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George W. Bush Breaks Silence; Blasts Obama on Iran, ISIS

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gwbushFormer President George W. Bush blasted President Obama’s Middle East policies Saturday night at a closed-door meeting with Jewish donors in Las Vegas.

At the tightly controlled event (off the record, with a “no notes” rule), hosted at the Venetian hotel and casino by wealthy owner and Republican supporter Sheldon Adelson, Bush answered guest questions for an hour on topics ranging from national security threats to the 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reported Sunday.

Bush, who has largely refrained from criticizing Obama since leaving office, opened up about Obama’s pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iran, which most Republicans oppose strongly.

Bloomberg reported on one audience member as saying Bush noted that Iran has a new president, Hassan Rouhani. “He’s smooth,” Bush said. “And you’ve got to ask yourself, is there a new policy or did they just change the spokesman?”

Bush remarked on how there is “no transparency in Iran,” because the supreme leader, and not the will of the people, picks the presidents. He regretted that lifting sanctions against Iran just when its government may be caving in would cost the United States leverage, according to others who attended. (Read more from “George W. Bush Breaks Silence; Blasts Obama on Iran, ISIS” HERE)

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Flashback: Senator Obama Rips Bush for Being Unprepared for Avian Flu Epidemic

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Photo Credit: Pete SouzaA nice catch from our friends at Grabien, who got it from Ace [update] and who had to go all the way back to 2005 to find this nugget and the contemporaneous coverage at the NYT. At the time, the US prepared for a predicted epidemic of the avian flu, also known as H5N1, of global proportions. The virus had been identified for 18 years by that time, but by the end of 2004 had only resulted in 36 deaths and 50 known cases over the prior two years, according to WHO data. In 2005, the number of cases would jump to 98 and deaths to 43, and the prevention of a pandemic became a high priority. At that time, then-Senator Barack Obama scolded the Bush administration on the Senate floor, and quarterbacked a protest letter from his fellow Democrats over the slow response and lack of preparedness by the White House:

This lack of planning is compounded by the fact that we still don’t have a FDA approved vaccine against avian flu, and the one drug that many countries are relying on—Tamiflu—may be less effective than experts had thought. The manufacturer is also struggling to meet the demand, and it could take up to 2 years for it to make enough for the U.S. stockpile, presuming this Administration finally puts in an order for the drug. …

The failure to prepare for emergencies can have devastating consequences. We learned that lesson the hard way after Hurricane Katrina. This nation must not be caught off-guard when faced with the prospect of an avian flu pandemic. The consequences are too high.

The flyways for migratory birds are well-established. We know that avian flu will likely hit the United States in a matter of time. With the regular flu season coming up shortly, conditions will be favorable for reassortment of the avian flu virus with the annual flu virus. Such reassortment could lead to a mutated virus that could be transmitted efficiently between humans, which is the last condition needed for pandemic flu.

The question is will we be ready when that happens? Let’s make sure that answer is yes. I urge my colleagues in the Senate and the House to push this Administration to take the action needed to prevent a catastrophe that we have not seen during our lifetimes.”

Read more from this story HERE.

DC Teacher has Sixth-Graders Compare George Bush to Adolf Hitler

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Photo Credit: APA public school teacher in Washington who instructed sixth-graders to compare former President George W. Bush to Adolf Hitler has learned her own lesson, according to district officials, but critics wonder why she still has a job.

D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson responded to the controversy late Wednesday on Twitter, saying no curriculum intended to make the comparison “in any way” and that the district and unidentified teacher are “deeply apologetic” about the matter. Henderson said the teacher has been ordered to apologize to the class.

“No DCPS curriculum says 2 make these comparisons in any way,” Henderson wrote. “Teacher used poor judgment & will apologize.”

Marc Thiessen, who worked for years as Bush’s speechwriter, said the teacher should be terminated immediately.

“A person who can’t tell the difference between George W. Bush and Adolf Hitler shouldn’t be teaching children,” Thiessen told FoxNews.com. “This isn’t even political bias, this is utter incompetence.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Reporter Ticks Off Nancy Pelosi By Mentioning George Bush

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Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty ImagesHouse Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was visibly irritated when a reporter brought up former President George W. Bush and asked whether she thinks Obama is following his lead.

