The Bush Era: An 'American Fiasco'

Those 'lecturing' on deficit helped get us here in the first place: Paul Krugman

(NEWSER) - More and more people have been telling Paul Krugman that the budget deficit is the people’s fault: “Weak-minded politicians catered to the electorate’s foolishness.” But that viewpoint is not only “self-serving, it’s dead wrong,” writes Krugman in the New York Times . Instead, we can thank “policies championed by small groups of influential people—in many cases, the same people now lecturing the rest of us on the need to get serious.” They’re behind the deficit’s key factors: the Bush tax cuts, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the Great Recession. More»

Forces were undermanned, and planning was shoddy

(NEWSER) - The US missed out on chances to stabilize Afghanistan early in the war because it devoted too few troops and too little planning to the conflict, write Army historians in an official chronicle of the conflict. "It should have become clear” in late 2003 “that the coalition presence in Afghanistan did not provide enough resources,” says the history, a copy of which was obtained by the New York Times . The newspaper points out that 800-soldier battalions were trying to maintain order in areas the size of Vermont. More»

While Bush hated doubt, Obama's 'delighted' by it

(NEWSER) - George W. Bush’s insecurity and aversion to doubt—“the psychological traits of an asphyxiated and pampered son”—led to his botched presidency, Maureen Dowd writes in the New York Times. Rather than being a source of presidential insight on Iraq and Saddam, Bush’s father was relegated “to the status of a blankie,” providing needed emotional support while Junior spent eight years “trashing the Constitution, the economy, and the environment.” More»

(NEWSER) - President Bush made his farewell address to the nation tonight, acknowledging "setbacks" and the wish to do some things differently but insisting that he "always acted with the best interests of our country in mind." The president—who said he had always followed his conscience and "done what I thought was right"—reminded Americans that the nation had not suffered a terrorist attack since 9/11, the Washington Post reports. More»

Bush invokes same historical image as both issue Christmas messages

(NEWSER) - In a strange presidential mind-meld, George Bush and Barack Obama each invoked George Washington’s surprise Christmas attack of 1776—you’ll remember this as the one after he crossed the Delaware—to inspire Americans in facing their current troubles, the Hill reports. In his Christmas address, President Bush called Washington’s move “the miracle the young country needed.” More»