Deseret News | For better or for worse, Bush is distinctly Bush

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For better or for worse, Bush is distinctly Bush

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Anonymous | 12:24 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I love and honor this fine man...regardless of the many critics who rip him to shreds.

A fine Man | 3:39 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

but a worthless President.

Fine man? Ha! Not this dolt! | 4:28 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Haha, he's not a fine man. A poor excuse for a President. If people like him, they're the same that demand mediocrity in a leader - someone dumb enough for the public to relate to and understand.

His aides wish we could have seen his better side. Hmmm, well, you had 8 years to form your message and show us. I guess the "liberal media" just wouldn't allow it.

I know people in Utah that call the Deseret News liberal media. It's a laugh a minute at times!

If you still think Bush is a good Christian, then I can no longer break bread with you.

Comments continue below

ill eagle alien | 4:56 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Sure, he's a nice guy but he's not the caliber of person that should be the President.

Incompetent, uninterested, narrow minded....... not words you want to describe someone who is the most powerful man in the world.

liberal Larry | 6:20 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Every aspect of our country has been weakened by the worst president of the last 80 years. Historians won't have to wait a generation to write Bush's dismal legacy.

Anonymous | 6:30 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

When he was coming up for re-election, I decided I'd literally vote for a Disney character before I voted for him again. I wish more of Americans had decided the same. What an awful president. I would have admittedly done 100x worse, but then I wasn't president, and didn't make myself out as such. I appreciate the story, but many parts of it don't ring true-like does he really like to read a lot? I doubt it, although I wouldn't be surprised if he had some history books on his nightstand to help him go to sleep!

Karol | 6:58 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I'm proud of George W. Bush for leading our country during eight years of unprecedented tragedy and trial. In my opinion, he was placed in the position of President of the United States because of the kind of person he is. I can't believe any of the other candidates who ran against him could have handled the pressure as well, or have accomplshed as much in the tremendous adversity he faced. We have been blessed; let's pray we can look to Barack Obama to do as well.

Help me out? | 7:00 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

When given the chance to vote for him in his last relection battle, why did Utahs help return him to office with the highest approval rating in the Nation?

Also if he had such a high approval rating four years ago in Utah what is his approval rating today and how does it compare with the rest of the nation?

Where did Utah's get their information to support such a high approval rating?

May JUSTICE prevail? | 7:03 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Bush and his whole cadre are a bunch of greed-driven WAR CRIMINALS who have nearly destroyed the psyche of our once great Nation (not to mention the financial and societal devastation caused by BUSHCO). Thanks to Barack Obama and the Americans who voted for him (no thanks to sore loser Utahns) we may yet be able to regain our place as a respected World-leader.

Bush's PLACE IN HISTORY should be IN PRISON!

BUSHFANINNC | 7:09 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Surprise!! Being born and raised in Utah (and lived there for 40 years)I still read the News and Trib. I must say that I am grateful that history will judge the value and quality of the Bush Presidency rather than the vitrolic hate in these comments.

David S Decker | 7:13 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I always felt that Heavenly Father got Bush in the White House because He knew that an LDS could not be elected as yet. This column as well as the way Bush has done his job has done nothing to change that feeling. It merely reinforced it.

CB | 7:20 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

You do not know enough factors to be judgmental; this has been a war-time President never easy, for war does not run in an ordained fashion? Every President is given too much credit and too much failure when things do not go as planned; constitutionally they cannot really legislate, affect the economy--so look at Congress and you will see failure---partisian politics has been the norm!

dyc | 7:42 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I'm not saying Bush is like Reagan, because there are significant differences. Reagan was the great communicator. But what I will say is that when Reagan left office, the liberal media and the country were down on him also. It was only after he left office that people began to see the great things he did. I'll look forward to seeing what history has to say about Bush in 2048.

Just another job | 7:44 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I guess I expect more of our chief executive than someone who has to get their 7-8 hours of sleep a night, has a ballgame on in the background, is fussy about his lunch, has the time to work out 6 days a week, and comes up with lame nicknames for everyone. Not a bad life, but hardly one that indicates a hard-working exec, much less the leader of our nation.

