President G W Bush is an American Hero

I've always liked this man. 

Former President George W. Bush helps remember Maine's fallen heroes

By Casey Sullivan

CAPE ELIZABETH — Former President George W. Bush made a surprise appearance at the third annual Run for the Fallen Maine event on Sunday, Aug. 22; the run honors Maine servicemen and women who have given their lives defending the country since Sept. 11, 2001.

Bush showed up at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth at approximately 4:30 p.m., under drizzling weather.

He greeted runners as they finished the last leg of their 65-kilometer trek from Ogunquit to pay homage to Maine's 65 "fallen heroes."

Three-year event participant Nancy Lee Kelley said meeting the former president was "a dream come true."

Kelley, a resident of Old Orchard Beach and mother of Army Capt. Christopher Cash, who died in Iraq on June 24, 2004, said this wasn't the first time she had met Bush.

She first met the former president in a schoolhouse in Kennebunkport in August 2006, when he had agreed to meet with five Maine families who lost their children in the war on terror.

Kelley said she was in disbelief when Bush on late Sunday afternoon recalled the exact date and location of the moment they had first met.

"August 2006, Kennebunkport," Bush told her matter-of-factly when he shook her hand, Kelley said.

After Kelley asked him with a mixture of shock and disbelief if he really remembered her, she said he replied, "Yep. I never forget." 

Read the rest, it's all good.

Thursday morning links

From the Hill via Lucianne.com

Senate ethics panel takes new look at Countrywide loans
By Susan Crabtree
The Senate Ethics Committee is re-examining the participation of senators and staffers in a controversial VIP mortgage-lending program at Countrywide Financial Corp, according to a source familiar with the panel’s activities.
The Ethics Committee in recent days has begun to look into new information about Senate involvement in the Countrywide loan program, the source said.
In mid-July Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah) agreed to assist the ethics panel after learning that senators or Senate staff received at least 30 Countrywide loans that offered sweetheart deals of special treatment.
Just a snippet, read the rest.

From CNSnews

Homosexual Activist Serves as Acting Head of HHS Agency for Children and Families
By Jane McGrath
Conservative groups are expressing concern that David Hansell, an openly homosexual man and former AIDS activist, is currently serving as the acting head – the assistant secretary – of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Hansell is the former director of legal services and deputy director for government and public affairs at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a homosexual activist group that has lobbied the federal government on HIV/AIDS.
“It is very troubling that someone with his background has such a high position in this particular agency,” Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council (FRC), told CNSNews.com. More here.

From the LA Times blog Top of the Ticket, via Lucianne.com

George W. Bush makes surprise visit to U.S. troops
Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, made a surprise visit to U.S. troops this afternoon.

They showed up at the USO in the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. There they mingled with the returning soldiers, thanked them, chatted and posed for photos as proof of the unexpected encounter for folks back home.
The USO just posted an assortment of the photos on its Facebook page, which quickly drew a growing list of appreciative comments. Read the article here.


From American Thinker Blog
Doing well by doing the bidding of the left
Thomas Lifson
American Thinker has long harbored suspicion about ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism outfit that distributes its work to newspaper gratis. The organization has found a hearty welcome in the precincts of the leftist mainstream of American jnournalism, even sharing a Pulitzer Prize with the New York Times in 2010.
ProPublica was funded by large donations from Herbert and Marion Sandler, close associates in philanthropy to George Soros and Peter Lewis, and other progressive moneybags. One of ProPublica's foci has been investigation of the downsides of domestic energy production, especially shale gas, with which America is abundantly endowed. The organization proclaims itself a "public interest" organization, and produces some non-political journalism as well as material that serves an agenda.
Go here to read the rest and see those six figure salaries.

A Heartfelt Thank You to George W. Bush

American Thinker has this jewel of a statement from a Marine.
In it he describes where he was when all the attacks from Al Queda happened. How nothing was done. And then how George W. Bush appeared on the scene and was there for 9/11.

Why I'm Thankful for George W. Bush
By Ken Russell

......That is why I want to thank George W Bush and the military leaders who finally, finally after all the lost friends, lost Marines, lost three thousand plus Americans, had the courage and temerity to close with and engage this new enemy and defeat them in so many ways, crippling them to the point of near extinction. You also taught our new president how to authorize a surge like the one now taking place in Afghanistan. Leftist pettiness would never allow them to call it that, but that is exactly what it is patterned after, General Petraeus.

Thank you President Bush. I know it doesn't mean much coming from some former Marine in Missouri but I appreciate what you did and I'll never forget it.

It is a wonderful tribute to a great man. I am posting only the closing paragraphs. You really need to read it all.

Did you Hear This Good News?

Just another of the good news stories for us this week.
Shhh…US Marines Wrap Up Mission in Iraq– Victorious

Shhh… Don’t tell anyone. It may make George W. Bush look good. It may make Republicans look good.
It may shine light on the democrat’s awful record on national defense....  
The US Marines pulled out of Anbar Province today victorious....
  ...If we had a responsible media in this country this would be front page news.
Sadly, we don’t.
Thank you US Marines.
Thank you US military.
Thank you Republicans for standing strong.
Thank you George W. Bush.

