Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Pesky1

(64 posts)
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 01:40 PM Saturday

Poor "Shrub" Bush...it's slipping away...

From my brother in Texas:

Poor George W. Bush...his entire legacy is being removed piece by piece :

Most incompetent president - gone
Worst war - gone
Most unpopular president - gone
President most likely to favor the wealthy - gone
President with the worst economic policy - gone

He added, when Anne Richards, Democrat, was governor of Texas, the Dallas Cowboys used to win.






61 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Poor "Shrub" Bush...it's slipping away... (Original Post) Pesky1 Saturday OP
W. was a gentleman and a scholar compared to the evil monster dalton99a Saturday #1
Yeah.. and though I would not go so far as to say Cheney was not evil (or at least evil-adjacent) hlthe2b Saturday #3
And George loved his dogs and children PatSeg Saturday #5
Cheney autographed Sasha Baron Cohen's water board kit! Lucky Luciano Saturday #31
I hadn't seen that video PatSeg 20 hrs ago #45
Making fun of a woman on death row? vanlassie Yesterday #36
I have no idea what you are talking about nor who (Cheney or Bush*) hlthe2b Yesterday #37
I remember that PatSeg 19 hrs ago #46
Now I do remember, but that poster seemed to be attacking me as if I was supportive of Bush* hlthe2b 19 hrs ago #48
I respectfully disagree that DUers "better get used to" comparing anyone to Trump. It serves no useful purpose, and Martin68 18 hrs ago #54
Unless all they want to do is post memes and not engage in adult intellectual discussion they hlthe2b 18 hrs ago #55
It isn't always easy to know PatSeg 18 hrs ago #56
Karla Faye Tucker I believe displacedvermoter 17 hrs ago #57
W was never anything resembling a scholar or a gentleman in any circumstances. He was snide, cruel (are you aware of the Martin68 20 hrs ago #39
remember when W mocked Carla Fae Tucker, the woman on death row? Dyedinthewoolliberal 20 hrs ago #40
Yep....Since he cried at his dad's funeral people seem to forget the past Bengus81 19 hrs ago #47
To imply any DUer was supportive of Bush* because they point out personality differences hlthe2b 19 hrs ago #49
Yes, would anyone here turn down the chance to have W back if we could be rid of TRUMP? Callie1979 19 hrs ago #50
I would not trade Trump for Bush/Cheney. I would trade Trump for his father. Martin68 19 hrs ago #52
Certainly everyone has that right. I believe I have the right to suggest that George W. Bush cannot be characterized as Martin68 19 hrs ago #51
Absolute bullshit and implies DUers should engage in the most simplistic of comparisons and hlthe2b 18 hrs ago #53
Texas is shrinking before our eyes. Baitball Blogger Saturday #2
Texas grandpamike1 Saturday #33
I remember, thinking back on it, believing that W was just impossibly awful at the time; I had no idea 0rganism Saturday #4
I thought Reagan was the worst we'd ever have to deal with DavidDvorkin Saturday #6
I feel the same. evolves Saturday #11
Worst President in the history of the US - gone Nasruddin Saturday #7
Poor guy. KnR. NNadir Saturday #8
Vietnam was our worst war. 58,000 Americans died. Martin Eden Saturday #9
For a long, long time Pesky1 Saturday #10
The Electoral College put him in the first time. maddiemom Saturday #14
There's A Solution Working Its Way Around... GB_RN Saturday #23
Likeley unconstitutional under the Compact Clause, Article 1, Section 10 WarGamer Saturday #25
That's One Argument. GB_RN Saturday #30
Yes, none of the other wars dismantled the post-WW2 rules based order Martin Eden Saturday #16
It's going to take at least 50 years HighFired49 Saturday #28
Bush was an absolutely horrible President edhopper Saturday #12
That fker and his handler, Cheney The Dick (R-Hell) should have been tried in The Hague for war crimes, OMGWTF Saturday #18
Don't disagree edhopper Saturday #21
He tanked the economy in 2008 too, and Chump is really REALLY trying to beat that FakeNoose Saturday #13
The Bush family were very gracious to Obama and especially their children. 33taw Saturday #15
GeeDumbya should send T💩p a fruit basket, but he would never touch it. OMGWTF Saturday #17
He paved the way for the orange menace and his p25 criminal cabal Clouds Passing Saturday #19
Remember he said DownriverDem Saturday #20
He was an incompetent buffoon that should never have been President JI7 Saturday #22
I always got the impression he didn't really want the job. llmart Saturday #27
Don't whitewash Shrub WarGamer Saturday #24
Speaking of whitewash... dpibel Saturday #32
One of my favorites...from 10 years ago Roy Rolling Saturday #26
I was positive he'd be the worst in history. Sparkly Saturday #29
I got involved in paying attention to politics under Bush 2 kimbutgar Saturday #34
W was illegitimate too! czarjak Saturday #35
Been saying for a decade now Cosmocat 21 hrs ago #38
How can he sleep at night... bif 20 hrs ago #41
Not on point , but anyway! ransomeli 20 hrs ago #42
I think Shrub still holds a few of those Polybius 20 hrs ago #43
I've often noted that W and Trump... Orrex 20 hrs ago #44
Poppy Bush was no winner either n/t Polybius 9 hrs ago #60
The Cowpies winning isn't necessarily a good thing. cab67 17 hrs ago #58
Fear not, it will never slip all the way away. republianmushroom 16 hrs ago #59
Remember when we thought we'd prosecute him for war crimes? flvegan 9 hrs ago #61

