About time. After listening to the Obama administration criticize him for the last six months, President George W. Bush speaks out on the economic and terrorism policies of the Obama administration, but was guarded in criticizing President Obama directly.
On the economy:
"I know it’s going to be the private sector that leads this country out of the current economic times we’re in," the former president said to applause from members of a local business group. "You can spend your money better than the government can spend your money."
Repeatedly in his hourlong speech and question-and-answer session, Mr. Bush said he would not directly criticize the new president, who has moved to take over financial institutions and several large corporations. Several times, however, he took direct aim at Obama policies as he defended his own during eight years in office.
"Government does not create wealth. The major role for the government is to create an environment where people take risks to expand the job rate in the United States," he said to huge cheers.
On the War on Terror:
"The way I decided to address the problem was twofold: One, use every technique and tool within the law to bring terrorists to justice before they strike again," he said, adding that the country needs to stay on offense, not defense. On Guantanamo, which while in office Mr. Bush said he wanted to close, the former president was diplomatic.
"I told you I’m not going to criticize my successor," he said. "I’ll just tell you that 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. Therapy isn’t going to cause terrorists to change their mind."
We need this voice of dissent, and while I wasn’t thrilled with President Bush signing the first TARF bill and overspending. He also believed in a free-market approach and mainly governed that way for most of his presidency. His administration also kept us safe after 9/11 so I believe he can speak with authority on the matter of the war law enforcement action on terror extremists.