Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


 OPINION 
4

Bush Can Teach Obama What Not to Do: Woodward

Woodward has seen all the mistakes and lived to tell about it

Share

(Newser) – George W. Bush’s presidency could teach Barack Obama many lessons—about what not to do. Bob Woodward lays out 10 of them in today’s Washington Post:

  • "Presidents need to draw people out and make sure bad news makes it to the Oval Office": Bush went into Iraq "without directly asking Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, or George Tenet for their bottom-line recommendation."
  • "A president must do the homework to master the fundamental ideas and concepts behind his policies": One general suspected Bush "lacked a basic grasp of what the Iraq war was about."

  • "Presidents set the tone. Don't be passive": Bush once watched Donald Rumsfeld snatch a document out of Condoleezza Rice’s hands. “I’ll let you two work it out,” he said, and walked away.
To see the complete list, click the link below.

George W. Bush adjusts his head phone during a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, unseen, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Dec. 15, 2008.
George W. Bush adjusts his head phone during a joint press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, unseen, at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday, Dec. 15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
Dick Cheney applauds President Bush, after the president made remarks on the transition to administration employees, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.
Dick Cheney applauds President Bush, after the president made remarks on the transition to administration employees, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
President Bush listens to a speech during a graduation ceremony for FBI Special Agents in Quantico, Va., in this Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008, file photo.
President Bush listens to a speech during a graduation ceremony for FBI Special Agents in Quantico, Va., in this Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008, file photo.   (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Instead of a team of rivals, Bush wound up with a team of back-stabbers. - Bob Woodward

After the invasion, Cheney had a celebratory dinner with some aides and friends. 'Colin always had major reservations about what we were trying to do,' Cheney told the group as they toasted Bush and laughed at Powell. - Bob Woodward

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.6.09
Galleon Scandal: Shocked, Shocked by Insider Trading
11.5.09
Rupert Murdoch Is Mad but Cute
4 comments
VIEWING:
 
IN RESPONSE:
Shannonals
Jan 17, 09 10:56 AM CST
CK, you sound so bitter, still upset your hero is leaving office?
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
jaguarj
Jan 17, 09 3:25 PM CST
YAH..isn't that Bush's nickname? Prince of darkness? He was in the dark 99% of the time.
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Caps
Jan 15, 09 9:52 AM CST
After all he was a draft-dodger. Does that explain anything? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
Doctor_Zaius
Jan 15, 09 10:11 AM CST
Buh-bye, you baffoon. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

75 Stories

Flood of Bush Memoirs
May Trip Up GOP

Six administration figures to release books before midterm elections

Oct 14, 09 5:23 PM CDT
(Newser) - The 2010 elections offer Republicans the first chance in a long time to run without the handicap of the unpopular Bush administration. Or not. Bush may be out of office, but the period between now and next November could see the release of five Bush-era memoirs—from Hank Paulson, Laura... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Barack Obama • Dick Cheney • Donald Rumsfeld • memoir • George W. Bush • Obama administration • Republicans

OPINION

Foolishness, Not Evil Genius, Drove 'Rove-o-Lution'

Top adviser's near absolute power corrupted absolutely

Sep 20, 09 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Liberals like to think of Karl Rove as a malevolent demigod, using his powers to obstruct the greater good. But, former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer writes in the Washington Post, the legacy of “Bush’s Brain” is far more mundane: “It is a story not of grand strategy... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Dick Cheney • Karl Rove • Donald Rumsfeld • conservative • George W. Bush


 Ridge Takes 
 Back Threat 
 Level Claim 
 in His Book 

Retreats on earlier suggestion that politics played a role

Aug 31, 09 10:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - Former Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge says the Bush administration “never pressured” him to raise the US terror threat level, backing down on a claim made in his book, USA Today reports. In the book, Ridge writes that John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld pushed him to elevate it before... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • politics • Donald Rumsfeld • John Ashcroft • book • George W. Bush • Tom Ridge • alert level

Ridge: Bush Wanted Terror Threat Raised for Election

Ridge tell-all dangles shocking revelation

Aug 20, 09 3:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - The publisher of Tom Ridge's forthcoming book has dropped a potential bombshell: It says the Bush White House pressured the Homeland Security chief to arbitrarily raise the terror threat alert level on the eve of the 2004 election, ostensibly to boost its chances, reports US News and World Report. Ridge... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • Dick Cheney • terrorism • Department of Homeland Security • George W. Bush • Tom Ridge • terror alert system

(Newser) - Dick Cheney has decided the "statute of limitations" has expired on some secrets from the Bush era, associates tell the Washington Post. Discussing his memoir-in-progress, the former vice president has made it plain that he felt President Bush was getting soft in his second term, and moved away from... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Bush administration • War on Terror • Dick Cheney • Lewis Scooter Libby • memoir • George W. Bush

75 Stories


Bush's legacy: the global village idiot
Daily Mirror (UK)

History will vindicate Bush: Historian
Daily Telegraph (UK)

Bush's departure saddens his few admirers
Chicago Tribune


Opinion  •  Politics 
TwitterFollow @NewserOpinion on Twitter

 
Iraq • Bush administration • Dick Cheney • Donald Rumsfeld • Condoleezza Rice • Bob Woodward • Bush legacy • Colin Powell • George W. Bush

from our news partners