hlthe2b

(114,187 posts)
3. Yeah.. and though I would not go so far as to say Cheney was not evil (or at least evil-adjacent)
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 01:52 PM
Saturday

during those 8 years, I never got that far with re: to Bush*. Not a fan, but at least he had a sense of humor (and a personality)- was not uneducable nor hate-filled and hate-motivated.

PatSeg

(53,245 posts)
5. And George loved his dogs and children
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 02:18 PM
Saturday

I don't care much for the man and I think he was an incompetent president, but he had redeeming qualities, not something we can say about the current occupant.

Yeah, I still think Cheney was evil. He had no remorse for the destruction and death he caused. Plus much of it appeared to be for financial gain. There was something truly off about that guy.

Lucky Luciano

(11,870 posts)
31. Cheney autographed Sasha Baron Cohen's water board kit!
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 08:32 PM
Saturday

Cheney was a powerful man though. He made google remove every copy they could find of the video on YouTube…and they censor the word “water board” in this copy…hard to find the original.

?si=KTYRUouttiXxckjK

PatSeg

(53,245 posts)
45. I hadn't seen that video
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:14 AM
20 hrs ago

I do remember what he did to Valerie Plame and it was all out of petty spite.

When I see Cheney, I think "sinister".

hlthe2b

(114,187 posts)
37. I have no idea what you are talking about nor who (Cheney or Bush*)
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 05:11 AM
Yesterday

But your vague comment feels as though it is an attempt to call me out too. If so, that is very uncalled for.

PatSeg

(53,245 posts)
46. I remember that
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:23 AM
19 hrs ago

It was when Bush was governor of Texas. During an interview with Tucker Carlson, he made fun of some woman on death row. It was pretty ugly.

Still, I don't see Bush as evil the way I do Trump or Cheney. George wasn't terribly smart and he was totally out of his league. He was almost the worst president ever.

hlthe2b

(114,187 posts)
48. Now I do remember, but that poster seemed to be attacking me as if I was supportive of Bush*
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:37 AM
19 hrs ago

I doubt there is a single R (or many Dems, for that matter) whose comment or behavior in a single incident would not be something that we could point to and decry--even if it was isolated and (in the case of DEMS, typically not repeated). I was NOT claiming support for Bush*--something they seemed to be implying--which I find both disingenuous and sanctimonious.

Comparing Bush*, Cheney, and Trump and any other figure of opposition over recent years is something that thinking DUers better get used to because IT IS NOT 100% the same and Trump has now set a formerly unimaginable new level of disdain. To point out that a RW figure has not approached the level of Trump is not inappropriate nor a proxy for support. To imply otherwise is to smear fellow DUers. And yes, I am fully justified in calling that out as an attack.

Martin68

(27,911 posts)
54. I respectfully disagree that DUers "better get used to" comparing anyone to Trump. It serves no useful purpose, and
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 10:26 AM
18 hrs ago

suggests a rehabilitation or absolution for a different absolutely terrible president. What's the point? Trump is terrible, Bush was awful, Nixon was vile, Reagan was the beginning of the end for the American middle class. Playing a game of which terrible president was more terrible is a useful exercise, and it indirectly suggests that those who aren't at the top (or the bottom) of the list are somehow not so bad. Let's agree e wouldn't want any of those people back in office and concentrate on comparing liberal and Democratic candidates who we can all agree would be better than any of those deplorables.

