Bush

[Kyle]

Has anyone found George W. Bush more likable now that he's not the president? Kind of a doofus, but a likeable doofus?

[poorpete]

"Like you could grab a beer with him!"
https://youtu.be/AUOfpIPztKM?t=1m18s

My opinion of Bush really changed after Katrina. He really took all the punches, and knew they were deserved. Afterwards he was noticeably more humble, and I didn't relish in his misfortune as I would from a gaffe or political error. He visited Louisiana, made a few more gaffes, but obviously the toll of destruction and death affected him. I think that's why he left politics ASAP in 2009. I could be wrong, and my empathy is higher with those who lived through and died from Katrina, but that's how the story of his presidency goes for me. I'm glad he's painting. I hope he finds some peace. If he returns to the spotlight I hope it's in a Jimmy Carter humanitarian kind of way.

Dick Cheney is a piece of shit.

[Mike]

I voted for Bush one time and was wrong. I never much liked the man before or during his presidency. But I've always thought he was at heart an idealist who had the best intentions for the nation at all times. I think he was misguided and misinformed and often used questionable tactics as "necessary evils" to achieve what he saw as noble goals. But I also think he was mostly sincere. Wrong, but sincere.

Now that he's no longer president, what little I hear of him paints a much rosier picture than during his presidency.

[Elle]

When he refused to endorse Donald and made it pretty clear he supports Hillary (I think he stopped short of an official endorsement, but then he made a public appearance with the Obamas that answered any questions), my respect for him increased a great deal not because I agree with that outcome, but because he doubtless took some unpleasant pushback and that gesture still matters to a lot of his former supporters. He's making it ok for some of them to do the same. Of course, his legacy will be improved by his refusal to embrace Trump. History won't be so kind to many others. I don't have a lot of respect for the basic fact that Bush made torture our official policy, and got us into a war with Iraq. I don't have much respect for his ill-treatment of scientists and science generally. But I suspect he was lied to and manipulated by people around him on some of these issues.

[poorpete]

Agreed. I tend to blame everyone around him. I think facts bare out that Cheney is the war criminal that pushed torture and an invasion on debatable intelligence. I'm glad he likes Hamilton and his LGBT daughter, but that's all I'm giving him. I think W's incapability to admit errors, his support of anti-gay-marriage amendments was all Karl Rove's fault. Science denial was all GOPs fault. Tax policy all GOPs fault. Deregulation all Wall Street's fault....

I try to think of what's the worst policy a president is or will be known for. FDR had internment camps, for Bush Sr, probably his AIDS policy, for Clinton, probably his DOMA or welfare reform/super predator stuff, for Obama, maybe drones? For W, it's a gazillion things.

[Stan]

I still don't entirely respect him much but he seems so left wing compared to the current gop. This is the guy who said "Ours is a war not against a religion, not against the Muslim faith." and "Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America."

He also started a program that sent billions to fight HIV in Africa, which not only had a huge effect on transmission rates, but also created many connections between African and western hospitals and researchers and boosted African medical programs, EMRs, and research programs.

Also, wall street deregulation was at least as much Clinton's fault.

[Zen]

Ex-presidents are almost always more likable than they are when in office unless you were a hardcore fan of the guy in the first place. This is partly because of what the office does to a person. It really beats you down. In addition, ex-presidents have no ambition, so they can feel free to go about doing good in the world with complete altruism. (Unless their wife is running for office...) When the whole "hanging chad" debacle in Florida happened, my wife and I made quasi-jokes abut moving to Canada, just like we did the day after Trump was elected. I think we were more serious about it then because we were actually at a place in our lives when we COULD have done it without too much disruption to our lives. At this point, we are tied to the State of Illinois at least until our daughter finishes high school, since we have to be residents for her to go to the boarding school for geeks she attends. LOL