Full Interview: George W Bush with Matt Lauer

Posted by The Right Scoop The Right Scoop on November 9th, 2010 in Politics | 207 Comments

Nostalgia. I didn’t realize how much I missed W until this interview. You’ll hear him admit mistakes yet defend what other would call mistakes. NBC really did a great job with this interview. I can only hope Hannity’s version will be as good tomorrow night.

Enjoy!




Comment Policy: Please read our new comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges.

  • http://twitter.com/ExpertsTwit Jason Sulzbach

    To answer the billboard yes I miss him. He may have made some bad moves, but he stepped up and did the job. Where O-thers FAIL.

    • Cidlvj4

      Yes he did. He caused more damage than any other president ever did. Destroyed people financialy too.

    • Lkjhdsf

      But he “stepped up” and into “it.” Stepping up to do the wrong thing is ok?

      • SoRight

        I don’t see you running for President! Have you ever been faced with decisions as crucial and difficult? He did the best he could with the information he had at the time and someday when you are perfect you can stand up and criticize.
        Sorry…but I am so sick of Dumbocrats! Bleeding heart idiots have compassion for every deadbeat dirtbag…but never a Republican!

        • Ben

          Well there is no need to disrespect democrats by calling them dumbocrats. I’m so sick of both sides bashing each other. We are all in this together and its time to stop pointing fingers and compromise. I’m a democrat and I respect W. He made good decisions along with the bad..What President doesn’t? He had tough decisions to make and he did what he thought was best. Just sick of all the finger pointing and bickering. If both sides dont start working together we will all suffer for years to come….

        • GUEST from California

          SoRight,
          We supposedly elected him and he works for US, the American people. We expect honesty, careful decision-making, and our interests looked after. History will NOT be kind to one of the WORST, most embarrassing presidents and criminal administrations we’ve ever had to endure.

          • Anonymous

            Good lord…your thoughts just made the world more stupid. I’m not surprised by your comments considering your from the most screwed up state in our country. Before you comment, maybe you should educate yourself and learn facts before you write something. Congratulations, you just defined the definition of Dumbacrats.

          • getoveryourself

            people like you make me laugh, because you are the kind of person that will just complain about everything. Had he not done anything after 9/11 people would have hated him and he would have looked weak but he did what was right and what was necessary to protect our nation and you are still complaining. Like he said history will show that the decisions that he made not only made us a grater nation but it also kept us secure

          • haha

            You couldnt be more wrong. You clearly dont know much about his presidency obviously or are too blind to see the truth

          • Stiltz

            you’re talking about Obama right?

          • Cdelancey6966

            This sounds like Obama also. I also think it is time for everybody to to quit pointing fingers and get the congress to work together. Those of us retiring are really aware of how the government (both sides) have taken away alot of our support for retiorement that we have paid into for 50 years of hard labor. Congressional participants get a full blown high price retirement and I will have to try to live off less than half of what I make before retirement. Lets all work to get things right here in america also.

          • Guest from Midland, TX

            And Obama is right on track right? Please, you are an idiot and you do not know what you are talking about. The issues that W was faced with would have been difficult for any President to handle. Its a good thing you are in California budy where people have no morals and old fashion christian beliefs have been thrown under the rug!

          • Guest 1

            He was honest and he made mistakes. But I am glad that we had an American with a spine to defend this country so we can all judge each other in freedom.

      • Kelly

        No he didn’t. He did not step into 911, but he sure delt with it. He did not step into the fact that Saddam kept lieing, threatening WMD’s, and refused to play ball with the UN on his current development of WMD’s, but Bush certainly delt with it even if the UN wouldn’t.

        • GUEST in California

          Kelly,

          Do your homework. The UN COULDN’T. Bush gace them 24 hours to vacate Iraq because he was going to war even though he did not have the legal right to do so. His attorneys did the same thing when he wanted to perform waterboarding!.

          • guest from fl

            obviously you need to do your homework too. the president can send military troops any where he wants for combat as long as there’s a 48 hour notice to congress.. pretty sure that’s what happened.
            it’s sad that i’m 17 and can prove you wrong.. maybe you should be the one in school not me.

      • WFORLIFE!!

        your opinion sucks. you are a moron. barack obama is ruining our country. i take personal offense to anyone who voted for that man. it is you who are responsible for the demise of the united states.

        • Panda

          You cannot expect to throw insults to make this country any better. Try actually being active in your politics and come up with a real solution.

        • Null

          funny, I feel the same way about w.

    • Bob

      Please……pull your head out of your ass.

    • steve smith

      And…… you’re an idiot.

    • GUEST in California

      George W. Bush and his administration were simply CRIMINAL!

      Blaming the Governor of Louisiana for his lack of action to Katrina is such a lie. There is video of him being warned of the probable catastrophic consequences days before Katrina ever hit. He chose to do nothing.

      Just as he was warned about an attack on America, and that our aircraft would be used, he chose to take some more vacation time and play golf. He took more vacation time than any other president in our history.

      I remember learning about the Diebold and ES&S voting machines being hacked for the 2000 & 2004 elections. I remember the sworn affidavit Clint Curtis gave to Washington regarding being asked to write the software.

      I remember a former undercover CIA agent being exposed because her husband wrote a liberal article exposing the crimes in the White House. The attorneys being fired because they didn’t share Bush’s view. The list goes on.

      Matt didn’t ask him why he chose to invade Iraq so quickly even though inspections hadn’t been completed.

      Waterboarding was deemed illegal during the Vietnam War — but just as Bush didn’t follow the law before invading Iraq, he had a legal team find a way to make it sound as if they were within their right to use torture. Thankfully President Obama put an end to torture almost immediately after taking office.

      What would sicken me more than anything would be to have another president in office during my lifetime as blatantly greedy, evil, criminal, and egotistic as George W. Bush clearly was. He and his administration were the worst abuse of power, example of greed, and destructive capitalism that only the Republican Party could commit. History should not and will not be kind to him.

      • Warrior

        Guest from California, I believe you are forgetting the fact that America was attacked… Innocent civilians were killed and the terrorists who were water-boarded had vital information that saved other innocent people from being killed. It is illegal to kill innocent people, not to water-board. You said you are thankful that the “torture” of water-boarding was put to an end, I am thankful that the torture and death of American civilians was put to an end by men and women who loved this country and sacrificed to protect it. Bush, and all those who served and are serving us now deserve our greatest respect and thanks. It is disgraceful the way you speak of and slander a man who served this country and loves his nation. He was not perfect but he did his best and has been real about his mistakes and failures. He did not ask for 9-11 to happen, he did not want to go to war, he was not seeking to break any law as you claim. He was protecting the country and people he loved and swore to protect. I can’t believe that if you were in his position you would have stood by while terrorists with information about future attacks on this nation were silent. Would you have watched another 9-11 all the while knowing you could have prevented it? Just as President Obama has increased drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan dramatically in what some consider a controversial tactic; Bush did what he had to do in order to defend this nation. Bush and Obama both deserve our support for their efforts to protect this nation.

      • Stiltz

        you’re naive… at least W didn’t conspire with Muslim nations that would like nothing more than to see the US wiped clean. Tell the world that the US is not a Christian Nation. Apologize to the world for what we did in WWII. Don’t forget attempting to try war criminals held in Gitmo in a civilian court. How about overruling a judges ruling regarding voter intimidation by a black panther group. Abuse of power? Obama has lied to the American people on several occasions and it is documented.

        I’m so glad that now we can get information from war criminals humanely.. I feel so much safer knowing that. if someone attacks my country and it’s people i don;t really care what method is used to gather info to prevent it from happening in the future.

        Guest from CA.. Wake up. Only a republican would commit? You should be more sick today than ever because what we have in office is 10x’s worse than GW. Obamas atrocities are worse because he is selling the American people and the ideals our country was based on down the river. At least Bush attacked the ME and not the US as Obama is…

  • dswanson

    The most striking thing about George W. Bush, even before he was President, is his character. Regardless of your political persuasions, you can’t disregard his integrity. I miss him on many levels. He’s a man who will make a decision few of us would ever want to make, and yet, he tears up without shame. He loves his family and he loves our military. George W. Bush is a good man. I wish more young men aspired to be like him.

