Fifteen years ago, the New York Times was doing their bit to paint a friendly face on an overprivileged, incompetent Texas drunk whose initials are GWB. "Compassionate conservatism" they wrote. "Committed to a balanced budget" He has an easy-going, friendly personality. He's just the kind of guy you'd enjoy having a beer with. Not like that other son of privilege, the stuffy guy from Harvard who's always reminding us of inconvenient truths.
And George W is quite critical of Bill Clinton's penchant for intervening in other people's wars. No "nation-building" for Pappy's eldest son. He's a practical man. Wants to keep the American military strictly for defense, so he can focus on the home front, taking care of business. Taking care of business, that's George. Well, if he should happen to be elected, at least we know that his leadership will be good for the economy.
Today, the Newspaper of Record, that bedrock of liberal good sense, is at it again, shilling for W's kid brother.
Here's a compassionate conservative, a sensible, practical man who knows how to listen. He's capable of learning from his mistakes. And he's a conservationist, too, you know, "celebrated for his $2 billion program to restore the Everglades." The article links Jeb's name to other coverage of his Presidential Exploration by the colorful Grey Lady. Turns out this is the fifth article on Jeb this year, and the year is not yet 11 days old.For Jeb Bush, Evolving Views Over 2 Decades
Jeb Bush once called for building prisons and emphasizing "punishment over therapy" for juvenile offenders. Today, he supports reforming the criminal justice system, arguing that incarceration can harden low-level lawbreakers into career criminals.
In the past, he stressed using deportation to rid the United States of unauthorized immigrants. These days, he describes crossing the border illegally as "an act of love" by migrant parents and supports a path to citizenship for those who have done so.
Now let's see if we can remember, how did W's presidency stacked up against the promises of "compassion" and "no military adventures" and "balanced budget"?
As they say in the Bush lexicon, "Fool me once, shame on...on me. Fool me twice...well, you see, you can't get fooled again, because what you learned from the...oh, never mind, you get the idea."
But an Act of Love, that's our Jeb. Now of course, we're the New York Times, and we would never endorse a "conservative" conservative. But we're fair-minded, and give credit where it's due. If Jeb should take the White House next year, well, I suppose we could live with that"
With friends like the New York Times, who needs enemies?
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