I am not trying to "smear" anyone, and I hope no one smears me for expressing my opinions.

hlthe2b

(114,187 posts)
55. Unless all they want to do is post memes and not engage in adult intellectual discussion they
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 10:30 AM
18 hrs ago

do need to get used to it. Your opinion is respected, just as mine should be-- without those trying to cut either of us off by implying we are not engaging in their view of ideological PURITY.

PatSeg

(53,245 posts)
56. It isn't always easy to know
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 10:35 AM
18 hrs ago

what a poster means with their comments, but I can see taking that as an attack, one that would not be justified in this situation.

displacedvermoter

(4,752 posts)
57. Karla Faye Tucker I believe
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 11:30 AM
17 hrs ago

Committed a brutal murder as a drug addled street criminal. Sentenced to death row, she spent the rest of her life -- I want to say a decade or more -- a Born Again prison minister who helped countless other drug addicts kick like she did, and worked with them on improving their lives.

When her appeals had all been denied, she appealed for clemency from fuck head Shrub. Religious leaders from around the nation supported her plea for mercy. So then this born again phony not only denied her clemency, he made fun of her plea not to kill her.

Fucking evil is GW Bush, not maybe as evil as Cheney, or certainly Trump, but let us say that if I am proved wrong, and there is indeed a Judgement Day, I wouldn't want to be in his cowboy boots!

Martin68

(27,911 posts)
39. W was never anything resembling a scholar or a gentleman in any circumstances. He was snide, cruel (are you aware of the
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 08:35 AM
20 hrs ago

run of executions he presided over, ignoring every appeal), ignorant, shallow, and invaded Iraq under false pretenses.

Dyedinthewoolliberal

(16,223 posts)
40. remember when W mocked Carla Fae Tucker, the woman on death row?
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:02 AM
20 hrs ago

'Please don't kill me' he joked. W is JUST like Donald except for Donald has a far more inept team surrounding him.

Bengus81

(10,243 posts)
47. Yep....Since he cried at his dad's funeral people seem to forget the past
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:25 AM
19 hrs ago

Not me! He's a POS who invaded and killed thousands of our troops and 100's of thousands of innocent Iranians. He wanted to show the old man (who always knew he was a LOSER) that he wasn't. But he once again showed he was a loser.

He also let Darth Vader and others lead him around by the nose so he could steal Oil and give out billions of $$ of no bid contracts in Iraq.

Clinton left he with a balanced budget and billions of surplus $$and he BLEW IT. Right on the heels of the Reagan tax cuts for the rich he rolled out his own. The rich got richer even more. Him and his thugs in Congress fought minimum wage increases and unions.

He was garbage then and he still is........

hlthe2b

(114,187 posts)
49. To imply any DUer was supportive of Bush* because they point out personality differences
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:43 AM
19 hrs ago

while in the WH does NOT imply they are blinded to his likewise disgusting behavior. But we have every right to point out these psychological differences even while the new threshold is previously unimaginable--that of Trump who has the malignant narcissism and sadism dialed up to Maximal. Both Bush* and especially Cheney shared some of those same traits, but Trump has set a new level of disgust.

Callie1979

(1,377 posts)
50. Yes, would anyone here turn down the chance to have W back if we could be rid of TRUMP?
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 10:05 AM
19 hrs ago

I'd take that trade all day every day.

Martin68

(27,911 posts)
51. Certainly everyone has that right. I believe I have the right to suggest that George W. Bush cannot be characterized as
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 10:15 AM
19 hrs ago

"a scholar and a gentleman" even when compared to Trump. Such a comparison does not turn W into something he never was, IMHO. He was a terrible president, and a vile human being. How soon we forget...

hlthe2b

(114,187 posts)
53. Absolute bullshit and implies DUers should engage in the most simplistic of comparisons and
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 10:20 AM
18 hrs ago

discussion--as well (for some) a level of unearned sanctimony while implying the opposite for those who merely wish to engage in more complex discussion. The latter is inexcusable among DUers IMO (and that of most others).

NO ONE here has forgotten the overall sins of Bush* Cheney or others. No one here (sans trolls) supported them then or now. It is not the same as merely discussing personality differences. And nowhere did I EVER state that Bush* was a "scholar and a gentleman"--albeit the comparison with Trump would move him closer to that no matter how lacking. Honesty is a key factor in civil discussion and debate should be intellectual with all its complexities--not mere memes-- please.

