Wrongo’s not gonna say much that’s bad about the late George HW Bush today. Wouldn’t be prudent.
What the Hell…here’s a few observations. Bush was an average president who looks better than he should because we compare him to the terrible Republican presidents we’ve experienced since he left office. He was a genuine war hero, and a self-made successful businessman (to the extent that his wealthy family didn’t just hand him a Texas oil business). He was a reasonable head of the CIA.
But to become president, he engaged in race baiting, using the Willie Horton ad against Dukakis. It was openly racist, harking back to old American fears of black men raping white women. Bush can never be forgiven for this.
He brought us Clarence Thomas. Bush could have held the Reagan administration accountable for Iran-Contra. Instead, he chose to pardon everyone. Just before he left office, he pardoned Caspar Weinberger, who was just about to go on trial for his crimes, describing him as a “true American patriot.” He also pardoned Elliott Abrams and Robert McFarlane, basically ending the chance that anyone would be held responsible for Iran-Contra.
His pardons of the Iran-Contra crew allowed them to re-enter public life where they became the backbone for Operation Iraqi Freedom under GW Bush. This is his barely-remembered and negative contribution to today’s political landscape. His Thousand Points of Light idea was a non-offensive push toward nonprofits and individual acts of kindness and charity. Neil Young said it best:
We have 1,000 points of light
For the homeless man
We have a kinder, gentler
Machine gun hand
On to cartoons. The national Christmas tree looks different this year:
Trump tosses pardons for Mueller relief:
Rudy means there’s no collusion between Manafort and Cohen:
G20 meetings saw Putin working with his hands:
GM’s plant closings could create more immigrants:
