Open thread: Bush’s farewell address; Update: Video added
posted at 7:30 pm on January 15, 2009 by Allahpundit
8 p.m. ET across the dial. He leaves on a gracious note of Hopenchange:
Obama is “a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land,” Bush said in excerpts of his 8:00 pm (0100 GMT Friday) address, his last public appearance before welcoming his successor to the White House on January 20.
“This is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. And I join all Americans in offering best wishes to President-elect Obama, his wife Michelle, and their two beautiful girls,” said the outgoing president.
We’ll update with video later.
Update: Here’s the transcript of the prepared remarks. “Like all who have held this office before me, I have experienced setbacks. There are things I would do differently if given the chance. Yet I have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions.”
Update: Here’s the clip.
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Aimed towards the comment in general, not Cheney. They’ve lost elections because they turned on their own nation. Once you hit both white collar and blue collar, there’s no more excuses in the GOP playbook.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:11 PM
I cant wait to call Obama as MISTER Obama
grapeknutz on January 15, 2009 at 8:12 PM
Trade unions don’t protect blue-collar workers. They price blue-collar workers out of the market.
Sekhmet on January 15, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Noneya, benny and Snark:
Why do you linger here? Wouldn’t you feel more comfortable at DK or DU or HuffPo? Do your liberal friends not like you either?
No one here cares what you think. You are nothing more than pesky little fleas to be flicked away. There is something lacking in each of you that you find satisfaction only when you are annoying others.
How sad. Perhaps it’s time you did something more with your lives. And maybe think about growing up. It’s well past time.
IrishEi on January 15, 2009 at 8:13 PM
benny shakar on January 15, 2009 at 8:05 PM
don’t forget Competence….
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 8:07 PM
More drivel from the Anti-American/Pro-Jihadi/Anti-Semitic Leftist Democratic Traitor Moonbag Nutbag crowd; who’d rather betray their country, and see an Anti-American/Pro-Jihadi/Anti-Semitic/Anti-White Racist Marxist-Muslim such as Barack HUSSEIN Obama (PBUH)(SWT)(SAW) in the Oval Office, in order to assist them in their agenda to destroy this country!
Oh well…
Dale in Atlanta on January 15, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Any amount of terms with Obama in office won’t fix it. As for 2006 being the year the ideology was disassembled, please. Reagan is still viewed as one of the most popular presidents of all time — re-elected in all but 1 state – and a Rasmussen Reports poll not long ago showed a majority of Americans still agreeing with “government is not the solution”. The problem has been getting the GOP to stick to Reagan’s philosophy.
And again, we were told in ’76 that Republicans would be in the wilderness for many years. And that wasn’t the only time since when we’ve heard that for either party.
amerpundit on January 15, 2009 at 8:13 PM
Ooops , you did..
the_nile on January 15, 2009 at 8:14 PM
hey, we’ve been told for years now that Bush wouldn’t be leaving the Presidency but declaring “president for life” status.
what happened?
jp on January 15, 2009 at 8:14 PM
Wow… mercifully short, too!
benny shakar on January 15, 2009 at 8:15 PM
My admiration in that sentence was strictly for Mr. Cheney, figured that was pretty clear.
Anna on January 15, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Can’t believe we’re about to lose this great man. Not perfect. But great. Honorable, loving, self effacing, knows good from evil.
Right now he’s honoring a bunch of people in the audience.
THIS was my President. Pres-elect Obama will be my president too. But President Bush put us first, even at the cost of his own energy, his popularity, his ratings. and that has made all the difference. Obama appears to think only of himself. I really hope to be proven wrong in the coming 4 years.
inviolet on January 15, 2009 at 8:15 PM
He sure wasn’t afraid to make a tough decision. As goofy as it sounds, he was The Decider.
BadgerHawk on January 15, 2009 at 8:15 PM
I’d like to see a Pic of Bush in January 2001 vs. January 2009
compare how he has aged vs. most people his age that are healthy
jp on January 15, 2009 at 8:15 PM
And yet, you felt the need to respond…
SnarkVader on January 15, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Hopefully like the Barry administration
grapeknutz on January 15, 2009 at 8:16 PM
The lack of class and grace on the part of liberals never ceases to amaze me.
Slublog on January 15, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Tell me about. One thing is for certain… in the past 8 years the level of discourse has lowered to despicable level because of people like benny shakar and noneya.
terryannonline on January 15, 2009 at 8:09 PM
One of the things that angered the media is that President Bush did not court their favor. Remember the Clinton years? Lavish state dinners, trips with the entourage, a peek in every corner (yuck). Bush didn’t do that.