0rganism

(25,671 posts)
4. I remember, thinking back on it, believing that W was just impossibly awful at the time; I had no idea
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 02:11 PM
Saturday

That W could be exceeded in awfulness, I could understand, if it was some kind of minor incremental change. No, this trump guy is orders of magnitude more awful than W. In every way. I mean, it's kind of impressive and overwhelming what F47 has done to this once-great nation, like a kaiju monster tearing up a city Pacific Rim style. Once this regime ends, we may well need a complete overhaul of the founding documents to ensure this idiocy doesn't happen again. At minimum, we need a constitutional amendment making explicitly clear which specific circumstances permit a president to ignore certain laws in very specific ways without consequence. ("Enjoy your legal consequences" should be the default.)

Americans (hell, humanity generally) really need to come together to decide what kind of world we want our grandchildren to live in and find a way to get started on it, preferably before it's all too late -- which might already be the case.

DavidDvorkin

(20,614 posts)
6. I thought Reagan was the worst we'd ever have to deal with
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 02:35 PM
Saturday

Dubya proved me wrong. I thought he was the worst we'd ever have to deal with.

Trump proved me wrong. I hope he's the worst we'll ever have to deal with.

evolves

(5,857 posts)
11. I feel the same.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 03:27 PM
Saturday

After Dubya came Palin on the scene and I thought her stupidity was rock-bottom. Boy was I mistaken

Martin Eden

(15,723 posts)
9. Vietnam was our worst war. 58,000 Americans died.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 02:51 PM
Saturday

Afghanistan was our longest, and shouldn't have been waged.

Iraq was based on the most lies.

But Dipshit Donald's war, combined with his shredding of our alliances, may be the most difficult to recover from. Can we ever be trusted again? We have yet to see the economic impact, especially if the dollar is dumped internationally.

Pesky1

(64 posts)
10. For a long, long time
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 03:21 PM
Saturday

It will be remembered that the American public put this monster in the WH...two times. I surely wouldn't trust "us".

maddiemom

(5,192 posts)
14. The Electoral College put him in the first time.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 03:55 PM
Saturday

Are we EVER going to do something about that travesty? I'm one of the three million whose vote didn't count in the 2016 election.

GB_RN

(3,573 posts)
23. There's A Solution Working Its Way Around...
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:43 PM
Saturday

And it won’t require a constitutional amendment: The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Virginia is or has just signed on, making a total of 222 EVs.

As long as the Repukes hold the NC legislature, I have no hope it will pass here, but maybe, just maybe…if we’re lucky, those assholes will be sent packing in November and we can get to work fixing all the shit they’ve broken.

GB_RN

(3,573 posts)
30. That's One Argument.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 07:33 PM
Saturday

Flip side is that states are free to award EVs as they see fit. 🤷‍♂️

Martin Eden

(15,723 posts)
16. Yes, none of the other wars dismantled the post-WW2 rules based order
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:06 PM
Saturday

But Trump was doing that BEFORE he launched this stupid war, which is speeding up the dismantling.

HighFired49

(501 posts)
28. It's going to take at least 50 years
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 06:23 PM
Saturday

to wash the Trump stink off of our country. That timeline might be shortened by impeaching his worthless ass, but lengthened if nothing is done about him.

edhopper

(37,407 posts)
12. Bush was an absolutely horrible President
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 03:40 PM
Saturday

but I know people who have been around him. And yes, you might want a beer with him. If you were talking sports or art, he is more of a regular sort.
If you didn't know his history, you would enjoy his company. (It seems the other ex-Pres do)
On the other hand Trump makes your skin crawl no matter the place.
I know people who have been near him on occasion, and he is always vile.

OMGWTF

(5,173 posts)
18. That fker and his handler, Cheney The Dick (R-Hell) should have been tried in The Hague for war crimes,
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:20 PM
Saturday

just like T💩p should be, but as we all know -- IOKIYAR!

33taw

(3,351 posts)
15. The Bush family were very gracious to Obama and especially their children.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:05 PM
Saturday

His presidency sucked, but at least he was not a total asshole.

OMGWTF

(5,173 posts)
17. GeeDumbya should send T💩p a fruit basket, but he would never touch it.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:19 PM
Saturday

Eisenhower was the last honest Republican president.

