George W Bush

The Air Force dumped the incinerated partial remains of at least 274 American troops in a Virginia landfill, far more than the military had acknowledged, before halting the secretive practice three years ago, records show. The landfill dumping was concealed from families who had authorized the military to dispose of the remains in a dignified and respectful manner, Air Force officials said. There are no plans, they said, to alert those families now. The Air Force had maintained that it...

"He kept us safe" is the popular refrain conservatives use to glorify George W. Bush's presidency. Jeb Bush used it at the 2012 Republican convention and Charles Krauthammer used it in his April 26 op-ed, " The Bush legacy . " Commentators have to include the phrase "since 9/11" because they know that most rational people would otherwise measure Mr. Bush from the beginning of his presidency. How can the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, not be called a colossal failure on the part of the Bush administration?

When someone in the Washington area begins to type the president's last name into the search box of Google's home page, the top three terms it suggests as the most popular selections are Obama, Obamacare and . . . Obama phone. Obama phone? A hotline, maybe, to the Oval Office? Hardly. "Obama phone" is the widely used — and misleading — nickname of a 28-year-old federal program known as Lifeline . It provides discounts, averaging $9.25 a month, on phone service for 13.3 million...

A heroic effort seems afoot to restore former president George W. Bush to respectability, if not acceptability — since glory seems a far cry. However genial he may have been, Mr. Bush will be remembered for three things: First, his inept, immoral response to terrorism, including torture, unwarranted wiretapping and subversion of the rule of law, not to mention the creation of a vast, costly, less-than-optimal security apparatus. Second, his remarkably incompetent response to Hurricane Katrina, allowing a major city to be ruined and...

Gridlock, polarization, obstructionism — if there's one thing Washington can agree on, it's that Washington can't agree on anything. The public's sufferance in recent years of petty filibusters, destructive budget showdowns and stridently partisan news outlets has given rise to a yearning for what's imagined to be a lost culture of reasonableness. It's easy now to pine for an era like the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan and House Speaker Tip O'Neill could put aside foundational differences and get down...

The campaign trail can be a lonely place, so Mitt Romney frequently invites friends to accompany him. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is an occasional companion. So is Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. But more often, Romney brings a large clock. Romney's people made it themselves. It has two giant flat-screen televisions pushed side by side. It's surrounded by a green foam sign. And it's hooked to two computers feeding it a live count of America's rising debt burden, which stands well above $15 trillion.

Today is Presidents' Day, a holiday that began as a tribute to the first U.S. president, George Washington. In fact, in some places it is still called Washington's Birthday, and that is the official name still recognized by the federal government. The day became a government holiday in 1885. It was celebrated on Feb. 22, which is Washington's actual birthday. In 1971, the holiday was moved to the third Monday in February. Though it's still officially Washington's Birthday, the day has become known...

Correction: An earlier version of this review stated that Dick Cheney earned a doctorate at the University of Wisconsin. Cheney earned a master's degree and left before finishing his PhD. This version has been corrected. R.J. Cutler's new documentary, "The World According to Dick Cheney," finds the former vice president as resolute and indifferent as ever to his critics. What else did you expect — that the heart transplant would have magical effects? That he would have newfound...

How long had it been since President Obama attended his daily intelligence meeting in the lead-up to the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Egypt and Libya ? After all, our adversaries are known to use the anniversary of 9/11 to target the United States. According to the public schedule of the president, the last time the Obama attended his daily intelligence meeting was Sept. 5 — a week before Islamist radicals stormed our embassy in Cairo and terrorists killed our ambassador to...

As presidential endorsements go, this one could hardly have been more low-key. ABC News caught up with former president George W. Bush in an elevator in downtown Washington on Tuesday and asked the question that elicited the sound bite. "I'm for Mitt Romney," Bush said, just as the doors slid shut. The 43rd president of the United States was on his way to give a speech on human freedom, in which he made no mention of politics, save one sidelong reference: "I actually found my freedom by leaving Washington.

George W. Bush's new presidential library at Southern Methodist University was dedicated in a ceremony Thursday. President Obama, along with former presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, spoke at the ceremony : President Obama led the tributes, calling Bush "a good man" who showed strong leadership in the days after the nation was attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001. "As we walk through this library," he said, "obviously we're reminded of the incredible strength and resolve...

The role as White House photographer comes with a heavy responsibility. It is the job of the photographer to document and represent the presidency through the good and the bad, to create an archive that will ultimately become the visual legacy of that administration. Eric Draper assumed that responsibility as the official White House Photographer for two full terms under the 43rd president of the United States, George W. Bush. A visual legacy that can now be found in...

DALLAS The dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum here has been an occasion for both friends and critics of the former president to press their case. According to the polls , the number of critics has fallen over time. They make up for it with enthusiasm. I fall into the friend category, having worked for President Bush for several years beginning early in the 2000 campaign. There are a number of reasons to join a presidential campaign, not least of which is the main-stage,...

DALLAS — There are twisted girders from the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the bullhorn he used from atop the pile of rubble at Ground Zero in New York, an exact replica of his Oval Office and, yes, even his personal collection of signed baseballs. When visitors tour the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum , they will find a facility that reflects the character and personality of the former president: straightforward, confident, unapologetic and willing to...

I envy few people — maybe Nelson Mandela for his indomitable courage, maybe Philip Roth for his abundant talent, maybe even George Clooney for how much he seems to enjoy being George Clooney. I add, tentatively and for different reasons, George W. Bush. The man has the serene self-confidence of a ­divine-right monarch. Day or night, he seems to sleep well. This is Bush's week. His presidential library on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas will be dedicated Thursday , with the current and all former...

Stephen F. Knott is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College and the author of " Rush to Judgment: George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and His Critics . " The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum will be dedicated Thursday at Southern Methodist University, an event that will draw all of the nation's living presidents to Dallas. Despite the coming fanfare , many Americans consider Bush's presidency a failure. There is little evidence that scholars, including the influential historians...

Editor's note: We bring you this column as part of our RePosted feature, where we dig through our archives to find opinion pieces that shed light on current events. This column was originally posted on September 13, 2001. From the smoky pyres and devastation of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, from the tidal wave of grief and anxiety, frustration and anger that encompassed the nation on Tuesday, Americans have awakened to the realization that the casualty list is even larger than the uncounted lives that were lost.

DALLAS — George W. Bush has spent much of the month with relatives at the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, where he played golf, rode bicycles and dined with friends. Back in Dallas, the former president will mostly play golf, ride bicycles and dine with friends. Bush, who left office in 2009 with a historically low popularity level, seems content in self-imposed exile. "I crawled out of the swamp, and I'm not crawling back in," he said in a rare interview with the Hoover Institution this...

Being the leader of the free world is an expensive proposition. And the costs don't stop once you leave the White House. The government spent nearly $3.7 million on former presidents in 2012, according to an analysis released by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. That covers a pension, compensation and benefits for office staffers, and other costs. The costliest former president? George W. Bush, who clocked in last year at just more than $1.3 million. The $3.7 million taxpayers...