The media are salivating for good times ahead…. party on for the Beltway elites at taxpayer expense. Bush didn’t do that. For that small courtesy I respect him.
Cody1991 on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
OK, cue the trash herding poser.
SDSquint on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
NYTimes reporters are evening warning about him being a one-termer. That’ll happen and we’ll hear screeches for years over how the election was somehow stolen because no one could possibly reject the Messiah willingly.
amerpundit on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
I salute you President Bush. I will definitely miss him. I will feel it more so by next week when we get this Obama fool for president.
jencab on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
God Bless the best President since Ronald Reagan!
History will judge him as one of the most remarkable Presidents we ever had!
siwrcw03 on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
I like how the guests were charter school principal, faith-based initiative guy, and 2 military members.
We won’t be seeing that anymore.
brak on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Shitstorm,
You sound like the typical lib from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana. You were brought up thinking it was your birthright to work at “the plant” and make $40, $50, $80 and hour performing a task that a trained monkey could do.
That little union scam worked for a while. Then one day companies woke up and realized that the same job could be performed in Mexico for $4 and hour and even better in China for $4 a day. And your whole existence was eliminated.
Now you can vote for Obama 100 times if you want. You will never get that back. You could have 100 Dem senators and you will never get that back. Overweight, uneducated, drunk, lazy union workers are history. And you and yours better get used to that idea.
Capiche?
angryed on January 15, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Anybody who thinks you can get the ever-elusive “Change” from a politician from a city hip-deep in corrupt politics is a fool.
Sekhmet on January 15, 2009 at 8:18 PM
has it occurred to you yet that there are fewer republicans nowadays to join in your little right-wing circle jerk? we are now the majority in this country, get used to hearing us loud and clear.
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 8:18 PM
So you’re not satisfied with bashing Bush then — you have to bash Catholics too? In my estimation, you’re lucky this is AllahPundit’s thread — not Ed’s.
My collie says:
CyberCipher on January 15, 2009 at 8:19 PM
It doesn’t help that their existence was solidified out of Ford beating the crap out of them. Does Battle of the Overpass ring a bell? From that point onward, they’ve both been at each other’s throats.
Pardon if I don’t want to drive something resembling an overpowered golf cart – just because they aren’t UAW. Not all of those viewed as left-leaning are environmental hypocrites who live in ski resort towns.
So he does well with prepared statements and not candid chat. About anyone would, even Palin has figured that out.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Here ya go – years ’01 to ’08
Ugly on January 15, 2009 at 8:19 PM
God bless President Bush
borg on January 15, 2009 at 8:20 PM
+7%
Seven Percent Solution on January 15, 2009 at 8:20 PM
we are now the majority in this country, get used to hearing us loud and clear.
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 8:18 PM
I think you are a little delusional. You and your angry juvenile left friends are NOT the majority. Your small opinions and small minds will always keep you in the minority. It’s people like you that give good honest democrats a bad name.
sherry on January 15, 2009 at 8:20 PM
Thanks, George, for keeping us safe the last seven years and thanks for your courageous leadership on fighting and winning the war on terror.
Travis1 on January 15, 2009 at 8:20 PM
You think his hate ends with one person! No, he has to hate a group of religious people!!!
terryannonline on January 15, 2009 at 8:21 PM
Thank you Sir!
Ropera on January 15, 2009 at 8:21 PM
And you sound like the fool that you are loud and clear!
grapeknutz on January 15, 2009 at 8:22 PM
That’s kinda what liberals said in 1976. 4 years later came 1980, and you have been whinging ever since.
Sekhmet on January 15, 2009 at 8:22 PM
The speech was pure class. Thank you Mr. President for being honest and sincere and of course keeping our country safe.
You’ll be missed.
j0 on January 15, 2009 at 8:22 PM
I’ve done all my cursing at the TV, so this should be clean.
Bush just can’t keep his mouth shut about Obama, a man who spewed hatred for Bush on the campaign trail.
This is why I won’t miss Bush. He has no balls. He has no courage.
We can’t treat the left with courtesy, EVER!
We can’t congratulate them, EVER!