More Than Meets the Eye | 7:48 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

George Bush was a puppet, being played by conspiring men behind the scenes. We are the fools who bought it.

"There is something behind the thrown greater than the king himself."
-Sir William Pitt, House of Lords 1770

"The world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes."
-Benjamin Dislaeli, English Statesman 1844

"The real truth of the matter is that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government since the days of Andrew Jackson."
-Franklin D. Roosevelt, US President 1933

"Ye hear of wars in foreign countries... but ye know not the hearts of men in your own land."
-D&C 38:29

Bear Laker | 7:58 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

President Bush is one of the most honest Pesidents that the country has ever had. He did not answer his critics because he felt that it demeaned the high office of the presidency. I was irritated that he didn't come out swinging against the leftist press and the low class leaders of the democratic party. If the nation had of backed this president the wars he got us into would be over now. But he was undermined constantly, enboldening the enemy. Those of you who do not see President Bush in a good light are cool aid drinkers of the socialist press and democrat party and are the true closed minded and uneducated people of this country. It is my hope that we as a people get behind President Barack Obama and support him when he does the right thing. I just hope his moral compass is as well tuned as President Bushes is.

Aldo | 8:03 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Mr. Bush's administration determinedly subverted many of our finest institutions, while lashing the public into a panic over the "war on terror". Our better angels were muzzled, our baser instincts were pandered to. God will bring the final judgment on him as well as on me, but those of you who think he'll look better to historians 20 years from now - you're dreamin'!

I Have a Feeling | 8:05 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

From the day Mr. Bush became President I felt that the nation was being tested. A man with almost no qualifications and little knowledge of the world at large came to power in an election in which more people voted for the other guy by a large margin. Less than a year into his presidency, the country was thrown into chaos. The test was genuine. The response was pathetic.

Things just went downhill from there. Mr. Bush had a nation that wanted to support and even love him. When he faced the biggest leadership challenges in his administration, he almost always made poor choices.

He lost the support of the people. He made the nation look foolish.

I felt he made a mockery of the position we, and God, entrusted him with.

Having him gone will demonstrate the genius of our constitutional system. If only we had had four less years.

Lee and Jan Bannerman | 8:10 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Bush is a great President. He understands democracy and freedom and how more government cuts into our freedom and prosperity. He believes in low taxes. God put him there, in office.

Anonymous | 8:12 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Bush is incompetent. Probably not a bad guy, a middle aged fratboy whos probably good helping out around the place, but CEO of the nation? Not enough does he bring to the table. This, by the way, is an opinion I arrived at by observation, and not from some scary 'leftist, liberal, socialist' media information.

Re: May justice prevail | 8:10 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

If you think about it, every world leader is a criminal to someone. They make decisions about life and death. Being President is certainly not a job to envy. I have been critical of Bush's policies, but Liberal Larry has it wrong when he says we won't have to wait a generation to know Bush's legacy. The legacy of policy decisions affects us for decades, not matter how good or how bad the President. Their decisions are with us for a very, very long time and the real positives or negatives don't always rear their heads immediately. For example, the current economic crisis is starting to point more and more to the Clinton administration, Alan Greenspan, and the Republican Congress. I'm sure no predicted that Clinton's legacy would be of economic ruin even though there are forces out there who are trying to protect the Clinton legacy and obfuscate the truth. Part of Bush's legacy will depend on the future. If the U.S. is hit by a series of terrorist attacks during the Obama administration, people will look back on the Bush years a little more fondly and regard him as the President who protected us. You never know.

The Shadow Knows | 8:14 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

A fair review of the President known as Bush the Second would conclude that he was personable, friendly, kind, considerate, and nice to his wife. Love sports. In short, he could have been a good president of the local Lions Club.

The fair review would also conclude that he was lazy, did not care to read, was scared of being caught doing wrong things, covered up his past like a dog digging in your front lawn, hired all the wrong people and then praised them to cover up his wrong selections, and then went to war purposely against people who did not attack us.

