WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2008
First Lady, Rice Defend Bush's Legacy
"History Will Judge, And We'll See Later," Says Laura Bush; "This Generation Will Thank This President," Rice Says
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In this June 7, 2005 file photo, first lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, chat prior to the start of a joint news conference with President George W. Bush and then British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP PHOTO)
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Photo Essay First Lady's Mission Laura and Jenna Bush tour Africa with a focus on fighting AIDS & malaria
"I know it's not, and so I don't really feel like I need to respond to people that view it that way," Mrs. Bush said in an interview that aired Sunday. "I think history will judge, and we'll see later."
Rice took a similar view in a separate interview, saying that claims that the Bush administration has been one of the worst ever are "ridiculous."
"I think generations pretty soon are going to start to thank this president for what he's done. This generation will," Rice said.
"Because I think the fact that we have really made foreign assistance not just an issue of giving humanitarian aid or giving money to poor people, but really insisting on good governance and fighting corruption," she said. "I think the fact that this president has laid the groundwork for a Palestinian state, being the first president, as a matter of policy, to say that there should be one, and now, I think, laying the foundation that's going to lead to that Palestinian state - I can go on and on."
In her interview, Mrs. Bush called the shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad an "assault." She rebuffed Bush administration critics who contend the U.S. turned its military might and resources to the war in Iraq before finishing the job in Afghanistan.
Mrs. Bush noted that under her husband's watch, the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein and liberated millions of people in Afghanistan and Iraq from oppressive governments. She also highlighted the president's work to provide treatment for diseases like AIDS and malaria to millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. She said her husband responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in a way that has kept the nation safe.
"I think that's very, very important," she said.
Mrs. Bush said that while the president laughed it off when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at him during a news conference earlier this month in Iraq, she was not amused. The president deftly dodged the shoes and wasn't hit. He continued the news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after security officials dragged the journalist from the room.
"The president laughed it off," she said. "He wasn't hurt. He's very quick. As you know, he's a natural athlete and ducked it. But on the other hand, it is an assault. And I think it should be treated that way. And I think people should think of it that way."
On the other hand, she said the incident reflects change in Iraq.
"As bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot freer to express themselves," she said.
Mrs. Bush challenged critics who contend that Iraq was a distraction from the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, where heightened violence is causing renewed instability.
"Well, I don't know that I would agree with that at all," Mrs. Bush said. "I don't think that's true at all. We've stayed very, very invested in Afghanistan. Not as invested militarily, maybe, and maybe that's what the critics say, that it should have been more military. But I think we stayed very invested."
Rice said it won't be long before Bush's contributions to the world will be acknowledged.
"When you look at what this president took on in terms of AIDS relief and foreign assistance to the world, when you look at the number of countries ... and the number of people that this president has actually liberated - you know, I really am someone who believes that you don't want to pay too much attention to today's headlines," she said.
But recognition of big achievements sometimes take a long time, Rice said.
Rice noted that while Germany was reunified in 1990, the work that made it possible was done in the 1940s, "when things didn't look quite so rosy." So historians who are now making judgments about the Bush administration and its Middle East policies aren't very good historians, Rice said.
"One cannot yet judge the effects of decisions that this president has taken on what the Middle East will become," Rice said. "I mean, for goodness' sakes, good historians are still writing books about George Washington."
Mrs. Bush spoke on "Fox News Sunday," while Rice was on CBS "Sunday Morning."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 203 CommentsAh, Andrew. But, history will be kind to George W. Bush. History books are loathe to use expressions such as "dumbfvck"
I mean, what did you expect them to say?
"My husband''s a dope, committed War Crimes and betrayed the American people?"
or,
"Yeah he''s stupid, makes poor decisions, has no sense of ethics, but if I do what he says my career will go well?"
I don''t expect you''ll hear those words except perhaps decades from now in deathbed confessions.
Posted by thgdriver1 at 01:42 PM : Dec 29, 2008
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Will Rogers said it best.
"You can fool some of the people all of the time.
You can fool all of the people some of the time.
But you can''t fool all of the people, all of the time."
Game over.
Posted by violets4me
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LMAO. Priceless.
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Gosh, what a shock. I though sure Laura and Condoleezza would bash the Bush presidency. This is hardly newsworthy.
Posted by thgdriver1 at 01:42 PM : Dec 29, 2008
Tell me Duffus Head, just exactly how Saddam was rubbing our noses? No WMD, No threat to the US, no shots fired, not part of 9/11, not part of Al Quida. Bought and Paid for by Don Rumsfeld and DiiccKK Cheney just a few years earlier.
He was country was starving for basic supplies, mostly embargoed by the US to try and punish him, along with our self inflicted No-Fly zone (which was not UN mandated). You must have had a triple dose of the DIckkk Cheney Kool-Aid....
Posted by violets4me
hahahahaha what planet are you on?
Thanks Bush--thanks for a manufactured war in iraq--thanks for over 4000 troops deaths for your greed, thanks for the deaths of hundreds of thousands dead Iraqis, thanks for spending us into the ground--thanks for the "no bid" Haliburton contracts-- Lordy--there''s just so darned much to thank that "man without a soul" I could go on all night.
The coward bastward!!
Additionally, it''''s interesting that the title of "messiah" for president elect is one that is only used and referenced by the right. Could it be that those who use that title are the only ones that believe it to be true? hummm....
Posted by junebug082
Yeah they have a lot of nerve pointing fingers after spending the last eight years building a personality cult around Dubya.
What a bunch of idiots!
How convenient for the winning Dimwitocrats of the 2006 elections to have a Republican to blame their failures on for the next two years.
I have to ask, if Bush alone is to blame for all your headaches, then your new Messiah Nobama should fix all in no time at all, Right????
Additionally, it''s interesting that the title of "messiah" for president elect is one that is only used and referenced by the right. Could it be that those who use that title are the only ones that believe it to be true? hummm....
Posted by notblue at 12:41 PM : Dec 29, 2008
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Because Bush apologists are so willing to do the same for him.
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