Free Republic

President Barack Obama met with former President George H.W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the Oval Office on Friday--a visit not put on his public schedule later described as "personal" by the White House.

When White House press secretary Jay Carney uses the phrase "the previous administration" it is usually an opportunity for him to point out that President Obama "inherited" problems and a poor economy from former President Bush. However, at today's press briefing, Carney was more than happy to cite the Bush administration when it came to explaining President Obama's recent recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Former president George H. W. Bush offered an informal endorsement of Mitt Romney in remarks published Thursday, saying that Mr. Romney “is the best choice for us.” The former president told reporters for The Houston Chronicle that he supported Mr. Romney because of his “stability, experience, principles. He’s a fine person,” Mr. Bush, 87, said. “I just think he’s mature and reasonable – not a bomb-thrower.” The paper reported the comments, made this week, on its Web site Thursday afternoon. A spokesman for Mr. Bush confirmed the accuracy of the comments and said they fully reflect the views of the...

George W. Bush is hitting the road, traveling overseas to Africa in an effort to promote health initiatives com batting cancer and AIDS. But while he’s there, human rights group Amnesty International has a suggestion for several government representatives. “Say… this might be a good time to lock that guy up.�The Bush team isn’t pleased. Former members of the George W. Bush administration assailed Amnesty International Thursday for demanding the former president’s arrest while he and his family are in Africa, calling Amnesty’s campaign at best a form of “harassment� and at worst a threat. The world’s largest human rights...

The New York Times‘ Thomas Friedman told The McLaughlin Group host John McLaughlin that he gives President Barack Obama high marks… for following through on a certain previous president’s foreign policy plans. Can you guess whose? Said Friedman: I’d give Obama high marks for fulfilling Bush’s foreign policy. I think he’s been very good at executing Bush’s foreign policy, particularly the war on terrorism. Been very focused. He’s I think brought power to bear in a very smart way. He’s gotten the people he needed getting. In terms of his own foreign policy, I’d agree with Mort. I think it’s...

Condoleezza Rice has revealed the moment she thought that she and President George W. Bush had suffered deadly botulism poisoning. In her new book, the former secretary of state reveals that in the weeks following 9/11, there were scares over smallpox and radioactive attacks on Washington – and a potential poisonous toxin attack on the White House. She was on a trip to a summit meeting in China with Bush when former-Vice President Dick Cheney delivered the blow via a secure video conference line. In an interview with ABC News, Ms Rice explained: ‘The vice president came on the screen...

VIDEO at LINK: This young University of Colorado student and "Occupy Denver" protester may appear too young to have much life experience, but yessir — he’s mad as hell and he isn’t going to take it anymore. “There’s a lot of stuff that needs to change,” our boy says, “and if it doesn’t, violent revolution will come.” How to change things for the better? Apparently it just takes a box of bullets and some rope. “If you get the thirteen families that own the world, including George Bush and his administration," he says to our video blogger, "get them in...

By George Bush I don't mean the 41st or 43rd Presidents of the United States, but the 19th century clergyman and historian George Bush, who was also the author of the first American biography of Mohammed. Bush was also the great-grand uncle of the 41st President, and the great-great grand uncle of the 43rd President. But his views on Islam were significantly different than those of his more Saudi friendly modern day relations. George Bush was one of the more famous ministers of his day, a biblical scholar, a liberal and controversial thinker. And while his biography of Mohammed was...

DALLAS (AP) — George W. Bush says that after eight years in the White House, he's happy to be back home in Texas and out of the spotlight. But the former commander-in-chief tells The Associated Press there's one aspect of his presidency he still misses: interaction with U.S. troops. And Bush, who sent them to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, says that despite his desire to remain largely out of the public eye, he wants to make sure veterans and military members know they still have his support. "I was a little concerned that our veterans don't think that I...

As time passes, and the distance between George W. Bush’s presidency and the present grows, we can gauge his biggest decisions and his fortitude with greater circumspection. And the deeper understanding that comes through time helps us see that many of the decisions that elicited the most outrage while he was in office have proven, with time, to be some of his best. Moreover, from the perspective of the highly secularized administration occupying the presidency today, it’s surreal to reflect on how important President Bush’s faith was to him and to those around him. As well as how focused and...

This is a tribute with the comforting words of President Bush throughout.

In his first comments on Dick Cheney’s new memoir, former President George W. Bush said on Thursday that he isn’t bothered by the book - which has angered at least two members of his administration. Bush, who appeared on “Fox & Friends” while attending a charity golf event, said he won’t concern himself with the controversy “In My Time” has created among members of his former staff. “I’m glad members of my family are giving their version of what it was like to serve our country,” Bush said. “I did the same thing. I put my version out there. And...