    • Asdf

      Sure he is a good man. He was just a bad president.

      • Kscott0306

        give me an example of what he did that was bad

        • GUEST in California

          Kscott0306,
          There are so many things he and his admin did that there are grounds for impeachment 15 times over! Do a little research on all the criminal activity that went on: Scooter Libby, Water Boarding, going to war illegally, exposing a CIA agent, firing judges for not sharing his opinions, it goes on and on! First you could start with the stolen elections in 2000 & 2004. Look up Clint Curtis and the program that fixed voting machines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7tjnuG-l6g

      • RdsknsFtbll

        and I assume you think Obama is better?

      • RdsknsFtbll

        and I assume you think Obama is better?

    • Asdf

      Sure he is a good man. He was just a bad president.

    • Asdf

      Sure he is a good man. He was just a bad president.

    • steve smith

      Wow. You’re officially a moron. You must also believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. “He loves our military.” Yep, that’s why he chickened out of going to Vietnam and sent the military into an unnecessary war in Iraq.

      • JACK

        Mr. Smith, are you in the military? You have no idea what President Bush did for the troops during his presidency. He DID love his military and is the best President I have served for!

      • RdsknsFtbll

        so I guess by your comment of Bush chickening out of Vietnam… you also condemn Clinton for dodging the draft and sending our troops into Bosnia without a Congressional declaration right?

    • ex-republican

      Character? This main dodged the draft, womanized, drank to excess, had a cocaine problem and, only when he thought he’d go into politics, decided to clean up his act and become the puppet of corporate interests. Man of the people? He grew up on the shores of Kennebunkport, elite boarding schools and frat houses. He has no idea what a real American is. Integrity? He bought his way into the Ivy League, used his connections to avoid going to Vietnam, and then, as President, sent young men and women to die telling them they were protecting America from weapons that didn’t exist. Now we are trillions of dollars in debt, in an economic crisis of historic proportions, and more people in the middle east hate American than they did before he was President. Why do I care about what they think? They are the ones who fly planes into buildings!

      This is so typical of Republicans – who used to be the party of liberty and progress – they come from the wealthiest 1% and tell us their tax cuts will help us. They bring us to war to serve the military industrial complex and tell our soldiers that they die to protect our freedom. They injure the American dream, betray our principles, ruin our economy, increase the gap between the rich and poor – and this is their genius – they use corporations and FoxNews to start a, so-called, “populist” movement to blame Obama and the democrats for all our problems.

      Wake up people.

      • ex-republican

        I should clarify – When I say “Republicans,” I mean the leadership of the party who have hijacked our democracy – not the honest, hard working Americans who identify with the party.

        • RdsknsFtbll

          save your clarification… I completely understand how big of an idiot you are… thats already been clarified…

          • http://www.facebook.com/thenoiboi Steven Guzman

            Stop using so many ellipses. it’s completely unnecessary. They were just trying to keep the discourse civil by clarifying that they realize that the problem isn’t with the broad group, but a specific few. It’s comments like yours that prolong the debate but do nothing to move it in a positive direction.

            I should also point out that you didn’t respond to a single premise in his argument. Ad hominem; look it up.

      • Kscott0306

        oh yeah..you watched him with your own two eyes do all those things, and I am sure you have a squaky clean past…

      • RdsknsFtbll

        damn sounds alot like Clinton if you ask me… Draft Dodger.. Check Womanizer… Check Check… Drug user… well that depends on if you actually believe he didnt inhale… also not to mention the Obamanation we have as a President now has admitted use of both Cocaine as well as selling Pot.. by the way he hasnt done anything to pull any troops out of harms way that wasnt already predetermined before he was elected.. Ex-Republican… you sound like a hypocrit to me… I guess Clinton before him and Obamanation after him are truly “men of the people” right? by your own standards they couldnt possibly be.. I mean they both are “men of means” and live an elitist lifestyle.. 200,000,000 a day for a dumbass trip to India to visit his boyhood home… my god man and your have the nerve to tell others to wake up? jeez I just simply dont have time or the room to type out the ways your are absolutely 100% wrong

        • ex-republican

          This debate is exactly what is wrong with politics today. Look up the facts about Bush. Where do you get the $200,000,000 per day figure? You need to branch out beyond FoxNews. Do you know where they got that figure? Know the facts before you spout right-wing propaganda figures that are easily proven wrong. Don’t believe the propaganda be it left or right wing crap.

          I never said I was a Clinton fan either. In fact, my first opportunity to vote was against Clinton and for an honorable Bush, who knew what America’s role in the world should be.

          My point about his elitist past – Yes, Obama lives an elitist lifestyle, but while Bush was using his influence to avoid going to war, using his connections to amass wealth, and living the life of a spoiled, rich-kid playboy, Barack Obama was studying his ass off to become an expert in Constitutional law. And, he dedicated his career to helping others. This allowed him to rise to elite status because of his merits, not his hereditary connections.

          This, if you remember from high school history, is what we are supposed to value in America.

          As my login should suggest to you, I am not a fan of big government and I am apprehensive about bank bailouts (the first bailout was signed by Bush, by the way). BUT, I have no respect for a leader who gets to his position because his family has a lot of money (I include the entire Kennedy clan in this as well) but he possesses a second-rate mind. This is an example of what is wrong with our system. Obama getting elected, despite how you feel about his politics, is an example of what is right.

          TO ALL OF YOU ON THIS FORUM – Think! You don’t need to defend Bush because you are a Republican. You don’t need to support Obama if you are a democrat. It’s not a football game where one team wins and the others lose. Support reason, truth, character, merit, and above all, good leadership.

  • Mikemorrison281

    I didn’t always agree with his policies but there can be no doubt that his motives were good and that he’s a decent man. In the end, there’s not much else you can hope to achieve in this life. He kept us from being attacked again and never wavered in his defense of our nation.

    • Asdf

      “HE” kept us from getting attacked again? ONE man did that? I am sure there are many others who would disagree.

      • http://www.therightscoop.com/ therightscoop

        One man, the US Government and the US Military. How hard is that to figure out?

        • haters

          So when something bad happens its all his fault because he’s in charge. But when its something good you don’t want to give him credit?

    • steve smith

      You’re an idiot.

      • idiot

        How about you return to browsing for free porn sites and leave this discussion to people with something to say.

        BR
        Another idiot

  • Don

    Lauer did his best to mask his hatred toward President Bush, but it still surfaced from time to time with his “look” and with the tone of some questions. Would be interesting to compare his interview of President Bush with one of BO. President Bush’s sincerety and integrity came through. He is an honorable man. His only mistake in office was to act like a democrat and bail out an insurance company and to promote TARP 1. He got bad advice on correcting the economic slid we were encountering. Still, he managed to avert a major economic collapse after 9/11 – which was why the muslim terrorists hit our financial center in the first place.

    • John

      You’re an idiot. Mask his hatred? Are you familiar with Lauer’s personal thoughts? You’re an idiot.

      • HistoryBuff

        While it’s not wise to assume how someone else feels, telling them they are an idiot isn’t much better. Still, that’s your opinion, but come on now…

      • Vinneygoombatz

        John, I believe you are a little immature to be calling names. Everyone knows Lauer is a liberal. If you don’t, you should read up. Oh, and Matt does NOT like Bush. It’s not an opinion. It’s fact. Educate yourself before you run your mouth (or fingers).

        • Cidlvj4

          So what if Matt is a liberal. What does Shean H. do? You guys can”t act like the skunks. You never smell your own stink.

        • Cidlvj4

          So what if Matt is a liberal. What does Shean H. do? You guys can”t act like the skunks. You never smell your own stink.

        • Cidlvj4

          So what if Matt is a liberal. What does Shean H. do? You guys can”t act like the skunks. You never smell your own stink.

      • Shedevilsister

        I am not trying to start a disagreement but do you know something about Lauer that you would like to share with us? I refuse to watch the Today Show but did watch this program here because of President Bush. I ask because I would like to be an educated viewer.

        Kindest regards…

      • Eosmeetsaurora

        It is called profiling body language, Johnny.

