George Bush left office with approval ratings in the 20s. He was responsible for getting us into a disastrous war based on lies and for the worst recession since the Great Depression. For a year, Republicans had been quiet about Bush and it looked like Bush was about to be disappeared down the memory hole.
“When it comes to shifting responsibility for failure, however, no one is a more frequent object of President Obama’s reproach than President Bush,” Romney said in a campaign-style speech this afternoon. “I am convinced that history will judge President Bush far more kindly.”
Romney said that Bush deserves praise for his leadership after 9/11, when he said Bush ” pulled us from a deepening recession following the attack,” and for the passage of No Child Left Behind. Romney said Bush will be remembered for attacking the Taliban and waging “war on the Jihadists.” (Notably absent was a mention of the war in Iraq.)
The crowd didn’t just offer polite applause to these remarks, it cheered loudly (National Journal’s Erin McPike explores more instances of the Bush resurgence in Romney’s speech here). The enthusiasm from the CPACers and Romney over Bush was a surprise. At the Republican National Convention in 2008, Bush didn’t even show up to make a speech in person (at the time, the White House said he couldn’t make it because Bush was preparing for the aftermath of a hurricane bearing down the Gulf Coast.). Bush appeared by video, to polite applause.
So, despite all the talk about Republicans’ “rediscovered” fiscal discipline they really are the same ol’ Republicans.