WE DON”T WANT TRUMP IN THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT NEITHER DO WE WANT JEB

…The latest GOP Debate in South Carolina

 

Trump may have learned a new lesson about the former president Bush

 

For the first time, Donald Trump, in telling the truth, it may become what gets him into trouble. 

 

When Donald Trump says that the war in Iraq was disastrous, most people including most Republicans today will agree.  But in the last debate in South Carolina, where Trump not only said that the war was a giant mistake, he also said that Bush knew 9/11 was going to happen and he did nothing to stop it.  Then Trump said, “Bush knew there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but he lied to the American people to get us into a Middle East war.”

 

A statement like this goes well beyond the results of the bipartisan WMD Commission Report led by former senator Chuck Robb (D-Va.) and Judge Laurence Silberman. Silberman has called Trump’s allegation that Bush lied to the American people highly “dangerous”.  They both said that mistakes were made and Bush didn’t heed advice, but there is no evidence that he intentionally lied to the American people.

 

There is no question that Vice President Cheney exaggerated and probably lied many times about Iraq.  In addition, the then security advisor, Condoleezza Rice’s comments about Saddam, his having nuclear devices and the possibility of “mushroom clouds” were well over the top.  But in this highly military, southern state, to say that their beloved former president, George W. Bush knew there were no WMD’s in Iraq and that he lied to the American people, that may have “jumped the shark”.

 

To put this in perspective, in this conservative southern state, in a recent poll, it was found that the former GOP president still has an overall approval rating of 77%, and an 84% approval among South Carolina Republicans.  Attacking Bush on his conduct of the War on Terrorism does not go over well in a state that is home to major military bases such as Parris Island, Shaw Air Force Base, Fort Jackson, Joint Base Charleston and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.   That’s not to mention all the state’s companies that build military equipment or that supply these military bases.  The US Military currently adds $160 billion annually to South Carolina’s state coffers.

 

During the debate, Trump refused to disavow his previous comments, that it “would have been a wonderful thing” for Nancy Pelosi to “impeach George W. Bush and get him out of office” because “he got us into the war with lies.”   Trump said that, “You call it whatever you want. I want to tell you. They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none. And they knew there were none.”

 

And Trump didn’t stop there.

 

Trump then repeated his claim that then-CIA Director George Tenet had given Bush “advanced notice” of the 9/11 attacks, which was true.  But Trump continued saying that Bush did nothing even though he “did know it [9/11] was coming.”

 

Then, turning to Jeb Bush on the debate stage, Trump declared, “The World Trade Center came down during your brother’s reign, remember that. That’s not keeping us safe. . . . And George Bush — by the way, George Bush didn’t listen to the advice of his CIA.”

 

The South Carolina debate crowd immediately started booing Donald Trump.

 

Trump obviously didn’t realize that President Bush has always had a special bond with South Carolina.  That is especially for the service members and veterans who stood with him even through the darkest times in Afghanistan and Iraq. By attacking Bush, could there now be a fraction of Trump supporters who will now reconsider Jeb or that take a second look at the other candidates in the GOP field?

 

One sign that they just might do that was when Marco Rubio came to the former president’s defense declaring that, “The World Trade Center came down because Bill Clinton didn’t kill Osama bin Laden when he had the chance to kill him,” adding, “I thank God all the time it was George W. Bush in the White House on 9/11 and not Al Gore.”

 

However, as of the latest poll, Trump still has an over 20 point lead at 32%, with Jeb Bush at 9%, but now I think I know why Bush is so low in the polls.

 

When President Bush was speaking at the press conference where he was introducing brother Jeb, it became obvious why the former president is so beloved in South Carolina.

 

“Dubya” Bush has always been very good at retail politics.  Remember, George W. was first elected because he was the, “President you wanted to sit down with and have a beer.”  This old cliché became clear upon hearing the two brothers speak.  The former president's comments were interesting, easy to listen to and his sense-of-humor was well intact.  In Jeb’s speech, you immediately wished his comments would be over soon and he was basically very boring.  The contrast between the two brothers was amazing and quite revealing.

 

We all know that we don’t want Donald Trump in the White House.  But after hearing Jeb’s latest speech, I can understand why his continuing poll numbers are staying in single digits.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2016