      • Eosmeetsaurora

        It is called profiling body language, Johnny.

    • Cidlvj4

      Oh so now if republicans make choices that go bad, it is the democrats that caused it? You my friend are an idiot.

    • epikhariskakos

      the only mistakes?

      how many of your brothers died in iraq? your sons? your daughters?
      where were the weapons of mass destruction? he fabricated that war
      and people i knew and loved died because of his lies.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AFCM2Z4E2NOSFV4EZ2XN2GUXNA Republican

        Don’t you mean to say brave people who died defending our country and doing their job?

        • steve smith

          You’re a fresh prick.

      • Shedevilsister

        In reply to epikhariskakos: For one, I am serving still along with my 2 grown sons who are currently active duty. My nephew is also serving. Yes, I have had many brave brothers die doing what over 95% of this country WON’T do…service honorable to protect our America and keep the fight over there vs. being invaded here. Unlike other countries, we are an all volunteer force and don’t have anyone holding a gun to our heads or our families for that matter. We know there are risks but still chose to serve.

        Not to minimize these Warriors sacrifice but more innocent individual’s die on our country’s roads every year (approx 10 a day) from reckless DUI/DWI drivers. Go fight that war, won’t you?!

  • Anonymous

    By NBC standards that wasn’t a bad interview. But Bush really did not come across all that well. All the typical tricks are used to make him look…. sort of foolish. They didn’t use the extreme close-up but made up for that by using the side camera angle shots to emphasize his hand gestures and to take the focus off his words.

    It wasn’t a disaster and I guess that’s saying something for Matt Lauer. Or his producer.

    The waterboarding part was terrible. The point is that waterboarding is not torture and he should have been clearer on that point. Saying he relied on lawyers made him look weak.

    • deeez

      I’m not sure how you can defend the idea that waterboarding is not a torture method. Personally I respect the opinions of those of have actually experienced it firsthand:

      http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/hitchens200808

      • Anonymous

        I’m not defending anything. Anyone who says waterboarding is torture is wrong. It does not inflict physical pain. And no, panic is not physical pain.

        I was a big fan of Christopher Hitchens but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with everything he believed. I got over that crap when I got over being a mindless drone (liberal). I read his article back when it was first published and I have just as poor opinion of it now as I did then.

        Waterboarding is not torture. Is it a walk in the park? No. But to equate it with torture is a political decision.

        And do me a favor, will ya? Don’t post the dictionary definition of torture or pain. Don’t be that predictable.

        • Cidlvj4

          What are you talking about? Are you dense? It is torture. If you had a daughter and some sick guy was to tie you up and raped her while you watched, would that inflict pain? It would be torture for the father.

          • Anonymous

            Think about watching women being raped much, do you?

            That’s pretty sick, but it has nothing to do with waterboarding.

        • deeez

          If you are not defending waterboarding, where are you citing your definition of torture? Is there a particular reason that you are not acknowledging that psychological torture exists and is used? Certainly one does not need a dictionary to know that. Quite fair (and predictable) to also categorize all liberals as mindless drones. Those that are unable to formulate their own opinions and are simply followers should be categorized as mindless drones, which includes liberals but also people from each political party.

          • Anonymous

            Oh, here we go. You’re saying that waterboarding is psychological torture.

            Uh huh. Tell me something. Why do you care so much about the feelings and mental health of a man who would walk into a room full of Americans, or Jews, or Gays, or take your pick of whoever he thinks deserves to die, and kill them with the certain knowledge that he would be rewarded for it for all eternity?

            Uh, I guess I don’t mind too much if such a man has a couple of nightmares while he rots in a prison cell waiting to be executed.

            Grow the hell up.

            • deeez

              Thank you for the childish reply, you exemplify the reason I typically stray from political forums. I really don’t understand why you are getting so upset.

              I don’t think the debate should be whether waterboarding is a form of torture or not, because it is by the very definition of torture. The debate is really about whether it’s immoral to use as an interrogation method. I think ultimately the answer is….it depends. That’s the whole reason it’s a grey area. The leaders that have to make difficult decisions such as this shouldn’t be as harshly judged as they have been. However, decisions like this do have an effect on the message we send to the rest of the world which shouldn’t be completly ignored. I’m not defending nor am I attacking the use of waterboarding in any way. I’m simply stating that it is a form of torture.

              I originally responded to your comment because I didn’t understand why you define torture as ONLY physical pain and therefore discount waterboarding as a torture method. It’s now clear that you prefer to take any type of debate as criticism and that you’re not really interested in expanding on your previous statment.

              • Stiltz

                i’m tired of being concerned what the rest of the world thinks. I’m not certain morality has anything to do with extracting information from dangerous/deadly war criminals. I think slightly unethical to the point that i can let it slide. As it relates to my countries safety I can let alot of things slide that our government and military does.

                It may or may not be torture by definition but does it really matter so long as the objective is achieved? In regards to the military i almost always believe that the ends justifies the means.

              • Proud Republican

                It boggles my mind how liberals can condemn actions like waterboarding, which affect non-US citizens and has a track record of being significantly effective, by calling it immoral, and then turn around and say that killing unborn fetuses is OK but killing someone that has raped and killed children or slaughtered dozens of people shouldn’t be put down like a dog who has bitten too many passers-by. Where is the sense in any of that?

            • Briangrenon2

              Jaynie…I love you…will you marry me? :p

        • Asdf

          Torture is no exclusive to physical pain. Have you ever had a family member on the brink of death not knowing if they are going to live or die? That is torture. Fear is used as an instrument of torture. Rape is torture. Intimidation is torture. Etc…

        • Briangrenon2

          Point as fact: water boarding is far more humane than the hooded decapitation of westerners, being video taped for airing on Al Jazeera. Abu Ghraib: In my opinion, there wasn’t enough of that kind of activity… there should’ve been a don’t ask, don’t tell policy on that sort of behavior by U.S. Troops….but yes…we shouldn’t stoop to the level of the Jihadists.

        • DEX

          Just because something does not inflict physical pain does not mean that it cannot be classified as tourture. The psychological effects from torture can have a much larger impact on a person than the physical trauma. I do not mean to convey that using waterboarding once or twice can cause a long lasting psychological problem, but the same could be said about other forms of torture we all agree on. Waterboarding is torture, and although im not saying its wrong or there is no place for it in war, you still need to call a spade a spade.

          • Anonymous

            No place for it in war? Tell our enemies.

      • Anonymous

        There are also those who have experienced it that say it is NOT torture. One link does not an argument make.

      • the MacK

        I wonder if people who deny wateroarding is torture would recant and admit it is if they were themselves wateroarded…
        WHEN they do, I’d say that would resolve the argument of whether or not it’s torture.

        Any volunteers to prove me wrong?

        • Stiltz

          fine. it’s torture. Now lets get on with the waterboarding and extract some valuable information from those heathens..

    • Asdf

      Waterboarding is not torture? So YOU could endure it? You get waterboarded and then tell me it’s not torture.

      • Stiltz

        no thanks. I do not believe that I have ever done anything dangerous enough that may result in me being waterboarded. i generally steer clear of those situations. As most do. You really think that the biggest fear in the minds of terrorists is the possibility of getting caught and waterboarded??

        I’m pretty sure i could not endure it. As previously stated, I avoid situations where the end result could potentially be waterboarding. I ask that others in the world follow my code as well…

  • http://www.signsfunny.com Jango

    He’s the man, always funny with him

  • ZM

    What a loser, I voted for him the first time but saw the truth the second time around. Horrible decisions in life and politics.

    • Conservative

      you vote for Obama?? Hopefully you aren’t that stupid and if you did you’re the big loser!

      • HistoryBuff

        Don’t feed the trolls, please! Calling each other names will never help in the long run. I hope you reconsider this in the future. It is a free country, but with freedom comes responsibility.

      • deeez

        It’s always amusing how stupid people attempt to point out stupidity in others when they can’t see their own.

        • Cidlvj4

          Like I said before Deeeze they are like skunks. They do not smell their own stink.

        • SoRight

          Like you just did?

        • Stiltz

          you’re amusing..

      • deeez

        It’s always amusing how stupid people attempt to point out stupidity in others when they can’t see their own.