“He’s not relevant right now,” she said at her weekly press briefing Thursday, after a reporter brought up a statement from former Bush administration lawyer John Yoo reported by BuzzFeed Wednesday: “President Obama has adopted the same view of war powers as the Bush administration.”

“Do you agree with that?” the reporter asked.

Read more from this story HERE.

Former Bush Speechwriter Accuses Obama of Plagiarism (+video)

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Photo Credit: Twitter

Photo Credit: Twitter

Former George W. Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen has accused President Obama of plagiarizing parts of his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

“Barack Obama has gone from blaming George W. Bush to plagiarizing George W. Bush,” he said, adding that Tuesday night’s speech and Mr. Bush’s 2007 address were “eerily familiar.”

“There were lines like ‘Our job is to help Americans build a future of hope and opportunity, a future of hope and opportunity begins with a growing economy, a future of hope and opportunity requires that all citizens have affordable and available healthcare, extending opportunity and hope depends on a stable supply of energy,’ all of that came from the 2007 State of the Union from George W. Bush,” Mr. Thiessen said.

Read more from this story HERE.

Health Law Rollout’s Stumbles Draw Parallels to Bush’s Hurricane Katrina Response

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Photo Credit: Gabriella Demczuk/The New York TimesBarack Obama won the presidency by exploiting a political environment that devoured George W. Bush in a second term plagued by sinking credibility, failed legislative battles, fractured world relations and revolts inside his own party.

President Obama is now threatened by a similar toxic mix. The disastrous rollout of his health care law not only threatens the rest of his agenda but also raises questions about his competence in the same way that the Bush administration’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina undermined any semblance of Republican efficiency.

But unlike Mr. Bush, who faced confrontational but occasionally cooperative Democrats, Mr. Obama is battling a Republican opposition that has refused to open the door to any legislative fixes to the health care law and has blocked him at virtually every turn. A contrite-sounding Mr. Obama repeatedly blamed himself on Thursday for the failed health care rollout, which he acknowledged had thrust difficult burdens on his political allies and hurt Americans’ trust in him.

“It’s legitimate for them to expect me to have to win back some credibility on this health care law in particular and on a whole range of these issues in general,” Mr. Obama said. The president did not admit to misleading people about whether they could keep their insurance, but again expressed regret that his assurances turned out to be wrong.

“To those Americans, I hear you loud and clear,” Mr. Obama said as he announced changes intended to allow some people to keep their insurance.

Read more from this story HERE.

George Bush Sr Mistakenly Announces Nelson Mandela’s Death

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Photo Credit: REX FEATURES

Photo Credit: REX FEATURES

Mr Bush, 89, sent condolences which were picked up by an American newswire, BNO. It was then flashed up by CNN.

Jim McGrath, spokesman for Mr Bush, sent out an email entitled: “Statement by President George H. W. Bush on the death of Nelson Mandela.”

He wrote on behalf of the former president: “”Barbara and I mourn the passing of one of the greatest believers in freedom we have had the privilege to know.

“As President, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 26 years of wrongful imprisonment – setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all. He was a man of tremendous moral courage, who changed the course of history in his country. Barbara and I had great respect for President Mandela, and send our condolences to his family and countrymen.”

But Mr McGrath tweeted and emailed a statement that the earlier comments were based on a flash from the Washington Post.

Read more from this story HERE.

Russia Warns U.S. Over Syria, Says Obama Like Bush

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Photo Credit: Forbes

Photo Credit: Forbes

Will anyone ever push the reset button on Russia-U.S. relations? With the current imbroglio over Syria, the answer to that question at the moment is decidedly nyet.

Moscow urged Washington on Sunday not to repeat “past mistakes” in the Middle East when dealing with the alleged use of chemical weapons by Syrian President Bashar Assad. Washington said Assad used it before. Russia said they did not.

Doctors Without Borders and Syrian opposition say that more than 300 people died after the alleged toxic gas attack in an eastern Damascus suburb on Wednesday, but Syrian authorities denied the claim.

Of course. Why make this black and white?

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday that President Barack Obama has told him to “prepare options for all contingencies” while the White House is deciding whether to use military force against Syria, according to various U.S. news agencies.

