Miss these guys yet? You betcha. - By Jennifer Rubin

[DonViejo]

They looked relaxed, comfortable in their own skin and happy to be in each other’s’ company. They looked normal. The sight of former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton at the Presidents Cup golf tournament made one downright nostalgic — and a little sheepish about not appreciating them more when they were in office, even the ones we passionately disagreed with.

In the 24 years of their combined presidencies, we experienced war, economic calamity, government shutdowns, an impeachment and a myriad of other painful episodes. One segment of the electorate differed strongly with the policies of one or more of them. Looking back, however, some of the criticism was entirely deserved and some was disproportionate, unfair and wrongheaded. Despite their mistakes and missteps, we passed positive, bipartisan measures, including welfare reform, No Child Left Behind, Medicare Part D reform and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). We normalized relations with Vietnam, passed the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Magnitsky Act — again on a bipartisan basis. We helped end the Balkan war, saved the auto industry and prevented a financial meltdown (thanks to Bush’s and then Obama’s support for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP). Some part of the electorate approved of more controversial items under each president; the electorate did not believe by a large majority (as they do now) that any of them was “unfit” to hold office, no matter how strongly some of us disagreed with some of their actions.

More important — and we took this entirely for granted — none of these presidents thought the office was an opportunity for self-enrichment, stoking racial divisions, demonizing immigrants or delegitimizing the free press. Pick your least favorite of the three, and he will be regarded as a giant in comparison with President Trump. Collectively, in 24 years they told fewer lies than Trump has in eight months in office. Each actually bothered to read things, appoint honorable and experienced people to high offices, filled political slots, tried to understand the issues and cared about the content of the laws they signed.

These presidents did not hold office in some distant time. We don’t have to go through decaying microfilm and stacks of yellowed, crumbling documents to recall their presidencies. We can, it seems, collectively decide that the Trump presidency is an aberration, a horrible mistake. He need not define either our time nor our country. He can be a blip on the political radar, passing out of sight before he does permanent damage. We can at least reestablish the baseline decency and conscientiousness the three predecessors displayed.

We are tempted to overstate the influence of a single president, to proclaim ourselves inevitably on the road to ruin. We should avoid the addiction of defeatism and the lure of resignation. These three presidents (and George H.W. Bush as well) can help — by setting an example of public civility and cooperation and at appropriate times speaking out to defend American values and democratic norms. They can address audiences jointly and make videos defending the free press, denouncing moral relativism when it comes to neo-Nazis and deploring the temptation to shut ourselves off from the world and repudiate objective reality.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/09/29/miss-these-guys-yet-you-betcha/?utm_term=.119999082bb2


mini-vids of all five living former Presidents are a part of this article. Vids are about 30 secs long each.

[tblue37]

1. K&R and thanks! nt

[niyad]

2. I do NOT, and never will, miss the one in the middle, but. . . damn, he is no longer the

biggest lying scum to ever soil the people's house.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. At Least With That One. . .

. . .some of his missteps weren't evil and some of the dumb things he said weren't lies, merely wrong.

With this new one, that can't be said.

[Kaleva]

8. Bushisms were funny. Trump's tweets are the words of a bully.

[NastyRiffraff]

16. Yes, Bush has lost the title

of Worst President Ever. He has a lot to answer for, but he was nowhere near the evil of Dump. I have to say he even LOOKS good, physically, compared to the bloated cheeto.

[NNadir]

29. I think he was only the second worst, tied with Franklin Pierce

Trump is giving poor James Buchanan a run for the money. Buchanan also appointed traitors to office and coddled traitors, although he himself was not a traitor.

Buchanan lead us into a war during which 2% of Americans died.

Trump is almost certainly a traitor himself, unlike Buchanan but it remains to be seen how many Americans and other citizens of the world he kills.

Of course dumb asses put this fool in control of nuclear weapons, so, as terrifying as it is, Trump could dwarf Buchanan as all time worst.

We will certainly need a Lincolnesque leader to get past the damage this despicable, deplorable criminal will do.

[Martin Eden]

35. GW belongs in prison for war crimes

Trump has to play catchup to do as much damage.

[lapfog_1]

4. When Shart Cannon is out of the white house

I don't think he will be welcomed by this group... especially if he resigns or is forced to leave.

Even GWB is head and shoulders above Shart Cannon.