    • Conservative

      you vote for Obama?? Hopefully you aren’t that stupid and if you did you’re the big loser!

  • Theheathbarkly

    Not familiar with this Matt Lauer – is he a local news guy?

  • Russ Mcclay

    George W. Bush legacy is an illegal war that has killed thousands.

    • HistoryBuff

      That might be true, but you can’t blame him solely for the miscalculation. The defense contractors may be most to blame, maybe not… guess we all won’t know 100%, for sure. Let’s just hope the history books don’t simplify this issues and we try to get to the truth.

      • Cidlvj4

        Using your line of thinking for Bush and if we use it for Obama then the Bush administration started the whole financial problem? In Obama’s case though it would be true. In bush’s case your defense is false because Bush and his girlfriend Cheney caused it all.
        The truth is Bush caused more damage to this country than any other president and that my friend is true.

  • Clearwatergags

    Miss him? are you kidding me? he was by far the worse president we have ever had as a country! kept us safe? he allowed the largest attack on American soil ever in our history! he has killed thousands of our troops, most of them needlessly, in two wars that we should have never gotten into. He drove this country into a recession by raising the debt from his wars and giving tax cuts to the extremely wealthy, and allowing corporations to have their way with America, and boy did they ever. Shipping jobs over seas. Allowing their comapny ceos and board members to be paid 500 times more than the low level workers. Allowing hedge funds, and short trading, without little or any regulations. Oh, and Lets not forget about Katrina and how he messed that up. A good man? All this man truly cares about is making his rich friends richer and bullying other small countries so that he can compensate for how vulnerable he felt after being attacked on 9/11. Its unbelievable how delusional people allow themselves to be these days. Lets go over the stats. Thousands of civilians died under George Bush’s presidency. He led us into the two longest wars the US has ever been in, and as a result thousands of troops have died. He caused our country to go into its longest recession ever. He gave witness to one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit this country, and did little about it, and only when it was too late. Committed war crimes and tortured. Inherited a 3 trillion dollar surplus and turned it to a 15 trillion dollar deficit. Destroyed foreign relations with a lot of our allies. Help corporations take advantage of their consumers, and added to the damage to the environment and global warming. But perhaps the most damage he has done is help divide a nation. By brainwashing all of you in thinking he was a good man, and that he actually helped this country, and pissing the other half off by being immoral, F*cking with our lives, and embarrassing this country. You people make me sick. the world is crashing down around you, and you won’t even recognize it. We live in a crappier world than was giving to us, and in large part because of george bush and dick cheney.

  • Dubya ain’t god

    Lol @ “some bad moves”, like invading a country based on false intelligence, a “bad move” the USA continues to pay a skyhigh price. May Dubya go to hell.

  • Jenro78

    OMG…you all make me want to puke…

  • HistoryBuff

    I always thought he was a good man, just not a good president. It is always nice to see him outside his job.

  • Opinion

    All presidents have a very difficult job to do while in office. You have to repect them then and after.

    • Steven142

      Yeah, no kidding. Nobody but past presidents know what it’s like. I assume most underestimate just how difficult/stressful it is, but it is hard to tell, especially considering all the perks they get (which mostly seem inappropriate, but maybe that helps a lot?)

  • deeez

    I just don’t understand what it is about his presidency that people miss so much? Most people are well aware of his failures, but what is the legacy that he left behind that is so great?? To me he always seemed to live in his own little world where he believed he was this righteous crusader chosen by his God to defend the world against evil. Personally I prefer leaders to make decisions based on logic and reasoning rather than a belief that their God spoke to them, especially if I was of a different religion. I do believe the integrity of his character and that he truly believes his motives were always with the best intentions. Overall though he proved to me to be a regrettable choice to empower as president.

    • halfmadjesus

      It’s hard to tell what W’s legacy will ultimately be. Events from the decisions he made as president will play out for decades, so it’ll take that long to know for certain. Some possibilities, though:

      50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan might one day live in peace and prosperity instead of under barbaric, repressive dictatorships. That’s if we don’t let the ball slip out of our grasp now after all the blood and treasure we’ve spent there. If this does come to pass, the political ripple effects could transform the Middle East, freeing even more people. This is a concept Bush referred to often while he was in office, but not many people seemed to hear it.

      Even staunch liberals like Bono and Bob Geldof had to begrudgingly give credit to Bush for doing more for the people of Africa in terms of aid than any previous U.S. President. This is why, when W took a tour of several African countries, the people there treated him like a hero – much to our media’s downplaying and bemusement. I guess those black people knew George W. Bush cared about them. The efforts he put forth could have a tranformative effect on the continent in the decades to come, allowing untold thousands of people to live better lives.

      The United States’s awakening to the global threat of radical Islam came about under his watch, as well. W’s message regarding freedom and liberty being the natural state of man – what all men deserve and aspire to – was pretty much 100% unwavering during his presidency. If the Western world does eventually prevail against the forces of totalitarian Islamic evil, I’d imagine folks will look back at his words as those of someone who saw the true threat before many, and as a champion of freedom.

      Mind you, the above is possible only if the historical ripple efects turn out in Bush’s favor – but you can see if it does go that way, it’s unlikely his entire legacy will be wrapped up in a “mission accomplished” banner, or Hurricane Katrina.

    • halfmadjesus

      It’s hard to tell what W’s legacy will ultimately be. Events from the decisions he made as president will play out for decades, so it’ll take that long to know for certain. Some possibilities, though:

      50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan might one day live in peace and prosperity instead of under barbaric, repressive dictatorships. That’s if we don’t let the ball slip out of our grasp now after all the blood and treasure we’ve spent there. If this does come to pass, the political ripple effects could transform the Middle East, freeing even more people. This is a concept Bush referred to often while he was in office, but not many people seemed to hear it.

      Even staunch liberals like Bono and Bob Geldof had to begrudgingly give credit to Bush for doing more for the people of Africa in terms of aid than any previous U.S. President. This is why, when W took a tour of several African countries, the people there treated him like a hero – much to our media’s downplaying and bemusement. I guess those black people knew George W. Bush cared about them. The efforts he put forth could have a tranformative effect on the continent in the decades to come, allowing untold thousands of people to live better lives.

      The United States’s awakening to the global threat of radical Islam came about under his watch, as well. W’s message regarding freedom and liberty being the natural state of man – what all men deserve and aspire to – was pretty much 100% unwavering during his presidency. If the Western world does eventually prevail against the forces of totalitarian Islamic evil, I’d imagine folks will look back at his words as those of someone who saw the true threat before many, and as a champion of freedom.

      Mind you, the above is possible only if the historical ripple efects turn out in Bush’s favor – but you can see if it does go that way, it’s unlikely his entire legacy will be wrapped up in a “mission accomplished” banner, or Hurricane Katrina.

    • halfmadjesus

      It’s hard to tell what W’s legacy will ultimately be. Events from the decisions he made as president will play out for decades, so it’ll take that long to know for certain. Some possibilities, though:

      50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan might one day live in peace and prosperity instead of under barbaric, repressive dictatorships. That’s if we don’t let the ball slip out of our grasp now after all the blood and treasure we’ve spent there. If this does come to pass, the political ripple effects could transform the Middle East, freeing even more people. This is a concept Bush referred to often while he was in office, but not many people seemed to hear it.

      Even staunch liberals like Bono and Bob Geldof had to begrudgingly give credit to Bush for doing more for the people of Africa in terms of aid than any previous U.S. President. This is why, when W took a tour of several African countries, the people there treated him like a hero – much to our media’s downplaying and bemusement. I guess those black people knew George W. Bush cared about them. The efforts he put forth could have a tranformative effect on the continent in the decades to come, allowing untold thousands of people to live better lives.

      The United States’s awakening to the global threat of radical Islam came about under his watch, as well. W’s message regarding freedom and liberty being the natural state of man – what all men deserve and aspire to – was pretty much 100% unwavering during his presidency. If the Western world does eventually prevail against the forces of totalitarian Islamic evil, I’d imagine folks will look back at his words as those of someone who saw the true threat before many, and as a champion of freedom.