From the Desk of Jon Smith Chief of Bush Family Security Bush Ranch, Crawford Texas Jan. 11, 2006 Dear President Bush, As chief of your family security I must inform you of a situation here at your home on the ranch. During a routine walk along the grounds this morning some of my men discovered a family of five Mexicans living inside of your house. There was an old man and woman, their son, his wife and their two year old child. Apparently they all sneaked across the border from Mexico and sneaked into your house where they have secretly...

(How do you know Rick Perry’s lying? Well, you know the joke. Watch his lips move and see who he remind you of.)  They say first impressions are lasting ones. And if you’ve been following my comments on the potential 2012 Republicans presidential field, you know that my first impression of most of them is that they are either boobs or frauds.There is one contender who does not meet that definition. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is neither a boob nor a fraud. He’s the only Republican in the field who has been a consistent adherent to the constitution during his entire political...

After Years of Struggle, South Sudan Becomes a New Nation By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN JUBA, South Sudan — The celebrations erupted at midnight. Thousands of revelers poured into Juba’s steamy streets in the predawn hours on Saturday, hoisting enormous flags, singing, dancing and leaping on the back of cars. “Freedom!” they screamed. A new nation was being born in what used to be a forlorn, war-racked patch of Africa, and to many it seemed nothing short of miraculous. After more than five decades of an underdog, guerrilla struggle and two million lives lost, the Republic of South Sudan, Africa’s 54th state,...

From Russellville Middle School in Arkansas.The title tells the basic story. A high school yearbook that lists the five worst people: 1.)Adolph Hitler: Ok, that makes sense.No need to explain. 2.)Osama Bin Laden:The modern super villain.Evil guy,but personally I think Stalin would be second to Hitler. 3.)Charles Manson: Ok,really nasty guy.To this day he's Roman Polanski's pedophilia defense. Mao anyone? Genghiz Khan? Hey, this is a high school. NUMBERS 4 and 5? Drumroll please........... George W Bush and Dick Cheney!!!!!!!Not Stalin,or Mao,or Saddam.Not Genghiz,or the Caesars. Just Bush and Cheney. Why you may ask is such a list in a...

CLYBURN SEES BOOGEYMEN EVERYWHERE HE LOOKS - House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, the highest-ranking black member of Congress, has a simple explanation for Barack Obama’s political woes. I’ll give you three guesses, and the first two don’t count: RACISM. Hmm, imagine that. On Planet Clyburn, opposition to Obama isn’t due to his policies or ideology – let alone, the content of his character. Nope, it’s the color of his skin that causes millions of Americans to disapprove of this president and his agenda. “You know, I’m 70 years old,” Clyburn said. And I can tell you; people don’t like...

It would take one giant leap for mankind to ignore our true visionaries We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. - President John F. Kennedy Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest....

Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) says the death of Osama bin Laden puts President Obama in a "political position that makes him the Commander-in-Chief of an almost flawless mission of monumental proportion that have unbelievable ramifications."

Hysterical little nugget here from Reuters. It seems that the Libyan freedom fighters don't see much hope in Obama: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Rebels called on Thursday for a no-fly zone, echoing a demand by Libya's deputy U.N. envoy, who now opposes Gaddafi. "Bring Bush! Make a no fly zone, bomb the planes," shouted soldier-turned-rebel Nasr Ali, referring to a no-fly zone imposed on Iraq in 1991 by then U.S. President George Bush.

Former President George W. Bush has canceled a scheduled speaking appearance at the YPO Global Leadership Summit after learning that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was invited to address the same summit, his spokesperson said today. Mr. Bush's spokesman David Sherzer said in a statement that Mr. Bush accepted an invitation to speak at the Denver summit six months ago. The former president was slated to speak at the event tomorrow.

In his new book, The Tea Party Goes to Washington, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul recounts his tense meeting last year with U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in a Louisville airport hangar with Secret Service surrounding them. McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, was raising campaign money for Paul's opponent, Secretary of State Trey Grayson, in the Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate. Paul, a Bowling Green eye surgeon who rode a wave of support from the Tea Party movement to win his first race for public office, said he tried "to keep the conversation light." "As our meeting continued,"...

