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How do you do this, Heather? How do you manage to weave a tale of history so artfully? Wow.

I find the wrapper on the this piece to be the incredible irony that as we listen to George W. Bush say all those "right things" on this day, we are reminded that he may be regarded as one of the most destructive Presidents in our history. He attacked more than two countries. He attacked our debt, our integrity, our planet, our democracy. The damage from his eight years will ripple across this century with devastating effect. This is a man who many "would like to have a beer with". This is a man who supports immigration through art. There is a real charm about him.

Is "W" an innocent victim of Cheney and Rumsfeld's persuasion? Or has he actually been the devil himself? I guess it really doesn't matter. The millions of people needlessly displaced, maimed or killed don't care.

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You left out Karl Rove when listing Cheney and Rumsfeld. As a fellow Texan at the time, I don’t believe W had any political interest as far as running for governor of Texas. He seemed to be a man of loose ends and Rove probably saw him as a man to be molded and manipulated, first governor and then president. I never had the impression Bush’s dad saw his son as a likely candidate, but as an alcoholic who couldn’t keep a job. Sr. Bush was against the invasion of Iraq. I wonder if Jr. Bush paints the faces of the people he sent into a senseless war as balm for his guilty conscience. He had a good speech writer for yesterday and has probably upped his approval rating, but he will remain at the bottom as now second worst American president.

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"He seemed to be a man of loose ends and Rove probably saw him as a man to be molded and manipulated..." I have had those thoughts about most Republican presidential candidates since Reagan. They are showmen with the right soundbites, written by faceless spin doctors. Behind each one, there is a team of strange "Svengali" types who lie without remorse. Usually, money is the motive. It certainly isn't democracy and care for the people of America.

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Didn’t Bush used to say Karl Rove was his brain?

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Ha! Ha! Ha! And it isn’t even Halloween yet!

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Eeuuuww.

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He made the comment “That Trump didn’t make him look so bad”. W was also very flirtatious with the ladies.At a G-8,7 or 20 can’t remember which one. And yes his drinking was a problem,He ran across this huge meeting room to massage a woman’s shoulders. Rumor had it that the powers that be forced him into a De-tox with ‘Medication ‘ which was going on when 9/11 happen.I think the real issue was “ Loose Lips Sink Ships “ as to why he needed to give up the sauce. And then he took up Art.One news outlet said he would go off his rocker staggering through the White House screaming, yelling. The Secret Service would slip Laura out the back door and take her to the Watergate hotel to stay the night.He was mad at them though for keeping him away until late in the day on 9/11. Cheney,Rumsfeld and Rove stole his Spotlight.Think they moved him like 3 times if I recall ?

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I believe Bush stopped drinking at age 40 so whatever else went on during his presidency, alcohol wasn't the cause.

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Correct.

Yesterday's observances at the Fireman's Memorial in my neighborhood were solemn.

Immediately followed by heavy drinking and loud brash behavior.

Kinda' mirroring the reactions of 20 years ago.

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I didnt know. Egads, that's scary.

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Wasn’t stating it as a ‘Cause ‘. They were concerned if he got drunk ‘Who ‘ he might run his mouth off to.

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Ah, yes. Karl Rove. I remember the W. Bush/Gore election. What I saw on T.V. The Bushes we’re celebrating in a Florida restaurant when Rove entered the room and whispered in W’s ear. W looked stunned, then leaned forward to pass the tidbit on to others at the table. He then stood up, and he and Rove hurried out of the room.

What was the news? The T.V. Announcers had just announced that Gore was pulling ahead of Bush. I can’t prove it, but given the escalating use of voter manipulation as a Republican tactic, it’s easy to assume that, that night, they hadn’t expected Gore to pull ahead in Florida.

There was one other time I remember seeing Bush with a look like that passing across his face. It was when he was in a second grade classroom and was informed the the Twin Towers had been attacked. It seems sometimes that I have watched decades of dirty tricks attempted by the Republicans. Sometimes they get caught, but mostly they don’t. Perhaps we should put a second “Bill of Rights” into the constitution — a list of ethical standards that must be met —

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Do you remember the hanging chad debacle, when the ballot was deliberately misaligned so the scanner might not 'read' the right candidate for the intended vote? The woman who was the state elections officer who smugly reassured Bush she knew he had won? Several experts had to be called in to hand count the votes. Meanwhile, the SCOTUS made the decision before all the ballots could be certified. Al Gore asked for a recount of a few counties, which did go to Bush. However, independently, The Saint Petersburg Times sponsored a recount of the entire state. Several weeks later, Al Gore had won the electoral votes in Florida, and thus the presidency, but it was a moot point because the court had already made the decision.

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It doesn't matter who wrote it. He gave it and it was well written and delivered. I don't think he got pleasure from doing so or was looking to burnish his laurels. I think he is saddened that he helped create a divided nation...but that day in September we were not divided. We were all in shock, we were all in pain, we were all sad, and we were all afraid.

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I've wondered, too, if W has ever had any regrets. Wouldn't it be something if he confessed to the lies and the whole mess he has caused up till now! The whole Republican party would collapse in a day.

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Imagine him stoned in a Ted Talk…

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Yes! ❤️🤍💙

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George Bush held the power, he chose his advisers, the final decisions were his.

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"Enhanced interrogation techniques," "black sites," "rendition" (of mostly people who had nothing to do with anything), Abu Ghraib, "the black hole of Bagram."

G.W. Bush was captain of the ship, no matter unfitted he was for the position. It is ALL on him.

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