      Mind you, the above is possible only if the historical ripple efects turn out in Bush’s favor – but you can see if it does go that way, it’s unlikely his entire legacy will be wrapped up in a “mission accomplished” banner, or Hurricane Katrina.

    • halfmadjesus

      It’s hard to tell what W’s legacy will ultimately be. Events from the decisions he made as president will play out for decades, so it’ll take that long to know for certain. Some possibilities, though:

      50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan might one day live in peace and prosperity instead of under barbaric, repressive dictatorships. That’s if we don’t let the ball slip out of our grasp now after all the blood and treasure we’ve spent there. If this does come to pass, the political ripple effects could transform the Middle East, freeing even more people. This is a concept Bush referred to often while he was in office, but not many people seemed to hear it.

      Even staunch liberals like Bono and Bob Geldof had to begrudgingly give credit to Bush for doing more for the people of Africa in terms of aid than any previous U.S. President. This is why, when W took a tour of several African countries, the people there treated him like a hero – much to our media’s downplaying and bemusement. I guess those black people knew George W. Bush cared about them. The efforts he put forth could have a tranformative effect on the continent in the decades to come, allowing untold thousands of people to live better lives.

      The United States’s awakening to the global threat of radical Islam came about under his watch, as well. W’s message regarding freedom and liberty being the natural state of man – what all men deserve and aspire to – was pretty much 100% unwavering during his presidency. If the Western world does eventually prevail against the forces of totalitarian Islamic evil, I’d imagine folks will look back at his words as those of someone who saw the true threat before many, and as a champion of freedom.

      Mind you, the above is possible only if the historical ripple efects turn out in Bush’s favor – but you can see if it does go that way, it’s unlikely his entire legacy will be wrapped up in a “mission accomplished” banner, or Hurricane Katrina.

    • halfmadjesus

      It’s hard to tell what W’s legacy will ultimately be. Events from the decisions he made as president will play out for decades, so it’ll take that long to know for certain. Some possibilities, though:

      50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan might one day live in peace and prosperity instead of under barbaric, repressive dictatorships. That’s if we don’t let the ball slip out of our grasp now after all the blood and treasure we’ve spent there. If this does come to pass, the political ripple effects could transform the Middle East, freeing even more people. This is a concept Bush referred to often while he was in office, but not many people seemed to hear it.

      Even staunch liberals like Bono and Bob Geldof had to begrudgingly give credit to Bush for doing more for the people of Africa in terms of aid than any previous U.S. President. This is why, when W took a tour of several African countries, the people there treated him like a hero – much to our media’s downplaying and bemusement. I guess those black people knew George W. Bush cared about them. The efforts he put forth could have a tranformative effect on the continent in the decades to come, allowing untold thousands of people to live better lives.

      The United States’s awakening to the global threat of radical Islam came about under his watch, as well. W’s message regarding freedom and liberty being the natural state of man – what all men deserve and aspire to – was pretty much 100% unwavering during his presidency. If the Western world does eventually prevail against the forces of totalitarian Islamic evil, I’d imagine folks will look back at his words as those of someone who saw the true threat before many, and as a champion of freedom.

      Mind you, the above is possible only if the historical ripple efects turn out in Bush’s favor – but you can see if it does go that way, it’s unlikely his entire legacy will be wrapped up in a “mission accomplished” banner, or Hurricane Katrina.

  • Badboypalomalo

    Disgusting cynic! Liar and hypocrite, I though criminals weren’t supposed to make money from their deeds!

  • Petejackson64

    Good man, good man. Flawed, but with his heart and integrity in the right place. I miss him!

  • Petejackson64

    Good man, good man. Flawed, but with his heart and integrity in the right place. I miss him!

    • Verie

      Integrity ????

  • Anonymous
  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FRAOPO3PP2EK7WG3E2YS3MSK5U Star Spankled

    Great interview . He made mistakes , he wasn’t perfect but I’d give 100 Obamas to have him back for one reason . He was always pro America , Obama is anti America .

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FRAOPO3PP2EK7WG3E2YS3MSK5U Star Spankled

    Great interview . He made mistakes , he wasn’t perfect but I’d give 100 Obamas to have him back for one reason . He was always pro America , Obama is anti America .

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FRAOPO3PP2EK7WG3E2YS3MSK5U Star Spankled

    Great interview . He made mistakes , he wasn’t perfect but I’d give 100 Obamas to have him back for one reason . He was always pro America , Obama is anti America .

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FRAOPO3PP2EK7WG3E2YS3MSK5U Star Spankled

    Great interview . He made mistakes , he wasn’t perfect but I’d give 100 Obamas to have him back for one reason . He was always pro America , Obama is anti America .

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FRAOPO3PP2EK7WG3E2YS3MSK5U Star Spankled

    Great interview . He made mistakes , he wasn’t perfect but I’d give 100 Obamas to have him back for one reason . He was always pro America , Obama is anti America .

    • Shane

      Not trying to flame here. I really do respect the opinions of the commenters and posters on this blog, and I thank the blog for posting this interview. I really enjoyed it, and agree with the sentiment that it was nice to see President Bush again. While I am from the other side of the political spectrum, I really see us all as people who care about our country and the direction it’s heading, especially those of us that like to engage in political debate.

      I really feel that neither President Bush or President Obama are “anti American,” and to say as much does not give either man credit for choosing to serve our country. No matter how you feel about either president, it is my belief that both are true patriots, and their differences in policy are minimal in the grand scheme of things.

      Both presidents have had similar stances on many issues, such as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, conservative taxation vs. progressive taxation, the Patriot Act, removal of habeas corpus, similarities in energy policies, off shore drilling, and many other policies.

      Instead of looking for our differences I think we will find that Republicans and Democrats share many policy issues, and both parties are leaning more to the right. Democrats have become increasingly centrist and moderate, while Republicans have stood ground, and perhaps moved further to the right in some cases.

      The surest sign that Democrats, including Obama, but even more so on the local election losses last week, are becoming moderate and conservative comes from this quote by President Harry Truman:

      “Given the choice between a Republican and someone who acts like a Republican, people will vote for the real Republican all the time.”

      As a Democrat I’ll be the first to say that the thing I love most about President Bush, and the thing I despise most about President Obama, is that Bush has guts, and Obama doesn’t seem to. The Republicans don’t take crap from anyone, and I hate that Democrats won’t stand their ground in the same manner.

      This has been my criticism of Obama since day one, and is the number one trait in Bush that I always argue to family is what made him a more effective leader, even though I largely disagree with Bush’s policies. (…though I disagree with many of Obama’s as well.)

      • halfmadjesus

        You’re nuts if you think the Democrats have become more centrist and moderate, Shane. It’s quite the opposite. Even in the losses the party sustained in this latest election cycle, what they really did was double-down on the radical Left. The Blue Dogs are largely gone, having been weeded out – it’s just the hardcore idealogues now, who’ve already been running the asylum for quite a while.

        I submit to you, in the post-Reagan years, it’s the Republicans who became more centrist and moderate. Bush Sr., W., McCain – all guys who wanted to work and compromise with Democrats as much as possible. Of course, they were all demonized as far-Right whackos, but the truth is, they were the moderates. We call them “RINO”s today. Sounds crazy, I know, but this is why true conservatives have been gnashing their teeth for years. It is why you are now seeing things like the Tea Party, and Republicans beginning to move more to the right again. In essence, the two extremes are choosing their sides, and I don’t think there won’t be a lot of room in the middle for a while again.

        It may seem like Republicans today “don’t take crap”, but the Democrats are just passive-aggressive in how they operate. They give lip-service to and the impression of compromise, but don’t actually budge an inch. On the flip side, most Republicans talk a good game about playing tough, but when push comes to shove, they always end up reaching out a hand to their idealogical opposites, only to get fingers bitten off. In the long term, compromise only goes one way, it seems.