Then, we come to the economy... what is left of it that is.

There will be many books written about this Bush, none of them will make him out to be anything but a failure. But there will be shills who will get paid 6 figure sums to puff him up, get the right photos for the book, and talk in superlatives about how he treated his dog.

Bush has been a failure. Let's face it. To think that providence brought us this man is to insult God. Please don't do that.

The Shadow Knows.

Jdub | 8:19 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

For all the complaints and the criticism (of which some is deserved) I have a lot of respect for President Bush. Whatever his weaknesses, I admire his stubbornness. I know that may be one of his weaknesses, but I admire the way he sticks to what he believes, unless he is shown compelling evidence to the contrary. I hope that President-Elect Obama can do the same, and not sway to and fro when the popularity contest starts.

To Bear Laker: | 8:22 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

You've got some research and awakening to do.

I hate to be the one to break the news, but George Bush or Barack Obama are NOT honest men, and Santa Clause isn't real...

GCF | 8:29 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Lincoln was treated with some of the most hateful vitriol in history during his day...only in his death and the ultimate look back provided by wise observers has he come to be viewed as we view him now...
Bush is not Lincoln...but the vitriol has been much the same...and I quietly believe history, looking back, will find a greater man than all of the short-sighted, the politically-motivated, self-appointed judges and naysayers of our day...
In a nation as large as ours, a mass of people are necessary to run it...not each can be depended on to hold to and perform to the same standard as we hold our president...how sad...inasmuch as he often painted with a brush of their making not his...and with that unnecessarily come blemishes that tarnish even the greatest of men...thus, work for biographers...
Thank you, Mr. President...from one grateful man...

Bilbo | 8:41 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I am amused at the tone of some of these comments. Most of us have no idea what it is like to be President of the greatest country in the world. Almost every President is heavily criticized by someone. George W. Bush is not responsible for the condition this country is in. It certainly didn't get this way in just 8 short years. The Congress of the United States is the responsible culprit, with its lifetime memberships. The corruption and personal agendas of these so called "public servants" is so obvious and transparent that I wonder how we can focus only on the President. In spite of all the scandals we read about we continue to return these same men to office. Perhaps the real problem lies with the American people who have come to believe they are entitled to be taken care of. When we become a moral and honest society again, perhaps we can elect people who will be moral and honest in high public offices. If you think things are bad now, just wait for Obama to take charge. God help us!

David Farnsworth | 8:57 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

A nice piece about a truly nice man who also happened to be president (and, I insist, a good one, despite the constant harping from the left).

And for those of you calling Utahns idiots for supporting Bush, remember that he won the NATIONAL presidential election twice. Quite a feat (and it should be more difficult to call 50+ percent of the national population stupid). Even in Oregon (where I live), a supposedly true-blue state, Bush got 47% of the vote in 2004. Outside of Multnomah County (Portland and environs), he actually WON the state.

Are we all idiots? Or did we see something that you detractors simply could not perceive? I prefer the latter explanation.

I like Bush | 9:03 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

A very thoughtful article exposing a side of our President that so many hate filled people simply don't want to see. He is a good man and a flawed man, just like the rest if us, with the wieght of the world on his shoulders. Mr. Bush has been true to his faith and to his country, I'm grateful to have a man of personal strength and integrity lead this country in such incredibly difficult times.

Albemar | 9:05 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

History will show us the legacy of George Bush's presidency. I'm confident that history will not be kind to George Bush. Conservatives as well as liberal journalist and historians will write about his leadership for decades and when they talk of what "Not To Do", they will look to George Bush.

George Bush's worst legacy is the horrific mess he has left America and ran away, leaving Barak Obama and clean up more problems than ever faced by any President.

No doubt, no comparison, no brainer... George Bush will go down in modern history as the very worst President America has ever seen!

