JEB! Bush’s noxious myth: Dubya didn’t “keep us safe” — he made the world infinitely more dangerous

George W. Bush failed to heed pre-9/11 warnings, and his cowboy persona wrought havoc on the Mideast

(Salon) - Jeb Bush is trying desperately to distance himself from his brother, George W. Bush, and for obvious reasons. George W. Bush’s presidency was an unmitigated disaster. Jeb has tried (rather awkwardly) to assert his own independence without publicly reproaching his brother. So far it hasn’t worked. On the Iraq war, for instance, Jeb has offered contradictory opinions, saying knowing what we know now, he would still have authorized the invasion, and then later walking that back.

During the debate last [week], Donald Trump attacked Jeb directly on this front. In a heated exchange, Trump pointedly charged, “Your brother’s administration gave us Barack Obama, because it was such a disaster those last three months that Abraham Lincoln couldn’t have been elected.”

Without thinking, Jeb reflexively replied: “You know what? As it relates to my brother, there is one thing I know for sure, he kept us safe. I don’t know if you remember, Donald. You remember the rubble? You remember the firefighter with his arms around it? He sent a clear signal that the United States would be strong and fight Islamic terrorism and he did keep is safe.”

Look, the Bush family can harbor whatever delusions they like within the privacy of their home. Whatever they have to tell themselves to feel better about the catastrophe that was George W. Bush’s presidency is fine by me. But this patently untrue trope has to die. And the fact that the audience rapturously applauded this remark makes it all the more urgent to correct the record. Read more.