The feeling yesterday was the hair on the back of my neck standing on end–as though I now needed to watch my back, because we now have a leader who is bent on appearance and appeasement above all else.

I echo Thomas Paine’s sentiment, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

There have been some successes as well. I’m just not going to sit here and look back with nostalgia on the presidency of GWB which should have been and could have been so much more. If we, as conservatives and Republicans do not get the “post-mortem” right on this we will only continue to loose election after election. GWB could have been great, but he wasn’t. I look back fondly on the Reagan years. I will not look back fondly on the Bush years.

The place where Bush lost a lot of right leaning moderates was on immigration and then again on the bailout.

I have a friend who voted McCain while holding his nose and frankly preferred the one who shall not be named because he hated that the GOP had lost the rule of law on immigration (gotta supply business with cheap labor), had sold out on sending jobs overseas (gotta supply business with cheap labor), and was going to bail out a bunch of stupid millionaires who don’t know what they are doing (gotta supply business with cheap money).

Oz

Yes, but the country was a completely different place in 2000 when GWB took the White House. Try to put yourself in his shoes … we just experienced the worst attack our country has experienced in over a century and you’re responsible for protecting 300 million Americans. Don’t you think that’s a game changer? Do you really think anyone could have dealt with those circumstances perfectly? It’s easy to be critical and act the role of the Monday morning quarterback, but every other American should try learn the lesson that Barack Obama has learned since November, which is that the job is not about fancy balls and fluffy words. There are tough decisions to be made and George W. Bush made them. That’s precisely why he is hated so much today, because he held up the baby and threatened to cut it in half. Only when Barack Obama proves he is able to do the same thing will we know if he is going to be a good POTUS and we’ll have a better idea of how tough things were for GWB’s presidency. More on that … http://reiboldt.com/?p=488

Honest, I do not get it. Was President Bush causing them to wake up surrounded by doom and gloom? I think not and I am truly baffled.
As I watched the swearing in, I felt sad, knowing that the class, and grace of GWB and his wife will not be presiding.

In a sense, with a new President, I wonder if I am breathing. Heh. Yep, I am still here. Phew! I thought since the man I voted for wasn’t prez that I might be surrounded by doom and gloom and struck by lightning.
Goodbye, Mr. Bush. You will be missed.

Thank you for your service to our nation. May God watch over you and protect you.

Many regards,

SFC (Ret) Timothy Jones
C-1/116 Infantry
Virginia Army National Guard
Lovingston, Virginia

I salute you Mr. Bush, you’ve worked hard and protected our country to the best of your ability. May your retirement be blessedly peaceful.

Mrs. Bush did such a fantastic job compared to the second vice president in office (Hillary) who longed for power and prestige.

I can only hope the new President does not make a mockery of the efforts of the retiring Commander in Chief. Alas, I might be disappointed based on past history with preachers, associates, etc.

Proofreading is my friend.

The reason is simple: class. The Bushes have it, Carter and Clinton don’t.

Also, how many times have we heard about donations to the George W. Bush Presidential Library in the last four months? Granted, there has been a recession, but that hasn’t stopped Obama from raising hundreds of millions for transition, the guv’mint from spending truckloads of cash on the inaugural events, or the Yankees from spending more than the GDP of most nations on three players. Surely, donations to a Presidential LIbrary could have been solicited… I’ve not heard or read about that at all. Quite a contrast to the Linda Rich, Hugh Rodham, etc. talk that was ubiquitous back in early 2001.

While I’m comparing the waxing days of a presidency, this line has got to rankle: “President Bush is recognized all over Africa as the best friend in the White House that continent ever had.” Who could forget the “Don’t You Love Me/Rainbow Tour” Clinton took on the taxpayer dime in his last four months? That man spent more time in his last four months playing dress up in native garb and getting his ego stroked the world over than he spent spent actually governing for the bulk of his second term. “The First Black President”? Heh. Seems that accolade is forgotten.

Not Bush — stayed at home, stayed low-key, and powered-down rather than continuing the masturbatory show of importance culminated by a chintzy grand exit, with the fine silverware clanking around in the luggage.

“I’m going to make coffee for Laura.” What a perfect answer.

Have a nice retirement, President Bush: you’ve earned it.