Rod Blagojevich may well be the nation’s ballsiest governor, but his delusions of grandeur pale in comparison to those of our sitting president. The LA Times has obtained a copy of a talking points memo, sent by the White House to cabinet members and top officials, highlighting successes in Bush’s tenure.
From the Times:
Titled “Speech Topper on the Bush Record,” the talking points state that Bush “kept the American people safe” after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, lifted the economy after 2001 through tax cuts, curbed AIDS in Africa and maintained “the honor and the dignity of his office.”
The document presents the Bush record as an unalloyed success.
It mentions none of the episodes that detractors say have marred his presidency: the collapse of the housing market and major financial services companies, the flawed intelligence in the run-up to the Iraq war, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina or the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib.
In a section on the economy, speakers are invited to say that Bush cut taxes after 2001, setting the stage for years of job growth.
As for the current economic crisis, the memo says that Bush “responded with bold measures to prevent an economic meltdown.”
The document is otherwise silent on the recession, which claimed 533,000 jobs in November, the highest number in 34 years.”
And the kicker: The memo concludes with a quote from Bush’s 1999 memoir, A Charge to Keep:
“Above all, George W. Bush promised to uphold the honor and the dignity of his office. And through all the challenges and trials of his time in office, that is a charge that our president has kept.”
For another perspective, Mother Jones‘s September/October issue features interviews with myriad historians, scientists, lawyers, and policy-makers on Bush’s legacy and How to Fix a Post-Bush Nation. You can find all of their interviews here.
We want to hear from you, too: Did Bush succeed in upholding the “honor and dignity” of the office of president?
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
