George W. Bush and His Erie Silence

Like or dislike George W. Bush only the hardcore haters would say he doesn’t have class. Unlike other former presidents Mr. Bush does not blatantly attack his successors although the press would like to twist the headlines when he does speak. Class doesn’t sell, controversy does. 

Speaking in Erie, PA on Wednesday evening the last leader to occupy the White House did speak out and did not attack Barack Hussein Obama. We’re here for you Mr. Bush.

“I know it’s going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we’re in,” the former president said to applause from members of a local business group. “You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money.”

Mr. Bush commented on the fact that private business knows how to run itself and government doesn’t.

“Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States,” he said to huge cheers.

Your “successor” is listening Mr. Bush but his agenda of government control is the definitive part of his playbook.

“The way I decided to address the problem was twofold : One, use every technique and tool within the law to bring terrorists to justice before they strike again,” he said, adding that the country needs to stay on offense, not defense. On Guantanamo, which while in office Mr. Bush said he wanted to close, the former president was diplomatic.

“I told you I’m not going to criticize my successor,” he said. “I’ll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don’t believe that - persuasion isn’t going to work. Therapy isn’t going to cause terrorists to change their mind.”

Actually, the press really didn’t cover Mr. Bush’s speaking engagement but the Washington Times did take a stab at spin to interpret the former president’s words for the sake of creating a headline.

“There are a lot of ways to remedy the situation without nationalizing health care,” Mr. Bush said. “I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for health care.”

Asked by the evening emcee at the 104th annual Manufacturer and Business Association meeting if he finds the new president’s policies “socialist,” Mr. Bush started - then stopped.

“I hear a lot of those words, but it depends on -” he said, breaking off. He later offered a more diplomatic assessment : “We’ll see.”

The “silence” about Obama and Socialism from Mr. Bush in Erie, PA was deafening. Indeed !