George W. Bush to Pass on Switzerland Trip Share posted at 8:45 pm on February 5, 2011 by Jazz Shaw regular view Previous signs of “Miss me yet?� may have sprung up around various points in the United States, but in certain portions of Europe the 43rd president is still not getting a warm reception. After agreeing to assist in a charity event for a Jewish group in Switzerland, warning signs indicated that some left wing groups were preparing a decidedly hostile welcome for Bush and the trip had to be canceled. President George W. Bush has canceled an...

Bush cancels Switzerland visit under threat of protests, efforts to arrest him By Bridget Johnson - 02/05/11 09:59 AM ET President George W. Bush has canceled an event in the famously neutral country Switzerland because of expected protests to his presence there. Bush was supposed to give the keynote address at a Jewish group's charity gala on Feb. 12 in Geneva. Leftist groups had planned to protest the visit, according to news agencies. But several human rights groups had also filed criminal complaints against Bush, demanding that he be taken into custody if he stepped on Swiss soil and investigated...

1. Decision Points by George W. Bush is the number one best seller on college campuses, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. 2. 2011 is the international year of chemistry. 3. This is school choice week. 4. More than one-third of D. C. teachers turned down bonuses because they were tied to job performance. 5. “A former McKinley Technology High School teacher was charged with second degree theft Thursday in connection with a $100,000 grant that D. C. school officials say vanished,” Lisa Gartner and Scott McCabe reported in The Washington Examiner on Friday, January 24, 2011. “Rick Kelsey...

Somewhere, George Bush is laughing . . . That was the image in Joe Scarborough's mind this morning. The Morning Joe host repeatedly made the point that whereas Dems continue to control the White House and massive congressional majorities, they now are looking at the Bush tax cuts, which for years they vilified, as their last best hope. When it comes to Republican and Dem support for the tax cut deal, Joe--concerned about the $1 trillion being added to the deficit--has been in pox-on-both-their-houses mode. He seems to side with opponents of the bill including Jim DeMint, Rand Paul. ....

Former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush named Mitt Romney as their favorite Republican for the 2012 presidential nomination. "If you asked me, who was the nominee be, I couldn't tell you. We like Mitt Romney. We know him well and like him very much," Bush said in an interview with CNN's Larry King. The former president then joked about his support, saying: "Don't want to kill him off." "He's a reasonable guy. A conservative fellow, which is good. But, no, I think he'd be a good president, a very good president," Bush said of the...

Former President George W. Bush is expected to draw around 40,000 people to a rally in Florida this morning at the Republican stronghold retirement community, The Villages, according to local news reports.Bush is promoting his new book, Decision Points. After the rally, he will greet several hundred people who obtained wristbands earlier in the week from a bookstore in The Villages. There are conflicting reports about whether pre-signed books will given to those meeting Bush or if he will sign books in person.The rally is set for 10 a.m. at Lake Sumter Landing.Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin drew a crowd...

Fox News host Sean Hannity sat down with former President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for an hour-long interview and this is the transcript and video at the Fox News link. George Bush Interview.

The terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001, gave his administration a clear goal and him the resolve to find out who was responsible and "kick their ass," former President George W. Bush writes in his new book. In "Decision Points," Bush describes his reaction when his then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice informed him of the crash of a third airplane into the Pentagon. "I sat back in my seat and absorbed her words. My thoughts clarified: The first plane could have been an accident. The second was definitely an attack. The third was a declaration of war," the...

Former President George W. Bush says criticism from some, including prominent rapper Kanye West, that his handling of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina showed he did not care about black people represented "an all-time low." In his memoir, "Decision Points," to be released next Tuesday, Bush writes that charges flung at him that he was a racist during the Katrina crisis "was the worst moment of my presidency." In excerpts of an interview of Bush by NBC's "Today" show, the former president was asked about West's comment that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." The accusation arose because many blacks...

Former President George W. Bush, accompanied by his father Former President George H. W. Bush, throws out the first pitch of game 4 of the World Series in Texas.

W is throwing the first pitch shortly, what will the crowd reaction be? I'm thinking a long standing ovation. What do you think?

"The fact is that people are frustrated and angry, we completely understand because of what happened before the president [Obama] came in and so it's going to take some time," senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett told CNN.

Former President George W. Bush left office with the lowest approval ratings since Richard Nixon. In reaction, for nearly two years President Barack Obama won easy applause by prefacing almost every speech on his economic policies with a "Bush did it" put-down. But suddenly Bush seems OK. Last week, the president did the unthinkable: He praised Bush for his past efforts to reach out to Muslims. Vice President Joe Biden went further and blurted out, "Mr. Bush deserves a lot of credit." Biden topped that off with, "Mr. President, thank you." Even liberal pundits have now called on Bush to...