This is from Gateway Pundit. I'm only putting some of it here, for more and photos go here.

Hmmm... Maybe Bush Wasn't so Bad After All

From Politico:
Bush Closes the Gap ( but they can't commit to actually saying so, RC)

Public Policy Polling:

Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama's declining support is that just 50% of voters now say they prefer having him as President to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they'd rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term that's somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country's difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections. Using the Bush card may not be particularly effective for Democrats anymore, which is good news generally for Republicans and especially ones like Rob Portman who are running for office and have close ties to the former President.

(via Political Wire)

Let's Discuss Obama

That seems to be the theme on a lot of the blogs and news commentary stories this morning. From Commentary Magazine Jennifer Rubin blogs:

The Price of a Historic Vote
Glenn Reynolds writes:

"I think Obama’s “charisma” was based on voter narcissism — people excited not just about electing a black President, but about themselves, voting for a black President. Now that’s over, and they’re stuck just with him, and emptied of their own narcissism there’s not much there to fill out the suit."

That’s fairly strong stuff. Plainly, Obama played to many voters’ needs — for whites to vote for a historic candidate, for urban intellectuals to vote for one of their own, and for younger voters to vote for a new generation of leadership. Obama quite purposefully did not fill in many of the blanks, leaving to everyone’s imagination what he might do once in the White House. Indeed, he had made a career and an art out of being just beyond definition so that everyone could form a pleasing portrait of the candidate they were voting for.

Now there is an emptiness at the center of the presidency, an odd passivity. Decisiveness and specific policy proposals are missing, creating a sense that Obama is fulfilling the role of head of state but not that of head of government. Part of this is accentuated by his own aversion to projecting American strength and power on the world stage. So whom is he representing (a new multilateral world order?), and what are his aims? Getting along with competitors and shrinking from conflict seem to be high on his list.

Obama clearly wanted to become president, defying many who suggested he hadn’t the experience and would get run over by the Clintons. The latter, at least, proved to be untrue. Now that he is president, he plainly has a domestic-policy vision of America at odds with the views of many who voted for him. Does he have the force of will and the know-how to accomplish that reordering of government — before he loses much of his congressional majority? It’s not clear. And on the international stage, meekness and incompetence have ruled the day, suggesting he’s not in control of events.

Obama, who was omnipresent and larger than life, now seems to be a bystander in his own presidency. And the public is left pondering whether this was the candidate they voted for. Well, yes, but it’s now becoming apparent the price to be paid for voting to make themselves feel enlightened.

From Power Line:

Everyone Wants Respect, But Hardly Anyone Is Willing to Pay for It"
In an article titled "Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage," Der Spiegel sums up President Obama's Asian trip as a complete failure:

Barack Obama looked tired on Thursday, as he stood in the Blue House in Seoul, the official residence of the South Korean president. He also seemed irritable and even slightly forlorn. The CNN cameras had already been set up. But then Obama decided not to play along, and not to answer the question he had already been asked several times on his trip: what did he plan to take home with him? Instead, he simply said "thank you, guys," and disappeared. ...

The mood in Obama's foreign policy team is tense following an extended Asia trip that produced no palpable results. The "first Pacific president," as Obama called himself, came as a friend and returned as a stranger. The Asians smiled but made no concessions.

Upon taking office, Obama said that he wanted to listen to the world, promising respect instead of arrogance. But Obama's currency isn't as strong as he had believed. Everyone wants respect, but hardly anyone is willing to pay for it. Interests, not emotions, dominate the world of realpolitik.

President Obama took office wanting to distinguish himself from President Bush. That was foolish and arrogant. Now, as Der Spiegel concludes, he is trying desperately to distinguish himself from Jimmy Carter.

Interesting Photos

From Lucianne:


As a woman I don't find anything wrong with someone hanging curtains.

Malaysia wants Obama to be more like Bush

According to this story in Bloomberg.

Obama Must Be Like Bush in Free-Trade Commitment, Malaysia Says

By Daniel Ten Kate and Shamim Adam

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak urged President Barack Obama to show the same commitment to free trade that his predecessor, George W. Bush, expressed at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders last year.

“APEC in Singapore is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a very strong political statement that we will resist protectionism,” Najib said in the city state ahead of the group’s summit, which Obama will attend. “The thing I liked about President Bush’s foreign policy is that he was very pro- free trade. I hope the same message will be repeated.”

There is more, just click on the links above.

President Bush is a Great Patriot

This is from CBS 11 TV Dallas/Ft. Worth

George W. Bush Visits Fort Hood, Wounded Soldiers

FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) ― Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, visited wounded soldiers and their families near the site of the worst mass shooting on an Army post in the United States.
The Bushes made their private visit to Fort Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center on Friday night. Bush spokesman David Sherzer said in an e-mail that the couple thanked Fort Hood's military leaders and hospital staff for the "amazing care they are providing."
An Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 30 in a shooting rampage Thursday at a Soldier Readiness Processing Center on the post.
Hasan was wounded by a civilian police officer and was taken into custody.

© 2009 The Associated Press