Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush Is Correct, But That Is Negative For The Republican Party Future!

Ronald 1 Comment

Former First Lady Barbara Bush is disarmingly frank and outspoken, and her statement that her son Jeb Bush, the former Florida Governor, was very well qualified to run for President, but should not, as there have been enough Bushes in the Presidency, is an assertion which will reverberate through the Republican Party, and not for the good of the party’s future!

The fact that the former First Lady said this on the day of her older son’s opening of his Presidential library, with just about everyone knowing that his administration was a near total disaster, is telling.

It is clear that Jeb Bush is smarter, more competent, and would have made a better President than George W, but that is water over the dam!

The fact is that she is correct that a family should not have a monopoly of the Presidency, and that we should not have dynasties, and the reality that the Bushes took up twelve years in the White House, plus eight years in the Vice Presidency, is certainly enough for any family, more than any other family in history!

But when one looks at the potential Republican field of Presidential candidates for 2016, one has to say that, in many ways, Jeb Bush MIGHT be the best candidate the party could field, other than Jon Huntsman, former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, but it is clear Huntsman has ZERO chance to be the GOP nominee for 2016, because he is too smart, too qualified, too mainstream, too sane, to be chosen by this disaster of a party in 2013!

What is left is Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Paul Ryan, Chris Christe, Scott Walker and a few other also rans, and when one looks at this list, it is clearly pitiful for a great political party with a dignified and distinguished history of great Governors, Senators, and even a few Presidents!

So if a sane, competent guy, who can also appeal to Hispanics and Latinos, but sadly has the wrong last name, and a mother telling him not to run, decides to stay out of the Presidential race, then ANY chance of a real Presidential competition in 2016 is totally over, and the GOP might as well concede to Hillary Clinton or any other Democrat who might be the alternative!

A Rare Moment: Five Presidents And Five First Ladies Photographed Together!

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For those of us who are Presidential junkies, the only time we see a group of Presidents and First Ladies together in public is at openings of Presidential libraries, and at funerals of Presidents and First Ladies.

Since these do not happen very often in either regard, today’s gathering of five Presidents and five First Ladies at the opening of the George W. Bush Presidential Library at the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, was an exciting moment, no matter how one feels about the Presidency of George W. Bush.

Seeing Jimmy Carter looking hale and hearty; George H. W. Bush in a wheelchair in obviously poor health although only being less than four months older than Carter; Bill Clinton his usual talkative, charismatic self; George W. Bush being very positive, despite the clear cut failures of his time in office; and Barack Obama, always good with saying the right things, was fascinating!

Seeing Rosalynn Carter and Barbara Bush looking good, considering their advanced age; Hillary Clinton looking ready to run for President any time now; Laura Bush being her usual sweet self; and Michelle Obama looking always as an elegant lady, was also very inspiring!

Of course, Nancy Reagan, while not mentioned, was absent, as she is in her early 90s and not in good health.

And we saw the two daughters of Lyndon Johnson and of Richard Nixon, along with the daughter of Gerald Ford, but no other Presidential children, other than the two daughters of George W. Bush, of course! But only Michael Reagan, the adopted son of Reagan and his first wife, Jane Wyman, was present, not the son and daughter of Nancy Reagan, Ron Jr. and Patti. And neither was Caroline Kennedy, or the other children of Gerald Ford, and none of the children of Jimmy Carter, or the Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea!

In any case, for those who are into photographs of a group of Presidents or First Ladies, today was a very good day!

The Condoleezza Rice Boomlet: An Attempt To Take Attention Off Mitt Romney’s Problems With Bain Capital And Tax Issues!

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This author has written before about the speculation that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be chosen by Mitt Romney to be his Vice Presidential running mate.

While Rice is a fascinating, intelligent, and super qualified candidate to be Vice President, and in theory, President of the United States, one would have to be drunk to believe she will be the nominee of the Republican Party for Vice President.

Rice has great foreign policy expertise, but would constantly be associated with the Iraq War, which was based on false information, and any connection with President George W. Bush right now would be toxic.

