Poor George W. Bush. He served his country for eight years, doing all that decidin', trying to engineer a permanent Republican majority, and these days the politicians in his party practically pretend his presidency never happened. The people who worked for him, Politico tells us, are nevertheless convinced he'll be vindicated by history, even as Republican candidates avoid him like the Ebola virus. Yeah, I wouldn't hold your breath for that. Somehow it seems unlikely that the Iraq war and a couple of trillion dollars in tax cuts-mostly for the wealthy-that turned surpluses into deficits will, in retrospect, turn out to have been great ideas. The article also has a lot of bitter sniping from Bush aides at Bill Clinton, who is so "narcissistic" that he has been out, you know, doing stuff since leaving office. What a jerk.
Which leads me to this question: What does George W. Bush actually do with his days? I mean hour-by-hour. He gives some speeches, but he's got people to write them for him, and it's not like he's giving one every day. So let's say it's 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. What is Dubya up to?
For any president, the post-presidency has to be a huge letdown. One day you're the most important person on the planet, with thousands of people and billions of dollars at your disposal, your every word affecting millions, and the next you're just a guy without a job. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter quickly found enterprises to keep them busy, but Bush? I picture him sitting around in his house, not really sure what to do with himself, trying to get his Secret Service detail to loosen up and act more like his buddies. "Well ... here we are then. Hey Mike, anybody looking for me? No? Hmm. Well, who wants to play some Call of Duty? Agent Wilson, get yer butt down on this couch and fire up the Xbox!"
It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. But then you think about the destruction he wrought, and you stop feeling that way.
