Mike Gerson: Bush More Compassionate than Cheney, at Least as Compassionate as Bill Clinton

From the obvious to the sublimely ridiculous.

Here is how Michael Cohen of Democracy Arsenal views it:

http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2008/01/that-wacky-wa-3.html

In today's Washington Post Gerson argues that Bush IS truly a compassionate man. And here's part of the evidence:

Proposals such as No Child Left Behind, the AIDS and malaria initiatives, and the addition of a prescription drug benefit to Medicare would simply not have come from a traditional conservative politician. They became the agenda of a Republican administration precisely because of Bush's persistent, passionate advocacy. To put it bluntly, these would not have been the priorities of a Cheney administration.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have the winner of 2008's "Most Backhanded Compliment" award. Nothing else written this year will come close. Do you think maybe Gerson is reaching a bit when he needs to use Dick Cheney as a strawman to prove that George Bush is compassionate? Honestly, who doesn't look compassionate next to Dick Cheney? This is like boasting that you were runner-up in the 20th century's "Worst Fascist Dictator Contest."
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But that isn't even in the biggest whopper in this piece as Gerson really goes on a limb and argues "by any fair historical measure, Bush's achievements on social justice at least equal those of Bill Clinton." Really? I wonder if Bill Clinton ever vetoed a children's health bill. . . twice.

I understand that Mike Gerson wants to feel that his years in the White House were validated; and that the man he worked for really wasn't such a bad guy.

I wish him the best of luck with all that!

NCLB was about money and give-backs to friends, family and contributors. The Medicare bill was all about give-backs to Big Pharma who helped elect him and who members of his admin belonged. Nothing Bush did ever had anything to do with what it's name indicated. EVERYTHING Bush did had an ulterior motive, which was always getting money out of the US treasury and into the hands of his friends and family. Period. End of discussion. There simply is no argument on that point for anyone willing to read beyond stupid crapola like Cohen's fluff piece.

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