But also, it is certain that former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, both of whom often had major internal battles with her and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, would bitterly oppose her, were she on the short list for Vice President. There would be an internal battle within the party, since neoconservatives would be against her, while former President George H. W. Bush would strongly back her, but is pretty much ignored within the party apparatus, while gaining more and more respect and appreciation from the American people as he and his wife, Barbara, near 20 years since they left the White House!

Also, Rice is a socially moderate in a party which is not so, as she is pro choice on abortion, for affirmative action, and for gay rights. That makes her poisonous to evangelical Christians and Tea Party activists, who look down upon a bright woman with a mind, and willingness to speak up for what she believes in!

And underlying a lot of opposition to her is the fact of the thought of an African American woman being in line for the Presidency! What a horrifying thought to the hate mongers in the Republican Party who hate Barack Obama much more than they love America, and would allow the country to go down the tubes, rather than cooperate for the benefit of the millions of victims of the Great Recession brought about by the short sighted policies of the Bush Administration!

Besides all of the above, Condoleezza Rice has made it perfectly clear that running for office is not her thing, and she happens to like her life at Stanford University, including her freedom to speak out and write and be back in the life of the scholar! She would have to be totally crazy to give that up, particularly for a Presidential candidate who is fatally flawed, and loves power too much to wish to give influence to someone who actually is much smarter than him in so many ways!

So why is her name being floated again? The answer is to deflect attention off Mitt Romney’s problems with his lies about his association with Bain Capital, and his refusal to release multiple years of tax returns, which would create problems for him.

This is a man who has said publicly that he has paid all of the taxes required, and NOT ONE PENNY more!

God forbid that he put his country first, and show some patriotism, that his government is not the enemy that he must avoid paying taxes at all costs. He could never spend or utilize all of his vast fortune in his lifetime, or even in the lifetime of his five sons, but he has this obsessive need to keep on having MORE and MORE, and must have power, because he is a control freak who looks down on the American citizenry as people he “can fire” in order to cut government spending, and to enrich himself and his oligarchic class of one percenters!

Condoleezza Rice may be a critic of Barack Obama, but her reputation, already damaged by association with George W. Bush, would suffer further damage if she dared to associate with Mitt Romney, to the extent that she would agree to be his Vice Presidential running mate. Do not hold your breath, as this is NOT going to happen!

Speculation On 2016 Presidential Election Beginning: Early Speculation For Hillary Clinton And Jeb Bush!

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Despite the ups and downs of a Presidential election campaign, most observers sense that Barack Obama is likely to win a second term in the White House.

If that is assumed to be likely, it allows for speculation as to what might happen in 2016, and early thoughts are with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.

Both have been vetted in most aspects of their lives and careers, although certainly other information will arise as time goes by, but both are very famous and experienced, and of course, have the “sex appeal” of being the wife of a former President and the son and brother of two former Presidents, almost like having two royal families.

Hillary Clinton will be 69 years old in 2016, and will have come off two years of retirement, if her plans to leave the State Department at the beginning of the next term comes about. She will have had the eight years in the White House under her husband, Bill Clinton, as an activist First Lady, one of the standouts in that unelected office. She will also have had eight active years in the US Senate, a vigorous experience as a Presidential candidate in 2008, and four stupendous years as Secretary of State, embellishing her foreign policy credentials. With the growing emphasis on women’s rights, and her speech at the Women’s World Summit last weekend, this would be the time to start planning for another Presidential campaign, and no one would ever question her energy, her intelligence, and her breadth of knowledge and expertise. This is no Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann for certain!

At the same time, Jeb Bush would be 63 years old, with eight years as Florida Governor, the fourth largest state in America, and a record of handling hurricane crises on a very professional level, and demonstrating intelligence, depth, and knowledge on a Presidential scale, without all of the faults and shortcomings of the present GOP Presidential field.

Bush could have entered the race this year, but chose not to, with the major reason being thought to be his secret belief that it would be better to run when the Presidency was open, rather than running against an incumbent President. Also, he is well aware that the name BUSH is still unpopular after the eight years of his brother George W. Bush in the White House.