President Barack Obama telephoned President George Bush today. The White House won't disclose what was talked about, but this might be accurate.

President Obama did several sound checks while attempting to deliver the following line hitting the Bush administration: "It took nearly a decade to dig the hole that we're in."

NEW ORLEANS – Five years after Hurricane Katrina's wrath, President Barack Obama sought to reassure disaster-weary Gulf Coast residents Sunday that he would not abandon their cause. "My administration is going to stand with you, and fight alongside you, until the job is done," Obama said to cheers at Xavier University, a historically black, Catholic university that was badly flooded by the storm. The president said there are still too many vacant lots, trailers serving as classrooms, displaced residents and people out of work. But he said New Orleanians have showed amazing resilience. "Because of you," the president declared, "New...

At a fund-raising event for Democrats in Dallas, where Bush now lives, Obama said the former president's "disastrous" policies had driven the U.S. economy into the ground and turned budget surpluses into deficits. Obama defended his repeated references to Bush's policies, saying they were necessary to remind Americans of the weak economy he inherited from Bush in January 2009. "The policies that crashed the economy, that undercut the middle class, that mortgaged our future, do we really want to go back to that, or do we keep moving our country forward?" Obama said at another fund-raising event in Austin, referring...

Remember when we had a President? If not, take a look at the photo at the link.

his was a different kind of shock and awe. As 145 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan walked through the double doors in Terminal D at DFW Airport on Wednesday for two weeks of R&R, they were greeted not only by their families, but by some special guests. Former President George W. Bush and Laura Bush joined 33 kids participating in the North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee's SLANT 45 project to give service members perhaps the most memorable moment since the Welcome Home Heroes initiative started in November 2004. "Today was one of the best, if not the best...

"I think what's happened is Fareed, in the last six months I think there was an article even in the paper this week about people no longer blaming Bush. They're beginning to target this White House. That's a natural course of events as you go through any administration, but I don't think it is fair to the President," Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said on CNN. "The story hasn't been sufficiently told," Kerry added.

The month of July 2005 was another busy month for President Bush as you can see in the photos. I have chosen President Bush’s Independence Day message from July 1st 2005 as quote of the month Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

SOURCES: Jeb Bush hits back at the Obama's criticism of his brother and mulls his own political future... Developing...

Accountability: Democrats have finally gotten around to blaming the Bush administration for the Gulf oil disaster. We wonder when this administration will take responsibility for anything. Asked on the "Imus in the Morning" program Tuesday on Fox Business Network if the Obama administration is to blame for the damaging fallout of the spill, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., actually said, "Well, you know, they come into office a year ago with all of this. And so, after the last eight years ... " before being interrupted by a perplexed Imus. We too are perplexed. George W. Bush was blamed for the...

It’s going on 16 month now since President Bush left the White House. Do I really need to say how much wished he were still there? I have chosen for the quote of the month the speech President Bush gave on May 24, 2004, because it goes perfectly with one of the photos of the month My apologies for posting the dose so late. Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island

Rep. David Obey (D-WI) on retiring: "Frankly, I had considered retiring after the 2000 election. But I became so angered by the policies of the Bush administration that I decided to stick around as long as they were here."

Karl Rove now says he is sorry that immigration reform was not President Bush's top priority at the beginning of his second term rather than social security reform. Speaking to The New York Times Rove said " As I said in the book, (Courage and Consequences) I wish we had led the second term with immigration reform. If we had led with immigration reform at the beginning of the second term we could have had bipartisan cooperation with a Republican majority in the House and the Senate and done something important for the country that was tilted more toward what...

Here is video of MSNBC's Chris Matthews yesterday mocking former President George W. Bush and the new book he will have out in November. Matthews mocked the statement from Bush's Office that he has been working almost daily on writing his new book, entitled "Decision Points." Matthews said "Let's not overdo the claim - "Let's just say he approved the book." There's not much to say about Matthews, other than, he's a first-class jerk.

It's not every day that we get to watch the daughter and granddaughter of two former Republican presidents interview a former Democratic president. But that's what we got Monday morning on the "Today" show when Jenna Bush Hager interviewed Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative University in Miami. Hager - a teacher by trade whom NBC hired last year as an occasional "Today" contributor - thanked Clinton for engaging in the "rarity" of "a Bush interviewing a Clinton." Clinton joked in response: "I was thinking, you know, if your family fed in questions I'd be cooked." "No, no. They...