Bush breaks silence, says economy won't need Obama intervention

For 150 days, he was a model citizen, and certainly an admirable former president, a member of the Golden Rule of the elite Ex-Presidents' Club.

Unlike his vice president, the chatty Dick Cheney (or, to be fair, the Democrats' oft-quoted former President Carter), former President George W. Bush promised not to throw spitballs at the new administration. "I'm not going to criticize my successor," he said.

But last night, speaking in Erie, Pa., at the Manufacturer & Business Assn.'s annual meeting, Bush allowed as how Barack Obama might be a socialist.

According to the Washington Times, Bush told a cheering crowd, "I know it's going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we're in. You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money." As for the president's healthcare reform ideas, Bush said he didn't like them. "I worry about encouraging the government to replace the private sector when it comes to providing insurance for healthcare," he said.

And asked whether he considered Obama a socialist, Bush said, "We'll see."

The former president also defended his administration's handling of terrorism suspects, like waterboarding, a torture technique that Obama has banned, and the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which Obama is working to close.

"There are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that -- persuasion isn't going to work," Bush said. "Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind."

So much for silence.

-- Johanna Neuman

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Photo credit: Associated Press

Comments

[taxpayer]

The ecomony has gone to hell since Obama gave away our great grand childrens money. Now all Obama wants to do is give health care to gays. What about the millions of others without healthcare? What a sad story. This guy doesn't know his a$$ from a hole in the ground!

[Roger Ramjet]

What a jerk! Eight years of this moron. I guess he forgot that he was the first to give billions to GM. He was also the first to give everyone $ to supposedly stimulate the economy. He has the gaul to imply Obama is a Socialist! Go back to your redneck state and suck wind.

[Vishal]

which is why i guess you spent $700B on TARP late september right mr bush? also why YOU bailed out GM and chrysler, right mr bush? also kind of like how you took us into war in iraq on a totally false and hypocritical pretense and now $1T later you are telling us about the value of private industry.

you are incompetent, go away. at the very least, obama believes in his government intervension, you are just a puppet mr bush and you always will be. you have no spine and you stand for nothing, especially not government responsibility.

[maz hess]

What the republicans still need enemies for when they have w.bush?

[Diane]

Bush led the country into two unnecessary wars, created record deficits, stripped away Constitutional rights and alienated our allies. His horrendous leadership skills are legend. So, the last person Obama needs pointers from is an inept former president who persists in rewriting history.

[norjac]

Silence could not be more golden than from a former politician.

Mr. President, please be quiet.

[STORMY MILLER]

FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH HAS NO RIGHT COMMENTING ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S RUNNING OF THE COUNTRY. WHAT BUSH CALLS SOCIALISM IS SIMPLY REGULATING MULTIBILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS WHO HAVE LIED TO US STOLE INVESTERS HARD EARNED MONEY AND THEN FIXED THE BOOKS TO HIDE IT. IF REGULATING THESE CORPORATIONS THAT HAVE ALMOST COLLAPSED OUR ECONOMY BY THEIR DECEPTIVE AND GREEDY PRACTICES IS CALLED SOCAILISM THEN SO BE IT. I CALL IT COMMON SENSE. BUSH DID A GREAT JOB RUINING OUR ECONOMY BY FUNDING HIS MULTITRIIION DOLLAR WAR. AND HE DID AN EVEN BETTER JOB OF DESTROYING OUR REPUTATION WORLD WIDE. AND HOW HE CAN DEFEND TORTURE JUST PROVES AGAIN WHAT AN IDIOT HE IS.

[Jarvis]

Those seem like pretty fair comments from the president...at least he didn't go so far as to call Obama a communist as Beck inferred: http://www.newsy.com/videos/obama_shakes_up_healthcare_banks In all probability the private sector will be the ones to end the recession, it is too big of a job for the government, especially considering the Atlantic's chart in the aforementioned video haha.

[JOSE LUIS REVILLA ESCUDERO]

TRUTH

Let´s tell the only truth:

1. China is the main owner of the US, since it is the main debtor in US T-bonds and external debt.

2. Hedge funds and leveraged financial operations have been existing for a long time. It is nothing new that just arrived 2-3 years ago. Nick Leeson bankrupted BARINGS BANK 14 years ago playing with derivatives in Singapore Stock Exchange.
Georghe Soros became rich managing hedge funds focused on leveraged currency operations more than 20 years ago.

3. CAPITALISM has not failed, it has been the antique regulation vs. NEW and more complexed financial products ( options, futures, warrants, leveraged buy-outs, mergers, etc... )

4. Barack Obama is president of the US because of the worst performance ever of an US president (George W. Bush ),... But even with that, if the financial crisis does not explode 2 months before the election, B.O. would not have won it either.

5. B.O. was a complete unknown, but very useful to revitalize the image of the US in the world: youth, muslim relatives, black, elegant, the blackberry, ... the US lobbies have achieved their goal, and they have said to the world:

Look how robust is our democracy that we have elected a black president !!!...
Look how our relationship with the muslim world is going to change in a positive manner !!!...
Look how we are going to restructure the whole world !!!

Political Marketing, media and more dirty games ...

6. The US has finally understood that a war against "3 muslims hidden in a cave" was not a good idea, even more while China became more and more powerful, while the US became weaker with stupid wars.

7. Do not blame Wall Street !!!... Wall Street are not aliens living in a different world. They are only the representation of what America is. Wall Street has auto manufacturers, utilities, proud companies such as GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, and obviously it also has banks.
"Subprime loans" existed for a long time in the US, even since its colonisation.
The handling of these subprime loans is a different aspect, and it is precisely here where REGULATION failed.

8. ENRON case was not 2 years ago. Have we learned something since then ?...

9. Where is the "free journalism" ??... Let´s hope people will stop reading lobby newspapers and concentrate on real free bloggers.

10. INDIA has the key of the world hegemony. If it leans to the US, US will continue leading the world. If it leans to China, the US power is over.

11. What country will first realize that AFRICA has a lot to offer to the world ??... China is doing it already.

12. Why do I know that Obama has a dog called "Bo", and I do not know if HU JINTAO (China president ) has even kids ???

Please, let´s tell the truth to the world.

Jose Luis Revilla Escudero
Chairman&CEO
WWShares, Inc
-Global Wealth Management-
www.worldwideshares.blogspot.com

[tlsmith1963]

Bush is the one who wrecked the economy. He should just shut up & let Obama work to undo the mess he created.

[Texas Observer]

Worst President was Jimmy Carter, Check unemployment, interest rates, etc. Bush was too politically correct to do what needed to be done. Congress was took over by Democrats 2006 ( things were not to bad before that ) Pelosi , Reid, Barney Frank, Kennedy, Obama and other Great Democrats need to take credit for what we have now. What country is Escudero from? 1 war was because of the inabilities of the UN to carry out its Threats over WMD's. The other was refusal of a government to turn over Osama, Maybe your memory is only the way you want to remember.