But Bush comes across as serious and a front runner for 2016, as it would be eight years after his brother’s terms of office and 24 years after his father’s one term of office. Of course, it is highly unlikely that his parents would be here to see their second son become President, an unbelievable distinction were it to happen, but one never knows what might happen, as with modern health treatments available to former Presidents, the best there are, George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush would be 93 and 92 in 2016, and it certainly is possible they could both still be with us.

Imagine a race between Clinton and Bush, bringing back memories of a full generation, 20 years of Bush-Clinton-Bush, and possibly resulting in either a sequence of Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama-Clinton OR Bush-Clinton-Bush-Obama-Bush! What confusion for students studying history in the future with either of the above chronological successions of the Presidents!

At the same time, there would be the desire of a younger and newer generation to challenge both Clinton and Bush, including Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York at the minimum for the Democrats; and Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at the minimum for the Republicans.

Needless to say, one can be assured there would be somewhere between ten and a dozen candidates seeking the Presidency on both sides of the political equation!

But experience and family connection could be the winning combination!

Children Of Republican Leaders And Gay Rights! Setting The Trend Of the Future!

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The surprising news to many, and the shocking news to others, is that one of the twin daughters of President George W. Bush, Barbara Bush, has come out for gay marriage rights and has allowed herself to be part of a taped endorsement campaign for such rights in New York!

This development comes on the heels of Megan McCain, daughter of 2008 Presidential candidate and Senator John McCain of Arizona, also endorsing gay rights and marriage.

Additionally, the lesbian daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, Mary Cheney, has also been a major figure in promoting the concept of gay marriage.

So a former President, a former Vice President, and a Presidential nominee have children who have come out for gay rights in the midst of right wing conservative Christian groups bitterly opposing any such concept, and boycotting the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference because a gay group has been invited to participate!

Realize also that former First Ladies Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush came out for abortion rights after their husbands left the Presidency, and that Laura Bush has already supported her daughter Barbara, before the fact, in an interview recently that included discussion of gay marriage and gay rights.

The fact that the family members of these top Republican leaders come out for the civil rights of women and gays makes one wonder if their husbands and fathers simply mouthed what they had to say to keep political backing when they were running for the Presidency, and the belief is that assumption is totally correct!

Every poll shows younger Americans have no problem with gay rights and gay marriage, and therefore, the Republican right wing is fighting a rear guard action that will, in the long run, isolate them, just as their vehement opposition to illegal immigrants gaining eventual rights of citizenship has alienated most Latinos and Hispanics from the party.

If the GOP allows the extreme right wing and Christian Right to control their destiny, they will see themselves disintegrate as a respectable and competitive political party for the long run of the American future!

Stop vilifying Latinos and Hispanics, and stop demonizing gays, or else you will be part of the dust bin of history! And keep religion out of government, where it belongs, as all that occurs when religion is allowed to control government decisions is the promotion of hate and intolerance, which ironically, Jesus Christ would not have approved were he here to observe what so called “devout” Christians claim are his teachings, a total distortion of his message of peace, love, and tolerance of others!

A Move Toward A Centrist Political Party, Called “No Labels”, And The Role Of Michael Bloomberg And Joe Scarborough!

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At Columbia University in New York City, on December 13, a centrist group is going to form a “No Labels” centrist movement to promote civility in American politics.

Among those who will engage in this new movement are the following: Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City; former Republican Florida Congressman Joe Scarborough, MSNBC talk show host of “Morning Joe”; retiring Democratic Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana; Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut; Democratic Senator Debby Stabenow of Michigan; former Republican Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia; Republican Congressman Christopher Shays of Connecticut;  Democratic Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles; and former Republican Governor Christie Todd Whitman of New Jersey, among others!

The group is against hyper partisanship, and promotes civility, calm, reason, and cooperation. Prominent fundraisers are involved in the new movement, and the hope is to form chapters in all 50 states.

There is growing speculation that Mayor Bloomberg might run as an independent for President, and some even speculate that Joe Scarborough might seek the Presidency or run with Bloomberg for Vice President on an independent party ticket, although the “No Labels” group claims that is not the purpose of the organization being formed!