Gretzky | 9:12 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

GW Bush (43) will be remembered as one of the great ones years down the road when the democrats no longer exist as the party they are today. He is a good man, great president, and had the difficult task of trying to un-do all the problems related to the Clinton administration's lack of foreign policy and the Clinton lack dignity for the Oval Office.

Eric | 9:14 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

People, please look at the facts.

First, George W. Bush handled 9/11 very well. Many of you have very short memories.

Second, regarding Iraq, did you forget that President Bush did not go into Iraq unilaterally. He had intelligence (right or wrong) that said he had cause. Congress approved this based on the same data. It was only later that Congress demonstrated their cowardice by many of them blaming Bush for it instead of taking part of the blame themselves.

Third, we are still in Iraq because regardless of the reason we went in, we can not leave until certain things happen. Obama realized this AFTER he had said we needed to pull out immediately.

Finally, it is the ignorant borrowers and lenders that got us into the financial mess we are in . . . not President Bush.

I did not vote for Obama, but I support him and hope he does a great job. However, I will not get on my high-horse and judge him without the facts as many of you are doing now. I have to wonder why none of you are running for president, and thank my stars you are not.

Terry | 9:14 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

An honest and good President. History will judge him better than the Liberals of todays world. We have not been attacked since 9-11-2001. His concern for our freedom, and for the freedom of other countries, is genuine and admirable. He has spent billions in the fight against AIDS and to help third world countries. Thank the good Lord he has been our President in the fight against world terrorism. God bless President Bush.

middle aged frat boy? | 9:18 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Eight years and thats all you got? WOW! Those are some powerfull observations!

Linus | 9:28 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

President George W. Bush will leave office without a repeat of 9/11. The day will come when all of us will think that that period of relative safety and security were truly remarkable. I'm one who believes that a president is privy to more information than are the general public, and should govern independent of public opinion and public polls. Clinton governed by the polls; Bush governed unconcerned by the polls; and Reagan shaped public opinion. The worst of these was Clinton. 9/11 was his legacy. All you hateful Liberals will now have a president you deserve!

David | 9:29 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

In discussions, people state they progressively avoid reading the comments sections of articles. The reason, the harsh critics of everything. In time, we will lose the ability to express ourselves unless we can do so respectfully. In other words, we will naturally tire of hearing abusive language - and walk away - thereby becoming more dependent on others to filter our information.

Is Bush a good man? Yes. Is he perfect? No. Are you perfect? We as a society are too quick to blame others (especially the person in charge) for all - when we are often the ones that are the problem.

Regards

Fatal Flaw | 9:35 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I am a strong believer that the way we go through this journey in life is largely guided by our hard wired core personality traits. This guides how we think, reason, communicate, respond to difficult situations, etc.

It is very difficult to distinguish these traits through an election campaign. I think Bush's most devastating trait was his inability or lack of desire to truly hear all the sides/complexities/options of an issue. This article indicated that you had better be ready to get right to the point with Bush. I think that made many people afraid or unwilling to raise issues that would not be perceived as being "to the point". My guess is that Cheney is even more strident in this regard.

One of the most compelling reasons for me to vote for Obama was that he seems so different in this regard. He seems to be someone who demands all the information/options/viewpoints. Bush was driven by dogma and personal conviction. Positive traits in some situations. But a president needs to have a desire for ALL the information before making a decision. He surrounded himself with clones. It is why Powell had to leave. This IMO was Bush's fatal flaw.

Karl Burkholz | 9:42 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I was shocked when George W. Bush announced that he would go to war with Iraq. I wondered why he would do this since things were going rather peacefully in Iraq at the time. Bush said the reason for invading Iraq was that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. Why didnï¿½t he believe Saddam when he said that he didnï¿½t have any? In addition, Bush justified his decision to invade Iraq because of Saddamï¿½s killing his adversaries with abandoned. By taking Saddam out of power, it appears that Bush decided to do his killing for him instead by sending our troops in to kill those Saddam held in check to keep the peace with mid-eastern mentality. With Bushï¿½s orders, our troops then routed him out of a hole in the ground that consequently had Saddam executed for his behavior. So far, Bushï¿½s decision to do all of this cost the U.S. taxpayers $585 billion and of course made all of us party to this debauchery.