  • Pignanny

    So many comments on this board are very shallow, meaning, 1) hindsight is 20/20 and 2) every situation is completely different and when you are the President of the United States all factors making up issues have to be taken into account. Not just whatever happens to be viewed as the MAJOR issue. If simply addressing the “MAJOR” issue were all the was necessary anything any President does could be judged on a simple Pass/Fail grade. That’s just not the case. Regardless of who is in office if people would take a step back and try to understand all of the complexities involved with any decision made by the President they might realize 1) there is rarely a cure-all decision and 2) there will almost always be opposers who want to focus on what they believe the negativities are. Does anyone honestly believe any President would make a contious decision they believed was not in our countries best interest? It doesn’t matter who the President is He (or eventually she) will never be able to completely address issues the way they should be. There will always be comprimise because it is what congress will always demand in order to send bills to be signed into law. And in most cases it is the compromises that lead to dissatisfaction, caos, and controversy. No single President can or will be able to solve all of the problems. People need to focus on doing what is right, not just popular or self serving.

  • jim

    Yeah, that Bush, what a hero: turning Wall Street into Las Vegas East while removing the SEC’s spine, invading Iraq based on lie after absurd lie, ignoring pre-9/11 intel, throwing away all that global pro-US sentiment after 9/11 (even TEHRAN was having pro-America rallies), pardoning Scooter Libby, shredding habeas corpus, torturing POWs, & his heroic act of giving up golf “for the troops” … who WOULD’NT miss all that? But surely noone could have anticipated that a man who’d weakened (or literally ruined) every single business venture he ever managed would be a political & economic disaster for America.

  • Linze17

    aww George. i do miss him. what a good man:)

  • http://www.facebook.com/francesca.padovese Francesca Padovese

    Thanks for posting this!

  • Daniel Forse

    president Bush is a great man and has great love for our country. People like to jump on their soapboxes and monday morning quaterbacking this interview, because he felt waterboarding was legal and justifed. Who really cares what the world thinks of America, he did his job with honor and the willingness to protect us from harm. No matter how you get the infomation to save lives. Sometimes we need to take a hard stand and do what needs to be done. I’ll bet that most of America would not care what type of process was needed to get Bin Laden and the rest of the terrorists. President Bush stopped these crazy fanatics from attacking America again. What more did he need to do. Are you and your loved ones safe right now? You bet you are. Obama is finding out how hard it is being president and he does not have it nearly as hard as W. had it. What a mess he received from Clinton and yet he stayed to course and guilded this country in it’s darkest hours. That is real leadership from a man who trusted his advisiors and took steps to protect us from all kinds of dangers. He is man enough to admitt his mistakes and shortcomings and still stayed rock soild, to the the job right the first time. Do you honestly think that Gore/Kerry could have done a better job. Not on you life. God bless you President Bush. Thank you for your strength and wisdom to see us through tough times. You are greatly missed and time will say that you were good man and a great president.

  • research4truth

    Me too! I didn’t realize how much I missed him until last night.

  • Wiese

    The greatest Miss-leader of US history!

    • guest

      Talking about Obama, are you? lol

  • Lisamako

    I miss him too this hopey changy thing is NOT working out for us Obahma is not who people think he is!

    • LM

      And you know who he is? Democrats thought George Bush wasn’t who he said he was. What factual information are these assumptions based on? The news and print media are slanted one way or another so, really, where does this come from? I’m honestly asking because I don’t understand why people feel the need to demonize our leaders, Republican or Democrat.

  • http://twitter.com/HarveyRoad Harvey Road

    Yes, he’s not smart. Yes, he’s vastly under-qualified to lead our great country. But, he has his integrity. Which is nice.

    • guest

      And he doesn’t criticize the current President. Maybe our current President could take a lesson. Bush is a class act. Wish I could say the same for our current POTUS.

    • Anonymous

      …and you are smarter?

    • Anonymous

      …and you are smarter?

  • Helen

    Matt Lauer – could you be any more dismissive. Shame on you.

    Grandmother of 7

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gregory-Martin/100000564476826 Gregory Martin

    Yes, I miss him, he initiated a policy of infinite war which is what this country needed to sustain its economy, no matter what liberals say.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Gregory-Martin/100000564476826 Gregory Martin

    Yes, I miss him, he initiated a policy of infinite war which is what this country needed to sustain its economy, no matter what liberals say.

  • Briangrenon2

    Boy…I cant agree with you guys more….he’s a sight for sore eyes. I wish we could have him back in office…I think would give many a surprising feeling of comfort…even those who often criticized him. Hell…I think Bush Sr. could probably still straighten out this mess…

  • Matthew Kilbourn

    This kind of frank discussion is exactly what America needed. 60 Minutes approaches this kind of format, but now that Bush’s presidency is over he was able to be himself again. It is partly a shame that it took so long to create this kind of setting, but it shows his doubters how sincere he is as a man, and how courageous he was as our leader. We owe him more than the Democrats and media are willing to admit, or will ever admit.

    • LM

      With all due respect, couldn’t the same be said about Obama. I for one, am willing to give both Bush and Obama the benefit of the doubt and respect for the responsibility they’ve taken on. I’m just one person so, I don’t know how it effects them but I know that it allows me to be happier, less stressed and more able to have respectful conversations with people with opposing views.

      • Matthew Kilbourn

        LM, thank you for your reply. I agree with you that if more people gave each president the benefit of the doubt, we would be a stronger nation. Morale would be higher, and confidence in our commander in chief would also be higher. It would do wonders for our image on the national level.

        I remember how the liberal media painted Bush as a bumbling and impulsive fool. Clearly he is an intelligent man, with unwavering integrity. If anything, I am disillusioned with the media outlets we have available to us. No, you cannot always trust a politician, but sadly we cannot trust our news sources either. All they want to do is create some spin and keep people intrigued by their pseudo-news hype, and gossipy, misinformed, and misleading stories.

  • rcf100

    GW is intelligent. It takes an intelligent person to admit mistakes in hindsight and he does unflinchingly. It is his humility and his compassion that also allows for this kind of truthfullness.
    I am not sure how history will judge GW, but, I for one, think he was much, much better than most of the others who applied for the job as president. Many Americans might think of presidents as a sort of king. Well, they are and should be a servant of the people for the betterment of the United States of America as a whole–not for this group or that group. I tend to think as members of this republic we have lost sight of that idea.
    I want to read the book.

  • rcf100

    GW is intelligent. It takes an intelligent person to admit mistakes in hindsight and he does unflinchingly. It is his humility and his compassion that also allows for this kind of truthfullness.
    I am not sure how history will judge GW, but, I for one, think he was much, much better than most of the others who applied for the job as president. Many Americans might think of presidents as a sort of king. Well, they are and should be a servant of the people for the betterment of the United States of America as a whole–not for this group or that group. I tend to think as members of this republic we have lost sight of that idea.
    I want to read the book.

  • LM

    I can look at this and the thing that stands out to me is how genuine he is. I can give this man the benefit of the doubt though I did not vote for him and had a load of problems with his policies. I wish Americans would give every president the benefit of the doubt and quit tearing down our Commanders in Chief whether you agree with them or not. The hateful environment of current politics is sickening and is simply ignorant. None of us know what it’s like to be president and to have to make decisions with concern for all Americans not just the ones who put them in office and with due respect to those who didn’t. I think the most American thing we can do is take some responsibility for our own actions and quit demonizing our elected officials.

  • Political Pinball

    Wow you guys are nuts. Kanye West? One of the most profound insults to the American people in this country’s history.
    Take a moment to thank the President and the Justice Department for not charging the entire Bush Administration with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
    Bush yet again proves why he is the worst president in modern history. It’s a disheartening moment to find people who still do not understand this fact. This has nothing to do with right, left, or center of US Politics. Rather his disastrous presidency transcends all political affiliation.

  • Amazed

    Wow It’s scary to think that after EVERYTHING there are still people who stand by this man. I concur with everything political pinball said. You would have to actual have an IQ less than Bush himself to support that idiot.

    • 20YearVet-142IQ

      IQ: 142. 20 Years Military Service. I supported him. I still do. I think his response to Katrina was weak. The rest were pretty good decisions. For the others claiming “illegal war”… Congress voted on it…hence..it was legal…stop living on sound bites from the media to form your opinions.

  • RDIS

    Liberals liberals they are the cause of everything bad, from ww2 to polio, to 911!!

    • Nil

      That is an extremely generalized comment and you have absolutely no points supporting it. That only goes to show that you are close minded and do not really know what you are talking about.