Read more from this story HERE.

After Paving the Way for Obama, Geo. Bush Now Thinks it's Time For Another Bush (+video)

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Photo Credit: J. Scott ApplewhiteBush’s Liberal Policies Continued By Obama

By Jim Kuhnhenn…President Barack Obama has stuck with Bush policies or aspirations on a number of fronts, from counterterrorism to immigration, from war strategy to the global fight against AIDS.

Even on tax policy, where Bush advocated lower tax rates for all and Obama pushed for higher rates on the rich, Bush’s tax cuts for the middle class not only have survived under Obama, they have become permanent…

[I]n his more than four years of governing, Obama has also adopted or let stand a series of Bush initiatives, illustrating how the policies of one administration can take hold and how the realities of governing often limit solutions.

Bush’s signature education plan, No Child Left Behind, remains the law of the land, though the Obama administration has granted states waivers to give them flexibility in meeting performance targets. A Bush Medicare prescription drug plan, criticized for its cost, is now popular with beneficiaries, and Obama has sought to improve it by providing relief for seniors with high bills. Obama continued the unpopular bank bailouts and expanded the auto industry rescue that Bush initiated in 2008…

Obama, like Bush during his presidency, is seeking an overhaul of immigration laws that give 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally a chance to get on a path toward citizenship. Bush came up short in 2007, but Bolten believes that six years later the nation and its politicians are in a different place…Read more from this story HERE.

George W. Bush Tells Jeb to ‘Run,’ Says Jeb vs. Hillary Would Make ‘Fantastic Photo’

By Rich Klein. Former President George W. Bush says he isn’t interested in playing on the national political stage any longer. But for family, he’s making an exception.

Asked in an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer whether he thinks his brother former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush should run for president in 2016, the ex-president was unequivocal.

“He’d be a marvelous candidate if he chooses to do so. He doesn’t need my counsel ’cause he knows what it is, which is ‘run,’ ” the elder Bush brother said about Jeb’s possible candidacy, in an interview that first aired Wednesday on “World News with Diane Sawyer.” “But whether he does or not, it’s a very personal decision.”

The former president even allowed himself to picture the potential 2016 matchup: Jeb Bush vs. Hillary Rodham Clinton. It would be a family rematch of the 1992 election, when George H.W. Bush lost to Bill Clinton.

“It’ll be a fantastic photo here. It would certainly eclipse the museum and the center,” Bush said on the eve of the formal opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University, just outside Dallas. “I’m interested in politics. I’m, you know, I’m fascinated by all the gossip and stuff that goes on. But the field won’t be become clear ’til after the midterms.” Read more from this story HERE.

Watch video here:

Former Bush Adviser Continues Crusade Against Palin, Conservatives

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Photo Credit: BreitbartFormer George W. Bush chief political strategist Matt Dowd continued to try to diminish Sarah Palin and conservatives by once again making false claims about the former Alaska governor.

On Sunday’s “ABC’s This Week,” Dowd assailed CPAC for, in his mind, lessening its credibility by inviting conservatives like Palin and not liberal Republicans favored by the northeastern elite like New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

“CPAC, to me, has totally diminished its credibility as an organization,” Dowd said. “And you invite Sarah Palin, who wasn’t competent enough to keep a Fox News contract? But she’s invited to the CPAC meeting?”

Dowd falsely claimed that Palin was not competent enough to be on Fox, whereas Palin turned down Fox’s offer to renew her contract. His remark was not only a dig at Palin but also a shot at Fox, implying the news network that has dominated the cable news ratings employs people with subpar levels of intelligence who do not meet the lofty standards of the Aspen Institute or Harvard’s Institute of Politics. His comments also imply that he feels the conservatives who came out in droves to elect Bush twice–which is the only reason he has his media perch and anyone has even heard of him–are dumb as well.

Other writers purporting to represent the right, like Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post’s token conservative, also have chimed in, writing any gathering that includes Palin while not inviting GOProud and Christie “isn’t worth attending.” Conservative writer Jeffrey Lord assailed these elitist Republicans who feel entitled to make CPAC “a big tent” instead of the “conservative tent” that it is supposed to be.

Read more from this story HERE.