Time for a democrat president | 9:47 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

to take the heat for a while. I just hope Mr. Obama remembers what the definition of "is" is... maybe Mrs. Clinton can remind him.

Cougar Blue | 9:48 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

And cancer is distinctly cancer. Good riddance to a veritable disaster.

JD | 10:12 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Thank you Gretzky - Well said. It was divine intervention to have Bush in the White House and NOT Gore, during 9/11. I'd vote for him again tomorrow.

Fatal Flaw | 10:17 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

We are creatures of the core personality tendencies we are born with. They largely guide the way we naturally think, communicate and make crucial life decisions. How many of us tend to repeat the same behaviors regardless of committing we won't repeat them again?

Bush happens to be someone who is largely driven by his personal beliefs and convictions. That is good in some situations but I think very dangerous as a world leader. This article highlighted the fact that he has little patience for anyone who does not get right to the point. He surrounded himself with people who got right to the point - his point. It was an environment that people like Cheney thrived in and people like Powell were eaten alive.

Many of the toughest decisions in life require a detailed analysis of all the issues, options, and possibilities. Something that simply did not fit into Bush's way of reasoning and decision making.

I recall an article that revealed Bush was one of the few presidents who refused to intentionally place an alternate voice in his cabinet - and it showed. Obama appears to be the polar opposite. That should serve all of us well.

Ernest T. Bass | 10:54 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

He will go down as one of the best ever, if not the best president.

Honesty | 11:14 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

You know you are doing the job right when the extreme left hate you.

Barbara | 11:35 a.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I agree with Bilbo.

Thank you | 12:19 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009

I would like to thank President Bush for keeping us safe.

Wait and see | 12:53 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Let's see what four years in the United Socialist States of America does for this country. Bush is who he is and doesn't need the media to create something like Obama. Thanks a lot Oprah, Obama will bring this country to it's knees, literally and figuratively.

David Craig | 1:49 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009

He is a man who made the world (and your country) a scared, dangerous place. With the Patriot Act you became the land of the chained and the scared not the free and the brave.
He lead you in an illegal and utterly flawed war that left Iran and North Korea stronger. America has become a pariah in the world at large and that is a tragedy for such a great nation with so much good about it.

I wish the American nation nothing but good and do truly hope that you recover the good reputation you deserve in the world. Hate, war and fear are always wrong, yet they are his legacy

historians will tell what really | 1:51 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009

To all Americans who criticized President Bush for anything and everything especially when the media would distort the news, I will remind you that the people who have terrorized our country do not care who is running it! We hope that nothing like 9/11 ever happens again because if it does, do we blame President-elect Obama? Liberals tend to forget that we are all Americans and that we need to stand together as a country. As a conservative, I do not agree with President-elect Obama political views,but I will respect my President and hope God will help him with all his trials and tribulations!

Anonymous | 2:39 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009

Bush is a CROOK plain and simple. I cannot wait for him to be out of the White House for good. He has destroyed America's place in the world and has broken law after law. I saw with horror that another Bush, Jeb. wants to try for the White House.

To say that God gave Bush to the US is to call God a criminal.

SLMG | 2:48 p.m. Jan. 4, 2009

We can cuss and discuss George W Bush and his presidency, pro and con but the real influence behind the President was the Vice President Dick Cheney. I am sure as history is written we are going to find the the real leader of the country was the VP who happens to be very good at ducking and weaving to keep out of the public eye and let the President take it on the chin. Bush let him make the decisions so what does that say about him? Not much and he is going to wear it. He was a war time President that had he stayed the course, won the war in Afganistan, he would have left a great legacy. But that was not enough, he had to start his own $3 trillion war in Iraq that had nothing to do with the Trade Center bombing to satisfy his and his VP's egos. Bush and Cheney have left us as one one the most disrespected countrys on the globe even by our closes allies. No, Gerorge bush was not a good President and History will not be kind to him.

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