We can’t hope the best for them, EVER!
madmonkphotog on January 15, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Um you won 53-47. Get over yourselves. That is a small margin than Reagan, Nixon or Bush I.
angryed on January 15, 2009 at 8:23 PM
smaller
angryed on January 15, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Are you surprised? The guy’s never been much of a talker.
BadgerHawk on January 15, 2009 at 8:23 PM
Popularity is fickle……
just ask President Bush. He once had 90 percent approval ratings. Remember?
terryannonline on January 15, 2009 at 8:24 PM
Trainwreck.
BadgerHawk on January 15, 2009 at 8:24 PM
A real leader, not just a politician, and may God bless him.
McCain… not so heartfelt.
drunyan8315 on January 15, 2009 at 8:25 PM
I will miss President Bush.
I have to say that I wonder how different things might have been if certain people in his own party had spent less time worrying about silly stuff like the whole Dubai Ports nonsense and more time supporting his efforts to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
I also wonder how different things might have been if people had not blamed Bush almost exclusively for everything from illegal immigration to 9/11. As far as I am concerned, there were people on both sides of the aisle who treated this good man badly.
And I like the fact that he still believes in good and evil. Washington did not convince him that such a belief was anachronistic. I respect that.
Terrye on January 15, 2009 at 8:26 PM
Heh. + 1
Anna on January 15, 2009 at 8:27 PM
benny:
We won’t have to worry about short with Obama will we? He will go on as long as the teleprompter holds out. And on and on and on. The guy just loves to perform.
Terrye on January 15, 2009 at 8:28 PM
On the contrary. The Big Three may have been in the town, but there were similarly sized non-union companies(NCR being one) that were respected. Now, it’s the base that props up the town once AT&T gutted them, and some other major law research business got bought up by some European firm. As for manufacturing, that has been hit already – by people willing to sell their soul to third world countries.
So that is how you defend selling out our nation? It might work well in your deep red state, but it works against political survival here. You can’t pin it on unions if it harms people of all classes.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:28 PM
May God bless Bush and his family aways…Thank you President Bush For keeping our country safe from terrorist.
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:29 PM
terryannonline:
Yes, there was a time when Bush had higher numbers than any modern day president. The pundits even loved him then. The press tolerated him.
Terrye on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
God bless you GWB, and thank you. You’ll always have my respect and gratitude.
Missy on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
Sorry,mean’t always!
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
In 4 years, Obama will lose his novelty and gain a record. How much of that 53 percent were so-like-totally-like-voting for-like-the first totally-ya-know black guy in the White House? How many of them needed jobless cretins like Noneya to tell them how to vote? When Obama breaks Noneya’s shriveled little heart, will she work so hard in 2012?
Sekhmet on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
…while failing to protect our own borders.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
George, you will be missed.
Obama, you won’t be.
BVM on January 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM
To recap for shitstorm, nobraineya and benny the buffoon:
1956: Eisenhower(R) win 57% to 42%…next election a Democrat, Kennedy won.
1972: Nixon(R) wins 61% to 38%…next election, Carter a Democrat won.
1984: Reagan(R) wins 59% to 41%
1988: Bush(R) wins 54% to 46%…he lost to Clinton in 1992.
2008? Obama wins 53% to 46%
In the big scheme of things, Obama’s win is pretty mediocre. Only a delusional fool would believe that Obama’s win means anything for the long term. But then again they are liberals so cogent thought should not be expected from them.
angryed on January 15, 2009 at 8:31 PM
we are now the majority in this country, get used to hearing us loud and clear.
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 8:18 PM
That pretty much sums it up. Liberals.
Is that what you say to your daddy when you want your allowance?
Cody1991 on January 15, 2009 at 8:31 PM
He was a first rate, second rate president.
And I’ll buy him a beer anytime.
Good luck & God bless.
locomotivebreath1901 on January 15, 2009 at 8:34 PM
The trainwreck started in the 90′s when the engineer fell asleep after sex, not in 2001 when the train finally hit the IED that had been planted long before.
Everything since has been a HollyMediaDemoLib-staged crash scene designed to obscure that simple fact, and hide the good that has been done in the world since.
Fool yourself, but you can’t fool me.
drunyan8315 on January 15, 2009 at 8:34 PM
Fanny mae and Freddie took care of our borders. I live in N.C.. They have started leaving here! There is hardley any work for them left!
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:35 PM
Well, Reagan is the first proof of how well an
actorcon artist can present himself.sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:35 PM
Doesn’t hurt people of all classes at all. Quite the contrary. I am much better off with outsourcing. I get cheaper goods at better quality. And as an employer myself, the lack of a strong union helps me by keeping my employee costs down. It’s a win-win for me.