One thing for sure: Joe Scarborough has begun a full scale attack on the incompetence and inadequacy of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a possible candidate for the Presidency by the Republican Party, joining many others who feel the same way, including not only Barbara Bush and Karl Rove, but also conservative columnists Mona Charen, David Frum, and Peggy Noonan.

Certainly, if Bloomberg were to run, being the wealthiest political figure in the nation, with billions of dollars in assets, he could fund his own campaign, but the question is could he win over the country with his overly liberal views on social issues, and being a New York Jew! In an early poll, it shows he would only win about eleven percent of the vote, but in a dry run with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, Obama would be the beneficiary, as Bloomberg would hurt Romney more than he would hurt Obama!

The “Nanny State” Attacks Of Sarah Palin And Other Conservatives: Promoting Hatred And Suspicion Of Government! :(

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Sarah Palin is on a tear, seemingly now attacking some prominent figure on a daily basis, or showing her total stupidity and lack of knowledge about what a candidate for President needs, to take on the burden of that office! 🙁

No sooner than attacking former First Lady Barbara Bush and being unable to distinguish North Korea from South Korea, the former half term Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential nominee of the GOP in 2008 now is on the attack against our present First Lady, Michelle Obama, who has the highest approval rating of any public figure with 65 percent!

Why is this? It is because Michelle Obama is promoting an anti obesity campaign among the children of America, many of whom are overweight, make poor choices in what they consume, and are in danger of becoming diabetic in alarming numbers in the future! It is also a major problem among adults in this country who fail to consider that what you put in your mouth affects long term health!

This campaign comes after Nancy Reagan’s campaign against drugs in the 1980s and John F. Kennedy’s crusade for physical fitness in the 1960s!

Is it wrong of the national government to promote an anti obesity campaign, a war against drugs, and a physical fitness agenda? Any sane person would say, of course not, but not Sarah Palin, who accuses Michelle Obama of promoting a “nanny state”, a charge also leveled by conservative talk show hosts on radio and on Fox News Channel! 🙁

Under the same thought, it apparently is improper of state and local government officials, such as in California and New York City and elsewhere, to ban smoking in public places, and for the US government to be planning new, explicit pictures on cigarette packages of the damages of smoking! But is it such? NO, because it is obvious that human beings often make wrong choices which affect their health and well being, and the government is intervening to attempt to promote different behavior through the leadership of public figures who carry weight among our citizens!

Instead of applauding Michelle Obama, Nancy Reagan, John F. Kennedy, the California state government, the New York City government, and the Department of Health and Human Services for their promotion of good health, instead we are told that the “Know Nothings” who think parents always know what is best, should rule the day!

The answer is NO, as many adults make WRONG choices that affect the health and well being of their children for the rest of their lives! There is nothing wrong with promoting good health and good habits!

And, by the way, if Sarah Palin is such a good parent, then why is it she cannot teach the values in her children to avoid becoming pregnant when still teenagers and unmarried? And realize that if young women, less fortunate in their family assets than Bristol Palin, become pregnant, it often condemns them to a lifetime of poverty!

Should not the national government do everything it can through advocacy and example to avoid promoting poverty and bad health? Of course!

So what it comes down to is that Sarah Palin and other conservatives are simply promoting hatred and suspicion of government, as the Tea Party Movement has been doing! 🙁

That could be called libertarianism by many, or maybe it is actually anarchism in hiding? 🙁

Sarah Palin, Barbara Bush, And North Korea! How Can Anyone Take Sarah Seriously? :(

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Sarah Palin lashed out today at former First Lady Barbara Bush for suggesting that Sarah should stay in Alaska, during the interview conducted by Larry King on CNN with the first President Bush and his wife.