  • RDIS

    Liberals liberals they are the cause of everything bad, from ww2 to polio, to 911!!

  • RDIS

    Liberals liberals they are the cause of everything bad, from ww2 to polio, to 911!!

  • http://twitter.com/J0VE J0VE

    Will never be an obama lover, way too slick for me. George W Bush at least tried to do something and whether or not you think it was the right thing is the opinion you are entitled to, what would you have honestly done if you were in charge at the time. At least he stood behind every decision he made (right or wrong) and took all the crap we the people can and did dish out and more. I respect the fact he never backed down and never apologized (you guys would have had a field day with that one..) He didn’t cause the terrorist to attack us, he just tried his best to find a solution to the problem. Again I ask what would you have done? Most of you, I think, would gladly turn a blind eye in hopes the problem would go away. Let me just say, they started many years ago with their terrorists acts, from hijacking planes to bombing other parts of the world. The problem didn’t go away they just found a different way and this time it found our own backyard… Just where would your blind eye get us? How many decisions have you made in life have turned out great? He faced terrorism, a major natural disaster, to our economy about to crumble into a depression worse than the great depression. Deer caught in the headlights definitely but a man doing the best he could… In all the years I’ve listened to the criticism about George W, I’ve never once heard options other than not starting a war… just turn your blind eye (pray that nothing happens again…) and praise your new leader in chief (remind me again why he won a nobel peace prize because I still can’t figure that one out….) some people are just mushrooms….. personally I’ve never liked mushrooms…

  • dephtones

    i wonder how many of those people working in that “pit” would succumb to the after effects, thanks to the lack of health care for those heroes.

  • ihaterepublicans

    “if you beat this prick hard enough, he’ll tell you he started the chicago fire, but that don’t make it ##^&^ so.”

  • ihaterepublicans

    “if you beat this prick hard enough, he’ll tell you he started the chicago fire, but that don’t make it ##^&^ so.”

  • Nil

    The truth in all of this is that yes, George Bush was a good man. he valued many of the same aspects in life that most Americans value. Being a good man, though, did not make him a good president. Before George Bush became president, the United States actually had a budget surplus. As a political move, he decided to cut taxes shortly after he was sworn into office. He did that as a political move–to gain the approval of American citizens. What did that lead us into, though? 13 trillion dollars worth of dept. Launching a full scale war claiming he was getting diplomacy to work, was not the answer. And now people judge and accuse Barack Obama of being a bad president for not being able to change it in a matter of 2 years… NEWSFLASH!!! Its not that easy. Bush took 8 years to get us into that problem and people expect Obama to get us out of it in 2? Wrong.

  • Cinci

    Was he perfect? No. Contrary to what the liberal media has accused him of, he did not do things motivated by money or for retribution for “trying to kill his daddy.” In contrast to some leaders (cough, cough) who try to move their agenda at any cost (cough, health care), he did what he he thought was right for our country. He will go down in history as a good man and a better president who truly cared for his country.

    • Marktrenkle10

      Amen, I didn’t like him when he was president and didn’t agree on a lot of his decisions at the time. But like he said, in hindsight a lot of them were, I think, justified.

      His willingness to bail out the banks when he was diametrically opposed to doing so shows that he was not only not afraid to make tough decisions, but he made them as a critical thinking and rational human being and not an tunnel visioned idiot as he was so often unfairly portrayed.

  • Dalejovi

    The intrinsic difference between this man and Clinton or Obama is his willingness to accept that he is simply a man who tried to give his best. At times, the result was ugly and he failed, at times he succeeded, but his reflections highlight the fact that he understands his limitations, his failures and his shortcomings as well as his talent. The two individuals who bookend his tenure have yet to understand this fundamental point. I voted for Obama yet his inability to accept the reality of his occasional shortcomings is striking. There is no hope for Willie.

    • Waris$$$

      What about all the Lies surronding 9/11??? And stop before you say Im a conspiracy nut! Im talking about the facts here, like How the buildings were desinged to take Impact from jets, that the Planes fuel was not hot enough to bring down the buildings, nor create the molten metal that was seen driping from the buildings and remained in pools on the ground for weeks if not months after. Or building 7 collapsing from a minor fire several hours later. Why no black boxes discovered? Why that day, just by chance were they doing a traing mission of the exact scenario that was happening on that day? George W Bush is a murderer, sorry hes not intellegent enough to be a murderer, he was a puppet. As are most presidents if not all since John F Kennedy was Murdered. Open your eyes people we are led to belive we’re a free country. And aslong as they keep us in fear and make sure we consume, we’ll always be way to distracted to ever notice!

      • Trenks

        Dude, your “facts” aren’t facts. But nothing I saw will change your mind because you are, in fact, a conspiracy nut. And to address your other point only some people, and it sounds like you’re one of them, live in fear. If you take all that fear mongering the media throws at you like swine flu, then you need to think more critically and become a reasonable human being. And being addicted to consuming is just hyperbole. Sure, we all consume a bit more than the average bear, but there is nothing inherently wrong in wanting more. It’s human nature, not a scheme that American’s and executives on Madison Avenue cooked up.

        If you honestly don’t believe we’re pretty much as free as it gets, then you need to live under sharia in the middle east or north korea. But of course you can’t take my post seriously because I’m probably a member of the new world order and we’re scheming to take over the world for no reason other than to delight at the slaughter of the innocent! Muahahaha!

  • Anonymous

    Why couldn’t we have had this while he was President?!!

  • guest

    he says “we had no advance knowledge al Quaeda was going to attack New York buildings” he doesn’t acknowledge he had briefs 5 weeks before that stated AQ would attack American buildings with airplanes…his reaction to the intelligence? take 5 weeks off

    • Daabearz

      there were reports of AQ attacking with airplanes dating back to 1997/98, during Clinton’s presidency, yet nothing was ever done.

  • Orileizer

    I really Enjoyed the interview !! Well Done!

    • TheDoofster

      As expected, Lauer couldn’t hide his agenda. He asked freely about waterboarding, Bush responded, Lauer followed up, Bush responded, Lauer then fully leans forward in a ‘gotcha’ moment and thrusts, “But if Americans were overseas and were waterboarded….” trying to punch home HIS own points as if HE wanted to debate waterboarding!…but the interview was about Bush and HIS decisions. Matt, your slip is showing; stick to Larry King stuff.

  • A Free American

    A champion of the fearful and ignorant. Bottom-line, he should be in jail.

  • Kelly

    This is not the entire interview. I can’t seem to find the entire interview. I guess liberals don’t like the idea that people will hear what Bush has to say, thus the interview is only presented in peices every site I look at.

    I guess I’ll just have to keep looking for the entire interview. It’s got to be somewhere online.

    • http://www.therightscoop.com/ therightscoop

      This is the entire interview that aired on TV. I cut out a little of the intro stuff and the endcap stuff, but yes it’s the entire interview.

  • Kelly

    It says 42 min.

    • http://www.therightscoop.com/ therightscoop

      Well if you want, I could put back on the couple minutes of intros/exits and add back the 15 or so minutes of commercials if that would make you feel better.

      Last time I’m gonna say it. It’s the whole thing.

  • Anon44

    His lack of character is exemplified by is refusal to admit that Iraq was a mistake in this interview. The man is a disgrace. I was a republican until Bush was elected.

    • Anonymous

      Sorry.

  • Bucklaw

    You have to watch the whole thing again if you got disconnected…

    • Anonymous

      No, you can click on enlarge and then the little bar at the bottom will allow you to slide to the minute spot you desire.

  • Ball_giants

    Stepping up to the plate. Doesn’t equate to a good job.

  • Ball_giants

    It just means you tried to do your job.

  • Arbonnegirl

    I miss him! His service to our country was honorable and loyal!

  • Emn 1973

    is he interviewing MIKE TYSON?

  • Anonymous

    I knew I loved him. We have never heard these views. I feel robbed.

  • annawig

    What a refreshing interview……miss him more than I thought I would. I believe he genuinely doesn’t care about popularity and was willing to make tough decisions because they were right decisions. I disagreed with several of his decisions but I believe he was a truly great President because he was so willing to make unpopular choices. That’s a true quality of leadership. Obama has no leadership skills and I didn’t realize how good W. was until we’ve had two years of Obama.