As for selling out…you need to learn some fundamental economics about trade. At no time in history has protectionism worked. But you are a liberal so I don;t expect you to know much.
angryed on January 15, 2009 at 8:36 PM
I’m gonna miss President Bush.
Sekhmet on January 15, 2009 at 8:36 PM
I’m recording it and watching it later. He hasn’t done everything right (which he admits), but we are so screwed. A soon-to-be Treasury secretary who doesn’t pay taxes, that woman as SoS…dear God. Not to mention the numbnut at the top.
God bless you, Mr. President. You were my first chance to vote, and I honestly don’t regret it.
Dubn8tr on January 15, 2009 at 8:37 PM
At least it’s not South Carolina.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:37 PM
I remember seeing a video on YouTube of an appearance Bill Maher made on Jay Leno where Maher is somewhat apologetic of being overly critical of Bush shortly after 9/11. Imagine that, Bill Maher trying to have class.
terryannonline on January 15, 2009 at 8:37 PM
But, you have to admit, for the first time in more than three decades, a Democrat won a majority of the popular vote.
From that perspective, Mr. Obama is in the same category as Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush.
malclave on January 15, 2009 at 8:37 PM
I too have mixed feelings. I believe GWB is a good man and a class act.
That said, GWB was/is an optimist and saw the world as it SHOULD be making decisions to try to make this a reality. He did not to look at the world as it really was/is, making decisions based off of what could be made better and was worth the cost versus what could be better but was not worth the cost.
The end result is a party and conservative philosophy left in shambles, 2 wars poorly executed, 1 war miraculously pulled back from the brink of surrender, a country protected from the outside terrorists but looted by corporate executives and Democratic leaders not held accountable for their part in all of this because GWB could/would not connect the dots for the American public given his bully pulpit.
Kind, honest man – yes.
Naive, inflexible and, sometimes I wonder, not very bright – yes.
Godspeed George W. Bush. May history be kind to you.
Sweetness0726 on January 15, 2009 at 8:38 PM
And shitstorm is a the first proof of how a liberal evades the subject and throws out a non sequitor about Reagan’s acting. Come on man, I know you can do better. No wait, you are a liberal, you can’t. Never mind.
angryed on January 15, 2009 at 8:39 PM
I don’t care, I still think Obama deserves the same respect as the Left gave Bush. Unfortunately, this nation deserves better.
Sekhmet on January 15, 2009 at 8:39 PM
GOD BLESS BARNEY FRANK AND CRIS DOUBB FOR FANNY AND FREDDY!THEY ARE GOING BACK ACROSS BORDER..
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:40 PM
William Henry Harrison left office after a month because of his arrogance about the weather. Hard to imagine the filthy bastard about to take office will be so accomodating but shorter is better.
highhopes on January 15, 2009 at 8:41 PM
Proud to number myself among the 34 percent.
And thanks, Mr. President, for not mentioning global warming.
whitetop on January 15, 2009 at 8:42 PM
I wish they’d swing down here and pick up a few of their friends on the way out…….
beththebaker on January 15, 2009 at 8:42 PM
Why should the right stoop to that level? Anyways, the Left eats their own anyway. Is there any doubt the extreme Left will throw massive hissy fits if and when Pres. Obama doesn’t do what they say?
terryannonline on January 15, 2009 at 8:42 PM
He is gracious. God Bless him.
Bob's Kid on January 15, 2009 at 8:45 PM
It is a bit hard to market the idea when the state’s already tried it, twice. The most I see is a state to the east who’s filled with labor relations attorneys to the hilt. It worked too well, but only for the wrong reasons. Once they could no longer bust unions, they turned to creative uses of immigration law.
Of course I don’t expect much from you as trade has been used as a weapon against the Rust Belt. Try marketing it as something else, and working with the people here. Not all of us in the Rust Belt can just pick up snowboarding and environmentalism in the Rockies as a profession.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:46 PM
Oh i forgot to mention acorn!!Acorn Freedy and Fanny!!!
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:46 PM
GW Bush. A good and decent man and no matter what, did his best to keep our Country safe. Thank you, President Bush.
shoregulls on January 15, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Evading the subject? It’s quite relevant as he made all that creative destruction look good and made the affected people feel happy.
sethstorm on January 15, 2009 at 8:49 PM
“I cant wait to call Obama as MISTER Obama”
I just call him “that fuckin’ muslim”
LtE126 on January 15, 2009 at 8:51 PM
A community organizer help Acorn.. and Acorn was involve with Freedy and Fanny and Obama!!
