It seems that the Republicans feel so secure in their quest to retake seats in the House and Senate that they feel comfortable letting the world know their real feelings about former President George Bush.
The chairmen of the two Republican campaign committees defended the presidency of George W. Bush in television appearances over the weekend, a preview of the GOP's planned pushback against expected Democratic attacks on the last president.
"People had jobs when Republicans were not only in charge but George Bush was there," said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press".
John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program that "Bush's stock has gone up a lot since he left office," adding: "I think a lot people are looking back with more fondness on President Bush's administration, and I think history will treat him well."
The rhetoric from Cornyn and Sessions reflects a gamble by Republicans that Bush, who left office in 2008 deeply unpopular with broad swaths of the American public, will, as almost every president does, rebound in terms of his public image as time passes.
NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) was asked about what Republicans would do with a majority. After struggling badly to think of anything substantive, he eventually said, "We need to go back to the exact same agenda that is empowering the free enterprise system rather than diminish it."
"We need to go back to the exact same agenda." In context, the agenda Sessions seems to want "to go back to" was that of the Bush/Cheney administration and the Republican Congress.
Indeed, GOP leaders are not only urging a return to failed Bush policies, they're even praising the failed former president.
Personally, it amazes me that polls show Americans trust President Obama to make the right decisions and trust Democrats more than Republicans, yet, prefer to kick incumbents out of Congress and vote the GOP back in. Go figure.
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