  • Vicki

    I miss him. He is a leader and a good man.

  • Rick

    Interesting to me that when talking about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq the majority of people, never, never, even mention that the UN inspectors found “A Lot” of weapons of mass destruction of different kinds in Iraq during the UN inspections under Bush Senior. Gosh…gee whiz…Golly….I wonder what the Psychology is in people never even mentioning the original WMDs that were found in Iraq during the original inspections under Bush Senior. But, Clinton quit the inspections all together because of Sadam’s continual defiance to the UN inspectors. At which time, the inspectors were pulled out and the Clinton and Great Britain did an air raid on Iraq. The stated goal of the mission was to further degrade the WMDs in Iraq. There were no more inspections for the 8 years of Clinton.

  • Kez

    Oh I miss him. He wasn’t perfect by a long shot, but who is.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joanna-Beth-Holbrook/1577148293 Joanna Beth Holbrook

    Very well done! GWB is a truly great human being——-and we miss him.

  • Will Wersinger

    Two words…War criminal!

  • Yvette Graham

    I have never been prouder of President George W. Bush than watching this interview. I miss him dearly and this country is suffering in his absence.

  • Celesta

    Of course there were no weapons of mass destruction found IN IRAQ. He had all kinds of time to hide them in Syria, Iran and who knows where else. He made sure we didn’t find them, and we gave them all kinds of time to hide them.

  • GUEST from California

    This man is juvenile and delusional. Will he ever own up to his obvious mistakes and criminal activity?

    Blaming the Governor of Louisiana for his lack of action to Katrina is such a lie. There is video of him being warned of the probable catastrophic consequences days before Katrina ever hit. He chose to do nothing.

    Just as he was warned about an attack on America, and that our aircraft would be used, he chose to take some more vacation time and play golf. He took more vacation time than any other president in our history.

    I remember learning about the Diebold and ES&S voting machines being hacked for the 2000 & 2004 elections. I remember the sworn affidavit Clint Curtis gave to Washington regarding being asked to write the software.

    I remember a former undercover CIA agent being exposed because her husband wrote a liberal article exposing the crimes in the White House. The attorneys being fired because they didn’t share Bush’s view. The list goes on.

    Matt didn’t ask him why he chose to invade Iraq so quickly even though inspections hadn’t been completed.

    Waterboarding was deemed illegal during the Vietnam War — but just as Bush didn’t follow the law before invading Iraq, he had a legal team find a way to make it sound as if they were within their right to use torture. Thankfully President Obama put an end to torture almost immediately after taking office.

    What would sicken me more than anything would be to have another president in office during my lifetime as blatantly greedy, evil, criminal, and egotistic as George W. Bush clearly was. He and his administration were the worst abuse of power, example of greed, and destructive capitalism that only the Republican Party could commit. History should not and will not be kind to him.

  • Kay

    He shouldn’t have run for president – he was intellectually qualified. And he was a terrible decision-maker – didn’t search out information, didn’t weigh the facts, didn’t consider the consequences, didn’t modify decisions when new data arrived, didn’t have a transparent process. If a CEO made decisions like that his company would be out of business.

  • Kay

    wasn’t

    jeeze, I’m as bad as Bush

  • TexasLeggs

    You know how to tell when Bush is lying? His lips are moving. He is a disgrace to our country!

  • Beauxetbelles911

    We need to forget the parties and come back to be an American first! We have to keep our freedom and not give it away! We are all brothers and sisters and we need to unit as a family no matter what our differences are. Our home has to be offended by the American Family!

  • Mike in Fla.

    In 2 short years Obama has transformed America into what can only be described as a socialist country. He broke almost every promise he made while campaigning ( no earmarks, no lobbyists, bills on cspan , and on and on ). His administration has been laced with far left activists that has polorized the country like none before.
    He has presided over the most obscene abuses of our political system that has ever been perpetrated with the way the healthcare bill was passed as just one example. He has allowed the DoJ to basically defy the constitution on numerous occasions (the failure to prosecute the black panther party for voter intimedation is a prime example ) and in direct defiance to the will of the American people.
    Obama has embarrased America all over the world, he has spent his entire presidency to date blaming Bush and the republicans for everything and spent the last 2 years doing his best to pander to all of America’s enemies.
    Liberals will still defend him vehemently though, and always revert to blaming Bush. 99 of 100 senators voted to use force in Iraq, because like Bush they all believed that Saddam had WMDs. But as soon as it became apparnt that there were no weapons they all changed their tunes.

    Katrina was obviously one of the worst natural disasters in the history of America. No one had any idea how bad it really would be and there are no other disasters to even compare it to, yet Bush was completely at fault ?? Anyone that lives in Florida can tell you that the way the Lousiana prepared for that storm was complete and utter failure. They failed to even move their emergency vehicles to safe areas, rule #1 for any hurricane state. But still it had to be Bush’s fault ?
    History will prove , Bush was not to blame. Of course hind site is 20/20 and many lessons were learned but many were not even after Katrina. For instance they are rebuilding N.O. A major city below sea level on the coast of the Gulf, not to mention with a huge lake directly behind it as well. That is a catastrophe waiting to happen, who will you blame the next time a powerful hurricane has direct hit on N.O. ???
    George Bush will go down in history as being one of the strongest and most patriotic presidents we have ever had. He was a class guy while he was in office and is a class guy now. I thank him for his courage,resolve and service and can only hope his brother will run for office! JEB IN 2012!!!!

  • Phantomtyper

    Worst President since Herbert Hoover. It’s good to see it in retrospect.

  • Farrah

    Honestly Bush was the only the president that had the guts to scare the living s**t out of the terrorists so they would NEVER think about attacking America again. He completely destroyed the terrorists because they killed all of those innocent Americans…how could you not love him? He was certainly one of the bravest presidents ever. I miss him terribly.

  • dasfae

    Gotta miss George especially now. Makes him look that much better. What a respectable man.

  • guest

    I am so proud to be a Canadian, thats all I have to say.

  • Dave Rades

    This interview should have been conducted properly…….with Matt Lauer speaking
    to George through bars or behind a glass partition with George resplendent in his
    orange prison jumpsuit for the murders of the soldiers he sent to wars that never
    had to be fought…..Iraq had no WMD , ties to terrorism or ties to 911…….FACTS….

    • Proud Republican

      If Iraq had no ties to terrorism how were there terrorists there when we invaded? If the UN inspectors found the WMD’s years ago, where did they go from the 90′s to 2003? You think Saddam gave them away to Iran or Syria or Turkey? Oh and we were already kicking the ass of the people responsible for 9/11 by the time we invaded Iraq. I’m sure you are one of those people that think Obama walks on water, but the only thing on which he deserves to walk is the plank. That should be his punishment for putting us trillions of dollars in debt in less than 24 months and twisting the Constitution to say whatever he wants it to. If anyone is a criminal it is Obama. William J. H. Boetcker said “…You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income….You cannot establish security on borrowed money….You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.” Obama should really listen to all of those and make a few adjustments in his policies.

  • Guest 1

    Thank God he can step out of the swamp. And thank God for his strength in defending this country.

  • Yetti

    Look at bushes right eye @ 6 sec…

  • Emccandrew

    President Bush was and is a fine Christian man who did and mostly listened to his heart and Faith!!!! We will get hit again under this current Administration who goes around “bowing” to other world leaders. He stands up, He admits when he was wrong and he does not scape goat. He did is job!!!! Period. As for New Orleans,as i remember he went on national tv and warned the people to leave asap. O and how is that change working for you liberals? O i know blame Bush. how bout blame China?

  • Harouna soumare

    This man kept us safe and he really give it all of him to ensure his role as commander in chief and president!!

    Love you Mr President!

    Harouna.

  • Harouna

    This Man gave all he had to keep the country safe, he even gave up to his popularity!!
    Wow how many politician would you find out there with a sense of dignity!!

    I really admire you and i will always love you Mr President!!!

    Harouna.

awesome meter

subscribe to us


Places of Interest

Admin

archives

required viewing

Islam: What the West Needs to Know (98 min)