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:51 PM
True, but he reached those percentages with a combination of supporters energized by being able to elect a historic first and worn-out conservatives deciding to stay home and not vote.
In 2012 he won’t have either of these things in his favor.
The first black president will be finishing his first term so it’ll be hard to get people excited about ‘racial justice’ and ‘doing something different’ and Conservatives will have had 4 years to get over their ennui.
It’ll be close, but, it’s hardly a given that he’ll win again.
JadeNYU on January 15, 2009 at 8:51 PM
I think that can make a great song!!
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 8:51 PM
I have no doubt that if in the coming 4 years Obama screws things up as badly as I suspect he will, your silence will be deafening.
PackerBronco on January 15, 2009 at 8:55 PM
Please, oh Hotair gods and goddess, give us an “ignore” button.
Bob's Kid on January 15, 2009 at 8:56 PM
country first, ay?
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 8:59 PM
Actually I think Obama is practically a shoe-in for re-election. Part of the motivation of the press to shield him from criticism was the desire for a black president to heal this nation from its racist past.
However, electing a black president is only half the battle. It would be bad for race relations in this country if the first black president were perceived as a failure in office (in their minds); thus be ready for the case after case of the press propping him, ignoring his failures, and praising any success he might have to the hilt. The debacle of his cabinet appointments and the relative silence of the press is but a foretaste of what is to come.
Obama and his supporters will try – and largely succeed – in blaming any mistakes on Bush. The alternative, the idea that the first black president is a failure, is just something they don’t want to face, and so they won’t.
PackerBronco on January 15, 2009 at 8:59 PM
Will check in later!
beachkatie on January 15, 2009 at 9:00 PM
A good, decent and honorable man. Not perfect, but certainly much closer to it than the clown who will have the job after Tuesday.
God bless you, Mr. President, and your lovely family, too. Thank you for your service to our country.
califcon on January 15, 2009 at 9:00 PM
lovely
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 9:00 PM
Class act all the way.
JimRich on January 15, 2009 at 9:01 PM
I love it.
Thanks, President Bush. I live in Ohio, so I never really felt truly at risk. But I’ve felt for those live on the coasts and near a porous border.
God help us if Obama and company decide to lay down their guard.
We wanted Bush and Company on those walls. We needed them on those walls.
And now we move on, led by the guy who didn’t seem to understand the economic benefit of an interest-bearing checking account until 2005. Through the end of 2007, Obama and his wife have owned (and sold) two equity investments. A true believer in our country’s economic system.
BuckeyeSam on January 15, 2009 at 9:02 PM
:`(
God bless, you, President Bush.
pannw on January 15, 2009 at 9:02 PM
This crap doesn’t belong here.
JimRich on January 15, 2009 at 9:02 PM
PMS NBC’s poll to Grade his presidency, currently 45% are voting an F, to no surprise. Add your “A”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28659165?GT1=43001
EconomicNeocon on January 15, 2009 at 9:03 PM
The Prez:
Not this ‘merican.
Oh, wait. Liberty is dead. So is individualism.
Never mind.
klickink.wordpress.com on January 15, 2009 at 9:07 PM
Yeah. Some muslim might want to cut your head off for something like. I mean, they certainly do it for a lot less reason, don’t they?
klickink.wordpress.com on January 15, 2009 at 9:10 PM
Noneya
I’ve been reading your comments here for a few weeks and you are obviously a race baiter and greivance monger of the first order. Go play where they agree w/your kind. I’m sure Smoof Al Sharpton or Rev Jesse Jackson have websites that you can comment on. You are not persuasive in the least. That makes your comments here laughable. HuffPo loves Obama. Your digs here are tiresome and silly. Get lost punk!
JAM on January 15, 2009 at 9:10 PM
you also have to admit that the Democrats have won 4 out of the last 5 presidential Popular votes. And with the economic damage by the Bush term growing by the day, combined with the disgust towards the GOP exhibited by hispanics (thank you, ’06 immigration debate!) and the millenials (you, know, the future of America), the GOP is a dying party.
George W. Bush: the Herbert Hoover of the 21st century
Noneya on January 15, 2009 at 9:13 PM
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