[True Dough]

34. Yeah, it's hard to imaging

Dolt 45 ever being anything but a pariah to his predecessors.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

5. Miss *Bush*?! Hell to the fuck no! I still loathe him as much as I loathe Trump.

[Kaleva]

7. I loathe Trump and every adult member of his family much more.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

13. Trump hasn't started an illegal war yet

[Kaleva]

15. At the rate Trump is going, he's on track to be the worst president in history

Trump will be in the company of Harding, Andrew Johnson, Buchanan, Pierce and Fillmore. A group that Bush 43 isn't considered part of.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

17. He may well be but that doesn't give Bush a pass.

[Kaleva]

21. Between the two, I rate Trump much worse.

Trump is all around despicable and with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

[Ohiya]

12. Bush has a hell of a lot more blood on his hands...

...so far...

[Martin Eden]

36. Yep.

Let's get rid of Trump before he surpasses GW.

[Gothmog]

6. I miss having a real POTUS

Even W looks great compared to trump

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

9. Without the normalizing of the one in the middle. We wouldn't have this atrocity right now. So,

NO! Fuck no!

[CrispyQ]

10. So much truth in your post.

And what will come after Trump, if this is normalized? Which seems to be happening, with each passing day. There is worse than Trump out there - just look at Alabama.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

11. 100%. With these sick fucks and what they've allowed themselves to become. I can't even imagine what

will come after 'Donnie Doll Hands'.

[CrispyQ]

14. And the power they've amassed.

Even though they got it by lying, cheating & stealing, they still see it as validation that they are superior. Which leads to even more repugnant behavior & new crops of even more heinous candidates. I wish I shared the optimists hope that we'll come back from this. If we do, I think it will take a long, long time.

[not fooled]

27. Yep

chimpy started wrecking the Federal Government in earnest. chumpy now is putting that on steroids but chimpy was there first. Having a shtick that makes you look like a cowboyin' ranchin' good ol' boy while in reality you are the dimwitted tool scion of an evil crime family doesn't make you presidential material.

And nothing excuses lying the nation into a hideously elective war.

Installing presidents who didn't win legitimately never works out well.

[dalton99a]

18. Trump cannot smile normally like any one of them

because he's not a normal human being

[OldHippieChick]

19. This is soooooo true. There is

something about his mouth and how he expresses himself that is so contrived. Alec Baldwin has somehow mastered it. I have actually tried because it must take lots of practice. It truly hurts my face.

[Kaleva]

22. His mouth reminds me of an a-hole.

[OldHippieChick]

24. I'm sure that's why cartoon artists love that part of his face and exaggerate it.

But he makes it some kind of a pucker and attempts to speak from that pucker. What the hell is that?

[Madam45for2923]

31. He thinks that's how super models look.

[Skittles]

20. I DO NOT miss that lying, thieving, warmongering piece of shit Dubya

NOT NOW, NOT EVER

[mithnanthy]

23. I will NEVER experience ANYTHING as bad as Bush!

Worst of the worst!

[oppressedproletarian]

25. I miss their normal hair too! And normal smiles and facial expressions.

Not to mention non-repulsive bodies, families....

[DinahMoeHum]

26. The one in the middle, not so much.

[geardaddy]

28. I miss the guys on the right and left

Not the one in the middle. Yes, * seems less loathsome now, but he got us into the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, no, I don't miss him.

[Blue_true]

30. They look great, and happy. nt

[GoCubsGo]

32. I can't miss the one in the middle.

I'm still futilely trying to recover from his and his minions actions, which totally destroyed my career, my ability to earn an income, my health, and my life, in general. I hope they all wind up in my shoes. The sooner the better.

As for the other two guys, I miss them more than I can express. Especially the one wearing sunglasses.

[Madam45for2923]

33. Very nice reading! Helps to know many of us thinking along the same ways.

[Doreen]

37. DonViejo, why did you have to make me cry?

[Tatiana]

38. I don't miss Bush. Yes, on the other two.

I really thought we were going to get Bubba back. ***Sigh***

I miss capable, intelligent Presidents.

[Lil Missy]

39. 2 of them, yes.

[Solly Mack]

40. There will never come a time when I miss Shrub.

Never.

Click link in my sig line if you ever start to think he was anything but a piece of shit war criminal.

Why wouldn't Trump think he could get away anything? The Bush administration got away with torturing people.

I recall people saying, myself included, if a president is allowed to get away with war crimes and erosion of rights, then there will be a future president who goes even further.

Well, the future is here.

[Hekate]

41. KnR