and restate that more US troops will come home only as conditions allow. He will also promote the US-backed Middle East peace bid, but the rhetoric will lack the grandeur of his call to spread freedom to the "darkest corners of the world" made at his second inauguration in 2005. Mr Bush's approval ratings remain in the low 30s and few commentators are forecasting that his legacy will be remembered kindly. A new book, The Bush Tragedy, identifies three acts within his life. "Act One is the son's struggle to be like his dad until the age of 40. Act Two is his growing success over the next 15 years as he learned to be different. The botched search for a doctrine to clarify world affairs and the president's progressive descent into messianism constitute the conclusive third act," writes Jacob Weisberg, a leading journalist and author of Bushisms, a collection of the president's malapropisms. Mr Weisberg concludes that the younger Bush has been driven by a desire to better his father and to frame the kind of imposing foreign policy dogma lacking in the earlier regime. Americans will probably be listening most closely to Mr Bush for reassurance on the economy, which supersedes Iraq as an election issue. Energy costs are rising, the housing market is troubled and there is a visceral fear of foreign competition for jobs and trade. Having recently announced a £75?billion ($150?billion) tax-rebate package to stimulate the economy, Mr Bush is expected to ask Congress to make permanent other tax cuts that are set to expire in 2010. The day after his speech the media focus will switch to the Republican primary in Florida. Within weeks a new face who will compete in November for the party could have been chosen. |
Information appearing on telegraph.co.uk is the copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without licence. For the full copyright statement see Copyright
Behind the Scenes with Brett Baier: George W. Bush: Fighting to the Finish
Friday , January 25, 2008
By Brett Baier
A President Bush enters the final year of his presidency, he granted me and FOX News Channel’s Documentary Unit unprecedented access to his day-to-day world. The documentary will air this Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET.
• Click over for more information on George W. Bush: Fighting to the Finish
I’ve really enjoyed working on this program. For starters, the footage you will see in this hour is historic and fascinating. We were given access to the president at his ranch in Texas, in the Oval Office during meetings, aboard Air Force One during his historic trip to the Mideast and in the White House residence that is rarely seen.
We visited the president’s ranch multiple times. With our cameras rolling, he drove me around for more than an hour, giving me a guided tour of landscape while he shared his thoughts on the war, the presidential race, immigration, family and faith. We started with a long interview outside of his office on the ranch and thought that might be all we would get. But, the president asked us to hop in his pickup truck and proceeded to drive me and one cameraman all over his 1,600 acre ranch.
He also took me on the same rugged hike that he walks with world leaders when he’s looking for a diplomatic breakthrough. It winds through the woods — over a few streams — until it reveals a huge dramatic canyon carved out of the limestone. The amazing thing is how quiet it is there. The president told me he’s had some of his most poignant moments — alone and with various world leaders in that very spot.
Our series of in-depth interviews with the president and his inner circle is generating a lot of news, too:
• Former Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend told me that the president has made abundantly clear that he wants Usama Bin Laden killed or captured before he leaves office … and describes, in detail, the president’s daily brief in the Oval Office.
“Once a week he's — he's getting an update on the hunt for Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda leadership,” Townsend, who left her position at the beginning of January, told me. “The president has made perfectly clear that he wants Bin Laden brought to justice before he leaves office.”
• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice linked the Operation Iraqi Freedom to Iran’s decision to end part of its nuclear program involving the weaponization of nuclear material. She is the first Administration official to make that connection
“It's hard for me to believe that the Iranians were unaware of the fact that we'd overthrown Saddam Hussein because of an issue of weapons of mass destruction,” Rice told me. “I were teaching this in a political science course, I would have to say I think the Iranians — had to take those things into account in their decision making.”
Rice’s statement runs contrary to the National Intelligence Estimate which, President Bush told me, specifically credited only diplomatic pressure for Iran’s action. If Rice is right, it would arguably be a significant win of the President’s strategy for Iraq, and the Global War on Terror.
• White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten revealed to me that the NIE’s conclusions on Iran cause great concern among the leaders the President met with on his Mideast trip.
“I think pretty much almost every one of the foreign leaders with whom the president met in the Middle East raised concerns about Iran and about the NIE intelligence report that many had misinterpreted to mean that the United States thinks Iran is not dangerous.”
• President Bush conceded to me that he failed in his goal to be a “uniter and not a divider.” The president told me, “I'd say that I worked to be a uniter and it didn't work.”
• In a series of revealing and personal interviews, President Bush told me that as he enters his final year in office, the past President he thinks about most is Abraham Lincoln. And while the president says he doesn’t want people to think that he believes he’s “another Lincoln” he does likens his liberation of Afghanistan and Iraq to Lincoln's emancipation of America’s slaves during the Civil War.
• In a television first, we also sat in on a series speechwriting sessions for the State of the Union Address, which the president will deliver Monday night. In the documentary the president’s chief speechwriter, Bill McGurn, explains why the address is “the most edited 15 pages in America.”
• McGurn, a veteran of the Wall Street Journal and National Review, also told us that President Bush is the most exacting editor he’s every had.
“I've been edited by Bob Bartley [of the Wall Street Journal] and Bill Buckley [of National Review] and the president is by far the most thorough and sharp editor.”
It’s an hour that really captures the behind the scenes of the president’s day to day life — and looks ahead at his final year in office. I think, as someone who covers the White House everyday, it’s extremely interesting — and is definitely worth watching.
• Click over for more information on George W. Bush: Fighting to the Finish
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Copyright 2008 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved.
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