Calling them “blue bloods” who were “immature”, “inefficient”, and “unprofessional”, she said the American people did not want the Republican Party dictating who they should support! One has to wonder what she meant by the terms described above, as it is all very unclear, as she is on a regular basis! 🙁

But even worse than her reaction to Barbara Bush is Sarah Palin’s reaction to the threatened war between North and South Korea. Does not a President or a Presidential candidate need to know the basics of international relations, such as North Korea is the Communist nation that is the threat, and South Korea is our ally and a democratic nation? According to Sarah, we must back our ally, NORTH KOREA! 🙁

Is that an acceptable flub? Absolutely NO, and is further proof, along with her inane comments about “blue bloods” and Barbara Bush, that it is time for Sarah to bow out of the Presidential race before she becomes the laughing stock of the country, which actually, in many ways, she already is! 🙁

The Potential Candidacy Of Sarah Palin: Ignorance And Mediocrity Personified! :(

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Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has told Barbara Walters that she is seriously considering a Presidential run! 🙁

Sarah Palin is seriously delusional to believe she has the talents, abilities, knowledge, and insights required to be a President in the 21st century! 🙁

It might have been alright to have mediocrity in the White House in the 19th century, and even the early 20th century, but since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the years of the Great Depression, and the constantly complex world we live in since World War II and the Cold War, it is no longer conceivable to have a President who is not only mediocre, but ignorant!

Sarah Palin does not have a clue as to the complexities of the modern world! She knows absolutely nothing about foreign affairs or domestic affairs! She is a very ordinary, mediocre, ignorant American, which is fine, as everyone cannot be intelligent, educated, and knowledgeable!

It is perfectly alright to be an average American or average human being, but the Presidency demands much more than that!

Would we want just anyone to be a surgeon, an attorney, a college professor, an engineer, an accountant, or a dentist? The answer is NO, as we want the best in these professions!

Well, being President of the United States also requires that we get the best, at least someone who is educated, intelligent, and knows or has the interest in knowing what candidates for the Presidency need to be aware of–public affairs, economics, foreign policy–and has compassion for the less fortunate among us, not only those who have power and wealth, often by ill gotten methods!

It is not just the so called “liberal elite” who think that Sarah Palin’s potential candidacy for President is a mockery!

It includes Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who pointed out that Palin has no great interest in governing, as she quit the Governorship of Alaska after only a little more than half her term, and also lacks intellectual curiosity!

It also includes former Bush adviser Karl Rove, who said hosting a Learning Channel reality series does not make people think that Sarah is qualified for President!

Former First Lady Barbara Bush told Larry King this weekend that Sarah Palin is a beautiful lady who likes living in Alaska, and should stay there! 🙂

Sarah’s potential opponents have remained silent in public, but it is clear that they are appalled at her thought of running, as they know she will be a difficult candidate to handle, being backed by the ignorant masses that love the Tea Party movement! They see her as a danger to the Republican Party future, and as a total disaster were she to run against Barack Obama! But they also recognize it will be hard to campaign against her in the primaries and caucuses, and that she could win the Iowa caucuses and South Carolina primary in 2012, and therefore have “momentum”, making her hard to stop!

There is no doubt that Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Haley Barbour, and all other potential nominees see her as a “nightmare”, but realize she is an imposing presence that they will have to, somehow, deal with if she decides to run!

The point is that all of the potential candidates, no matter how objectionable they might be to many observers, all have credentials, experience and intelligence to be potential Presidents of the United States!

Sarah Palin does NOT have these credentials, and she would do a lot of good for the country if she were to realize that she is hallucinating, as she is NOT qualified to be President of the United States. and her triumph would be a serious blow to American prestige and security in the world, and a sign that the American nation has been “dumbed down” to the most common denominator–the ignorant masses who pride themselves on NOT knowing public affairs, and have no clue as to what is good for this nation’s future! 🙁

Laura Bush And Abortion And Gay Marriage

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Former First Lady Laura Bush has written a memoir of her life and years in the White House, and was interviewed this evening on Larry King Live on CNN.

It was a very revealing and fascinating hour, and it was somewhat surprising that Laura Bush revealed that she was in favor of gay marriage being explored, and believed that abortion rights should not be reversed by the Supreme Court!

This is a stand revealed publicly now, after her husband took the exact opposite stand as President.

But it is interesting that Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan also revealed publicly after their husbands left the Presidency that they both were pro choice on abortion.

So it seems clear that the women have a more open minded attitude on change and reform than their husbands, who apparently feel the need to toe the Republican “party line” and promote an anti abortion and anti gay rights and marriage agenda!