JI7

(93,755 posts)
22. He was an incompetent buffoon that should never have been President
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:27 PM
Saturday

I do think he is haunted by the wars he started and soldiers that were lost and feels guilt over it.

llmart

(17,658 posts)
27. I always got the impression he didn't really want the job.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 06:18 PM
Saturday

But Daddy Bush pushed him to run because he didn't think Jeb could win.

Dubya was just a grown up frat boy at heart who didn't really want to work at anything.

WarGamer

(18,738 posts)
24. Don't whitewash Shrub
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 04:54 PM
Saturday

the Iraq War was an illegal war based on lies... led to the death of over a million and destabilized the whole region leading to the rise of ISIS and tens of thousands more deaths

No... the Iran War in 2026 doesn't compare.

dpibel

(3,989 posts)
32. Speaking of whitewash...
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 08:53 PM
Saturday

You're telling me the invasion of Iran is not an illegal war based on lies? Just for starters, how about "two weeks from having a nuclear weapon."

Can you give me a cite for "death of over a million"? Here's [iThe Independent] saying the number is more like 300,000, although it admits that The Lancet puts the number of civilian deaths at 600K. Still not a million, let alone over. And here's NBC putting the number of civilian deaths at around 200K and the number of US servicemember deaths at 4,492 (they don't give a number for US contractors or Iraqi military, but I'd be a substantial amount that number is less than 800K).

Also, you're telling me that the Iran adventure has not destabilized the region? Have you at all been keeping up with the news?

As for comparisons, I know you believe, and have believed from around Day 3, that the Iran thingie (you do know it's impermissible to call it a war, right?) is over. But many of us are not seeing that. Perhaps we should wait until the thing is actually over before we compare body counts.

Finally, one of your repeated statements in support of Mr. Trump's Big Adventure is that those awful Iranian ayatollahs killed a bunch of Iranian protestors. Perhaps you were not around in the run up to Mr. Bush's Daddy-whompin', but one of the big justifications for that was that Hussein KILLED HIS OWN PEOPLE. Also, y'know, weapons of mass destruction, including, but not limited to the nuclear in a matter of days or weeks.

If you believe that war was illegal, I'm utterly at a loss to understand how you can support this one. Both wars of aggression. Both based on lies. Both led by profoundly stupid, profoundly insecure men.

Sparkly

(24,893 posts)
29. I was positive he'd be the worst in history.
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 06:31 PM
Saturday

I used to lament that if I lived to be 80, he'd have been preznit for fully 10% of my lifetime. Little did I know there would be a whole other level of awful to extend that even longer (never mind I won't make it to 80)!

kimbutgar

(27,362 posts)
34. I got involved in paying attention to politics under Bush 2
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 09:15 PM
Saturday

Now after the 🍊🐖💩 of terror Bush, jr. he is a statesman that still cared about the American people.

And did not profit off the presidency !

czarjak

(13,664 posts)
35. W was illegitimate too!
Sat Apr 18, 2026, 10:51 PM
Saturday

Admitted member of a Secret Society! But, Dems are The Deep-State?

ransomeli

(5 posts)
42. Not on point , but anyway!
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:04 AM
20 hrs ago

I never thought the day would come that I should like to remark that GW Bush was not a traitor and he did have an understanding
of God and country.

Polybius

(21,994 posts)
43. I think Shrub still holds a few of those
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:10 AM
20 hrs ago

Most unpopular president - Shrub was in the high 20s by the end of 2008. Trump still has him by 10 points.
Worst war - Tough to say. You can even argue Vietnam was worse than either of them.

The rest I'll give you, although Reagan is probably second to Trump in favoring the wealthy.

Orrex

(67,223 posts)
44. I've often noted that W and Trump...
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 09:10 AM
20 hrs ago

are the only things that keep Reagan from being the worst president in the past half-century.

republianmushroom

(22,435 posts)
59. Fear not, it will never slip all the way away.
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 12:22 PM
16 hrs ago

He will always be remembered some what. Talk about your useless turds. But there has to be a second useless turd as well as a first one. So far he is second.

flvegan

(66,374 posts)
61. Remember when we thought we'd prosecute him for war crimes?
Sun Apr 19, 2026, 07:54 PM
9 hrs ago

Certain to get his just consequences once dems had any power?

Good times.

This, btw, is the reality check/reminder for those that think anything is going to happen to Trump from a prosecution standpoint. There will be precisely zero justice.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Poor "Shrub" Bush...it's ...